Lettuce Wraps
Topic: Appetizers
This recipe is one kind of Dim Sum meals and good as appetizers but sometimes considered as main dish. This recipe is design to be eaten as taco-style, with the lettuce/mixture folded into a package but as you see in the picture, the mixtures were not folded all since I ran out of lettuce last night, I cooked the mixture first without checking the fridge if we still have enough lettuce, only to find out that we had only few leaves left. Never mind, I still put some of the remaining mixtures to the plate. See!

Ingredients:
1 head of lettuce leaves
300 g ground beef or chicken flakes
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tsp.sugar
1 tbsp. shredded ginger
1 cloved garlic, minced
2 stalk green onions, chopped
1/2 cup mixed vegetables (carrots,green peas and corn kernels)
1 egg, beaten
2 cups shredded cabbage
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp. cooking oil

Directions:
1. Wash the lettuce, dry, and cut the leaves. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a skillet, add the garlic, ginger, and green onions and fry until the garlic and ginger are aromatic.
3. Add the beef or chicken and cook until done. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar. Stir. Add the cabbage and mixed vegetable, cook for 3 minutes then add the beaten egg, stir well until the egg is cooked.
4. Season with salt and pepper. Turn of heat.
5. Lay out a lettuce leaf and scoop 1 tbsp. out of the meat/chicken mixture and place it in the middle of the leaf. Fold to cover the mixture. Continue with the remaining mixture and lettue leaves until done. Serve.

Boiled Beef (Nilagang Baka)
Topic: Beef
Our favorite part of the beef for boiling are the ribs and shanks since it gives a very delicious soup. Younger cows are the best, very tender and takes shorter time to cook. When boiling beef, usually vegetables are added and my favorite vegetables to add are the one that doesn't distract the taste of the beef broth. Some vegetables have strong taste, so if you want a very beefy soup, try adding vegetables like carrots, potatoes, cabbage, sweet corn on cob, lettuce,etc.
In this recipe, I add lemon grass since the beef we bought was not quite young and I am not satisfied with its taste so I find a way to make it better. Moreover, influenced by his Thai friends and classmates, my hubby likes lemon grass added in a clear soup, that's why sometimes I add it to the meals I cooked.

Ingredients:
500 g beef short ribs, cut into serving pieces
1 large carrot, cut into cubes
2 medium potatoes, quartered
1 small bunch of lettuce
1 whole onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. whole peppercorns
1 cube beef bouillon (optional)
1 tsp. sugar
1 thumb size ginnger, slice into strips
1 stalk lemon grass, cut diagonally
1 stalk green onions, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Boil beef, onion, garlic, beef cube (optional),ginger and peppercorns in a pot with enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil, skim off the scums when it rises. Lower the heat,add the lemon grass and few salt, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the beef is tender. Check water occassionally, add more if desired.
2. When the beef is cooked, take it out from the broth and transfer to a bowl, set aside.
3. Strain the broth, discard the spices to have a clearer soup.
4. Return the broth to the pot and season with sugar, fish sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
5. Add the carrots and potatoes, boil until done.
6. When the vegetables are done, return the beef to the broth and bring to a boil. Add the lettuce cover and simmer for 20-30 seconds. Remove from heat and serve sprinkled with choped green onions.

Watermelon Salad
Topic: Salad
The water melon salad in a watermelon basket courtesy of my hubby!

Ingredients:
some slices of watermelon, seeded
1 1/2 cup pineapple chunks
2 bananas, cut into bite-sie pieces
1 can 465 g fruit cocktail
1/2 cup milk powder
2/3 cup condensed milk
1 cup thick cream

Directions:
1. In a salad bowl, toss together fruits, milk and cream.
2. Mix all together, chill for an hour and serve.

Zucchini with Mushroom and Chicken Soup
Topic: Vegetables
A vegetable and easy recipe in a busy and tired weeknights! The combination of mushroom and chicken broth mainly contribute the good taste of this recipe.

Ingredients:
2 medium zucchini, sliced
6-10 pcs. fresh mushrooms (white chanterelle, sliced
1 cup water spinach soft stems, cut 2 inches length
200 g chicken breast or any part, sliced in small pieces.
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp. grated ginger
1 medium tomato, sliced
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. sugar
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp. butter, melted
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Heat oil in skillet over high heat. Stir fry the chicken until brown. Add garlic, onions, ginger and tomatoes. Stir.
2. Stir in the vegetables then add broth, sugar, fish sauce, salt and pepper.
3. Simmer until you met your preferred tenderness of the vegetables. Serve.

Baked Shrimps
Topic: Shrimps
I like baking method of cooking because it minimize my time of staying in the kitchen, staying in the kitchen longer will make my clothes smell like foods, I don't want my husband to smell me like that, LOL!

I was tired in the office yesterday and I wanted to take a nap in the afternoon but my 2-year old son Azhfaar was awake and kept bothering me,hence I did not able to sleep. I planned to cook meat for our dinner but I changed my mind because I really wanted to have some rest in the bedroom, so I decided to bake the shrimps to have more time lying in bed. Lazy? No, ,I'm just tired!

Ingredients:
20 medium shrimps, deviened
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tbsp. light soy sauce
2 tbsp. oyster sauce
1 medium onion, minced
1/4 tsp. ginger powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper
quick melting cheese, gtated (optional)

Directions:
1. Arrange the shrimps in a baking dish.
2. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except cheese.
3. Pour 2/3 of the soy sauce mixture to the shrimps.
4. Bake in a preheated 250 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
5. Take out from oven and brush the remaining soy sauce mixture on the shrimps surface.
6. Sprinkle with few grated cheese and return to oven. Baked for 2 minutes or until the cheese melts.

Serve immediately.