Got to cook again. :)

I realised that my toaster oven could grill food as well and so I set about using that mode.

I seasoned some Thai asparagus stalks with salt and pepper before grilling them and they were a success, though my father found them a tad too salty. Perhaps I should put less salt... Then I drizzled sesame oil over some eggplant halves and grilled them. They turned out too mushy and tasted bland too. :S

I also marinated salmon with teriyaki sauce and then grilled it. That was an awesome success! I tried to grill chicken breast on another occasion but it turned out disappointingly bad due to the excess combination of marinade ingredients I used.

I cooked my own lunch and whipped up a few dishes with rice. I did the asparagus dish again but added too much salt for the second time. I squeezed lemon juice over it but added too much as well. I fried "Sea Shanties" and cooked Minced Chicken in Dark Soya Sauce. The "Sea Shanties" and the rice were successful. I didn't burn the "Shanties" and cooking the rice well was an achievement because it was unsupervised. The second batch of "Sea Shanties" were burnt though, because I didn't give my utmost attention while frying them. :S

I added some 'secret ingredients' into my rice and chicken dish. I added Knorr's Chicken Cube into the water before cooking the rice and dried thyme into the chicken dish. For the chicken dish, I started off with sauteeding onions before adding the chicken. This dish is usually made with pork but I chose chicken for health purposes. Then I added dark soya sauce, sugar and the thyme. I added too much sauce though and it turned out too black. Celeste said it tasted nice though. :)

Yanling came over for dinner. I decided to toss Yu Sang' with her, besides including other dishes. I bought the 'yu sang' from NTUC. I chose the one that cost $8.80 but I had to buy the salmon separately. I bought Smoked Salmon. The 'yu sang' was good but the combination of the candied sugar and the plum sauce made the whole dish too sweet.

I also cooked rice, Kani Tempura, Bulgogi Chicken and Tofu Soup. I added a bay leaf into the rice but I could have added more. There was no taste of it. The Kani Tempura didn't look authentic. That was probably because I didn't have enough of the batter for this second batch. My first batch for Aunty looked good. The chicken was good and the tofu soup as well. I've learnt that adding cucumber into the soup is a good measure. I added dried thyme into it and it made the soup fragrant. Yanling drank 3 bowls of it! Yes!

I also attempted to cook Japanese Curry with rice, grill some Chicken Chipolatas, and cook Yong Tau Foo with porridge and Baby Kai Lan in Oyster Sauce. I used Vermont Curry brand but in marinating the minced chicken with sesame oil and teriyaki sauce, I may have made it too salty. I also added cucumber and onions into the curry. This was really the first time I cried so much while cutting the onions, just like the old Tao Jie in the last episode of Little Nonya. I served my curry in the Japanese style; rice on one side and curry on the other, the 2 halves making a circle. Grilling the sausages in about 8 minutes made them brown at the edges. I had never obtained this look at other times. Praise God! I know my mummy was blessing my efforts too. :)

The Yong Tau Foo was tough because I cooked it for too long and instead of getting Cantonese porridge, I got Teochew porridge. :S I am glad that the vegetable dish was successful though. It was my second attempt and I didn't overcook the vegetables. I've learnt that focus and utmost attention on frying the vegetables is the key.

My last homecooked meal was a disaster due to my longtime nemesis: time management. I had no time to finish all 5 dishes to their perfect presentation and could only produce 3. :S I had started preparing my dishes late and had to take time to thaw the frozen items. I decided to attempt a Japanese meal for my friend. I wanted to make California Roll but because I had bought Japanese barley instead of Japanese rice, I had to use normal rice, and this was only discovered after I had cooked the barley. My friend had reached my place and I didn't want to be rude, so I served the avocado, Japanese cucumber, steamed kani, Japanese mayonnaise, fish roe and roasted seaweed in their separate containers. We had a whale of a time eating them as they were and even ate them in our own way. I also wanted to make Ebi Tempura but could only peel the prawns at most.

I was slightly more successful with Corn Udon and Teriyaki Chicken. I used instant Miso Soup, instant udon and canned corn. However, I think I added too much miso into the soup and it tasted sour. The chicken had too little sauce and was too meaty. I had used the breast meat and grilled it for convenience and health reasons. My friend was kind enough to finish up the noodles and eat some of the chicken, being impressed with how I cooked the udon dish from scratch, well, sort of. *blush* I didn't have time to present the strawberries on a plate, and had to ask my friend to take the box out of the refrigerator, open it and eat them from it. Such a bad host am I! :S

I'm making up for my bad hosting by asking my friend to come to my place again, so that I can make the Ebi Tempura and California Roll. Then I am making Teriyaki Salmon since it was more successful than the chicken. Perhaps, if I can, I may include dessert.

Ok, the California Roll didn't turn out well because I put too much rice on the seaweed sheet, and the Ebi Tempura didn't have the tempura batter encrusting the prawns, even though my friend, who is a better cook to me, cooked it. The prawns were juicy and well-cooked, but the batter was a flop. My Teriyaki Salmon was good, though it was slightly burnt at the corner and the skin was stuck to the tray. I had compliments for that, as well as the Grilled Chicken Chipolatas. Still, I felt that I had bought the wrong brand for the latter. I should have stuck to my usual type. Though they were grilled till perfectly brown, they didn't taste that nice and I had to remove the outer layer. My dessert was a simple 'sundae' of honey sea coconut and aloe vera topped with chocolate ice-cream.