Hakka Thunder Rice

It's been around for 2 or 3 years, but I've only tried this rice a couple of weeks' ago - Hakka Thunder Tea Rice(?) or 客家擂茶。

This version I tried happened to be the organic version from an organic eatery.



It's got lots of ingredients, like (clockwise from top) bean curd, green vegetable, black-eyed beans, long beans, cabbage, dried chai poh (preserved radish, for vegetarian version) and peanuts served over brown rice (for organic version).



Served with a herby, grassy-tasting, minty soup which one is supposed to pour over the rice, but I didn't do that, coz all that water will definitely stuff me up too soon.

It's very filling, so it's wise to ask for less rice and to forgo the peanuts since I don't like them. However, I think I still prefer the Korean Bibimbab over this anyday, even if it's the vegetarian version... I can eat that rice+vege dish everyday!

Spanish Chicken & Rice Stew

From the 2nd One Pot cookbook that I own - the recipe calls for arborio rice, the creamy Italian rice, the use of canned chopped tomatoes and too many chicken drumsticks and chicken thighs! Good thing I didn't follow the recipe word by word...as Asians, we don't usually eat so much meat in a meal. Other than that, the dish was easy and simple to prepare.


The unappealing picture shows the leftovers, and I'd deboned the chicken drumstick.

The rice was quite nice, although mine turned out a bit too wet, due to my inexperience with arborio rice (first time cooking it). The rice doesn't take too long to cook, and doesn't need too much water.

Even SO thinks it's nice to eat...which means my sphere of influence on his Asian palette is getting even stronger. May the force be with me. Haha!

(Cook date: Monday, 9 July 2007)

Thai Pineapple Rice

I've been cooking dinner yesterday and today, and cooking dishes which I would normally leave for the weekends because they require more steps, more ingredients or more preparation time. I had time to cook them because I'd been on sick leave from a toe injury...smacked my toe against the corner of the granite stone (from the water feature)! The senior doctor at the clinic was very kind and understanding...he gave me 2 days' mc to rest! *grin*

Anyway, I cooked pineapple rice using the paste from Dancing Chef. I had previously tried their Thai curry paste which tasted quite authentic and hot. I didn't cook their curry again because SO can't take the hotness, but if it's not hot, it wouldn't be authentic, right? *roll eyes*

The list of other ingredients and steps are listed at the back of the package. It's not difficult lah, except that one has prepare the cooked chicken and prawns before frying the rice. The paste is quite watery, so better make sure the cooked rice is not soggy/overcooked to start with.

As I didn't want to have bland-tasting chicken, I marinated them in some chicken stock, a bit of wine and sesame oil. I've also added chopped garlic and ginger, both of which were not called for by the recipe (only onion was listed). To me, fried rice without garlic is like soup without "body" - flat! :P


The main ingredients are chicken, prawn, pineapple, onion plus a topping of fried egg strips and spring onion. I skipped the red and green chillis as I didn't have any.

I forgot to buy fresh pineapple today, so I used canned pineapple instead - just rinse them, drain well and chop into small pieces. In fact, I gave the pineapple a little squeeze - which turn out to be necessary in order not to have wet fried rice.

Pineapple rice served with a plain salad to counter the sweet-spicy (but not hot) taste of the rice.

Oh, by the way, the rice taste good, not because my cooking is good, but the paste is good. :)

Fried rice

The fried rice I cooked recently, in January, using leftover ham given by MIL. Though I didn't use leftover rice, the rice was nicely cooked - moist without being soggy.

It's basically a "fast to cook, good to eat" kind of meal.
A salad can by added for more fibre.


Note: to cut down on peas - too much spoils the taste and texture of the fluffy rice.

Vegetable rice

The chai png ("mixed vegetable rice") I cooked last Tuesday for dinner.

Easy to cook everything in one pot, and the SO ate lots of it. I learnt it from my mum who is a Teochew ah nia.


With chicken, Chinese cabbage, mushrooms and spiced up with ginger, garlic, onions & sesame seed oil

A favourite meal of mine...yum!

One pot rice

(Sept 2005)

Chai Png (in Teochew) or Kiam Png (in Hokkien)
i.e. rice cooked with mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, chicken & fish cake