cooker lotus leaf chicken yam steamed rice 芋头鸡饭锅荷叶蒸饭

Above slideshow demonstrates the cooking process
Ingredients:-
chicken 1/2 piece
yam (round shape Thailand yam better as soft after cooked) 1/2 piece
lotus leaf 2-4 pieces
capsicums traffic light 1 piece each
cauliflower 1/2 piece
red dates a few pieces
black fungus 2 pieces
mushroom 3-4 pieces
chinese wofberries 1 small bowl
ginger 2 slices
butter 10-100g ( less for less oily, more for better fragance)
star anises few pieces
cinammon stick 1
water 2-4 bowls
dark soy sauce 2 table spoon
light soy sauce 3-4 table spoon

Methods

1. In a wok, add buter
2. fry garlic
3. add rice and fry
4. remove fragance rice from wok
5. add rice bran cooking oil
6. fry garlic
7. add and fry with ginger, cinnamon sticks and star anises
8. add and fry with mushroom (soaked soft)
9. add and fry with black fungus (soaked soft)
10. add and fry with chicken
11. add and fry with red dates
12. add and fry with chinese wolfberries
13. add water
14. add and fry with yam (steamed soft)
15. add dark soy sauce
16. add light soy sauce
17. remove chicken yam from wok
18. place fragance rice into rice cooker
19. add 80% done fried chicken yam
20. add capsicums & cauliflower
21. mix & stir
22. to cook
23. cooker chicken yam rice is ready
24. option 2: place on lotus leaf instead of rice cooker
25. wrap and fix with tooth picks
26. to steam for 30-45 minutes
27. lotus leaf chicken yam steamed rice is ready

 Tips

• capsicums & caulilower can be stir fried on wok instead of cooking with the chicken yam rice in the cooker to maintain nutrition and colour, just place on top of the chicken yam rice after it is cooked
• star anises & cinammon is not a must ingredients, its purpose is to add special fragance to the chicken. Liking to the unic fragance is individual.

Challenge
The biggest challenge of this dish is to maintain the softness and moisture of the rice as well as tenderness of chicken meat cooked. Thus, control the water level in the cooker is crucial as chicken yam added comes with sauce.

芋头鸡饭锅荷叶蒸饭

以上影片演示烹饪过程

成份： -

鸡1 / 2只
芋头（圆形泰国芋头易熟软）1 / 2粒 

荷叶2-4片
灯笼椒3粒
菜花1 / 2粒 

红枣几粒

 黑木耳2件 

蘑菇3-4件

红纪子一小碗 

姜2片 

牛油10 - 100克（增添饭香）

 五角几粒
桂皮1 条 

2-4碗水 

老抽2汤匙

 酱油3-4汤匙

小贴士

• 灯笼椒及菜花可以入锅轻炒，才放芋头鸡饭上，而不是与鸡饭一起烹饪，以维持营养和颜色。

• 五角 1 桂皮不是必须的材料，其目的是为了添加特殊香味。喜欢是很个人的。

 挑战 这个菜最大的挑战是保持鸡熟肉嫩和饭柔软。因此，控制电饭煲水位至关重要。

How do I find cooking inspiring and joyful? 如何找到烹饪启发和快乐？

I hardly spent time in the kitchen when I was single except performing cleaning chores. I was neither interested in receipies nor cooking. After married before having kids, my husband and I would spent our meals outside to save the hastles of before cooking preparation and after cooking cleaning chores.

When I had my first kid, I always had hectic on what to cook for the day and cooking was always a frustration to me.

But now, I have found cooking inspiring and  joyful!

What has actually transforemed me?

My two lovely kids! Their repond after tasting my food would drive me to improve better, check on receipies and along the way innovate new receipies. When they enjoy or compliment my cooking especially when looking at their expression and reaction, I would be ammused and derive great joy.

In the process of refining my cooking, I realised that when cooking with objective like take down pictures, write down methods and sharing with it turn cooking more interesting and challenging especially with expectation on peoples' comments on the work.

When cooking becomes a joy, I finally comes to another level that I appreciate cooking as an art.

如何找到烹饪启发和快乐？

单身时，我几乎不花时间在厨房里，除了进行清洁劳务。我既也不感兴趣做饭。

结婚未有孩子前，我丈夫和我都是到外膳食，省去烹饪前后准备工作和清洗。

当我有我的第一个孩子，我总是为煮甚么烦恼，做饭一直是我的沮丧。

但现在，我发现做饭激励和快乐！

实际上什么改变了我？

我的两个可爱的孩子！他们品尝我的烹饪后的反应，激发我去改善食谱，参考改善沿途中我创新。当他们赞美我的烹饪，尤其是在他们的表达和反应上，我从中获得巨大的喜悦。 在烹饪过程中提炼了我，我意识到，像做饭时，以客观的取照片，写上和分享烹饪制作程序，烹饪变更有趣，并期待批评赞赏，烹饪更具挑战性了。 当烹饪变成了喜悦，我终于来到另一个层次上，我欣赏烹饪为艺术。

Enen's 2 Years Old Chocolate Birthday Cake 恩恩的2岁生日巧克力蛋糕

Ingredients
self-raising cake flour 1 cup+2 tablespoon
salt 1/4 teaspoon
honey 1/2 cup
cocoa (milo) 1/2 cup
butter 1/3 cup
milk 1/3 cup
vanila 1 teaspoon
lemon juice 1 tablespoon
egg 2 pieces

Decoration:-
raisin
candices
A4 paper
tooth picks

Tools:-
electric mixer
bread machine

Method (process making of chocolate birthday cake )
1) in a medium size bowl , using electrical mixer, mix butter to soften
2) add 2 eggs
3) add 1/5 cup milk
4) add 1 teaspoon vanila
5) add 1 tablespoon orange juice
6) mixing them well
7) in a small size bowl, combine self-raising cake flour, salt, honey and cocoa (milo)
8) pour (7) into the mixture (6) in the medium size bowl and mix them until dampened
9) beat 2 minutes at low speed
10) add remaining milk
11) beat 1 minutes longer, until light
12) pour batter into bread machine bowl
13) set bread machine on "cake cycle", push start
14) When chocolate cake is ready, remove from bread machine and place on a plate
15) decorate with raisins and candies
16) prepare birthday banner with A4 paper & tooth picks
17) now, birthday chocolate cake is ready

Enen's Baby Photo Album- Important Milestones 恩恩的重要婴儿里程碑专辑

Enen,

Finally I have got your baby photo album done !
Thanks to advance technology like digital camera, blog spot, photosharing image hosting website:"slide" & "photobucket"  that mama exposed to only recently. Mama felt deeply sorry for missing to prepare one for eldest sister Lulu as was not ready and prepared for in digital at her baby milestones. I promised to work on more for you and Lulu especially from now onwards.
I wrote down important milestones of yours since born till 2 years old as below:-
2008 12 noon- born in hospital with weight of 3.02kg
0-14 months- on breastfeeding
2nd week- jauntice--> traditioanl treatment on jauntice by bathing in morning sun (before 11am)
3 month old- manage to hold up head & push foward
6 month to 2+ years old- teething
6 month old- start spoon feeding on food
8 month old- sit
9 month old- crawl
10 month old- stand
1 year +   -> walk
July 2009- papa took you for first swing in the playground
2009- 1 year old birthday
2010- Lulu sister & mama handmade choclate cake for you on your 2 years old birthday

Thank God for his blessing of you into our family.
We love you!!

恩恩的重要婴儿里程碑专辑

恩恩，
 我终于完成你的宝宝相册！ 感谢先进科技，数码相机，部落格网站，照片分享图片存取网站如：“slideshow”和“PhotoBucket”。

妈妈感到深深的遗憾，未有在大姐如如宝宝时做好预备。承诺从现在起为如如和你，留下更多足趾。

-我写下你从出生至2岁的重要婴儿里程碑 ： -

2008年中午12时 -在医院出生体重三点二公斤 

0-14个月，母乳喂养 第二周 黄疸 –传统治疗，早晨阳光沐浴(上午11时前）
3个月 –能支撑头和向前推
 六个月至2岁以上 –发牙
6月龄 -开始喂食物
8个月大 –会坐
9个月的老 –会爬
10个月大 –会站 一岁-可步行
2009年7月-爸爸带你上操场荡秋千
2009年 - 1岁生日
2010年 –姐姐如如及妈妈为你手工制造2岁巧克力生日蛋糕

感谢主恩赐你成为我们家的一份子。 我们爱你！

Lulu goes to school?如如上学校?

Lulu,

4th Oct 2010, a big day in your life as today is your first day in a class in kindergarden! 

You are starting a 3 months preparatory class for K1. The preparatory class is compulsory for all the children who has passed the placement test organised by the kindergarden in Sept 2010. It is to prepare children who did not join the nursery school of the kindergarden at age 4 for next year K1. Children were tested on writting own name, alphabert a to z in small letter, number 1 to 10, finger counting 1 to 10 and phonics sound for a to z in the placement test.

We are very proud of you for passing the test and been selected to this well known kindergarden especially papa who has been pestering me to put you into school at age 4!! Now you have proven to him that you learnt from home!

Mama has mix feeling here walking with you into kindergarden. You are no longer mama's baby breast feeded in arm. You are taking your first step out from home!

如如上学校?

如如，

 2010年10月4号，今天是你的生命中重要的日子，因为今天你在幼儿园上课的第一天！

这是3个月的K1预备班。该预备班是为所有谁通过了2010年9月幼儿园举办的测试所安排的教育。测试孩子们写自己的名字，a到z的小写字母，数字1至10，手指计数1至10和测试a到z拼音。

我们非常自豪你通过测试和被这个众所周知的幼儿园录取，尤其是爸爸一直希望4岁把你送去学校！ 现在你已经证明：你在家也在学习！

当妈妈拉着你走进幼儿园时百感交结。你不再是妈妈抱在怀里喂奶的宝宝了！你踏出家的第一步了！

Yong To Fu 酿豆腐

Yong To Fu is one of my favourite childhood food. It would always be one of the main dish in our Hakka ("Ho Poh" dialect) family reunion or festive celebration.

On 23 September 2010, I cooked Yong To Fu on the first time hands on.  My lovely eldest daughter Lulu jumped excitedly over my invitation for help. I was amused looking at her so serious and passionate in rendering her hand. Her smiling face throughout the day expressed her joy & pride of her contribution. These bilateral feeling deep down from our heart bonded us even closer.

The feeling reminded me of someone dearest-my mother who had passed away in year 2000. My mother though came from a "Teochew dialect" family cooked very delicious Yong To Fu. She spoke superb fluent Hakka "Ho Poh" dialect. She cooked delicious "Ho Poh" traditional dishes like "Ho Poh Loi Cha", yellow wine chicken, "chi Pa", Trotter (pig's leg) in Ginger Vineger, braised pork slices with yam, Nam Yee (reddish cheese) braised pork, "shuan pan zhi" etc. After being a mum finally I realised how great she was a mother. Imagined she raised 5 children as full time housewife in those old days when technology was poor, everything basically was DIY (do it yourself)! I could not forget in the first time seeing her ever so happy in her life was when she ran the catering business but good time did not last long that she was dignosed with cancer and passed away within 2 years. I regretted and unforgave myself for not rendering adequate time, care, understanding, patience and needs during her difficult time especially when her fighting with cancer. Her love for me endures even after she died as she could not relieve her worry on me that she blessed me with a life partner finally whom I met few months after she was called by the Lord. She cares that she always appear smiling and in good health in my dream as I know that she wanted me to be happy and stopped worry and regret.

I love her and miss her so much.

酿豆腐

酿豆腐是我最喜欢的童年食物之一。它是我们客家（“何婆”方言）家庭团聚，或节日庆典主菜之一。

 9月23日2010年，我邀请大女儿如如帮忙准备。她兴奋地献出帮忙。看着她那么认真和热情，我深觉有趣。 她微笑的脸展露她的喜悦与自豪于她的贡献。.这双方向内心深处的感觉，把我两母女的心紧紧蜜蜜的联系在一起。

这感觉认我不期然的忆起我亲爱的的母亲。她已在2000年去世了。

 我母亲虽然出身于一个“潮州方言”家庭,却说着一口流利的“何婆”方言。 她煮一手好吃“何婆”菜，如“何婆擂茶”，黄酒鸡，“奇扒”，猪腿醋，红烧芋头猪肉片，南乳猪肉等的传统菜肴。

当我做了一个妈妈后，我终以体会到她是一个多么伟大的母亲。想象一个身在旧时代并拥有5个孩子的全职家庭主妇，一切基本上是自己动手做！

我无法忘记第一次见到她这么快乐过，是在她经营饮食业时。良景总是短暂，她被疹断患有癌症，并在2年时间内过世。

我后悔和无法原谅自己，没有在她困难的时候提供足够的时间，关心，谅解，耐心和付出，尤其是当她与癌症战斗时期。

她对我的慈爱，甚至在她去世后，她在天堂上保佑我一个生活终身伴侣。她关心我，总是身体健康的面带微笑出现在我的梦中，因为我知道她想让我快乐，要我停止担忧和遗憾。

我爱她，好想念她。