Omurice and Pork Cutlet With Japanese Curry

Curry (カレー) is one of the most popular dishes in Japan and it is often make into Curry Rice (カレーライス), Curry Udon (thick noodles) and Curry Bun. The ingredients used for Japanese curry are vegetables like onions, carrots, potatoes and meat such as beef, pork, and chicken. Sometime you could also find Katsu-karē / Tonkatsu (カツカレー) which is a breaded deep-fried pork cutlet served with curry sauce too.

For this recipe I have combined 3 of our family favourite such as Omelette Rice, Japanese Curry and Deep-fried Pork Cutlet into one dish and we just simply love this dish even though we are having it second time for this week.

OMURICE AND PORK CUTLET WITH JAPANESE CURRY

Although we have a mad rushing week but finally the mid-year school examination has ended (on Thursday) and now we can start counting down for June school holidays. And also since I could not help my kid to sit for the exam, all I can do as a mum is to prepare his favourite food to shower my love and encouragement to him during this stressful week.

I know there are many mothers out there sharing the same thoughts as me during this stressful exam month but I believe we would get it through and enjoy the sweet moments with our kid(s) no matter how good or bad they scored for the exam.  After all family support and love are also one of the greatest secret to score well too. 

(Serves: 2-3 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 25 - 30 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 2 Servings Of Cooked Rice
• 2 Pieces of Butterfly Pork Cutlets
• 1/2 Cup of Breadcrumbs
• Oil For Deep-frying

Japanese Curry
• 3 Medium Potato, cut into 1" cubes
• 1 Medium Carrot, cut into 1.5 cm chunks
• 1 Medium Onion, diced
• 100g Of Pumpkin, cut into 1.5 cm chunks
• Half Chicken Breast Meat (optional), cut into chunks
• 1/2 Tablespoon of Cooking Oil
• 700ml Boiling Water
• 3 - 4 Cubes of Japanese Curry Sauce Mix

Omelette Skin
• 2 Eggs (55g each)
• 2 Tablespoons of Fresh Milk

Method:-

For Japanese Curry:-
1. Saute diced onion with 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil till soft and fragrance.

2. Stir in chicken breast (lightly marinated with 1/2 teaspoon each of light soya sauce, cooking wine, cornflour and dash of ground pepper) add cook for 30 seconds before adding in carrot and potato.

3. Give the mixture a quick toss, pour in 700ml of boiling water and bring it to boil. Lower the heat and simmer the mixture for about 7 minutes, add pumpkin and continue to cook for another 5 - 7 minutes until all the vegetables are cook to your preference.

4. Remove the pot from heat. Slowly stir in 3 - 4 cubes of Japanese Curry Sauce Mix till dissolved.

Tip:
~ I would advise you to taste the curry after adding the 3rd cubes and decide whether would you still like to add in either half/whole of the 4th curry cubes to suit your preference.

~ I use 2 curry cubes each from the above sauce mix so that the curry will taste better with the sweet and hot mixture, but you could also use just 1 type instead of two.

My boy loves this type of deep-fried pork cutlets which could be purchased from any of those Hainanese Scissor Cut Mixed Vegetables Rice Stalls in Singapore which cost around S$1.00 - S$2.00 each depending on it's size. For this quick recipe, I marinate the pork cutlet with egg and cornflour together with other seasonings and coat with a layer of dried bread crumbs before deep-frying it till golden brown.

You can find the recipe on how to make this deep-fried pork cutlet as well as how to use it to create dishes such as Hainanese Pork Chop Rice and Pork Katsudon at this post here.

For Omelette Skin:-
1. Lightly beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of milk till combined. Pour mixture into preheated grease pan and tilt the pan to coat the base. Cook until eggs are almost set but still a little runny in the middle (refer to the photo label no. 4 above).

2. Remove the pan from heat spoon about 1 serving of cooked rice (1/2 cup) on the omelette (refer to the photo label no. 5 above). With a spatula, flip one side of the egg omelette over the rice mixture

3. Slide the wrapped omelette rice to the edge of the pan and flip the pan against the plate for the omelette to land upside down on the plate.

4. Shape the omelette rice using kitchen paper towel and repeat steps with remaining portion of the rice and egg.

Depending on your preference, you could served the curry together with the omurice rice and pork cutlets or serve them in separate plates. For me, I love everything to be on the same plate and with decent amount of curry sauce to go with it. What about you?

Other than Omelette rice, you could also served the Japanese Curry with some cooked spaghetti or penne for quick meal idea. And if you have any interesting ways of pairing Japanese Curry, please do share with us by leaving your comments/suggestions in this post. Thanks.

Lastly, have a great weekend and hope you enjoy making this quick and easy Omurice with Japanese Curry for your family and loved ones too.

[Day 6] Tokyo Ramen Street

On second last day of our Japanese trip, we went to First Avenue Tokyo Station (東京駅一番街) which has a three-floor commercial and retail featuring 120 stores and restaurants with the first floor connected directly to the Yaesu exits of Tokyo Station (東京駅).

And with the two main attractions like Tokyo Character Street and Tokyo Ramen Street, we decided to go there to try their well-known Ramen shops in Tokyo as well as shop for some cute souvenirs back too .

[Wordless Wednesday] Double Chocolate Loaf Cake Recipe

*For Double Chocolate Loaf Cake:-
- 100g 70% Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped
Add half add into the batter and use the remaining for toppings.

[Wordless Wednesday] Corn Bread Muffins Recipe

Fujisoba (名代 富士) At Akihabara, Tokyo

We had long day out for "Day 5" starting with Tsukiji Fish Market (築地市場), lunch at Tsukiji Sushi Kiyoshi (築地寿司清本店), more shopping trip at Ginza and sightseeing over at Kaminarimon (雷門) plus getting the famous Dorayaki (銅鑼焼き) from Kamejyu (亀十). In the evening, we took the train over to Akihabara (秋葉原) which is a district in central Tokyo, that is famous for its many electronics shops because cousin wanted to find some Anime figurines.

Din Tai Fung Limited Edition Canvas Tote And Red Bean Rice Dumplings

Photo Credit:- Din Tai Fung

For the month of May, patrons who dine at Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) would be able to receive a complementary Limited Edition Canvas Tote (worth S$12.90 each) to encourage dinners to go green. These totes featured calligraphic inspired prints of the restaurant's award-winning Steamed Pork Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao) and it will be available in four different colours each week starting from 1st May.

Photo Credit:- Din Tai Fung

This complimentary Canvas Tote is entitled for diners who spend a  minimum of S$100.00  but the totes can also be purchased at S$7.90 each with any S$50.00 spend at Din Tai Fung. Furthermore, to reward dinners for their go green efforts, they will receive a 5% discount off from their total takeaway bill when they use the tote at Din Tai Fung between 01 May - 31st December 2013.

My Instagram Photo @ http://instagram.com/p/YPI-mzBEZr/

In June in order to celebrate Dragon Boat Festive (端午节), Din Tai Fung's popular Red Bean Rice Dumplings (豆沙粽) is back upon demand too. Same as previous years, these dumplings are specially air-flown from Taiwan and there are made using top grade Taiwan pearl rice together with generous filling of fragrant red bean paste in a pillow-shaped.

Photo Credit: Din Tai Fung

Just for your information, OCBC Cardmembers will receive a complimentary Red Bean Rice Dumpling (worth S$4.80) with a minimum spend of S$80.00 at Din Tai Fung between 01 - 30 June 2013. Whereas for non-cardmembers a minimum of S$90.00 spend will be required in order to entitle the complimentary treat .

KNORR Stir-Fry Tom Yam Chicken

Recently I found some new Knorr recipes from the i-weekly supplement booklet and most of them look delicious and pretty easy to prepare at home. Since I am a Knorr supporter who always stock up quite a varieties of their products in my pantry, I decided to try out this Stir-fry Tom Yam Chicken which is a very eye-catching dish from their Facebook page.

After a quick Google, I found the related recipe from Philip's website (KeropokMan). And with the necessary ingredients here is my version of Stir-fry Tom Yam Chicken which my family agrees that it goes pretty well with steamed rice! Give it a shot if you are a Tom Yam lover as this dish is quick and hassle free.

[#LiptonMomentsSG] Lipton Moments Photo Campaign

Hello all Lipton fans as well as Instagramers and Facebook users! From now till 20 May 2013, snap and submit your Lipton Moments photos with hashtag #LiptonMomentsSG and be one of the weekly winner to win a spa voucher or walk away with the Grand Prize of 3D2N trip to Bali (for two pax).

There are no restrictions on the number of photos or Lipton theme (not necessary to feature Lipton product in it) to be submitted for this contest. But it would be great if it is something related to moment of positivity, happiness and good times spent with family or friends. Above are some sample photos of our #LiptonMomentsSG which I would love to share with you.

In order to be one of the weekly winner, you just have to follow the 4 simple steps shown below:-

1. Snap a photo of your "Lipton Moments" (you can find some inspiration at #LiptonMomentsSG)

2. Upload your photo(s) either through

Facebook @ Lipton Moments Contest (click on the link)

Upload your photo(s) using Lipton Moments Apps from Lipton Facebook Page

OR BY

Instagram.

Sample of the Lipton Moment photo submit through Instagram

3. Remember to write add interesting caption(s) and tag it with #LiptonMomentsSG to quality for the contest.

4. Prizes include weekly spa vouchers from Hyatt Hotel Singapore (worth SG$ 184.89 each) for the first 3 weeks, and a Grand Prize featuring 3D2N trip to Bali (worth SG$826.00 for 2 pax) in the fourth (last) week!

* Submission end on 20 May 2013 (2359 hours). Terms and Conditions of the Lipton Moments contest can be found here.

My Instagram entries posting as @CuisineParadise

I have submitted a few entries which you might be interested to take a look on how simple it is to join this contest. So hesitate, come join us and submit your #LiptonMomentsSG photos and stand a chance to win either the weekly spa voucher(s) or 3D2N Bail getaway trip. Good Luck everyone!!!!

8th Anniversary of Cuisine Paradise

Today Cuisine Paradise adds another year onto the blog stats where we celebrate our 08th Anniversary. Time flies and it's seems only a few weeks ago when I wrote about our 07th Anniversary flashback post and yet now we are into the eighth years of blogging.

Although there were ups and downs along the way during these 8 years but I am thankful for a group of supportive friends and readers who are always there to show us full supports as well as their kind words and encouragements which makes us grow stronger each year.

[i-Love Mama Healthy Meal] i-Love Mama Bento

Photo Credit:- iWeekly (I周刊)

Finally after a few weeks of preparations (like designing and preparing of bentos for approval, practicing, lasing and etc) we managed to complete our two i-Love Mama Healthy Meal recruitment roadshows; 1st (Tampines Giant) and 2nd (Sheng Siong Supermarket) that were hosted by Mediacorp artiste Pornsak and Y.E.S 93.3FM deejay Siau Jia Hui!

Although in between there were some hard times dealing with the coordination and etc but eventually we were all thankful that everything went on smooth and we did have fun to be in part of their i-Love Mama Healthy Meal recruitment roadshows. More photos of the roadshows could be found at our Facebook Page HERE.

Mother's Day Cake From Icing Room plus Giveaway

Photo credit: The Icing Room

This coming Mother's Day, The Icing Room introduce two special design cakes to pamper all mothers who plays the most important role in their family. These two elegance cakes are known as Perfect Mum (top) and Say It with Love (bottom) at a regular price of S$29.00 each which can be served up to 6.

And if you place your pre-order of the Mother's Day Cake(s) mentioned above from 02nd - 09th May 2013, you could also enjoy a 20% discount off plus received an adorable lollicake from The Icing Room.

Photo credit: The Icing Room

Perfect Mum - Strawberry cake made from classic vanilla chiffon and layered with strawberry mousse and jelly. 

Photo credit: The Icing Room

Say It with Love - Made from light and fluffy vanilla chiffon that filled with cocktail fruits and heavenly Chantilly cream which represent the tender sweetness that a mother showers on her children.

On top of that from 12th April 2013 onwards, lovely treats from The Icing Room would be made available from their new delivery website @http://theicingroomdelivery.com.sg/ so that it would be a breeze to order your cake(s) and get it delivered to your doorstep.

MOTHER'S DAY CAKE GIVEAWAY

Thanks to The Icing Room, we are giving away a voucher worth S$29.00 to 1 Lucky readers/followers of Cuisine Paradise to redeem the "Prefect Mum" Cake starting from 02 May - 09 May 2013.

To participate:-
1. LIKE and SHARE this photo on Facebook. (remember to leave a comment that you have liked and shared)

2. Leave a comment at this post sharing one of your favourite homecook dish that you wish to learn from your mum?

Terms And Conditions 
* This giveaway ends on Monday, 29 April 2013 (2.00pm, Singapore time).
* Only for readers living in SINGAPORE.
* Participants must follow the instructions mentioned above to be eligible for the giveaway.
* Please leave a valid email address when filling out the comment form so that we can contact you immediately if you are the winners.


[UPDATED ON:- 30 April 2013]

[i-Love Mama Healthy Meal] Panda Bento Set

In conjunction with the i-Love Mama Healthy Meal Contest which is organised by Mama Lemon and i-Weekly, I was invited to do bento demo at the recruitment roadshows to promote their upcoming healthy meal contest. To register for this contest, grandmothers/mothers with child aged 12 years and below can team up to create a healthy meal and stand a chance to win attractive cash and prizes worth S$4,000. (more details here)

Doing the Panda Onigiri together with Pornsak (Mama Lemon ambassador)

The host and Pornsak were sharing the nutrition values of the ingredients used while Shiting and I were busying assembling the Bento.

Shiting (Lobsterpaint.com) and I busying at the i-Love Mama Healthy Meal bento demo roadshow

Samples of the Kid's Panda Bento Set during the i-Love Mama Healthy Meal roadshow demo

Adult Bento Set with same ingredients used but without cute "make-over".

PANDA BENTO SET
(i-Love Mama Healthy Meal)

This is my Kid's version of healthy meal whereby a normal homecook meal is being transform into a Panda Onigiri with accompany dishes such as asparagus bacon roll, baked honey chicken, panda quail, steamed corn kernels and some grapes. I am sure this fulfills the 2 servings of veggies plus plus to balance out the nutrition intakes for kid.

Beside you don't have to spend extra time preparing additional dishes for the bento. You could just use your creative mind and re-assemble your daily homecook dishes into something more attractive for the kids. Blow is a quick bento recipe which shows how I turn simple homecook dishes into a cute Panda Bento Set.

(Serves: 1 | Preparation: 15 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
6 - 8 Thai Baby Asparagus (泰国小芦笋), trim and cut into half
2 Strips of Bacon
3 Tablespoons Of Cooked Rice
1 Slice of Sandwich Cheese
Nori (seaweed) Sheet
Baked Honey Chicken Mid-joint
1 Quail Egg
Some Cherry Tomato
Steamed Sweetcorn Kernels
4 Blueberry / Dried Raisin
Fresh Fruits
Some Fresh Lettuce, optional

Tools Needed:
Bento Box
Side Dishes Food Casing
Heat Resistant Cling Wrap
Food Cutters
Seaweed Puncher (for facial expression)
Food Tweezer
2 Toothpicks
Bento Food Pick (optional)
Small Scissor
1 - 2 Dry Spaghetti Noodle

To Make the Asparagus Bacon Roll:-

1. Blanch the asparagus in boiling water for 20 seconds, remove, pat dry and cut them into half of equal length.

2. Arrange half of the asparagus near one end of  the bacon strip, roll the bacon strip forward to wrap the asparagus then secure the end with a toothpick shown on the photo above.

3. Preheat a frying pan with 1 teaspoon of oil, cook the asparagus wrap over low heat till slightly golden brown in colour (about 5 minutes). Remove and set aside.

To Assemble the Panda Onigiri:-

1. Spoon about 2 - 2.5 tablespoons of cooked rice on a piece of heat resistant cling wrap. Using hand, shape it tight into oblong shape to form the panda body.

2. Open up the cling wrap, wrap a 1cm wide nori (seaweed) sheet near the bottom the rice ball to form a belt (refer to the photo above). Next place the rice ball with nori sheet back onto the cling wrap and shape it tightly so that the nori sheet will stick to the rice ball.

3.With another piece of cling wrap shape 1/2 teaspoon of rice into a triangle shape to form the nose of the panda.

4. Using Scissor, cut out 2 oval shapes from the nori sheet to form the black eye circles of the panda.

5.With either a food cutter or drinking straw cut out smaller oval shapes from the sandwich cheese to form the white part of the panda eyes.

6. Next using a facial seaweed puncher to punch out facial express from the nori sheet and assemble it on the panda (refer to the photo above).

7. To decorate the "belt" below, you can use any small shape cutter like star, heart, flower or etc, cut out shapes from the sandwich cheese and place it on the nori belt.

8. To fix the panda ears, use either blueberry or dried raisin and connect it to the rice ball with the help of the dry spaghetti noodle in between.

9. Above shows the close up look of the Panda Onigri plus the asparagus bacon wrap.

10. When done, assemble the bento box together with the rest of the side dishes and fruit shown above.

For this coming Saturday i-Love Mama Healthy Meal roadshow, I would be doing a similar bento which I hope it resemble the Lion Mascot of Mama Lemon  shown above. Also I would like to delicate this MAMA bento to all mothers on coming Mother's Day and wish everyone a fruitful and healthy Mother's Day! Between if I would to conduct Mother and Child Bento Workshop(s) (like what i did previously here) during this coming June school holiday, I wonder would there be anyone interested to join?

Lastly I would like to thank ShiTing from Lobsterpaints.com who takes her time to come and support plus assist me during the bento demo roadshow. Thanks sis! More photos of the roadshows could be found at our Facebook Page HERE.

Matcha Cherry Blossom Chiffon Plus Giveaways

I love Cherry Blossom (Sakura) and it is always my dream that one day I would be able to enjoy a family picnic under the full bloom cherry blossom trees like those Japanese family do during the Cherry Blossom Festival (Hirosaki Sakura Matsuri). Although last year we went Tokyo during November (read more here) which it impossible to see any cherry blossom but we are bless to have Joyce who visited Osaka last week and shared her trip photos with us at Cuisine Paradise facebook page here.

Other than photos she also helps us to loop back some awesome cherry blossom products like Salt Pickled Cherry Blossoms which are pickled in salt and umezu (ume vinegar), Sakura Leaf Powder and etc which I am going to share with TWO lucky readers as our blog 8th Anniversary Giveaway #1. (refer to the participating details at the end of the post)