Marsha Maung: Write. Cook. Read. Watch. Try. Innovate.

As a mom, it's natural for me to worry. About what, you say? Erm....everything my creative imagination can think off of on off day where I want feel like there's an angle to kill our CEO and taking over his Dynasty? Then I kinda wake up and suck again. These past few months, we've been through some major developments and changes. They're looking and found work these past few months but mobility has always been a problem. We have 1 car and no driving licence. So, we're kinda trapped a 'lil but who cares, right? We do.  I am gonna outline our journey so it can help others.  College and University in Malaysia Most of the normal universities and colleges  are located within the outskirts of Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The more Premier ones are around either KL outskirts and really slung-away at Nilai or Seremban because these places are not even close.  There are 2 types of systems : One if you're new and adapting; Two if you're still here and please make a d...

Always did the normal stewed chicken because it is easier but today I reserved all the chicken drumsticks for this day. This is a collection of drumsticks from a few whole chicken... They're cheaper that way!  Ingredients 1. Blanced and Scored chic marinaded with onion powder, garlic powder, curry powder, paprika, chilli, fennel, turmeric, oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, pepper 2. Refrigerate for 20 mins + to overnight 3. Line up the air-fryer, oil up, air fry for 20 mins, turn over, another 15 mins.  Should be done. If you want crispy skin, add some corn or rice starch after marinading the chic.  TONS OF RANDOM HERBS Also organized all the herbs into Asian, Western, and Fancy. Lol. If you cook a lot you know.  I enjoy the diversity and creativity of mixing my own herbs and I knew nothing about these herbs. I encourage allowing yourself some level of failure and adjustments when you're in the kitchen. To bad I don't have a picture of the final ...

Latch key kid . Parents have no time and kids are focused on finding things out for ourselves. It's a generation thing, everyone did it because we had to survive. Boys born into the Internet age, early ones, that is. A little diff from the kids of today today.  When mom cooked, we eat good ! Like with all kids, mom is the best chef . Like my childhood, whenever I make the effort to cook, the boys are happy to be home, chilling and relaxing. To this day, my mom is still the BEST COOK EVER for the rest of my life. For real. Never learned to cook because my mom, not her fault as with everyone who grew up in that era, did not have the time nor patience to patiently teach me. I paid no attention either, honestly. Most of the time, latchkey kids were never home, anyway. The most exciting thing I did after school was peeling off the last page the book I last read and dove in. Dad worked. Mom cooked. We eat and indulge and we repeat that the next day, next week, next month. That was it ba...

Steamed Eggs, Never Fails.  I've been a fan of Chawanmushi (a name I cannot remember, always) since forever but because I did not always cook, I had no idea about simple techniques I often skip over because home-cooks will be like 'probably won't make a difference' Nah, some of those steps were crucial. Like reducing cooking time, you know. The difference is between putting together a half-cooked chicken and a blackened one. Something like that. We No Training.  When I don't skip over steps, I can come pretty close to reaching the desired results. The above is one of the most satisfactory steamed eggs I've had in years. At least of my own making.  Silky but not as silky as I wanted it to be...but yeah...good and delicious. We demolished it . We will repeat this. Just need to get the ratio right.  Much Cooking.  You get passive injuries from doing repetitive stuff and that includes cooking and handling cookware, washing, cutting, and manag...

Munching on some healthy veg, including braised and pickled ones, has become not just my favorite thing to do, but it's also a part of my survival. Above, that's me munching on crunchy leftover lotus root .  I tried out the pickling thing because I needed to learn ways to make use of leftover stuff, be it onions or cabbage, Sometimes, I don't need to use the whole thing. The endeavors are not yet success stories, so I will share when I can boast with a tiny, little, smidgen of pride.  That was a horrible picture  of the Bak Kut Teh I made the day before... BUT ...it was yummy. 😁😁😁 I mean, it's hard to go wrong with a clean-pop-cook recipe. Made a trip to our local butcher and got ourselves about 800g of pork ribs and couldn't resist. Have been making Western stuff like Cream of Mushroom Soup , Air-Fried Chicken , Carrot and Pumpkin Soup etc, hence the understandable yearn for a Chinese Classic dish. PLUS it is simple and not time-consuming. Yeah, th...

I am putting this here because it's a very, VERY delicious recipe that deserves to be shared. I made this a ton of years ago and, thankfully shared it online. Cookpad was good while it lasted. But I have since lost control of that account and don't remember the account I used to log in.  The platform used to be good as a social media sharing medium for people who cook and want to share their recipes with others who are clamoring for ideas at home.  But now, it's just a commercial app. Ah well... https://cookpad.com/us/recipes/4597214-spice-ly-sweet-slow-cooker-pork-ribs?via=profile

Updated this post with a real picture. Ever since, Son 2 saw me buying some local pumpkin, he's been suggesting this for the longest time. I wish I took a picture of the mushroom soup I made the day before. Edit: I did the mushroom soup recipe a bit earlier) + meatballs and pasta ) I didn't but I will do it the next time I make it. It was absolutely heavenly.  But anyway, these were more or less the ingredients I used and the way I made it.  I made it using the crock pot/slow cooker over a couple of hours because it's an easy and lazy way to melt everything down. Unlike Chinese soups, we just need to cook everything down and then blend everything, and I mean everything , except the juices, down to a pulp.  Before the final serving, just add in as much cooking cream as you want. This is subjective and based on your personal preference.  I don't think AI can recreate the images above. Hehehehe..... 

Because of his new job, Son2 has been missing out on some of our 'family meals'. The hours are crazzzyyy. He just grabs some random stuff from a convenience store or take up on some lunch promo from a Japanese restaurant nearby where he works. It's affordable, I guess. I don't make Patties often because it's a bit unpredictable. I am not a maestro on it but we still love it.  Point is, I got ourselves some really good minced pork the other day (which cost quite a bit) and I don't want to stir-fry or stew these babies because I will lose the point. So, Patties. The boys loved them. I forgot to take a picture of them but the telegram convo between Son1 and Son2 explained it all. 

CHICKEN CHOP pan-fried then air-fried and so damn good. But after pan-frying, there was a lot of juice left. Not gonna waste it. I heated it up again and tossed in some deep fried scallions and chopped spring onions as add-on dipping sauce. P.S. Added Sriracha sauce AGAIN. 😅 Steamed eggs was not perfect because I made the mistake of adding dark soy sauce instead of light soy sauce because I was in a rush. Happens, right?  I learned something new, though. Brining. Never knew what that was but the food do taste a bit better. Try it.