Fried Fish in Cream Corn Sauce and Vegetable Fried Rice. This fish dish is one of my favourite things and if you haven’t ever had it, you need to get on-board!

Fried Fish:
600g of meaty white fish fillets (Monkfish, Basa are perfect for this), cut into chunks
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 eggs, beaten

Canola oil for frying

1 stalk green onion, chopped

Cream Corn Sauce:
1 egg
1 can Cream Corn
Sea Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Brine fillets in salt water overnight.
2. In a larger skillet, heat oil on medium-high.
3. Combine flour, cornstarch, sea salt and black pepper
3. Pat dry fillets with paper towel. Dip fillet pieces in egg wash and then flour mixture till coated fully and place into oil, 4-5 pieces at a time.
4. Once golden on each side, remove fish pieces and line on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
5. Prepare Cream Corn Sauce. Heat corn on medium heat, add in 1/3 can of water, add-in salt and pepper.
6. When sauce comes to a slight boil, add in beaten egg, stirring gently till egg clouds form in the sauce.
7. Remove from heat.
8. Transfer fish pieces to a platter and pour corn sauce over. Garnish with green onion. Serve with fried rice or white rice.

Vegetable Fried Rice:
4 cups of cooked white rice, chilled overnight
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 sweet red pepper, diced
3 stalks of Chinese Broccoli, sliced thin
1/2 carrot, diced
1/4 cup green peas
1 stalk green onion, chopped
Sea salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons oil

Instructions:
1. Heat oil in large skillet in medium-high heat.
2. Toss-in all carrots, peas, Chinese Broccoli, green onion and red peppers. Sautée for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add-in beaten egg and salt and pepper. Stir with spatula gently till combined with vegetables.
4. Once egg is almost cooked, add-in rice. Stir with spatula till rice, eggs and vegetables are evenly dispersed.
5. Fry for about 5 minutes or until rice is about to caramelize. Remove from heat and serve.

Ricky Gervais is back in Season Two of AFTER LIFE. See the new Trailer for the uplifting Series.

About After Life :
Set in the small fictitious town of Tambury, the comedy-drama series follows Tony (Ricky Gervais), a writer for the local newspaper whose life is upended after his wife dies from cancer.

In season 2, whilst still struggling with immense grief for his wife, we see Tony try to become a better friend to those around him. Each grappling with their own problems and only to be intensified by the looming threat of the local newspaper being shut down.

See the Trailer:

AFTER LIFE Season Two streams on Netflix Friday, April 24, 2020.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

Portugese Chicken | 葡國雞. The odd thing about Portugese Chicken is that none of my Portugese friends have never heard of it. The name often conjures-up thoughts of roasted chicken, Churrasqueira-style. This actual dish hails from Macau, a formerly Portugese region across the river from Hong Kong, where my mom and dad had their honeymoon. It is a mild, rich, coconut milk-based curry with pronounced turmeric notes. A comforting family fave of ours for many years and a staple at any Hong Kong-style diner.

Ingredients:

8 chicken drumsticks
1 200 ml jar of Lee Kum Kee Coconut Curry Sauce (Trust me! If you don’t have it, combine 1/2 can coconut milk, 1 tbsp turmeric, 1 tbsp curry powder, 1 tbsp organic raw sugar, 1 tbsp grated ginger)
1/2 can of coconut milk
1 white potato, chopped into chunks
1/2 onion, chopped into chunks
1 pint of mushrooms, stems chopped off and halved
1 carrot, sliced into cylinders
1/2 red pepper, chopped into chunks
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Sea Salt to taste

Optional:
3 teaspoons tapioca starch

Instructions:

1. Sautée garlic, onions, potatoes on medium heat in a large skillet till caramelized.
2. Add-in red peppers, carrots and mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes.
3. Add drumsticks and cook till just browned.
4. Add coconut milk and stir.
5. Add in Coconut Curry Sauce and one equal part water, stir evenly.
6. Bring to boil and and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes or till chicken is just cooked. If sauce is runny, in a bowl mix three teaspoons of tapioca starch and just enough water to form a runny paste, and mix into sauce to thicken it.
7. Preheat oven on broil.
8. Place pan in oven and high broil for about 7-10 minutes till sauce is a bit, but not overly-charred.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool 15 minutes before serving on rice.

Gallery:

 

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Chicken Hong Kong Macau Portugese Rice

In case you weren’t aware “Milkshake” Hitmaker Kelis has embarked on a culinary career and she returns as Host of exciting new Cooking Competition Series, COOKED WITH CANNABIS!

Synopsis:
Long gone are the days of pot brownies and marijuana cookies. Today, the top chefs around the country and around the world are creating cannabis-infused culinary masterpieces. Here lies the most fun-filled, fascinating and mouth-watering cooking competition series that gives a whole new meaning to the word “baked.”

Hosted by singer and chef, Kelis and chef, Leather Storrs

See a Trailer:

COOKED WITH CANNBIS streams on Netflix Friday, April 20, 2020.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

As many of you know, TROLLS WORLD TOUR is getting an unprecedented ON-DEMAND release going an alternate route amidst our current climate.

Synopsis:
Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake return in Trolls World Tour, an all-star sequel to DreamWorks Animation’s 2016 musical hit. In an adventure that will take them well beyond what they’ve known before, Poppy (Kendrick) and Branch (Timberlake) discover that they are but one of six different Trolls tribes scattered over six different lands and devoted to six different kinds of music: Funk, Country, Techno, Classical, Pop and Rock. Their world is about to get a lot bigger and a whole lot louder.

A member of hard-rock royalty, Queen Barb (Rachel Bloom), aided by her father King Thrash (Ozzy Osbourne), wants to destroy all other kinds of music to let rock reign supreme. With the fate of the world at stake, Poppy and Branch, along with their friends — Biggie (James Corden), Chenille (Caroline Hjelt), Satin (Aino Jawo), Cooper (Ron Funches) and Guy Diamond (Kunal Nayyar) — set out to visit all the other lands to unify the Trolls in harmony against Barb, who’s looking to upstage them all.

Cast as members of the different musical tribes is one of the largest, and most acclaimed, groups of musical talent ever assembled for an animated film. From the land of Funk are Mary J. Blige, George Clinton and Anderson .Paak. Representing Country is Kelly Clarkson as Delta Dawn, with Sam Rockwell as Hickory and Flula Borg as Dickory. J Balvin brings Reggaeton, while Ester Dean adds to the Pop tribe. Anthony Ramos brings the beat in Techno and Jamie Dornan covers smooth jazz. World-renowned conductor and violinist Gustavo Dudamel appears as Trollzart and Charlyne Yi as Pennywhistle from the land of Classical. And Kenan Thompson raps as a newborn Troll named Tiny Diamond.

To get us excited, here are some fun at-home activities to get your family excited for its release, including some drawing tutorials which your kids will love!

HOW TO DRAW TINY DIAMOND

HOW TO DRAW POPPY

HOW TO DRAW BRANCH

Here’s also an awesome Home Premiere Party Pack which you can download to keep that Trolls spirit alive!
Download here.

Universal Pictures Canada release TROLLS: WORLD TOUR on-demand Friday, April 10, 2020.

(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada)

Pork Belly Bao. This was an ambitious challenge! The Bao came out light and fluffy with a pleasing bounce. The pork belly required a long, slow simmer and melted in my mouth. Mom wanted thirds!

Bao:
2 cups + 2 tbsp flour
25 ml milk
1 1/2 tbsp organic raw sugar
1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tbsp yeast
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp sea salt

Instructions:
1. Mix flour, salt and 1 tbsp sugar together in mixing bowl.
2. Dissolve yeast and 1/2 tbsp sugar into 1 tbsp warm (not hot) water.
3. Add into flour, milk, oil, rice vinegar and 100 ml water. Mix till dough forms.
4. Turn onto floured surface and knead 10 minutes. If dough is too try, wet hands with warm water till dough is pliable and not sticky. Roll into ball and transfer to greased bowl, roll around till covered. Cover bowl with damp cloth and place somewhere warm (laundry room while drying/preheated oven that is warm, not hot). Allow to rise 2 hours.
5. Transfer dough to surface and flatten dough. Dust with baking powder. Knead 5 minutes.
6. Roll dough into a log. Cut into 9 even pieces (about 3 cm wide).
7. Roll balls into ovals at about 3 mm thick. Brush with oil. Dip chopstick in oil, place chopstick onto oval and fold over.
8. Cut 9 squares of parchment paper and place dough on each. Transfer to a flat sheet. Cover with greased plastic wrap. Allow to rise somewhere warm for 1.5 hours.
10. Steam buns on medium-high heat in batches for 8 minutes.
11. Serve with pork belly, pickled carrots, coriander, Kimchi, green onion and Hoisin Sauce.

Braised Pork Belly:
2 lbs pork belly
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 cubes ginger
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp white wine
2 star anise
1/2 tsp 5 Spice Powder/ allspice or cinnamon

Marinade:
1 tsp chilli paste
1 tbsp organic raw sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp oyster sauce
4 tbsp soy sauce

Instructions:
1. Cut pork into 1-inch thick pieces. Place in marinate overnight.
2. Heat oil in wok on medium-high heat. Sautée ginger, garlic, star anise and cinnamon. Add-in pork belly and remaining marinade. Fry till cooked. Add wine, stir.
3. Add just enough water to cover surface. Bring to boil and simmer on low heat 2 hours.

Gallery:

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

It’s been a minute since we’ve heard from Chris Hemsworth, but he’s back in Netflix‘s EXTRACTION, produced by the Russo Brothers (Avengers).

Synopsis:
Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is a fearless black market mercenary with nothing left to lose when his skills are solicited to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord. But in the murky underworld of weapons dealers and drug traffickers, an already deadly mission approaches the impossible, forever altering the lives of Rake and the boy.

See the Trailer:

EXTRACTION streams on Netflix Friday, April 24, 2020.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

Matcha-Cherry Blossom Shortbread. Nothing says Spring like the fragrant, fresh notes of blooming Cherry Blossoms in High Park and harvested Matcha in May. We’re saddened at the thought that High Park won’t be even be open this Spring for Cherry Blossom viewing. Combining these flavours into a Tea Time favourite allows us to savour the season, even if we will be doing it in isolation this year. Enjoy the perfume-like aroma that fills the air as these bake! 🌸🍵

Ingredients:
1 cup + 2 tablespoons of flour
Two pinches sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (not melted)
1/2 cup organic raw sugar
1/2 tablespoon (or more) Matcha powder
1 tablespoon (or more) Sakura Latte powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Three drops of red food colouring

Instructions:
1. Prepare two mixing bowls. Divide half of butter into each bowl. Cream with sugar and vanilla.
2. Prepare two more bowls. In Bowl #1, mix evenly half of the flour with Matcha powder and a pinch of sea salt. In Bowl #2, mix evenly the other half of flour with Sakura powder and pinch of salt. Put-in a couple drops of red food colouring into Bowl #2.
3. Mix Matcha and flour into creamed butter and sugar in Bowl #1. Mix Sakura powder and flour into Bowl #2. Form each bowl’s contents into dough, handling gently.
4. Turn each dough into floured surface and form into a rectangle. The green and pink doughs should be equal in size. Cover each rectangle in plastic wrap and freeze for an hour.
5. Remove doughs from freezer and place one above the other on cutting board. If dough splits, wet hand with a bit of water and gently piece back together. Press doughs together firmly and cut into 16 pieces.
6. Place slices onto parchment paper and freeze for another hour.
7. Preheat oven to 350°F.
8. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and space each cookie 1-2 inches apart.
9. Sprinkle with a bit of organic raw cane sugar.
10. Bake 15-17 minutes till slightly golden. Remove from oven and cool about 30 minutes. Serve. Store in air-tight container.

Gallery:

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

More than ever, we are blessed to be living in the time of Netflix.  I can’t even imagine how else I’d be passing the time during this period of isolation. If you’re like me and pretty caught-up on your theatrical releases, that leaves us with plenty of Television to watch and here are some of our favourites, which are worth your time the streaming service.

THE TIGER KING. If you still haven’t streamed this gripping Docu-Series, you are in for a treat.  We’ve got murder, drugs, a gay love triangle, country crooning, felons and a heaping serving of spite in this deeply-enthralling look at the world of feuding Tiger Conservationists. At the center of it all is Oklahoma’s flamboyant Joe Exotic who recently was sentenced to a 22-year prison sentence for several counts of animal cruelty and two counts of murder-for-hire? Who did he try to have murdered?  His arch-nemesis, Tampa’s Carole Baskin of Big Cat Rescue who also is at the center of some revived controversy surrounding the disappearance of her ex-husband, Don Lewis. Several too crazy to be true plot twists and turns are revealed, with even more unbelievable characters surrounding the story. The buzz was warranted. We remember it popping-up on our screen and not being interested at first, but are we glad we gave it a chance. Obsessed.

COFFEE & KAREEM. Ed Helms stars in this Buddy-Cop Comedy as disgraced officer James Coffee, who finds himself wanted for murder and the abduction of his girlfriend Vanessa‘s (Taraji P. Henson) potty-mouthed son Kareem (Terrence Little Gardenhigh). Little do they know that he actually is protecting Kareem as they are on-the-run from Detroit’s most dangerous gangsters after Kareem plots to scare-off James by hiring a criminal in the first place and it goes horribly wrong, all because Kareem doesn’t approve of James. The jokes are crude, the humour is purely-raunchy but the shock-fueled giggles are plentiful. We love Harris, and Gardenhigh stamps himself a name to look-out for. We just wish there was more Henson!

OZARK SEASON 3. The Byrde Family are back, launching their riverboat casino The Missouri Belle, and matters get even more complicated with the arrival of Wendy‘s brother Ben (Tom Pelphrey) who battles addiction and mental illness. He falls in love with one of our favourite characters, unpredictable firecracker Ruth (Julia Garner). The Drug Cartel’s fierce lawyer Helen (Janet McTeer) returns and we wonder whether or not she can be trusted, as she vies with The Byrdes for favouritism with Cartel leader Omar Navarro (Felix Solis). We go deeper into these characters’ minds as we see The Byrdes coping with their crumbling marriage with their fight for survival continuing to weigh them down. We see a bit more of Ruth’s vulnerability as Ben peels a layer off of her and he keeps us at the edge of our seats with his erratic behaviour, unsure if he will ruin everything for his family. Yet another cliffhanger of a season finale and we can’t wait for Season 4!

NAILED IT! OMG. How have we not heard of this Show sooner? Life has been changed forever after witnessing the greatness that is NAILED IT!, a Series which refreshingly gives mediocre bakers a shot at glory and a $10k prize as they are pit against one another to replicate some unattainable-level difficult baking creations each episode. Each episode has a new guest judge from a wide array of disciplines: sports, entertainment and culinary. The banter between Comedienne Nicole Byer and head judge, Mr. Chocolate himself, Jacques Torres is amazing. We love the vibe, we love laughing with everyone about the mediocrity. This hot mess aesthetic is exactly the lift in spirits we need right now and through it all we usually learn something out of these contestants’ failures. I zipped through all four seasons rapidly.

THE CHEFS’ LINE. This Australian series is a hidden gem and a must-watch for lovers of diverse cuisine. Each week the Series explores a new ethnicity of fare with four home cooks competing with a line of chefs each episode from some of Australia’s hottest restaurants. The judges, Mark Olive, Dan Hong and Melissa Leong, aren’t told who made each dish and you’d be surprised how great some of these amateur cooks are and how close a match it is sometimes! Lots to learn about process and details in what elevates good food to great. We adore Melissa Leong, such an eloquent beauty!

BREAKFAST, LUNCH & DINNER. Travel with world-renowned Chef David Chang to Los Angeles, Phnom Penh, Vancouver and Marrakesh with Lena Waithe, Kate McKinnon, Seth Rogen and Chrissy Teigen. While this four-episode Docu-Series acts equal parts as celebrity one-on-one and an exposition of each city’s fantastic food finds, we found ourselves fascinated by the subjects and their paths to success. Above all the food looked amazing, and we’re taking notes what new places to try next time we visit L.A. It was trippy seeing Rogen and Chang enjoy Chinese Roast Pork at a hole-in-the-wall in suburban Vancouver! We are excited for Chang‘s UGLY DELICIOUS 2, which is coming soon on Netflix.

Some exciting new releases coming soon including a Documentary SURVIVING R. KELLY and LOVE WEDDING REPEAT starring Sam Claflin and Olivia Munn! Stay tuned.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

Cinnamon Buns. An all-time favourite I’ve been looking to tackle! Pleased with the results! These buns are comparable to ones at the mall. Recipe adapted from Ambitious Kitchen.

Ingredients:
3 cups of pastry flour
1 packet of yeast
1/4 cups soft butter (not melted)
1 egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
1 1/4 cups warm milk (about 45°C)
1/4 cup organic granulated cane sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:
1/2 cup organic granulated cane sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Frosting:
1/2 block cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Or Betty Crocker makes a great fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting! Easy! No shame.

Instructions:
1. Stir yeast into warm milk (like a warm bath) in large mixing bowl.
2. Add-in sugar, mix.
3. Add butter and eggs. Beat two minutes. It’s okay if yeast doesn’t dissolve.
4. Combine flour and salt. Add half a cup at a time into milk mixture, forming dough.
5. Transfer dough onto floured surface. Knead 8-10 minutes till elastic and punchy.
6. Grease large bowl with oil. Roll dough ball till coated. Cover with damp cloth or two damp paper towels. Place somewhere warm (i.e. laundry room while drying or preheated oven that is warm, not hot). Allow dough to rise over 1.5-2 hours.
7. Dough will double in size. Transfer to floured surface. With rolling pin, roll dough to a rectangle (14″ w x 9″ l).
8. Brush dough with 1/4 cup melted butter. In bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over dough, pressing into the buttered dough.
9. Roll dough tightly into a log. Cover with plastic wrap to aid if you wish.
10. Remove wrap. Trim edges off dough log. Cut log into 1 inch-thick slices. Line into a greased baking pan. You should have about 9 rolls.
11. Cover pan with plastic wrap and damp cloth/paper towels. Keep somewhere warm for 45 minutes. Rolls will rise.
12. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake rolls for 25-28 minutes till slightly golden.
13. Remove from oven. Cool 30 minutes.
14. Prepare frosting in bowl, creaming Cream Cheese with butter and vanilla. Fold-in icing sugar and beat till fluffy.
15. Spread frosting onto rolls. Store in container in fridge for a week.

Gallery:

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)