How you want your Steak to be done?

The magic word is - Medium Rare!

But, sad to say... Not many places (even restaurants) could do it well in Singapore! It's always too cooked or too 'well done'. I realized most probably our culture is the reason - most of my Singaporean friends do not really like it 'bloody'... However, I always feel disappointed when it's not 'rare enough'... It's like... They have taken some parts of my enjoyment.

Then, on one rainy day, I found it!

It was around 4pm in the afternoon and the city was soaked. It was pouring like cats and dogs... I alighted from my bus at Victoria Street but there was no way I could go any further... Wet and hungry (I had not had my lunch), I started to look around...

There it is - A humble little steak house - Republic of Steak

It has came across my mind a few times before this day but somehow I did not go in... This day, a perfect day to eat something while waiting for the rain to cease...

So,

'How you want your steak to be done?'

'Medium-rare' I said, without pinning too much hope.

And it came. From the first look, it looks 'normal'. But as my knife cut through that tenderness, pink juicy flash appeared, enclosed within the outer (slightly) cooked meat. I was delighted. As I bite through that little piece of soft and tender red meat, the spice of black pepper and the distinct flavor of the beef... All merged together, creating a complete fulfillment!

Bingo! This is what I want!

Such a wonderful surprise that I did not even imagine... from a place I least expected. Cheers to the Chef for understanding the real meaning of 'medium-rare' and knowing the total satisfaction of a guest who enjoys it RAW!

Million thanks to the Chef for making my day on such a drenched day!





Note : Republic of Steak situated at Victoria Street, in between Victoria Hotel and Allson Hotel, opposite Bras Basah Complex.

花生鸡脚汤 ＋ eXtra!! (Chicken Feet Peanuts Soup + eXtra!)

Ok, some of you might think - Grouse! Chicken Feet??!!

Yes! It's a yummy soup - Chinese Style!

(I have been thinking whether to write this in English or Chinese... I wanna share! But the soup is in Chinese-style and sometimes I find it hard to explain it in English. Nonetheless, I will try my best to put it in both languages...)

是的！这本来就是道 ‘家常菜’，有什么好写的呢？

其实，我很早就会做这味汤。。。可是，最近一次机缘，我在一个邻里咖啡店的小摊子喝到 ‘加料’ 的鸡脚汤。。。真是美味极了！甚至有点 ‘惊艳’ － 这普普通通的汤，因加入了其他配料，就马上成了 ‘滋润养颜汤’！



Chicken Feet Peanuts Soup is a common homemade soup. Nothing special. So, what's the fuss?

It all happened when I got a chance (recently) to taste this soup at a little neighborhood coffee shop... The owner (who is the Chef) has actually added some 'extra' ingredients - some Chinese herbs! And immediately, it transformed itself into a 'Nourishing Beauty Soup' for the ladies! The taste was simply amazing!

So, I 'study' the soup while savoring it... And went back home and tried on my own... Hey, Bravo! I AM quite good in 'intimating'...

Now, I am gonna share with you the recipe...

First, something about the ingredients and it's 'functions/goodness' according to the theories from Chinese Herbal Medication.

根据中药分解，以下材料的功能，真是可以让女生 ‘欣喜若狂’ 哦！它的的确确是一味标准的 ‘滋润养颜汤’！有空一定要试试啦！



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花生 － 又叫 ‘长生果’。滋养调气、抗老化、利肾去水、滋润皮肤
Peanuts - It's also called 'Fruits of Longevity'. Nourishing, anti-aging, good for the kidney and prevents water-retention

鸡脚 － 胶原蛋白
Chicken Feet - Natural collagen

红枣 － 补气养血、养肝
Red Dates - Regulates respiratory and blood system, good for the liver

雪耳 － 滋补提神、润肺润肠、美容嫩肤、强心壮身
White Fungus - Nourishing for lungs and intestine, good for the skin and heart

木瓜 － 降脂减肥、治腰腿脚膝无力、脚气水肿
Papaya - Reduces fats, cure water-retention, strengthen legs/joints



(The following will be in English. All quantities are just suggestion and for your consideration only)



The Preparation:

Peanuts（花生）- Half a cup. Get dried uncooked peanuts! (Not the roasted ones where you have it with your beer!) Washed and standby

Chicken Feet（鸡脚）- 6-8. Cleaned and standby (Make sure it's very clean!)

Red Dates（红枣）- Get dried Red Dates, not the fresh ones! Washed and standby (Only a handful will do... around 9-13 seeds, always have odd numbers)

White Fungus（雪耳）- Suitable amount. Washed and soak in water (for a few hours, until it's soft) before cooking

Papaya（木瓜）- Half a small Papaya. Washed, removed skin and diced (big chunk)



The Method:

1. Boil substantial amount of water with Peanuts and Chicken Feet (15min)
2. Turn to medium flame and add White Fungus (15min)
3. Turn to low flame and add Red Dates (15min)
4. Continue to simmer (20-30min)
5. Constantly checks the water (soup) - it may get lesser due to simmering. If so, add water in portions
6. Add Papaya and continue to simmer (20-30min)
7. Check Papaya has soften
8. Add salt to taste
9. Optional - Before you off the flame, add 2 tablespoon of Chinese wine (HuaDiao 花雕 ) and simmer for another 5-10min


The longer you simmer, the better it will be... Everything has to be soft enough... The soup will turn a bit 'milky and cloudy'... However, if the papaya becomes too soft and 'broken', then it will loose it's texture when serving. (That's why Papaya has to be the last to add into the soup!)

The soup actually taste even better if you allowed it to 'sit' for a while... So, make the soup in the afternoon and re-heat it to serve for dinner. (smile)

As I have mentioned - the quantities are just for your consideration ONLY... I usually don't believe in having a 'set quantity'. In cooking, nothing is right or wrong. Sometimes you need a bit of imagination and logic... For example - if you put a lot of Papaya, the soup will be sweeter! The point is - Do you like it to be sweeter? Every ingredient affects the taste of the soup... So, the best thing is to use your initiative and intuition to do what you like!

And if you really have no experience in cooking but would like to try - Get a friend's (who can cook) opinion. Or better, experiment it together!

I think cooking is an art and it has to come from the heart!

Enjoy!

Fish Roe Porridge （鱼卵粥）

I love porridge.

A meal that could be Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and even Supper. Light and refreshing with your favorite condiments and sometimes with specific sauce or chillies. Porridge may look simple but the art of making a good base (plain porridge 明火白粥）takes effort and special 'recipe' such as boiling rice in specific stock instead of plain water. These stock（高汤）are often 'broth' made from long hours of simmering with bones of chicken, pork, chinese anchovies（江鱼仔）, beef or other kind of seafood and beans. The taste will totally depend on the chef!


Frankly, this is the first time I had Fish Roe Porridge. I have taken fish roe and porridge separately but have never thought of the simplest version of having the roe in the porridge itself. The reason is simple - The taste could be too 'raw or fishy' to swallow. I was still skeptical at the point when I was buying it.

It looks simple enough - Just lots of roe at the bottom of the bowl and topped up with plain white porridge with strips of ginger, a sprinkle of spring onion and a grab of a few pieces of fried Yu-tiao（油条）. (And so it looks...)


I give it a good stir and taste my first spoonful of porridge... I am surprise that the so-called plain porridge could be so tasty, smooth and full of flavor! Then I remembered what my mom told me about the making of 'special' plain porridge... I proceed with my first bite of the fish roe - it is soft and full with the typical seductive 'chewy' effect. The combination is marvel-licious!



The other good thing is that the stall-owner is such a generous man and your little bowl will actually be packed with more than enough fish roe for most of your bites. It is really a yummy unless you consider this as too much of an 'exotic delicacy'! Haha...


Let's tuck in...

Location : East Coast Lagoon Food Village