Spit happens

Chicken, Mushroom & Pumpkin Rice

Servings - 4 person (2 helpings each)

Ingredients

3 Cups of Rice (rinsed and soaked for 20mins)

1/2 Pumpkin, cut into cubes

2 pkts Chicken Fillets (cut into small cubes)

5 - 8 Fresh / Dried Shitake Mushrooms **

25g Dried Prawns (pre-soaked for 15mins. keep the water for cooking later)

1 Small Onion(finely minced)

2 tsps Fried Shallots

1 tsp Sugar

Oil for stir-frying

Water / Chicken Stock for cooking the rice

Spring Onions & Fried Shallots (for garnishing)

Marinate for chicken
1 tbsp Light Soya Sauce
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Sesame Oil
3 tsps Corn Flour

Seasoning for rice
2 tbsps Light Soya Sauce
3 tsps Dark Soya Sauce
1 tsp Salt
2 tsps Oyster Sauce
Dash of Sesame Oil & Pepper

Methods:

1. Marinate the chicken pieces for at least 30mins. Sealed with cling wrap and keep in the fridge.


2. Fry onions until golden brown, add 1 tsp of dried shallots and continue to fry for 1 min.


3. Add dried shrimps and fry until fragrant. Add Mushrooms and 1 tsp of sugar and fry for a while.


4. Push the dried shimps and mushrooms to the side of the wok. Add chicken and fry until the chicken is half cook (pale white colour)


5. Add pumpkin and continue to stir-fry for 1 min. Add a little oil if the mixture look dry.


6. Add pre-soaked rice, 1 tsp of fried shallots and the seasonings. Stir until the mixture are well mixed.


7. Transfer all the mixture into the rice cooker. Add 1 cup of the mushroomwater plus 4-5cups of water/chicken stock.


8. Cover and press cook.


9. Serve hot sprinkled with spring onions and more fried shallots.

** Notes

• You can either use fresh of dried mushroom. For fresh mushrooms, wash with running water and cut into small pieces.
• If you're going to serve the rice to toddlers under 2 yrs old, omit the dried shrimps & oyster sauce.

14 months

Shooting star #49

Its been about 10 years that i last saw a shooting star and tonight i saw one. Its number 49. Yes i was an astronomy freak then.

After a long and tiring jog in the nice january weather, i took a slow walk back. When i reached the lobby downstairs, i just happened to look up and it was a really clear sky. So i took a moment to recall what those stars were. Ursa Major the big dog, Sirius its key star, and thought of Sirius B the white dwarf which circles it, and cannot be seen, but i know is there. Then i glanced west and saw Orion, Betelgeuse and Rigel being its brightest stars and Orion's belt, where the nebula is, birth place of billions of stars. Ok.. getting carried away...

Anyway, i just thought that now i have a little boy to teach about the constellations, where to pick out the galaxies, where are the star clusters, how to spot a nebula. It was also then that i realized while looking at the interstellar heavens that i've long stopped pondering about bigger things, like how the earth was made, history of man, mankind, nature, blah blah, that i'd have to start looking again, spend nice long nights telling Bryan about everything under the sky. Think about things bigger than the everyday that seems to make time pass so fast. Suddenly, a meteor flashed past, and i quickly made my wish, and it was for Bryan. Shooting star #49 is dedicated to him.