The Food Canon

You cook regularly. And like me, you always want to improve on your dishes.

You appreciate good food and you want to serve others the same.

That is an attitude I have learnt from my late Mum. She always wanted to serve her best.

I am doing another write-up of this fantastic recipe. I have posted the recipe and updated it recently.

Here, I use a different format and document some additional notes. Actually, I am doing this for myself. These are cooking notes, if you like. As I don't cook the same dish in twice in a row, writing it down helps me to remember what went right and what didn't. While I am at it, you might as well read it too.

I have since cooked it for many parties. There are times when the broth tasted really good. There are times when it did not. Once the pork was hard, dry and tasteless as I left it boiling and forgotten for too long. On numerous occasions, the bee hoon was way took soft. I have since learnt that you don't need to pre-soak it in warm or hot water. Cold tap water will do.

I dread pizza.
I love pizza.

I dread the ones which come on a thick bread with sourish tomato paste. The thick leftover side crust is hardest to finish. And after downing all that cheese, you feel "jelak" as the Malays will say. I have negative memories of pizzas from a chain (which shall not be named), as I have always see them as convenient food for children who do not know any better. And on nights when there was no dinner, they became phoned-in meals. Dread.

I am making my Mum's Penang Hokkien Mee twice this week and thus, inspired to say something more about it though I have blogged the recipe.

Her version never fails to please. In fact, most are "wow-ed" by it.

So, what is it that makes her Penang Prawn Mee special?

Since I discovered that one can make good Claypot Chicken Rice at home in real claypots with great results, I have cooked this many times. I have stopped using the rice cooker to make this pot dish.

It needs only a few ingredients.
It is quick to make.
And it is relatively cheap.