Winter Land



We though it was an early spring, instead it's a late winter..



2 pigeons nowhere to go or this is home??


Ok here's my first blog. I feel kind of strange to "talk" to myself but since this is what other bloggers have been doing and I have been benefit from reading the last two years. I think it's just fair to join in the blogger community and do some "talking".



I need to talk, be it talking /typing here or chatting in Facebook. I need to get my daily 3000 words out of my systerm :) Since this is my first blog, I would not bored you with all my 3000 words but more a test drive or warm up in this blogspere, I will do a short one ;) promise.



Ok the title is Winter Land. Yes, France has been "warm" for end December 2011 and Jannuary this year. We were waiting to see if winter this year would be warmer due to global warming but NO!! it came as a surprise. From an average 8°C to 0°C then in a week from 2°C/ 3°C to -8°C but with the wind it could go as low as -15°C Brrrrrrrr ...




So in this kind of weather, the best thing to cook :) Yes, you will find my topic would not be far from food coz I live to eat!! So what was lunch today?? Since, I have bought a nice big free range chicken and it is sitting in the fridge waiting for me to put it in the " Sauna". So I did!! They were cut into pieces coz my steamer is not big enough for this 2kg chicken. I put them on a bed of chinese cabbage, marrinade them with salt, pepper, some sun tan lotion, no lah its only sesame oil and a teaspoon of Shau Shin chinese cooking wine. A few slices of ginger on top and 25min in the steamer on high. Serve with "Chicken Rice" recipes below. When eating chicken rice, of couse the condiment plays an equaly important part as the dish itself. I made the normal chopped chillies, garlic, lemon juice, soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil for me and another ginger/garlic/shallot sauce for my FH (french husband) and my MIL (bellemére/mom in law). by the way for those who doesn't know, bellemére literally translated to beautiful mother ;) see, how the french angkat kaki??( Angkat kaki which means suck up in Bahasa Malayu)


Ginger, garlic and shallot swim in hot oil and to be top with soy sauce...




Steam chicken on a bed of chinese cabbage



Serve with chicken rice

 For the Rice;

3 gloves of garlic chopped
1 inch of ginger sclied
2 cups of rice washed
2 cups of chicken stock
2 tbsp of oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a pan, heat the oil then add in the garlic and ginger to fried til fragrance but not burn or else your rice would have a brown colour but not nice yellow colour.
2. Once ready, add in rice to fried for a few minutes; season then add in the stock and transfer to rice cooker to finish cooking. 

For the chicken:

• 1/2 a chicken  / 2 chicken legs 
• 4 to 5 slices ginger
• 1 spring onion (shallot), sectioned
• Salt, to taste
• a few drops of sesame oil
• 1 tsp of Shau Shin chinese cooking wine
• 1/2 chinese cabbage ( cut into wedges )

1. Marinate chicken pieces with salt, sesame oil and Shau Shin chinese cooking wine for 10 minutes.
2. In a big plate, put chicken pieces on a bed of cabbage wedges. Place spring onion and ginger on chicken and steam over high heat, covered with a lid, for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Insert a chop stick or needle into the thickest part of chicken leg. If clear liquid runs out, it’s cooked.

For the ginger, garlic and shallot sauce:

Just heat up a bit oil in wok or saucepan. When the oil becomes very hot, immediately off the fire pour the  minced ginger, garlic and finely chopped shallot into pan. Take out once lightly browned,  add salt or soy sauce to taste. That’s the popular ginger and shallot sauce for chicken. This easy steam chicken rice tastes great and light.


For those who have kids, the juice from the steam chicken can be mixed with the rice accompanying with both chili sauce and minced ginger shallot sauce.

The result?? my LM (little monkey/my son) cleans up his plate in lighning speed. What a satisfaction, what a reward to see him enjoy this dish. He is definitely more Malaysian then French in terms of food. No choice coz mama rules the kitchen. Yayy