Temptations @ Ara Cooked her last meal

It all started with just this two books .....

I bought these two confinement recipe books way back in 2008 after my wife gave birth to Ryan. The original idea was to get the confinement lady to cook some of the dishes listed in these cook books instead of the one or two standard dishes that she would cook everyday. She was accommodating enough to try some of the dishes we asked her.

After the month was over, I took over the cooking, trying out some of the recipes listed in these two cook books. Now, I have never really cook before and the best I could do before this were probably frying eggs and rice. So, it was quite a challenge to me then but I was determined to try and learn. I would faithfully follow the book to the letter and whipped out dishes after dishes, and my wife was gracious enough to be my guinea pig to try them out. (Anyway, she does not have much of choice does she). I remembered one of our good friend (Winnie) commented that I looked funny running in and out of the kitchen with the recipe book in hand while cooking.

Over time, I began to get comfortable cooking and does not find the task daunting. In fact, I find it rather interesting and began to experiment with different ingredients. My passion for photography fueled my interest in cooking further because I delight to making sure that my dishes are `visually delicious and inviting'. Hence, my cooking adventure takes shape .....

In the last four years, some of our close friends and my sister have been kind enough to partake in most of my `food experiment' and Temptations @ Ara takes form, only opened to serve my lovely wife, my sister, family members and friends, sharing food, wine, beer, laughter and a good time.

Well, Temptations @ Ara served her last meal on 30th and 31st October 2012 with our shifting to Beijing in next several days. And who better should her last guest be if not, the very same person that prompted her very existence....my wife....

With the ingredients left in our fridge, Temptations @ Ara served the following:-

I missed my kitchen here but our life and adventure beckons us else where.

With these four dishes, all the pots and pans have been packed to be shipped to Beijing, and hopefully Temptations @ Beijing will open soon to cook for her number one fan....my wife....and whoever, who happen to drop by for a visit in the future and daring enough to try ....Till then, Tempations @ Ara signing off.....:)

A Sunday Japanese Theme Dinner at home

I still have a slap of tuna and a couple of scallops left over in the fridge that I must cooked soon. Since we were a little lazy to eat out again after eating out rather often recently, we have decided to have another home cooked meal tonight.

I went out and got myself some additional ingredients for tonight's dinner. I was thinking of a Japanese seafood dinner. Hence, I got myself a whole mackerel, 4 large prawns, some mangoes, red capsicum, mint leaves, lemon and some Japanese cucumber.

First dish would be Pan fried buttered prawn served with Japanese Mayo and Mango salsa.

To prepare the mango salsa, simply diced a ripe mango and red capsicum. Add some finely chopped mint leaves, lemon zest and half a lemon juice. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Mix well and leave in the fridge to be served later.

Add some butter to the pan and put in the prawns when it is hot. Do not overcooked.

Next dish is the Pan seared scallops served with Japanese Mayo.

Again, another rather simple dish to prepare. Simply season scallops with salt and black pepper and pan seared lightly in high heat. Do not overcooked as scallops will shrink and the meat will dry. 

For the main dish, I have the Oven Grilled Whole Mackerel.

Seasoned mackerel with salt, lemon juice and black pepper. Pre-heat oven at 250 degrees. Place mackerel into aluminium wrapped tray. Add olive oil and grill for 5 to 10 minutes depending on size of the fish.

And finally, the last dish for the night is Pan seared Tuna steak ...

This is another all time favorite at home. Simply season the tuna steak with black pepper on the for sides. Heat up the pan with olive oil. 

Using a tong, place the tuna steak first on one side onto the pan and seared till brown. Seared the side next to it and continue on all four sides. It is important to just seared lightly to ensure that the center of the tuna is still red and juicy. Using a sharp (and I mean really sharp knife), slice the tuna steak into thin slices and served with wasabi and japanese soy sauce.

And that is our dinner for our Sunday night at home .....