Wednesday 19 September 2018

You Busy Do What?


If you are wondering what this madam has been up to lately, so busy until got no time to put up cooking post, well ironically I have been cooking non-stop for the past three weekends including the recent two public holidays. 

With dad recuperating at my brother's house and mum nursing him, I take care of my mum' weekday lunch and dad's lunch and dinner. Mum's dinner is taken care of by my brother who picks up food on his way home from work.

Dad needs soft easy-to-digest simple food for his recovery period, so porridge is perfect for him. Since it is not possible for me to cook everyday, the solution is to cook a big batch and freeze the porridge in single-meal portions. I do the same thing for mum's food.

Porridge for dad and mee goreng and dhall curry for mum.
I have a thing for glasslock containers and have been collecting these over the years.  They are quite expensive and I buy them during sales. My collection of glasslock containers have come in very handy.

To make dad's porridge, I use bone broth. I have been busy making batches of bone broth for this purpose.


To make chicken porridge, I fillet the meat which I cut into small cubes and the bones, I add into my crock pot.


Dad's porridge contains chicken/pork, carrots and sweet potatoes. All the ingredients have to be cut very small to make it easy for dad to eat and digest.


I use cooked rice when I make porridge. It speeds up the process. But this morning (Monday, a day after Malaysia Day) I realized that I used the wrong rice.

I accidentally used basmati rice instead of the Cap Naga beras wangi wahahaha! I was a bit blur because I woke up late.


Basmati is not suitable for porridge because of its lower starch content and you won't get that nice porridge consistency.


This is the one I cooked earlier which mum steamed for dad's lunch.

Using beras wangi.
Compare that to the one cooked using basmati rice.

Using basmati.
Not so porridge looking compared to the batch I cooked a week or two earlier.


In spite of the long hours I spend in the kitchen, I do this willingly for my parents because I love them very much. I expect to be doing this for many more weekends and perhaps I'll find time to share in detail (recipe) what I cooked for mum and dad. In particular the dhall curry which was awesome, if I may say so myself hee...hee....hee..... (trumpets blowing in the distance).

29 comments:

  1. people would say that your parents did not waste resources having both you and your brother because you two are taking care of them so well. in hk drama series the parents like to say this to uncaring children - give birth to a piece of char siew (bbq meat) is better than having you.

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    1. hahahahaha!!! This comment cracked me up! What a funny expression :)

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  2. hope your father is feeling very much better now. your congee must be delicious with so much goodness in them. but after eating only congee for many weeks your father may get bored so do you have any other soft food planned for him?

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    1. My dad has improved much, thanks. I did ask him if he was bored of the same food, but he said he accepts it.

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  3. I am curious what do you cook for your mother's lunch? you mentioned dhall curry only.

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    1. I do mee goreng and fried pastas for her.

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  4. Filial daughter cooks for daddy. Porridge is goods for patients. Hope your dad is recovering well.

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    1. Dad is recovering well, thanks. All this done out of love :)

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  5. Nothing beats the food cooked with love. Pray a speedy recovery for your Dad.

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  6. I'm crazy over those glass containers too (and yeah, they're quite expensive). Ever since I bought some and stored food in them, there was no going back...haha! ;D It's so much more convenient as you can microwave, steam, bake and reheat the food direct without having to transfer the food out to other containers. I see you not only collect glass containers but you also have a lot of steamer trays...kekeke! ;) I've never freeze porridge before as I try to finish eating them the day they're made as the older generation will say it's not good to eat overnight porridge (something about 'wind' in the stomach?...don't know if you've heard of that old wife's tale or if there's any truth in it)! >.<

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    1. Yes, yes, those glass containers are awesome! I just bought a few more as I am running out of containers to use. Got them at Popular Bookstore and I noticed Miniso has them too at affordable prices. Ah, my partner once told me porridge cannot be kept overnight as it will contain wind. But I ignored him hah...hah...

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    2. Ah, so there is some truth in this old wife's tale (after noting TM's comments as well). Elderly folks might have problem with wind in their stomach as my mother-in-law says it makes their stomach bloated and they can't eat much. Not sure if your dad experiences this but since your dad is unwell, perhaps you can device another way of cooking porridge for your dad just to be safe. Perhaps, one way would be to experiment with say a slow cooker (or a rice cooker than can cook porridge if you have) and see how long it takes to cook and then prep all your ingredients ready for the porridge for your mom to put to cook at your brother's place? Just a suggestion.

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    3. Thanks for the suggestion. So far it has been two weeks since dad has taken the frozen porridge (yup, his surgeon was shocked to learn that dad ate frozen porridge wahahaha!!) and so far there has been no adverse effects. Phew!

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  7. Wow! Amazing daughter. I am sure your parents appreciate it a whole load. Hope your dad is doing well. The dhall curry does look amazing. :)

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    1. My dad is doing well so far, thanks! My dhall curry was surprisingly good hee..hee...

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  8. ur fridge must be very huge to keep all these food for a week!

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    1. I have a standalone freezer. Very useful!

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  9. Can really see your efforts in preparing all these food for your parents especially when you are working and the only time to do it is during weekends. Hope your dad recovers fast and will soon be eating well again!

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    1. My dad is recovering well, thanks! When you do it out of love, you do it willingly :)

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  10. That is definitely my style of cooking. If I'm going to go to the trouble, I may as well make a bunch and freeze.

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  11. You must love your Dad and Mom so much. Porridge is good for patients recovering. Hope your dad recovers fast and you can bring him out to restaurants to enjoy food again. Add oil! Gambateh!

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    1. Oh, yes, I love my parents very much. My dad is recovering well, thanks Libby.

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  12. You are such a loving and good daughter who cares for your parents. Heavens will bless you!
    Let me share some grandma tales about porridge. My old servant taught me when I was a kid that while the best porridge is cooked from broken rice, we can actually use other rice but mash them up while they are still boiling in the pot. She would scoop the broth up with a ladle and used another ladle to mash them into smoother texture within minutes!

    Then I heard from TCM experts that porridge is best taken right after being cooked. If we eat overnight porridge, we might have 'angin' inside our body with flatulence and other unhealthy blah blah. Just my 2 cents.

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    1. Oh, thanks for the tip on cooking porridge. So far dad has not experienced any tummy troubles, touch wood. Maybe freezing keeps it fresh and therefore, no wind.

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  13. With you and your brother taking care of your parents, your parents are so blessed! Hope your dad heals fast.

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  14. Your parents are blessed to have you, you are such a filial daughter. I respect you!

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  15. Hopefully your dad in good recovery stage, and you must take good care of yourself too~~

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