Sometime last week I had a sudden craving for Bulgogi beef. I literally ran outside to get beef and cooked it the very same day. Because when I crave for something, I will have to satisfy it no matter what it takes. lol. 

Bulgogi is a kind of korean recipe whereby meat-usually beef- is marinated with a sauce mix. The main ingredient in the mix is sesame. Once you taste it, you will notice that the beef is packed with heat and savoury flavours with a hint of sweetness . You can spice it up with some fresh chillies if you like. But for me, this recipe is perfectly fine as it is. So these are the ingredients I used, followed by the full recipe:

NOTE: I did not have sesame seeds at the time but if you have them, you can add them to create a more authentic korean taste. 

2 green onions

2 cloves garlic

3 tbs soy sauce

2 tbs sesame oil

1 tsp black pepper

A pinch of salt

2 tsp brown sugar

350g diced beef

1. Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour.

2. Use a girdle or a pan to grill the bulgogi beef after marination. You may grease the pan or girdle surface otherwise, if you find the beef to be oily enough, like how I found mine, there's no need to grease it.

3. Be sure to cook the beef until you get your preferred level of doneness. I like my beef medium rare so that's how I cooked it.

4. Bulgogi beef dishes are best served with soft boiled eggs or even sunny side ups, with rice and fresh vegetables like cucumber and bean sprouts.

5. Garnish the beef with more green onions and even sesame seeds if you like.

Enjoy your meal!

Yours truly,

A.T.

I love pies. My mother makes the best chicken and apple pies. I love that show 'Pushing Daisies' because the main character is a pie-maker and it features a lot of pies in every episode. 

You get the idea ,right?

Sometime in February, Tasty by Buzzfeed uploaded a shot video on how to do mini pot pies. I instantly fell in love with the idea and on the very next day, I bought ready-to-roll pastry sheets and then made my version of their recipe. So here is the full recipe. Have fun trying and most importantly, enjoy it!

For the filling, 

500g sirloin beef; diced

1 1/2 cups cauliflower florets

1 carrot; diced

1 cup of green peas

1 big onion; diced

2 tbs corn flour

2 tbs HP sauce/ soy sauce/ worcestershire sauce

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp dried parsely

1 bay leaf

2 cloves garlic

2 cups of beef stock/  2 cup of water with 1/2 cube of beef stock

S&P

1 tbs butter


1. Use butter to grease a pot.

2. Simmer onion and garlic with bay leaf.

3. Add in the carrots and cauliflower.

4. Add in beef and stir until carrots slightly change in colour.

5. Add in the HP sauce.

6. Once beef begins to tender, add in the stock. Let it simmer and bubble for a while.

7. Then as the mixture begins to reduce, thicken it with corn flour. Remember to mix the corn flour with water before adding it into the pot.

8. Let it continue to bubble for 1 minute and it will be ready to be added in the cooked pastry.



For the pastry,

1. Simply roll out a ready-to-roll pastry sheet.

2. Make small circles about the size of the mouth of a mug.

3. One pie needs two pieces. So for each pie, you get two circle pastry sheets. One is the base, while the other one goes directly on top of it.

4. Before you place the second sheet on top, trace a slightly smaller circle on it. By tracing, you're not supposed to cut it out. And then just place it on top of the base sheet.

5. Brush melted butter or egg wash on each pastry and sprinkle some dried parsley as well. Bake them all for about 10-15 minutes at 175 degree centigrade. You may remove the pie pastries once they begin to have a golden brown colour.

6. Simply cut through the inner circle that you traced earlier. Simply fill in the pastries with the pie mix you made earlier.

Yours truly,

A.T.

Hello! 

I'm trying to remain consistent with my blog-posting (1 post a week!) so here is a recipe of tiramisu which I created sometime last month. This is an alcohol and egg-free recipe however it is not vegan as I used heavy cream. Feel free to use and share. 

The recipe is as below:

250g mascarpone cheese

300ml double cream

2 tbs brown sugar

1 packet lady fingers

3 tsp ground coffee

3 cups water

1. Boil coffee and sugar together with the three cups of water. Let it cool for 1-3 mins.

2. Whip the cream until medium peaks are formed ( or hard if you prefer a more solid layer) then fold it in mascarpone.

3. Soak the fingers in the cooled coffee-roughly 10 seconds each.

4. Arrange soaked fingers in a container for the first layer of tiramisu. I used an 8x8 pyrex container. I think a clear container would make the tiramisu look more appealing as you get to see the layers.

5. On top of the fingers, spread the mascarpone mix. Remember not to layer too thickly as you may run out of the cream for the following layers. Just make sure you cover all the finger bits.

6. Sprinkle the almond and cocoa powder with some grated dark chocolate.

7. Repeat steps 4-6. Refrigerate overnight before consumption. The longer the storing the better the taste. But not too long as it contains cheese and cream. Best within 4-5 days.

Enjoy ;)

Yours truly,

A.T.

Sorry for not posting anything for two weeks. I was travelling in Italy and Holland. I have yet to edit my photos from the trip. Once done, I will share them on this blog. 

These are portraits of the people I saw while I was travelling in China. Most of these are taken in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province . I generally enjoy taking candid photos of random strangers. It is as though I am capturing a wee part of their soul and take it back home with me. Some  would genuinely smile, some, would turn away, annoyed. They all equally intrigue me. 

A man on a city bus in Chengdu

Little girl on the same bus

An old woman using a wheelchair to carry what appeared to be recyclables

 

A toddler in Zigong

Two little girls dancing at the Emeishan summit

A man transporting cardboards with a tricycle in Jiu Zhai Gou

My mother and a woman we met who was kind to show us around the park of Jiu Zhai Gou. She couldn't speak English, and my mother couldn't speak Mandarin but this photo shows that despite the linguistic barrier, they both enjoyed each other's company.

And last but not least, yours truly with a friend I made in Jiu Zhai Gou, Alice

Yours truly,

A.T.

The snow monkeys are quite the favourite among nature photographers. I had seen so many stunning photos of them prior to my trip to Nagano, Japan, spring 2015. These snow monkeys are unique and quite docile. However, the weather was not exactly on my side at the time. I was expecting snow so I could mimic those famous photos I saw. Anyhow, these are some of the photos of the snow monkeys that I took.

 

Adult snow monkey grooming a younger one

They enjoy grooming each other as seen in this photo

A female snow monkey with her infant

Another adult snow monkey

More grooming scene


A cute little infant


Infants playing around


Favourite past-time


Atop


Adult monkey posing nicely by the water stream

Their very own 'Onsen'

Time for a sip!


Just an adult snow monkey hanging around

Yours truly,
A.T.

During my trip in Chengdu, China, I went to the breeding centre to see pandas for the very first time. They are very adorable and clumsy too.  The breeding centre itself is a beautiful attraction with breath-taking lakes and parks. I sure hope I will visit it again. Here are some photos I took there:

A young panda

Another young panda

An adult panda

A young panda cub

Yours truly,

A.T.