A Peek Into My Life in Aussieland!

last SG · 2006-08-23T11:26:53+00:00

too lazy to read through everything… but i’ll like to say…. rhonda i love ur couch… so cosy… that pink pink ruggy thing looks so cute… the ikea lamp looks go...

Rhonda SG

Giam si! Razz

Rhonda SG

There's no Sobe here. Crying or Very sad I managed to get Vitasoy at A$0.70 a packet though, so not bad! Or a 1.5 L (or was it 2L?) bottle of soyabean milk locally produced by one of the soya bean factories here for just A$2.20.

I've read the recipe for making tao huay before. I think that packet of stuff is some coagulant (hopefully not platelets! hahaha! Twisted Evil ) that converts the soyabean milk into tao huay. Probably in the gelatin family but a milder version.

If you try it, tell us how the process was and how it tastes! Wink

PS. Have been toying with the idea of purchasing a mini soya bean milk processor to make my own because the ones here are too darn diluted. Razz

the Bear SG

soak, steam, grind, squeeze, boil = soy bean milk

Rhonda SG

Hellooooo, littlestream! Looooong time no see! Glad that all's well with you and happy to see you back online! Very Happy

It is a cozy pad... to me. Embarassed It helps to keep the blues away and I usually spend a lot of time at home so it's a good investment to surround oneself with nice things. Moreover, the stuff were all bought on sale, including the TV! Wink The sales here can be super-duper good, man, unlike in Singapore where the sales appear to be a 'token' rather than the real deal.

A shopaholic like me can be quite happy here in Melbourne, especially with my proximity to town! Laughing Of course the range of stuff offered here isn't as wide as back home, but when it comes to grocery shopping and shopping for household items, Melbourne's good! Mr. Green

Bear's sis and I have been afflicted by the Supermart Syndrome - whenever we're stressed, or whenever we cho-bo, we like to go to our neighbourhood Cole's and spend time looking at the aisles and aisles of products on sale. Embarassed Moreover, every week, there are specials on offer so my larder is very well-packed. I still plan my meals impromptu and I improvise often and because I cook for one, it can get quite challenging! Laughing For instance, if I get a bag of carrots at the Richmond Market on Saturday for just $1.50, for the next few meals, I have to somehow incorporate carrots! Razz It was cute though - one Saturday, an Asian lady and me were looking at leeks - two bundle for $3, one for $1.80. So she approached me to split a bundle and we both went home with a bundle each for just $1.50! Wink Economies of Scale at work on the micro level! Laughing

I'm into the 2nd week with bloody three more bwee-bwee carrots left! I could've sworn they seemed to have increased in size since I last saw them! Razz So, bo bian, I can't keep rabbits so I can't throw the carrots at them, so today, to entice myself, I used a special Butterfly Mould on my sliced carrots so I get Carrot Butterflies! Laughing

Oh see, you ask me about my life and I get so carried away! Embarassed OK, OK, I zip up liao... for now! Twisted Evil

Rhonda SG

Wash, dump into machine, press button, wait, dispense drink = freshly made soyabean milk

Twisted Evil

Rhonda SG

Yeah, Carl's good! But I think they unAmericanised the sizes of the burgers they are selling in Singapore because compared to the TV ads, they look teenier!

elindra SG

you can use nigiri or calcium sulphate as cogulant to make tofu

Rhonda SG

Surprised Oh! Is calcium sulphate known by a more common name?

elindra SG

Epsom Salts

elindra SG

Making Tofu at Home

Materials and Equipment
1 cup soybeans. (Soak overnight in 4 cups of water)
1 ½ teaspoon (8 mL) powdered nigari OR 2 teaspoons (10 mL) Epsom salts dissolved and thoroughly mixed in 1 cup (250 mL) water.
These salts are precipitants of the soy protein. The nigari is the traditional ingredient, and is an extract of seawater rich in calcium and magnesium chlorides. It can be bought in Chinese grocery stores and some health food stores.

Blender or food processor
Heavy cooking pot
Coarse Sieve
Strong, clean dish towel or heavy cotton material
Two other pots or bowls
Wooden spoon
Pressing device -- can be made from a 2 quart plastic ice cream carton. Poke bottom and side full of holes with a strong fork (poke from inside out). Cut down lid to fit inside container.

Method
Drain soaked soybeans, add 2 2/3 cups (665 mL) water and blend two cups at a time on high speed for about 30 seconds.

Bring 5 cups (1.2 L) water to a boil in a large saucepan. Brush the rim of the saucepan with cooking oil to prevent boil over.

Stir the soy puree into the boiling water and continue to heat on high heat, stirring often. When puree suddenly boils up take pot off heat immediately.

Line the sieve with the straining cloth and place over clean pot or bowl. Pour hot puree through the press cloth and sieve. Quickly rinse the cooking pot and rebrush rim with oil.

Twist and press the cloth to squeeze as much milk as possible from the grits.

Open cloth and gently shake grits and press again. Empty grits into 2 cups warm water in saucepan, stir and return to press cloth, squeezing out the additional milk.

Pour soy milk into the heavy pot and quickly bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook on low heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Turn off heat.

Add 1/3 cup (80 mL) of the precipitant solution while stirring vigorously 5 or 6 times. Stop stirring and sprinkle 1/3 cup more precipitant solution onto the milk. Stir a bit more. Cover pot and wait for curds to form (about 3 minutes).

Sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup (80 mL) precipitant over surface of the milk. Carefully and very slowly stir the top ½ inch of curdling milk for 15 to 20 seconds. Cover pot and wait 3 minutes (6 minutes if using Epsom salts). White aggregates of curds should now be present in pale yellow whey.

Rinse straining cloth clean and use it to line your pressing box. Single layer of cloth, rest hangs over the top. Place pressing box and straining cloth in sieve and pour in the curds and whey. Drain. Fold edges of cloth over top of the curds.

Place pressing box in convenient container to catch whey. Put lid on top of folded cloth. Place small bowl 2/3 filled with water on top of lid and weight it down with a clean brick or similar weight. Leave 15 - 20 minutes by which time whey should have stopped dripping.

Remove weight and carefully place the pressed curds (still in the cloth) in cold water in a large bowl. Remove cloth carefully without letting pressed curds out of the water.

Leave curd cake under water until firm (2 to 5 minutes). You now have tofu. Cut and drain. It can be used right away, or stored in the refrigerator in water. Change the water every day, and the tofu can be kept up to 10 days.

elindra SG

Another one which looks easy...that was for tofu anyway

4 cups of fresh, natural soy milk
1 teaspoon gypsum powder
1 teaspoon potato starch
2 teaspoons corn starch
3 tablespoons water

Caramel syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
Dissolve sugar in water and let it boil for 5 minutes. For thicker syrup, use more sugar and cook longer.
To this recipe you can also add 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice, vinegar, or a bit of ginger.

OR

Ginger Syrup
8 ounces fresh ginger
2 cups water
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Rhonda SG

Wondering where in the world I can get hold of gypsum powder. Confused

elindra SG

I think you should try the asian food stalls or buy nigeri or what ever they call it

gypsum is called "Shi gao fen"
Nigeri is called "Suan Mei Shuai"

the Bear SG

bake shop..

or the bakery bit of the supermarket...

i think they sell it in those small squarish containers..

Rhonda SG

Sometimes, I wish that I had colleagues who are adventurous enough to share home-cooked food with each other. I'd love to try some of their food cause I've not tried it before, and to cook it myself would be a risk cause, what if I don't like it?

I'd love to try stuff like Artichoke, Fennel, etc at least once. These are vegetables we never get to see in Singapore so I'm really curious.

Like, couscous and polenta, have always wanted to try those but I'm not about to enter the supermart and purchase one packet of those, nosiree! Cause what if I don't like them? It'll be such a waste.

Oh well, I'll get to know a few more colleagues better and then see if they're into some meal exchange kinda deal so we don't have to cook every freakin' time! Laughing

the Bear SG

uhh.. artichoke is kinda.. ewwww... therefore you'll like it.. i mean, you like the evil that is broccoli Twisted Evil

Laughing

Rhonda SG

Oh, and one really really strange thing I encountered... a few weeks back, I woke up one morning, put on my contact lenses, and realised that, lo and behold!... I couldn't see well!! Surprised Shocked Shocked

So, I thought I had placed the L lenses in my R eye and vice versa, so I switched, but still, cannot see clearly! Shocked

So, I re-switched again, thinking that maybe it's one of those flukes. I still had blurred vision! Shocked

OK, deep breaths, opened up a new pack of disposable contact lenses cause maybe the old one's really old liao! Embarassed Biangz, the world still looks blur to me! So I switched sides again thinking that maybe I got them wrong again although they were clearly labelled L and R. Still can't see!

PANIC!!!!

Up till today, a few weeks later, I'm still stumbling around with blurred vision. Sad I have to squint a lot and sometimes, squinting doesn't help either. Sad

One of my friends suggested that maybe, an incident at work that happened recently just shocked me so much, the stress affected my eyesight! Surprised Shocked She reasoned that if one can be shocked till one's head of hair turns white overnight, why can't the eyesight get afflicted? Confused

Don't know if there's any medical truth to it or not but I'm going to ask the next friendly doctor I see. Too bad the docs here are all busy and most of them aren't exactly approachable. Razz

Weird, right? Embarassed

Fatum SG

what did you see ? ... Shocked

the Bear SG

use glasses lah... Laughing

take the docs aside and ask.. else you end up giving someone the wrong medication and we have to go over there and bail you out of their prison

just kidding...

but you know what i mean..

elindra SG

Why don't you just go get your eyes checked
Maybe your degree jumped or you got *touch wood* "lao hua yan"

Seriously I need to change my glasses as my degree definately went up Laughing

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