Chicken stock is the secret ubiquitous ingredient that enhances our cooking. It’s the essential base for soups, sauces, stews, stir-fry etc. Homemade chicken stock is far more superior than what you can buy at the store. It is guaranteed to be 100% natural, free of preservative and is nourishing. I use chicken stock in most of my cooking and have started to make my own chicken stock after I realised...

  My family and I love satay. Whenever we want to eat satay, we will usually head to Kajang, a small town 25km from Kuala Lumpur where our favourite satay stall is located. As it is too far from our place, we only frequent it once in a while. Nevertheless, I have figured out a way to fix our satay craving, and that’s making my own satay!!   Making authentic Malaysian satay with peanut dipping sauce...

  Hazardous haze, caused by open burning at plantations in Sumatra, Indonesia, has been enveloping Singapore, parts of West Malaysia and some Indonesian cities recently. For some parts of Malaysia, the pollution index hit a record high and emergency had to be declared, forcing schools to close and people to stay indoors. As the smog headed north reaching Kuala Lumpur late last week, it’s now our turn...

  When I started this blog, there were just two things in my mind – sharing kids-friendly recipes and inspiring parents to cook for their family. But never did I expect that one day it would also inspire my hubby to put on the apron. Although he has never cooked a single dish before (not even an egg), he can now easily whip up some simple and decent meals for the family by following my recipes! Finally,...

  “Kids love fast food” – that’s a common perception that I strongly disagree with. Given so many healthy choices around, do I have to introduce this unhealthy stuff to my son? No, of course I don’t. To set a good example to my son, my hubby and I have decided to stop eating fast food since we moved to Singapore five years ago. For that, my son also happily follows our footsteps. The only...

  Lately, my family has a new liking. That’s my multigrain congee (rice porridge). Having this tasty yet healthy meal makes our bellies feel so satisfied and great.   This congee is not exactly 100% multigrain. Instead, it’s made up of 50% multigrain, 20% millet and 30% short grain rice. The presence of millet and short grain rice gives the texture a new dimension from toothsome to smooth, as...

  Chicken tikka masala (CTM) is a mild Indian curry dish of bite-sized chicken chunks (tikka) marinated and cooked in a tandoor oven, then added to a spicy sauce (masala). This is one dish I must order whenever I dine in an Indian restaurant. It has such a perfect blend of spices and flavour that goes well with either naans or rice.   After reading more about this dish, I was quite surprised to learn...

  Whenever I made these bite-sized chicken and apple balls, my hubby and son never seems to have enough. As they kept requesting me to cook this dish, I think I had cooked it more often than any other dishes in my family meal. So, what makes these eggless chicken balls taste so good? The secret lies with apple, cheese and a tingle of herbs, making them truly delicious and flavourful on their own even without...

Lemongrass (香茅) is a popular herb used in many Asian cooking, especially for Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian and Indonesian cuisines. It has a refreshing citrus flavour with a hint of ginger. It blends very well with garlic, chillies and cilantro, hence is widely used in making soup, curries, marinade and stir-fry dishes. It is also used to flavour tea, drinks, baked goods, desserts and pastries. Essential...

The Christmas spirit is in the air! Can you feel it? I certainly do. I always enjoy the joyful atmosphere of Christmas even though I don’t celebrate the occasion. Seeing Christmas decorations, listening to Christmas songs and eating Christmas cookies really put me in a jolly holiday mood. With this festive vibe cheering everywhere, it makes me (ie this home chef) feel like cooking less and join in the...