Easy Kimchi

Finally, I made my first kimchi after procrastinating for a long time.

The main reason I wanted to make kimchi is I wanted a vegetable that could be stored longer than fresh vegetable and I hoped that it is not that expensive. (*a 300g kimchi is around RM13.50 in Tesco). I bought bottles of fermented tofu , pickled lettuce, frozen peas, kimchi and I added it into the instant noodle because I figured I needed some fibers and other nutrients. Anyway, I didn't go home due to the RMCO and watched a lot of youtube videos during the weekend, I watched more than 10 videos on how to make kimchi. However, I felt that the steps were too much for me and I didn't have equipment and tools at my rented house, I only have pots to cook instant noodle. I didn't want to spend money on something that I might only use once. 

Then, I started to read recipes online for kimchi, I searched for 'easy kimchi', and tonnes of recipe came  out. Almost every recipes requested for the ingredients to be blended. I almost wanted to go buy a blender then. But, I managed to control myself. I was thinking that I will do it once I got the chance to go back home. Then, I read on the ingredients to make kimchi, the most difficult ingredient to get is the gochugaru (hot pepper flakes), I couldn't find it in Tesco and I don't think I could get it in my hometown. Actually, with shopee and lazada around, we can buy it online, but I just couldn't justify the cost for gochugaru, the main reason is to save money, if I have to spend more on the gochugaru, I might as well just buy the kimchi, easy and no need all the works. So, I read more on other options and even join a facebook group 'fermenting for beginners' to learn more. Hahaha. 

A blogger mentioned that she used paprika because she couldn't get gochugaru in her place, so I tried to search for it in supermarket, I found one and I felt that it is so expensive, a small bottle of 45g paprika cost around RM4 to RM5. Then, I walked the spices and condiments section and saw our Malaysian favourite, Baba's Chilli Powder, a 125g packet is only RM2++, less than RM3 per packet. So, I tried to search whether anyone uses this to make kimchi, paprika is chili powder and someone managed to make kimchi with it, I think Baba's will work. 

Dang dang dang! 2 results came out. Both of them mentioned that they used the exact same Baba's Chilli Powder.

1. foodbysaranaqiyah

2. pisces-sense0303

So, I decided to use this cheap and affordable Baba's. Anyway, I didn't follow exactly the recipes because I am stingy.

One fine morning on the first day of 2021, I was back at home and it's a public holiday. And after reading and watching so many kimchi related stuffs, I really had the oomph to make this kimchi. So, I walked to a nearby supermarket and bought half a head of Napa cabbage (before this, I didn't even know this vegetable is a type of cabbage!), a carrot, a packet of Baba's chilli powder, a packet of table salt (I know many called for kosher salt or any other salt that does not contain iodine but table salt is so cheap) and I couldn't bring myself to buy the green onions because it was so expensive, a packet of green onions (not sure how many stalks within a packet though) is RM8++. Anyway, I decided to skip green onions, not worth it. I didn't buy radish because I didn't see it. 

Anyway, all the steps could be found online. So, I am not going to go details on that. When I bought the vegetables home and told my mom I wanted to make kimchi, she was like,"there's no vinegar at home, how to make kimchi?" She was doubtful when I said there's no need for vinegar for kimchi because this is a fermentation process, not pickle. Anyway, I started my kimchi making. First, I cut the Napa cabbage into small pieces and rubbing salt into it to draw the water out, I want to be alive after eating my own kimchi, so I put so many teaspoons of salt on it, at least the salt can kill off some bad germ maybe? I have no kitchen scale, so all ingredients were added according to my feelings. 

After few hours, visible liquid could be seen underneath the colander, so I washed the cabbage as per recipe instruction. I don't understand why we need to wash away the salt, isn't that salt can make anything and everything more tasty? And another question is why we don't need to draw out the water for carrot too? Why only cabbage? Anyway, follow instruction first. After I washed away the salt, I cut the carrot, I know every other people cut into thin match size, but actually by that time, my interest wore off a bit already, so the carrot is cut into a not so small portion. You all can see from the photo, the carrot size is big, hahaha!

 

Then, blending time. Normally people uses ginger, garlic, onion, fish sauce and apple or pear. However, only garlic is available at home that time and I didn't want to waste an apple for this experiment. Fish sauce is substituted with soy sauce because my family don't consume fish sauce, for us, it tasted weird. So, I only blended garlic, brown sugar and soy sauce until I could't see the chunk of garlic. I poured this into a big bowl and added the chili powder. I think I added until half a packet of that chili powder. So when I mix the mixture with the napa cabbage and carrot with my hand, all I could smell was the chili powder. I was worried that it might be too spicy later. After mixing everything, I put it into a pyrex glass container that I got as a free gift when I went servicing my car at the Perodua service centre. Then, I put the container in a shady corner. The next day, bubbles could be seen forming inside the container, it means that it started to ferment. After 2 days, I transfered it into the refrigerator. 

Normally, all the recipes ended here. No many people mentioned what to do next. Luckily, I joined the facebook group on fermenting. Someone mentioned that the kimchi she made cause such a mess (burst out) because she didn't release the gas (CO2) occasionally and finally when she wanted to eat and opened the jar, the gas popped out and the kimchi liquid messed up her place. I was at my rented place that time and it have been few days after I started the kimchi. I quickly call my mom to release gas. Hahaha, luckily my mom said she just heard a popping sound, the liquid didn't burst out. 

Anyway, now after 2 weeks of fermenting, albeit slower in the refrigerator, I had my first DIY kimchi. It's a bit sour, not so spicy although I added so many chili powder. And I didn't have stomach ache and still alive, thank God! Next time, maybe will try pickle vegetable!

Thien Huong Food (Fish flavour instant porridge & Chicken flavour instant porridge)

Anyone of you remember the MCO (Movement control order) that started in March 18 2020? Well, I still remembered it vividly, after some rumours that the prime minister would announce lock down, almost everyone in my office were talking about stocking up on food items, I even overheard my big boss talking about buying meat and fish (so not fit with his image!), initially I was not fazed by that because I planned to go back to hometown and there's two grocery stores behind my house and 3 small supermarket within the radius of 1km. However, people kept talking about this, and during that time, Philippines already started lock down and the images of empty shelves filled the FB walls. My brother was in Philippines that time and he showed us the photos of the long queue in supermarket, anyway, finally I caved in after friends posted the crowd in supermarket and right after work, I went to the nearest 99 Speedmart to buy some food items. Another reason was there were rumours (again) that we might have to work during MCO. 

To my horror, even the normally quiet 99 Speedmart was full with customers queueing up. Well, queue is normal, but normally people only have 1 or 2 items on their hands. During that time, even the trolleys were used up. Well, normally not many people use trolley when buying in Speedmart. It's more like a grab and go store. Seeing this, I also fell into the panic buying frenzy. My target was dry food items, like instant noodles, oats and biscuits. 

However, my normal staples of instant noodle brands were out of stock. How can Maggi Mee be out of stock! Horror! Well, not just Maggi, even the normal sized Mee Sedaap and Indomie was nowhere to be seen. Finally, I bought the Jumbo sized Mee Sedaap! Portion too big though. Well, I felt that it's not enough, so finally I bought the instant porridge that I wouldn't touch normally. I have seen it on the shelves in 99 Speedmart for a long time, however, I didn't even have slight interest on it previously. But the empty racks caused me to think otherwise, I bought 2. I mentally calculated that all the food that I bought would be enough for 2 weeks. 

Anyway, on the day before the MCO started, up until 4.30pm, there's no news whether we were allowed to continue operation or not. So, I decided to go back home, during that time, I didn't know that to cross state, had to go police station to get permit. Anyway, after work, I drove home, actually it's just a 70km distance. After I reached home, boss sent messages asking all of us to come to work on alternate days, me and my teammates discussed and I decided to work on the next week. But before I had the chance to back to work, government imposed more rules, and my company is not allowed to operate. After it was allowed to operate, to make sure there's a social distancing and crowd control, only skeletal crews were allowed. So, I work from home for couple of weeks. It was difficult, my job nature requires me to be in front of the machine 50 to 60% of the time, and actually I just started work for less than 2 months then. Sitting in front of the computer from 8am to 5pm was a struggle for me. But I managed to finish all the compulsory online training classes that I couldn't find time to do during the normal working days. And I now remember that I still have more trainings that I haven't do after I back to work!

Well the instant porridge that I bought was left in the rack for a long time until recently. I worked late and have no energy to cook anything. For me, anything that involves pot and heat is considered cooking. So, I turned my eyes to the instant porridge. 

Thien Huong Chicken flavour instant porridge

I ate the chicken flavour instant porridge first. The grain and the flavouring were packed into a small plastic bag. I felt that the porridge is made of oat, not really sure, but it doesn't taste like rice. In my mind, I thought that porridge is made of rice, now only I knew that it could be made of any grains. Anyway, I couldn't taste even a hint of chicken, the whole bowl only has the smell of pepper. 

the grain before add hot water

Below is the appearance of the instant porridge after adding hot water for 5 minutes. The portion is not big, suitable for supper though.

Another late night work, and I ate the fish flavour instant porridge.

Thien Huong Fish flavour instant porridge

Well, from my memory, it tasted like the chicken flavour instant porridge with a hit of fishy smell. Hahaha!

Appearances after add hot water for 5 minutes (Thien Huong fish flavour instant porridge)

Conclusion, instant noodle and instant porridge are a different breed. Or maybe it's from Vietnam and I am not used to the taste and texture. I think if I am gonna to buy instant porridge in the future, I would check reviews first. In the mean time, I would stick with instant noodles, instant bihun, instant mee sua, instant ramen, instant udon, etc. There are so many flavours out there, by the way, I had Mee Sedaap Korean spicy soup lately, and it's very good!

Empties August 2020

2020 is a very different year for me. Number one is I changed job after 11 years working in the same company, although I am still working in the same field. Number 2 is I moved from my parents' house because the new job is located at another state. A big changes for me.

The most obvious differences is no more prepared breakfast and dinner. Have to settle myself. In order to sleep enough and avoid waking up earlier, I actually trimmed down a lot on my skin care time. Previously, if good mood, I would apply toner, moisturizer, day cream and sun block, layer by layer, slowly because I knew that breakfast is prepared and what I needed to do was eat it. Nowadays, just toner and moisturizer and I am good to go. For night time skin care, normally also toner and moisturizer, if not so sleepy, will add night cream. I salute all those busy people that still manage to take good care of their skin, suddenly I remembered an old roommate that would wake up early to put on makeup if she slept too late the night before, I am totally opposite, I would never wake up early and would stay on the bed until the last minute. Hahaha!

Anyway, the photo above was taken on early August, I only finished few items only. Simplify the routine due to laziness also helps to save money. Planning to pay more home loan to help lessen the interest, my heart hurts when I see the interest rate.

Two body lotion finished. The already repurchased body lotion is the Nivea body lotion, I tried the "Rose & Argan Oil" of the Oil in lotion series, it is more good smelling than the blue bottle Nivea body lotion. Effectiveness wise, I think is the same. The second one is Asianic Rice Milk Hand & Body Lotion, well, I think it is too smelly because I don't really like the scent. It is too big to be used as hand cream as well (I normally keep one in office), I don't feel comfortable bringing a huge tube of non essential personal item to office. So, I actually took forever to finish this, actually it expired on early 2020.

For the toner, I think I will not repurchase the Chriszen Aloe & Rice Milk Facial Toner. It is far more viscous than I thought and it has a weird smell (For me la), actually I haven't finish it yet, but going to finish it soon. So, added this to the list. For the Simple Soothing Facial Toner (100% Alcohol Free), I think it's not bad. But how not bad don't know how to explain. It is quite affordable too, I think less than RM20 per bottle.

Next, Cosmoderm Vitamin E Cream 1000 I.U., I think it's my second tube. I normally use it on my neck area or as hand cream. It's quite oily in my opinion. The Naruko Rose & Aqua-in Super Hydrating moisturizer is a repurchase, my trusted moisturizer. Already finished bottles of this. Finally, the Mamonde Calming Hydro Sleeping Mask, well, it's just ok, I think it is too light and not moisturizing enough, using this didn't have any effect on my face. Maybe there are effects, but it is minuscule to be taken account. So, I think it is overly expensive for a mask like this. Not going to repurchase, I used it to finish it only!

Now I am waiting for big discount from Watsons to buy the next bottle of Naruko Moisturizer before I finished up another bottle. Hahaha. The end.

How to microwave frozen Bak Zhang (粽子)

I wrote this to share how to microwave frozen bak zhang because the first time I did this, the bak zhang became so "crispy" outside and so "hard" inside, totally unpalatable.

Earlier of this year, I changed job and moved to another state. No more home cooked dinner and breakfast for me on working days. For the dumpling festival / dragon boat festival (端午节) , my mom made some bak zhang and gave me a few of it so that if I didn't manage to get dinner (due to MCO, many restaurants closed earlier), I could at least eat the bak zhang, instead of the usual instant noodle.

Anyway, one day I worked late and it's almost 10pm, so I decided not to try my luck on going to the restaurant directly and getting turned down by them. I decided to microwave the bak zhang. Initially, I set timer to 3 minutes, however, after that, I poked the bak zhang and felt that it's still kind of hard. So I add another 3 minutes, still hard. Finally, I added another 2 minutes, silly me, after I peeled off the bamboo leaf, I could see that the surface of the bak zhang became so dry. I tried to eat it, but after eating the outermost thin layer which was crispy, the others was so hard, even my good teeth didn't manage to chew a chunk of it. Finally, I had Maggi mee as my dinner that night.

I shared my failure story with my family members, and my brother suggested that I put a glass of water when I microwave the bak zhang. Well, at home, mom would normally steam it, maybe it's the vapour that keep the bak zhang soft. So, my second attempt, a glass of water plus a frozen bak zhang inside the moicrowave oven. Initially, I still set 3 minutes, but when I touched the bak zhang after 3 minutes, I felt it's not hot enough, so I added another 2 minutes (not dare to put longer), when I touched it, it's warm and when I poked it with fork, it's not hard.

Luckily, this second attempt works. I was so happy when I peeled off the bamboo leaf and saw the normal bak zhang. The taste and texture was normal too, I think due to the presence of moisture, it hydrated the bak zhang and I got to have bak zhang as dinner.

Enjoy the bak zhang everyone!

Big Bad Wolf December 2019

Well, I didn't go to the Big Bad Wolf book sales for the pass one or two years because my book buddy and I were busy and we have tonnes of unread books. However, she resigned on the middle of this year and we felt that we could use this Big Bad Wolf as a chance to meet up. So, same like previous years, I took half day leave on the first day of the sales to go to this sales.

We parked at The Mines Shopping Mall and went to the MIECC after having lunch. Me and my buddy were very surprised that we couldn't see anyone at all lugging bags of books in The Mines Shopping Mall. I remembered previously when we ate lunch in The Mines, we could see a lot of people with the Big Bad Wolf plastic bags. I think everybody else already bought enough books to last a lifetime from previous sales. 

Me and my buddy separated after entering the sales and promised to meet again after one and a half hour. Initially, I took a basket, then I felt that it's not not convenient, so I returned the basket and took a trolley (like the one used in supermarket) instead. But after awhile, I felt that I won't be needing that, so I pushed the trolley back to the original place. 

At the local publisher corner, I saw a lot of academic books, no wonder no one was there when I was browsing at the area. It is not as interesting as novels. I think most were excesses from the university publisher, there were even books on how to write thesis. A very dull subject. But it will be useful for the final year university student.

There were many translated books also. I didn't see it on previous sales. Maybe I didn't pass by the area previously. This area was also quite deserted.

The most popular and happening area would the children's section. The parents (maybe some were businessmen) were so enthusiastic, buying loads of books. Most of the people in the area has a trolley full of books.

Looking at the books were quite fun too, I would buy if I have a child.

I didn't have access to this educational children's books when I was young. It was very expensive and my parents would not be able to afford that. I remembered that some of my friends, they had the ladybird series when they were young. I only started to learn ABC after I attended kindergarten, no preschool learning or anything else. My earliest memory on learning was right before I went to the kindergarten, my late grandfather thought me to write my own name in Chinese. I only went to the kindergarten for one year and then directly started primary school. Nowadays, parents send their children to kindergarten as early as 3 years old, so early. But some of my friends said that they were afraid that their children would be left behind if they started school too late. Well, this book sales helped parents to save a little with the affordable price.

There was a small corner of Chinese books too. Didn't find any interesting titles.

There were many other unusual titles too. Interested to look at, but no desire to buy and keep at home.

I found many classic titles too. Example below, Madame Bovary. I read this book when I was in secondary school, it was available in the school library and it is a Malay translated version. I couldn't understand why Madame Bovary wanted to have affairs and destroyed her own life. Too complicated for a form 2 student. I read a lot of books when I was in secondary school, no computer that time and free time was spent reading. I read "Tulang-tulang Berserakan" then, I couldn't believe that I actual finished reading that book, I couldn't even finish 5 pages of "1984" now. I still remember that "Bukit Kepong" was a struggle, it was a much more difficult read than "Tulang-tulang Berserakan", but since it was the exam requirement for Malay literature classes, I finally got an abridged version of it and only remembered the important points. But another novel for Malay literature was very easy to read, I forgot the name, but I still remember the story.

There were many box sets also, like "Harry Potter series", "Paulo Coelho", etc. I only wanted "The Alchemist", but I couldn't find the single book, only available in sets. I also couldn't find Terry Pratchett, I bought many Terry Pratchett's books from Big Bad Wolf previously. So finally I got myself three books only. The least books that I have bought from Big Bad Wolf sales.

I bought "Paper towns" from John Green, "ok" from Allan Metcalf and "The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks". Haven't started to read yet,  but I think I will enjoy all these books. Apart from the books, I also enjoyed meeting up with a good friend.