beloved bel

Pipa Tofu Following my previous post, I also tried a tofu recipe - Pipa Tofu.  This one's hard work I won't lie.  It started with me thinking of the types of dishes we usually order at Chinese restaurants and this dish popped into my mind.  Hmm, it shouldn't be too hard right?  I googled for the recipe and even drove to the Chinese supermarket to get my ingredients and planned on which day to cook it to surprise the hubby.  So organised. I remember starting the prep work whilst Isabelle was at the childminder.  It was about 5pm.  "One hour should be enough" I thought.  At 5.30pm, K called and I asked if he could pick Isabelle up instead as I was still busy preparing "a surprise dinner dish".  I had to keep turning my head to check the recipes.  See the thing is, I found two recipes and as I couldn't decide which was better, I decided to amalgamate both.  Cue smarty pants. Hubby and Isabelle stepped into the door at 6.30pm...

Recently I've been motivated to try new Chinese recipes.  Maybe it's because I go back to work in less than a month and I'm not sure I have the luxury of time to explore new dishes.  I imagine our evenings to be rushed with us picking Isabelle up, back home trying to get through her dinner, bedtime routine (bath, bedtime story) for 730pm, and trying to fit in cooking of dinner in between.  Perhaps it could also be that we seldom eat out now for dinner as Isabelle sleeps at 730pm, and I have had a few cravings for restaurant type dishes and I wonder if I could recreate them at home. Cod fish is cheaper here in the UK compared to back home, and my family always encourages me to buy more cod fish to enjoy while I am here.  I tried steaming it the HK style but for some reason it doesn't come out as I desire it to be - somehow it tastes too healthy for my liking.  So I thought of a pan fried cod fish.  I found a Mediterranean recipe which I hope to try some...