Recipe #1 of 2015 - Teriyaki Chicken

So as I mentioned in my previous post, cooking is one of my 2015 resolutions and can I just say, I think I'm off to a pretty good start ;)

Upon returning to Sydney from a 2 week holiday in New Zealand, I decided to cook dinner for my family as with a 1 year old toddler, eating out may be difficult and tiring, especially after just getting home from the airport. I searched my brain of things to cook as my cooking skills are (currently) very limited.

I decided I was going to cook something Asian as my parents aren't big fans of Western food. Back home in Indonesia, there is a famous Japanese restaurant that serves the most delicious teriyaki chicken (apart from mine :p) and for some reason, that afternoon I was really craving for it so decided to try the recipe out. To serve with the teriyaki chicken I also cooked up some butter mushrooms (literally just cooking mushrooms in butter and adding a touch of salt - gosh I sound like a chef already) and freshly sliced cucumber (don't ask me why, I just felt like it).

How To Make Delicious Finger-licking Crispy Teriyaki Chicken 101: 

(Serves 6) 

Ingredients
3/4 cup kikkoman sweet soy sauce
3/4 cup mirin
3/4 cup sake
6 tablespoons of sugar
6 teaspoons of corn flour
6 tablespoons of water
6-8 pieces of boneless, skin-on chicken thighs

Method
1. Combine the soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar in a pot and bring to a boil
2. Mix the corn flour and water in a separate bowl and whisk. Add it to the soy sauce and continue to cook until a desired thickness is reached
3. Pan fry the chicken, skin down for approximately 30 minutes. No oil is required to do so as the oil from the chicken is more than enough. Once a golden crisp colour is achieved, flip and cook to the other side until the chicken is cooked through. Slice the chicken ready to serve and voila!

x E

5 Days, 2 Islands and a Minivan.

Over the Christmas break my family from Indonesia came down to Sydney before heading off on a road trip around New Zealand. Being an intern, I didn't really have the choice of leave and as the office was only closed on public holidays, I could only make it for 5 days of their 2 week trip (lucky for me Christmas day was a Thursday, followed by Boxing day on the Friday and then the weekend. Oh and my boss gave me the Monday off too :)) So after 3 hours on an Air New Zealand flight (with the most amusing Hobbit-inspired safety video I have ever seen - posted below) on Christmas morning, listening to Michael Bublé's Christmas Album, I arrived in the New Zealand capital of Wellington.

Our ride - the minivan 

Over the 5 days I was there (huge thank you to my big brother for moving his itinerary around so I could see as much as possible), I managed to see a bit of the North Island (Wellington to be exact) and South Island featuring beautiful lakes and charming coves.

The drive to Mount Cook - said to be the most scenic route in New Zealand

Mount Cook Glaciers 

View of Queenstown and it's surroundings from Skyline

Cheeeers Mövenpick! 

Queenstown surroundings

Now to be honest, New Zealand would never have been my first choice for a travel destination, but after seeing the sights and views (and taking 1200 photos in 5 days), I was absolutely sold and here are 3 reasons why:

1. Bay of Many Coves Resort

 26.12.2014 marked my little nephew (Enzo's) first ever birthday and for this special occasion, his dad (my brother in case you didn't make the connection) booked the night at a charming private resort at the Bay of Many Coves. The Bay of Many Coves is situated a 30 minute boat ride away from the small town of Picton in the South Island. Being so isolated, we had to park the minivan overnight in Picton, and hop on board a water taxi which took us cruising past sheltered bays to our home for the night.

Enzo really is a water baby. He seriously loves being in it and splashing around so this resort was absolutely perfect. Upon arriving, we got changed into our swimmers and hopped in the dinghy at my request (being inspired by The Notebook and dreaming that Ryan Gosling would paddle me around). After struggling to paddle and finally getting the hang of it, we headed back to the resort with a crying Enzo who just wanted to be in the water. The rest of the afternoon was spent splashing around in the 15 degree water with the happy birthday boy and exploring the grounds when he dozed off for a quick nap. In the evening, we headed to the resort's restaurant for a beautifully set up birthday dinner by the friendly staff, followed by dessert in our 'apartment'.

2. Lake Tekapo 

Lake Tekapo is one of the South Island's largest lakes covering 83 square kilometres. Being on the way to Mount Cook from Picton, we stopped for lunch and a quick swim (or splash) for Enzo. The beautiful colour reminded me of the amazing lakes I saw on my last trip to Switzerland (which is one of my favourites).

3. Ferg Burger

I guess it's no surprise that food made it in my top 3 New Zealand-y things throughout my trip but don't judge until you've tried this burger. It's seriously the bomb. If the hour long wait isn't enough to convince you of it's deliciousness, maybe the size-being-as-big-as-your-face will (...and if that isn't enough, Ferg burger is even featured in some of Queenstown's tourist apparel).

x E

Hello 2015!

'My goal in 2015 is to accomplish the goals of 2014 which I should have done in 2013 because I made a promise in 2012 and planned in 2011'. 

First things first, happy new year!

Now I'm not normally one to make resolutions because I'm one of those who think it doesn't have to be a new year to do so, but a few things came to mind over the past week and I thought, why not?


1. Be more active

Now this doesn't necessarily mean do more exercise (though this is definitely on the list too), but it's more in regards to being more pro-active and 'out there'. In 2014 I did a series of things that were definitely out of my comfort zone and every time I did this, I was always rewarded. I got my internship, I secured a position in my university Engineering student society, and a few other little bits and pieces.

Another part of being active is learning to cook. It's no secret I'm no chef, but this year, I'm determined. Living away from home, people are always asking where I get food from in response to my 'I don't cook'. Take-away and eating out is always good and is definitely one of my most favourite things to do being such a foodie; but it's time to expand my housewifery and pick up a wooden spatula. As a first step, I cooked teriyaki chicken for my family tonight who just returned to Sydney from a holiday in New Zealand (recipe and photos to come :p).

Something I have recently come to understand is that you have to grab opportunities, not wait for them to come along. Ya snooze, ya lose. 


2. Have nicer skin 

Out of my whole family, I'm the only one with partly oily skin. Being this skin type, I'm quite prone to acne, especially in hot, humid weather (yay for the summertime). To be honest, I've only in the past year really cared about my skin and moisturising and taking care of it. Previously, I used products my mum or sisters used out of convenience, and have always had to be forced into facials because I couldn't stand the pain. But because I have quite a different skin type to them, the products they were using didn't really work for me.

After realising this, I decided to look for a product that suited me, which is when I found Kiehl's. Kiehl's is a New York based company that use naturally derived ingredients in their products. I also really love them because they have an oil-free range. I use their cleanser, toner and moisturiser - in that order :)

No trip to Singapore would be complete without a stop at Sephora in Takashimaya on Orchard Road. One of the things I like to pick up are their face masks, sold singly or in packs of five. The reason I really like them is because they're so refreshing and easy to use! You literally rip open the packaging, unfold the mask and place it on your face. I like to keep my masks in the fridge for an extra refreshing feeling. Sephora, recently opening in Sydney, makes it waaaaay easier to keep stock of these (perfect for resolution #2)

As for other parts of my body, my absolute love is L'Occitane en Provence as their almond milk collection is seriously to die for. Seriously. It just smells so. damn. good.
I use their body cream, and always carry an almond milk hand cream in my bag, and lip balm which I find works really well and keeps my lips moist.

3. Drink more water

This one also ties in with having nicer skin. I've never been one to drink water, simply because I like the taste of green tea and well, anything other than it, much more. Drinking water helps to hydrate your skin, and is of course very beneficial health wise as it does make up about 60% of our body; so this is an obvious resolution #3.


Here's to 2015 being better than the last :))