Someone has “FOOT – IN – MOUTH” Disease

      

The Star - 25 April 2020

        OHH ..OH… someone’s in trouble. It appears the Mayor of Osaka, Ichiro Matsui,  has offended a whole lot of women for suggesting that men should be entrusted with grocery shopping during this lockdown period. He reckons “women are indecisive and take a long time as they browse around and hesitate about this and that.” Oh my goodness!! And what did the Japanese women have to say to this remark, “They (women) are thinking of menus and prices.” Yeah, right ON ladies!! We do not just snap up things as Mayor Matsui suggest the men do, we also plan what goes into each dish. If you have not noticed Mayor Matsui, there IS more than one ingredient in a dish. I am sure Mrs. Matsui cooks pretty hearty meals with various condiments, vegetables and meat for the family. Now, now ...you really should not label Mrs Matsui as indecisive in her grocery shopping habits. 

I have no comment on this hypothesis about "Girl and Boy" watermelons. Going with the flow for now and getting the round ones.

       
We find the Kart's brand lighter and fluffier, almost like puff pastry. Kawan brand is our second choice. Heat non-stick pan, remove frozen and fry immediately WITHOUT oil. Do not defrost as it'll get sticky and soft. We always have a few packs in our freezer, so we do not need to rush out and buy fresh ones at the stores. These taste pretty like the fresh ones.

 Gizmo man has been doing the grocery runs (Mayor Matsui will be very pleased to read this). He has been surprisingly very efficient and doing an excellent job. I have absolutely NO COMPLAINS. I send some very nice pictures to his smart phone together with the grocery list. 

Mak Nyonya is really good to make a spicy hot pot, add less paste if your taste buds are not use to HOT STUFF.  This is Savvy K's all time favourite and mine as it is SO EASY and FAST to prepare. Add this paste to soup stock (which  I always have frozen for emergencies), add anything else you like - fish and meat balls, prawns, cuttlefish, meat slices. Before serving, I add enoki and glass noodles. Savvy K eats it like this, I have it as a soup with rice. Really satisfying., recommended for days when you just don't feel like slogging over a hot stove.

Heng's brand is just right for our family. It's not too spicy and the mince dried prawns are really crispy (no false advertising here). We have it one the side with other dishes. I like it spread on toasted buttered bread with coffee. Great kick to start the day.

Potatoes can be  confusing, I was advised to use Russet for bake potatoes. 

I use local potatoes for curry.

Gizmo man gets confused with coriander, and so did I at the beginning. I presumed Italian parsley and Chinese coriander (cilantro) were the same. But, I found that Chinese coriander has much more "punch" and flavour. Since lockdown, he has become an expert now on telling the difference, no more mistakes.

Savvy K made paella with this mixture and it was quite delicious. The pack comes with all the condiments and a small packet of calrose rice. She added soup stock and more rice to feed 4 persons, then fried prawns and chorizo before serving. Again, another fast-to-prepare meal.

This packet noodle is really difficult to find. If you see it, BUY IT cos' it's so different from the zillions of instant noodles. And if you like salted duck egg like me, It is HEAVEN.

These are the stuff I add to the tom yam hot pot. The cheesey fish toufu may sound unusual but try it. We first had it at a Korean hot pot restaurant.

KIKKOMAN sauce is what most Chinese kids grew up with. This one is not soy sauce but for tempura and noodles. I prefer this than soy sauce, also use it for steam fish.

In fact, I am enjoying this new arrangement. I am hoping Mr. Man of the House will continue with grocery runs even AFTER LOCKDOWN.