Good Break

Finally, after a busy October, November is at its mid-way point and I can take a break before reaching the land of pink! Haven't updated for a good month, but that didn't mean I wasn't cooking or eating. In fact I've been eating too much! Although there's the cookhouse, the mess is still the place to frequent and indulge in. Back at home, some dishes make frequent appearances, too many times in fact.

There's the braised trotters!







And fish heads taking up different forms in fish head beehoon, claypot braised fish head, bittergourd fish head, and of course my favourite curry variant.



The above were some of the many dishes I've been feasting on for the past week. Explains a 2kg weight gain, but heck!

Since I'm on a 5 day break, my dad offered to teach me a couple of chicken-rice-cooking tips. Its extremely rare of him to be so generous as to parting his skills, so I had to look closely and pick up something.



The star of the show. A nice 1.8kg fresh whole chicken from my mum's supplier. Too bad the head was chopped off before it was cooked, looks abit unsightly. The chicken is cooked in water with a good amount of garlic and ginger. My dad says the chicken should be cooked under strong heat for 12 minutes, then let it cool for 35 minutes in the water used to cook it. After that, the stock that results shall be used for cooking the rice.



Before cooking the rice, add in a stalk of lemon grass, a couple bundle of pandan leaves, fried shallots and garlic. The time taken is the same as that of normal white rice.



This rice is extremely fragrant. No chicken run.



While the rice was being cooked, my dad showed off his bone-meat-severing skills. He makes it look easy, but I bet I'd take a good 50 times to get it right. =/

I helped prepare the sauces, which are some of my favourite, goes well with many kinds of meat.

Presenting the trinity of sauces.



Apart from the common garlic chilli sauce you find in chicken rice, there's also the garlic and ginger mix, which is a nice highlight, and the dark sauce completes the whole deal.



The complete chicken rice, without the rice in this picture. The chicken is still slightly red, possibly due to the fact that my dad should have upped the 12 minute timing. I'll go for 15 the next time round, sure to be perfect.

Meanwhile, my maid was cooking something extraordinarily godlike....



Duck wings! I think this item deserves a name like 'Best Finger Food', or 'Ultimate Beer Snack'. Its so delicious, the soft and chewy texture of duck, yet the little amount of meat from a single wing leaves you craving for the next, and the next, and the next...



The best part is a whole big plate of this to complement the chicken rice!



It was an extra-delicious dinner, and I shall have hands-on experience the next time we cook chicken rice. When the new oven comes, I shall try roasting chicken! The freedom that ensues, I can't wait!