Rice Cakes in Soy Sauce

Non-spicy tteokbokki

(tteok--korean rice cakes)

I love tteokbokki but prefer the less spicy ones.

This is one of the most delicious ttoekbokki I have ever tasted,

because it is not spicy at all...haha.

You can prepare the ingredients below.

Steps:

No.1 - heat it (use frying pan / wok).

Lightly fry No.2 and 3 for 2 minutes.

Add No. 4 and fry for 2 minutes.

Add No.5 and fry for 2 minutes.

Add No.6 and stir-fry for 1 minute.

Add No.7 and keep stirring.

Wait until the sauce starts to boil and becomes thick.

If the tteokbokki is not cooked yet, add more water.

Keep stirring and wait until it starts to boil again.

Repeat this action until the tteokbokki is fully cooked.

The sauce will soon be very thick.

Now, it is ready to be served!!!

***If we talk about its texture, you would get almost similar texture

as if you were eating Kuih Biji Nangka

(a Malaysian/Kelantanese traditional kuih/dessert)

You can get Kuih Biji Nangka (Butir Nako) recipe from

the most informative food blogs, Intai Dapur and Azie Kitchen.

How do you know whether your tteokbokki is cooked or under-cooked?

-->bite one piece of tteokbokki. If it is all chewy, gooey and fully soaked, it is cooked.

If your tteokbokki is hard, tough to chew and dry inside, it is definitely not cooked.

But, some people love to eat under-cooked tteokbokki. So it depends on your taste buds.

My "Stir-Fried Rice Cakes in Soy Sauce" was inspired by Maangchi

Gungjung-tteokbokki 궁중떡볶이.

She is my favourite Korean YouTube cook.

You can follow her recipe and original instructions to get the best non-spicy tteokbokki.

Good luck!!!

Marimo World #4: MEDIUM size marimo

The one on the left is my MEDIUM size marimo/ moss ball which is about 4.5cm.

The other two marimos floating next to it are considered LARGE

which are 5.5cm and 6cm.

***See my SMALL marimo/ moss balls

Wordless Wednesday: Doll House

Lotus tank with a mosquito net

I just transferred my lotus plants into a tank outdoor.

I covered my lotus tank with a mosquito net

because I don't want to put any fish in it.

But I am not sure whether this method is good

for my lotus plants to grow.

At least, this is it for the time being.

When they get bigger, I may have to change the tank

so they will have enough space for their leaves.

***************************

I purchased 20 lotus seeds for GBP0.99 from China at eBay.

Very cheap right???

I just wanted to try to plant lotus from seed, so

I bought some seeds online regardless their 'health' condition.

This is just for fun.

I hope you can try it too...

Here are the things you have to do

as soon as you receive your lotus seeds......

First, you must scar the seeds. Then, soak them in tap water.

The seeds will become twice bigger than their original size after 24 hours.

Change the water every day!!!

After a few days, their shells will split and you can see the sprouts.

Keep changing water daily to make sure the water is clean.

Use warm water (room temperature), not cold water.

Can you see how wonderful it will become after 2 weeks?

This is one of mine, after 2 weeks or so.

My seeds/sprouts grew very slowly, I think. I read some other blogs,

their seeds only took about 1 week or less to sprout long like mine did.

Next, when your seeds/sprouts become like that (above picture),

you can transfer your lotus seeds with sprouts into pots.

Well, I didn't have enough pots,

so I also used empty jars from my kitchen drawer.

Place all your lotus pots in the tank. Fill up with clean tap water.

Finally, cover it with a mosquito net.

As for my tank, I simply clipped the net using wooden clips around its edge.

That's all!

Now let's pray for my lotus plants....and yours too.

I hope they will grow big and healthy!

Let's hope!

For more information, you can visit this wonderful blog.

She has talked about her lotus plants too,

with more pictures.

I hope this might help.

Bye now!

Wooden 'Love' for Decoration

It is a wooden 'love' ornament for room decoration.
I bought it for GBP1.00 at Poundland.
It is probably about RM7.00...or even cheaper in Malaysia.

I thought it didn't look good in white, so I painted it blue.

I simply used a blue highlighter.

Now I think it looks better in blue.

Bye now!

Wordless Wednesday: Welcome garden frog

Marimo World #3: SMALL marimo --online purchase

It is safe to buy marimos/moss balls online.
As for me, I would recommend you to do so.
[WHY?: Please refer to my previous post about my LARGE marimos]
Your marimos will arrive at your door step in a blink of eye.

I purchased ten more marimos (moss balls) online...
a couple weeks ago.

Their size is classified as SMALL which is about 2-3cm.

Luckily I got extra one marimo for free.

So I paid GBP5.30 for eleven small marimos.

This price is considered very VERY CHEAP!!!
It was super fast delivery too.
I received my marimos on the next day!
That was really quick!
People say, marimos can actually survive for 30 days in the parcel.
So don't worry to buy marimos online, even from the sellers abroad.
Normally, you will receive healthy marimos as you wish for.

I simply throw them into my nano plant aquarium.
You can put them anywhere actually...
They don't need plenty of water.
Even a glass of water (use a tumbler) is enough to care for a marimo.
Simply use clean tap water and place the tumbler
anywhere in your bedroom.
It can survive with little sunlight.
Well, actually a marimo hates direct sunlight.
Your room light is, sometimes, enough for it.
Remember to change the water every week
and clean your marimo in bowl of clean tap water too.

****************************************

There is also EXTRA SMALL marimo sold which is about 0.5-1cm.

I will buy a few XS marimos next time!

Visit my LARGE marimos here!

Fish Soup with Ginger

Sup ikan dengan halia

Instructions/Steps:

1) Light fry the minced garlic until yellowish brown.
Tumis bawang putih hingga kekuningan.

2) Add the sliced onion and ginger and fry until you get a very nice smell.
Masukkan hirisan bawang besar dan halia dan tumis sehingga bau wangi.

3) Add in the potatoes and lightly fry them together for 1 minute.
Masukkan kentang dan kacau selama 1 minit.

4) Add 4 cups of water (you can add more later if this amount is not enough at step No.6). Wait until it starts to boil.
Masukkan 4 cawan air (boleh tambah lagi jika jumlah ini tidak cukup samase langkah no.6). Tunggu sehingga mendidih.

5) Add the carrots and other vegetables you might have.
Masukkan lobak merah dan sayuran lain yang ada.

6) When the soup starts boiling, you can put in the fish. Don't forget 1 tablespoon of salt! As the cooking goes, you can add more salt to suit your liking.
Apabila sup mulai mendidih, masukkan ikan. Jangan lupa masukkan 1 sudu besar garam! Semasa memasak sup ini, bolehlah ditambah garam lagi mengikut citarasa.

7) In a few minutes, the soup will be ready, now you can garnish it with chopped spring onion.
Dalam beberapa minit lagi, sup akan sedia dihidang, bolehlah tabur hirisan daun bawang sekarang.

8) Serve it with rice. Yummy!
Sedia dihidang bersama nasi. Sedapnya!

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Being a single buzibee lady, I simply used one frozen fish fillet (cut into three) and a cup of frozen vegetables (carrot+cauliflower+brocolli).

You should use fresh vegetables instead, so the soup will taste way better than mine.

Good luck!

Wordless Wednessday: Spring 2016

Marimo World #2: My large marimo 6.5cm

I have three LARGE marimos (about 5, 6 and 6.5cm)

which cost me GBP11.00 from a local pet store.

That means this marimo is about GBP3.67 each.

I knew that buying marimo online would be cheaper

but I don't know why....once upon a time...

on that awful day...

 I fall in love with these three at the first sight...lol.

So I bought them without thinking twice.

When I got home, I felt awful and wanted to return them

and buy new ones online at eBay which are absolutely much cheaper.

I could get two marimos of the same size for only GBP3.49.

That means this marimo could have been bought for only GBP1.75 each.

But I paid GBP3.67 each!!!!

On the next day, I went to the shop again

and told them to return these three marimos because I had changed my mind.

Unfortunately, they don't accept returns (if we don't have reasons)

for aquatic plants and fish.

The reason is quite sensible because they can't put

the plants or fish back into their tank.

Any fish or plants that we have brought home and put into our aquarium

might have been polluted or stuff like that.

They can't take this risk.

This really makes sense.

So I had to accept their brilliant reason and

took my expensive marimos back home with a smile.

I don't mind because they are big and healthy until now.

So I am glad to have them.

**************************************************

...and many days after this incident,

I purchased ten SMALL marimos (moss balls) online.

Please refer to this link.

There is also EXTRA SMALL marimo sold which is about 0.5-1cm.
They should be about 1 year old.
They are also called nano marimo.

I will make a few myself next time!

Bye now!!!


Below is my marimo doodle....
I made this 4 years ago.
Please refer to my very first post about marimo in 2012.
Go to this link: Marimo World #1: Marimo

And my dream has came true....

Shabby Chic Room Bunting

It is super easy to make!!!

Simply cut your flowery craft cloth

into this shape (as shown in the following picture).

Use a stapler to attach to a jute string/twine.

...and it's done!

You can hang and display it anywhere you like....

I made this flower myself, so you can visit this link for the tutorial (coming soon)

I hope this will give you ideas to decorate your room.

Bye now!

Kuih Bakar Perantauan

 Kuih Bakar is one of the most famous traditional kuih (can either be a dessert or tea-time snack)

in Malaysia....and bakar means 'baked'.

My mother used to make this kuih when I was a little kid.

Being a Kelantanese (Kelantan is one of the 14 states in Malaysia) who never

made one before,

I am now proud that I could make kuih bakar at the age of 26 in the UK.

**RECIPE**

This is my version of Kuih Bakar Perantauan

1 cup - all purpose flour

1 cup - sugar

1 cup - pandan water (warm water, mixed with 1 tablespoon of green food colouring and 1 tablespoon of pandan essence/flavouring which you can buy it at any oriental or asian stores)

1 cup - coconut milk

1 cup - fresh milk

3 eggs

2 tablespoons - sesame seeds (to sprinkle all over the batter before you bake it)

Steps:

1) Mix all the ingredients together with the help of a blender until it turns into a thick batter.

2) Pour the batter into an aluminium cake case (medium size).

3) Sprinkle the sesame seeds all over the batter.

4) Bake it at 180'C for approximately 1 hour until the surface is golden brown 

5) Let it cool before you can cut it into small bites.

Actually, I referred to a marvelous recipe from Azie Kitchen.

However, due to lack of ingredients,

the taste was not as authentic as it should be because I used artificial flavouring and colour.

You may refer to Azie Kitchen: Kuih Bakar Pandan

for the real recipe.

If you follow the instructions thoroughly, you will get a good result.

For your information, I always refer to this blog whenever I cook anything.

Azie is a great cook!

Happy baking!!!

BG-2 ERNA: Bloglist-walking April-Mei 2016

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