Mummy's Birthday

Mum's 70th birthday! A time for celebration.

I've known my mum for 39 years. The time I spend with her has far exceeded the time I spent with my natural mum (deceased). She cares for my sister & I since we were little. Always giving & feeding us the best she can, even after my dad has passed away. A virtue I've learned from her is to always be sincere to others & do not expect a good deed done to be rewarded in kind. She is always so contented & joyful . I know she is the kind of mum every child will wish to have & cherish.

Although it was just another dinner with her, I wanted this dinner to be a little special for her. I know she likes novelty eating places, so this time round, I chose a table at Gallery by the Straits, to dine by the seaside.

We could see the sunset & feel the sea breeze while enjoying our dinner. That's definitely something I believe she would have enjoyed & will remember.

I pray & ask for God's grace & blessings in watching over my mum with good health & happiness, always.

Dried Shrimp & Olive Fried Rice

Want to be a little creative but do not want to spend too much time doing up a plate of yummy fried rice? Well, give this one a try. It's very simple!

Ingredients:

1. two eggs (beaten, add a tablespoon of water, a dash of white ground pepper & sprinkle of table salt )
   
2. three tablespoons of dried shrimps (waste & grind)
   
3. three tablespoons of preserved olive with oil
   
4. two gloves of garlic (chopped)
   
5. light soya sauce (one tablespoon or according to taste)
   
6. two tablespoon of cooking oil
   
7. four rice bowls of boiled white rice (preferably cooked & cooled a few hours before use)

Method:

1. Heat up frying pan before putting in cooking oil
2. When oil is heated, add chopped garlic for light browning
   
3. Lower heat, add in grinded dried shrimps & continue to stir fry till fragrant
   
4. Push ingredients to a side of the frying pan leaving just the oil in the centre
5. Increase heat & pour the beaten eggs into the oil & stir fry
6. Push back the ingredients from the side of the pan to mix with the eggs when cooked
7. Add boiled rice together with ingredients, increase heat & continue to stir fry for five minutes
8. Add light soya sauce while stir frying
   
9. Add preserved olive & oil and continue to stir fry for another five minutes
10. Scoop the fried rice into a plate & serve it hot

Highlights:

• Do not soak the dried shrimps because it will remove the sweetness of the shrimps.
• Adding a tablespoon of water to the beaten eggs will smoothen the texture of the eggs when cooked.
  
• If you like the grain of your fried rice to look shining & not broken looking, it is advisable to use OLD CROP grain instead of NEW CROP grain. The texture of the rice is harder when cooked if you choose to use old crop grain.
  
• Leaving the boiled rice to cool for a few hours before using it to fry will not give your fried rice the sticky or pasty look.
• For garnishing ideas, you can top it with some fresh chinese parsley & red stripes chilli, or with some stripe cucumber (without the seeds), I'll leave it to your preference.
  

Dinner Ideas

Do you dread hearing family members asking ... What's for dinner?

Quite sick of eating out sometimes but you have no idea what to prepare to let your loved ones tuck in to have an enjoyable time eating together?

This is one of my many impromptu dinner ideas I have to share with you. Besides, speed of preparation, nutritional value is not forgotten. Enjoy ...


A plate of fried rice of your choice. I only used dried shrimp, beaten eggs & preserved olive. (I will share with you the recipe in my next post)


Scoop a mouthful of fried rice onto a leaf of lettuce.


Wrap the lettuce with the fried rice inside into the shape of a cup & eat it as a mouthful each time.


Make a bowl of simple vegetable salad. To blend in the taste of my fried rice dish, I get the idea of my salad dish from one of the Korean vegetable salad recipes. (I will share with you my re-created Korean vegetable salad dish in another post)


Don't forget about fruits


Yummy chicken pies from Dino. Highly recommended.


If you are at Dino, must not give their Apple Crumbles a miss! That's their hot selling item.


My hubby & I ate lunch at Upper Thomson area this afternoon & since Dino was just opposite of where we were eating, so we decided to add the chicken pies & apple crumbles in our dinner menu. The additional items have made our dinner more fun.