sohMarie

When it’s your first time doing a parallel park between 2 cars - alittle kindness goes a long way:))

This is my first time driving to the station, park up and then catch the train to London. So I was on a time limit and had to park up no matter what!

And there was only one spot available 🤣🤣 I wasn’t sure if it was big enough. I Facetimed my partner and he said “You can do it!”
He was thinking “ She’s lucky, that’s a huge space!”

I was struggling when this lovely mystery lady stopped by my window and asked if I needed help. I was SOOOO grateful and she guided me along. Her kindness made my day and warmed my heart … and I caught my train!

Because of her kindness, I could take this picture and make this post… which has brought on loads of laughter and chuckles. I love how my friends and family have responded to my picture 🤣🤣🤣

I’m collecting responses and will let you know which one was funniest response 🤣🤣🤣

Feel free to add your initial response when you saw this :))

Wow!!!

April is for absolutely delicious 🤣

They’ll be a good reference for when I’m not sure what to cook :))

Maybe this will inspire you too when you’re not sure what you’d like to make or order from takeaway 😃

I am most grateful to have the opportunity to celebrate my birthday with Marc in St Ives.

Just when I thought it could not get any better, we had the most awesome meal in

The menu is beautiful and perfectly executed. Each dish is full of flavour & so exquisitely balanced. The front of house team are so friendly and made us feel so special all evening !

Between the both of us we had:

1. Sticky Pork Belly ~ Soy Glaze, Kimchi, Sesame, Cashew Cream
2. Ceviche Tacos

3. Cornish Crab & Seafood Linguine ~ Mussels, Prawns, Chilli, Lemon, Garlic, Parsley
4. Pan Fried Cornish Hake Fillet ~ Potato Hash ~ Lobster ~ Mester Sauce ~ Green Beans

5. Deep Fried Banoffee Pie ~ Miso Custard, Toasted Marshmallow

Thank you again 🙏🙏

What Get’s You Excited ?

It’s a funny question to ask. But sometimes we forget to ask ourselves this simple question in the hustle & bustle of the day.

One of life’s simple pleasures - which compound throughout the day gives a really good end of the day feeling - is making something for yourself.

And filling a bento box is like packing a little care box for yourself.
Beware, bento boxes are SMALL! (As you can imagine, a big box when filled gets extremely heavy.)

SO, What can you pack in there? Not as much as I’d like…LOL!! You should see me 😋

I make my choices based
- on what I love
- what I have in my fridge
- what I am hoping to achieve (portion control) &
- how I’m feeling when I FINISH my meal.

Bento Box 1 is filled with
- 1/3 red pepper
- 1/2 handful samphire & coriander
- 1/2 portobello mushroom
- 1 small portion of leek/wild mushroom claypot rice

Bento Box 2 was filled with:
- 3 spoonfuls of smoked kimchi from
- 1 king oyster mushroom
- 1 small portion of leek/wild mushroom claypot rice

So, if you have a bento box / lunch box, what would you make for yourself today?

It’s not always about the recipe, it’s about the inspiration to try.

IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL I COULD CRY!

Having set a challenge for myself on Saturday - to create dishes whereby I would use my new platter - I was really happy wth my first recipe.

What was so beautiful?
Reason 1:
I used the leftover vegetables on the counter (recipe is below) & I was making the dish up as I go along.

Reason 2:
I did it for me. I plated dinner on my new “Saturday Find” and had a grownup dinner at the table instead of on our lap! LOL!
I love using pretty vintage plates & have visions of my dinner table looking like the beautiful images in books!

Reason 3:
A whole sea-bream that was so fresh it’s eye’s sparked! (from

Ingredients:

1 whole sea bream
6 new potatoes - boiled with salted water & tarragon

6cm section of mooli - cut into matchsticks
1 yellow courgette - cut into half moon shapes
1 handful of samphire
1 clove garlic - crushed
2 cm of ginger - - julienned
1 tablespoon of butter
Splash cooking wine
Tarragon

Instructions:

For the Fish:
1. Rub the fish inside and outside with sea salt.
2. Stuff with herb of choice & a few slices of lemon
3. Drizzle with olive, bake in oven at 190-200ºC for about 20-25 mins. (Please bake it on a piece of baking paper)
4. The skewer would go through easily when you pierce the fish to test for doneness.

For the vegetables:
1. Heat up a wok or large frying pan, drizzle with little olive oil
2. Add all the ingredients (except the samphire) into the wok.
3. Saute for 2 mins on high heat, splash of cooking wine & let it reduce
4. Add a little water to help the cooking process & place lid on for 2 mins
5. Add the samphire & saute for 1 min.
6. Add a small k**b of butter & swirl it around the vegetables & plate up.

I hope you have a try at this dish which is yummy & so easy to make too! This dish works with any protein - so it need not be a whole sea bream. It can be roast chicken legs / roast chicken / roast lamb, poached salmon, chickpea burger patties etc. Feel free to change it up as you see fit.

It’s not about the recipe but the inspiration to try.

I had a lovely weekend enjoying the sun & cooking in the sun. I hope you had a lovely weekend too.

I just wanted to share some of the beautiful sauces & dressings that I enjoyed over the weekend.

Dressing for Tomato salad
- a mayonnaise based dressing with added herbs
- 1 egg yolk : 1 cup* grapeseed oil : 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Ingredients:
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white whine vinegar

1-2 cloves garlic minced

1 cup grapeseed oil
*The size of the cup you use is pretty important. I use a measuring cup which hold about 240ml liquid.

1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon water

1/2 - 1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 - 1 teaspoon pepper

Fine chopped tarragon, parsley & oregano (according toy your liking)

Method:
1. Mix the egg yolk, dijon mustard, lemon juice together with the minced garlic until well combined.
2. Gradually whisk as you drizzle the oil slowly into the mix.
3. Mix the water with the lemon juice
4. In between, add little of the lemon water, whisk to mix before continuing with drizzling & whisking in the oil.
5. When the mayonnaise dressing is to you liking, season it. Adjust season to your liking.
6. You can thin it down further with more water if you prefer.
7. Add in the chopped herbs, leave to rest 30 minutes before dressing your room temperature tomatoes.

A Tip: Put your uncut tomatoes out in the sun to warm before slicing. It enhances the flavour of the tomatoes.

I don’t store my tomatoes in the fridge, preferring to leave them out in the kitchen.
It helps to ripen & soften them which taste more succulent than firm hard tomatoes.

I hope you’ll give it a try & let me know how you get on with it.

Everyone has their special SUPERHERO in their fridge or cupboard.

This superhero saves the day
- when a hungry motley crew hungry marauders invade your kitchen. For some, it could be tomato sauce, chicken goujons, pizza, pasta ....

Fme, my fridge superhero is the Pesto!

What's so special about the pesto? For me, it's that blend of unami, creamy, nutty sweet all rolled into one. Which is what makes it so versatile that it can be
- stirred into pasta,
- be served as a sauce for meat/fish/tofu,
- be used as the binding agent for meatballs or arancinis,
- stirred into a white risotto,
- served with avocado on toast
- served as a dip for crudités & many more.

Now, there are many different recipes and variations of pesto - basil pesto, kale & hazelnut, broccoli & pine nut etc. It's rather tricky to try & remember different recipes for all of them.

I adopt a simple formula which makes it easy for me to create any pesto out of the ingredients I have in my kitchen.

Nuts : Leaves : Cheese : Oil + Garlic (optional)
1/4 : 1/2 : 1 : 1

e.g.
nuts. : leaves : cheese : oil
+ garlic (optional)
25g : 50g : 100g : 100ml + 1clove

It works everytime!

If you're in a hurry, use a food processor to chop the garlic, nuts & leaves. Then I would stir-in the grated cheese & oil, season to taste & use.

If you have emotions to vent or , you simply prefer the traditional way, you can use a pestle & mortar. Pound the nuts & garlic to a creamy consistency, before adding the leaves. Once you have have added the leaves, using a grinding action to break it down. Then stir-in the grated cheese & oil at the end.

Season to taste.

I hope you find this useful & feel free to let me know how you get on with it:)

The best thing for a leftover Sunday lunch roast chicken is chicken sandwich. Marc dreams of his sandwich with mayo, lettuce, tomato, leftover stuffing & chicken. Whereas I love mine with caesar dressing & lettuce on the side.

For me a good caesar dressing needs to have that fine balance of savoury unami, spicy mustard & acidic lemon... mmm...I'm salivating already. It's hard to find this perfect balance fro store-bought dressings. So, more often than not, I make my own. The dressing will keep well in the fridge for about a week. It's easy, fresh & economical. I make the amount I need & nothing goes to waste.

The first part of the recipe calls for mayonnaise - which we made in a few posts...

The basic formula is:
1 cup mayonnaise : 1/2 cup parmesan cheese : 2 cloves garlic

Once you have the basic formula, you layer the build more depth & flavour into dressing.

(Now if you are using store bought mayonnaise, you can just substitute it with 1 measuring cup of store-bought mayonnaise)

It helps to understand the role each ingredient plays in the recipe.

Anchovy, parmesan - adds unami savouriness

Lemon - adds acidity to cut the richness of the dressing

Dijon mustard & garlic - adds a spiciness to it

Worcestershire sauce - adds that warm X-factor depth to the dressing

Ingredients
3-4 anchovy fillets
2 garlic cloves (blanched in boiling water for 1 min to get rid of the flavour of raw garlic))
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I rather like using gruyere too)

Method:
Chop the anchovy & blanched garlic together to make a paste.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the garlic, anchovy paste, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce.

Add in 1 cup of mayonnaise (store-bought or freshly made), Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt and pepper and stir until well combined.

Taste and adjust to your liking.

You can water it down with 1tbsp of water if you prefer your dressing thinner.

There! It’s all done:))
I have mine over 1/4 of grilled baby gem lettuce, topped with a fried egg and gruyere cheese tulle.
The picture doesn’t show how delicious it is.

Last Wednesday, I made my mom’s recipe for Lo Bak Go ( the Cantonese Dim Sum you get in restaurants)

It’s delicious and it also gives us 3 trays worth of it! So on the first night, it was starter with main dish of Noodle stir fry with veg.
The second tray was consumed as a quick Sunday lunch. Finally, we are on our last tray and I had a moment of genius which I decided to try.

I cut the cake into rectangles, which I panfried n served when black vinegar-soy dip. The usual way you serve Lo Bak Go.

With the offcuts, I panfried them in a wok with garlic, preserved turnip (sweet, salty n crunch rather like Unami), eggs and sweet soy sauce.
It’s become like the Singapore dish Chai Tao Kueh (Fried Turnip Cake)

No waste and more deliciousness!

I carry this practice into my classes where I teach you to make the dish AND variations from that dish.

If you’d like to make your own dim sum, I have classes running in March and April & you can check them out here. There’s another class in the Dim Sum Series that is all about making dumplings if you’d like to have your own Dim Sum repertoire! And if you’d like to book to do the class with your mom, do so now & Mom can join the class FREE in March.

https://www.sohmarie.com/courses/dim-sum-class-2---lo-bak-go-%26-char-siu-pastry-puff

So these are my superheroes - the strong women whom I’m so lucky to be related to:)

As you can tell, who is the cheeky, black sheep of the family 🤣🤣

I’m thankful for my mom who’s made me who I am taught me all my values that I hold as my true north. She gave me the foundation in cooking, about mixing flavours, about tasting something and going home to replicate it! Growing up in the 70’s we did not have the Internet with all the tried and tested recipes to learn from. She still guides my sis and I on how to make various dishes - and she hopes one day I will “stick to her recipe” and not freestyle from it 🤣🤣

My sis is the kindest, most generous individual who never says “no” to anyone. She loves and cares deeply and I drive her bananas most of the time. She taught me about respecting others and their property, about serving others for the greater good ... and about The Beatles!

To all the wonderful women in our lives!
May we continue to learn from them
May we continue to humour them n make everyone laugh!

So in the spur of the moment, I thought how cool if you could cook along with your mom - who may not be in the same household (or even better if you are) - via zoom! She can join you on your class & drive each other crazy 🤣🤣

You can check out the classes on the link in my bio or go straight to www.sohmarie.com/courses

This offer extends into personaljsed classes too!

I’m going to be very honest & say that I love a good mayonnaise with chips. It gets even better when I love onto aioli (which is basically garlic mayonnaise), caesar dressing and truffle mayonnaise.

Everyone thinks making mayo is hard & it's this mysterious concoction. I used to think that too.
Not anymore! You do need some elbow grease or a handheld mixer to help you along.

So, you only need to remember this

1 egg yolk : 1 cup* grapeseed oil : 1 tablespoon lemon juice

*The size of the cup you use is pretty important. I use a measuring cup which hold about 240ml liquid.

The tip is to make it a few times, using the recipe will help you to understand "why you do what you do". Which in turn will help you to re-create this formula again in future - without memorising any recipes.

"Mayonnaise is an example of a permanent emulsion, consisting of egg yolks and oil. Egg yolks and oil would not naturally come together, but when the oil is slowly whisked into the egg yolks, the two liquids form a stable emulsion that won't separate." from www.thespruceeats.com
* The protein component of an egg yolk allows it to absorb and retain fat in this emulsion.
* The lemon juice (acid) helps to prevent this emulsion from splitting
* The water helps to thin it down to the consistency you want

Ingredients
1 egg yolk
1 cup grapeseed oil
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp water
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Method:
- In a small cup, mix the water & lemon juice together
- Shape a kitchen towel into a circle & place a medium sized mixing bowl on top of it.
- Add half of the lemon juice-water mixture with the egg yolk into the mixing bowl. Start whisking
- When you are whisking, try & do so in the shape of the figure "8". This helps to reduce the amount of foam formed from regular whisking in a circle.
- Drizzle the oil, very SLOWLY in a steady stream into the eggs as you whisk.
- Add a little of the lemon water in between & carry on whisking.
- Carry on whisking until all the oil is used up.the oil & whisk to combine.
- Season with salt, pepper & sugar at the end

Mayo is done & NOW! This is where the fun begins! In the next post, I will show you how ...

It’s a lovely Monday to make lunch with . So dress up Monday today is about Dressing Up the Minestrone.

If you’d like to check out the video it’s on IGTV. During the cookalong, Nicky made the version as shown in the original recipe.

I made Variation 4 of the recipe on the last slide. I was actually thinking of my sis .soh.73 when I made this variation. Growing up she loved my mom’s version of minestrone - potato, carrots, onions, minced beef and a few chopped tomatoes.

It’s amazing how every culture has recipes which are similar! We are all one world 🙌!

Please DM me if you’d like to make the recipe &/or the variations. I will send you the PDF of the recipes.

with kids

Happy Year of the Ox!!!!
I found out that it’s a very good year for us Rats 🎉🎉🎉

So here’s my New Year’s Eve feast from last night!

I made my mom’s 6 Hour Mushroom Braise. It may look brown but it’s delicious!!! We have this ingredient that look like hair 🤣🤣 but it symbolise prosperity - Fatt Choi!
It tastes like glass noodles but they are black.

Next up is the yummy Crispy Noodles with Chicken, Veg in XO Sauce!! Super bad for you but oh man!!! I had to fry the noodles (baking in oven doesn’t work for me) n keep it warm in the oven. Next I cook the chicken and sauce separately and then add it to the noodles just before I am ready to serve.

Have fun and experiment!
SO the next time you make a noodle dish, change it up and fry the noodle crispy!! YOU WILL NEVER LOOK BACK 🤣🤣

There was also Prawn and Waterchestnut Burgers. Anything with prawns is good for the new year :))

& for green - which represents spring and growth, I made a stir fry with spring onions, asparagus, cabbage and garlic. A light splash of white wine and salt was there was to it.

No, I did not slave over the stove for hours. Took me 1 hour from beginning to end to make the 3 dishes. (The mushroom dish do not count as they were doing their own thing in the braise)

Making foods from any culture is fun. Just Chinese foods alone, there are so many variations from the different regions of China, Singapore and Thailand etc.. so have fun:))

Happy Thursday & Happy Lunar New Year’s Eve!!! Tomorrow will begin the Year of the Ox!

I will wait for what my mom is going to tell me to expect in the year for Rats like me🤣🤣

Right now, my house is smelling of braised shiitake mushrooms - a whole bag of them all the way from Japan to Singapore and then to England!
Well I have soaked them for 24 hours and am now braiding them for 6 hours - as per mom’s instructions.

It’s fun cooking with family and friends - even if it’s online, it’s still LIVE. There’s always chatter and laughter involved & a bit of venting too:))
I’m cooking live with the super amazing on Monday 15/2 at noon! She has no idea yet what she’s in for !!

It’s Pasta Wednesday!
Today’s pasta has been used to create the traditional flavours of a Singaporean dish called “Kueh Chap”

It’s this silky pasta that is served with this velvety belly pork braised in soy sauce! Oh it’s heavenly!!

Ingredients
1 head garlic crushed
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1 chilli sliced (optional)
1 piece cassia bark
3 star anise
3 slices of fresh ginger

2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
3 tablespoon of sweet soy sauce ( Kecap Manis)
2 tablespoon light soy sauce
800- 1000ml water

5 rehydrated dried shiitake mushroom
3-4 sticks of bean curd sticks
5 hard boiled eggs
600g pork belly cut into 1 inch cubes

Method
- Put all the spices and wet ingredients into a pot. (Remember the liquid from soaking the mushrooms)
- Taste for the seasoning and adjust it according to your palette.
- bring to the boil & add the rest of the ingredients.
- skim the surface of the impurities that rise up
- cover with a lid. Lower heat to a gentle simmer and leave to cook for 1.5 hours ( I love my belly pork meltingly tender)

- Blanch some pak Choi or greens in a pot of salted water. Remove and set aside.
- Next cook your pasta (recipe in the first few Pasta Wednesdays) drain.
- Ladle the belly pork stew, , bean curd egg n sauce into a ramen bowl. Top with the noodles and the greens.
- Tuck In!!

I hope you’ll enjoy this recipe. You don’t need to have everything .. you can omit the cassia bark or cinnamon stick, star anise if you don’t have them..

You can replace with chicken thighs or duck legs ( oh that is another stunner) or braising beef..

To make a vegetarian version (I’ve not tried), you can add tofu, carrots, butternut squash, dried mushrooms, and maybe alittle oyster sauce or veggie stock cube. And you just need to simmer for 45mins.

You can replace with instant noodles if you do not want to make pasta today. It’s great with plain rice too 😋😋😋

I love food - making them, eating them, sharing them! I work with people who love food & want to make delicious foods for themselves and for their families. I teach them simple strategies to whip up any foods they fancy in 15, 30, 60 mins!!
It’s wonderful to be able to do that:))

What do you make when you are starving and need to eat stat?

Omelettes!
I made a video of the whole process of me make it & I spent 3 hours trying to edit it and it was so bad I’m not posting it ..🙈🙉 I will break it into stills and post it if you want.

The trick is cook what leftover ingredients to use as a filling. In this case I used leftover dumpling mix.

I fried it till was all gnarly & crispy then added a teaspoon of chilli oil.
Next I whisked 2 eggs and added it into the mix.
I swirl my pan a few times so the egg mix flows to the side of the pan and cooks faster.
I added 1/2 a bag of salad leaves and folded the omelette over.

The brown bits on top is the stuck on bits of the dumpling mix.
All done in 7mins!!

We all have OUR PEOPLE - someone(s) who listens, inspires, supports us, cracks us up into laughter.
(P.S. I have many ‘peeps ’ for different categories of need LOL!!)

Right now, it feels like Groundhog Day
- working from home, home-schooling, home learning, housework & making 3 meals - EVERYDAY! 
Everyone is feeling some level of stress / pressure / frustration / depression ..

You may be looking for a distraction,
You may be looking to change up your view of making food
You may just want to do something just for you

No matter what you want to get out of the kitchen, I would be honoured to be YOUR PERSON!

I’ll be there to listen to you, help answer your kitchen/food issue, teach you new skills, change up your perspective about food or simply to crack you up!

I meet you where YOU are and work from there. The class content is informative & filled with practical tips but you have me by your
side to answer any questions you may have, encourage you & support you along the way.

Come take a look, see what you want & have a chat if you are curious. Click the link on the bio to find out more about the classes. Or visit www.sohmarie.com.

You can DM me too with any questions & I will answer them as soon as possible.

PS Now, I’m just going to do my weekly walk to the big near my place & have my me time with my groceries 😜