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

Everyone has a story of when they woke up in the morning with little running time but still need to prep for dinner but late but... That's how sometime the reel rolls, right?  You know chicken chicken situation, right?  Chicken bought whole costs less compared to when we buy them by parts. As in the whole chicken costs RM18 to Rm30 compared to when bought by parts i.e 3 parts chicken thighs would cost RM40 to Rm50 per meal.  If you're a mom, hit me up.  It's something you can quickly pop into the slow cooker and then eat for dinner. Throw it into the slow cooker in the morning before leaving for work and then come home to a simple dinner.  This is something you can pop quickly into the slow cooker in the morning. Seriously. And then come he to dinner.  https://cookpad.com/us/recipes/3555437-rice-wine-ginger-soy-chicken

We found a steal-of-a-deal at the frozen seafood section of a nearby mall. The deals were, not even kidding about it, damn affordable. As with most kids, we love fish but hate bones so, ever since they were young, I've fed them these easy/cheaper dory fish fillets.  The question was whether I want to steam them (easy), air-fry them (mid-difficult), or pan-fry (difficult and long and tedious). But I decided to go with the hard difficulty route because I want the soft white fish to be firm enough. There are hard white fish, and there's soft white fish. Go research them and you will find out more about the texture and temperature management.  Chinese communities are hard stuck on big, fresh fishes and prawns but they're not ingredients we can cheaply get in Malaysia. They're reserved for celebrations. So, we don't usually have them in this house. We're poor so, we usually make just chicken in as many ways as we can.  But since I found the fish fillet, I...

Inspired by Korean and Japanese way of slow-making eggs, I've failed doing this multiple times before so, the foot I started out on for this was on the back foot. But did I want to try it again? Yes.  It was harder and took longer than I thought. Tip is this: You need time and patience. Unlike all the other egg recipes that I tried out, this was...intricately difficult. Don't do it if you don't have the time. 😂 Mine wasn't good enough for me but it was...well...OK, I guess.  What I Used Minced fresh garlic + whisked 7 eggs + julienned carrots + cut-up crab cakes + thinly-sliced spring onions. You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand, it doesn't really make a difference in the end.  Tips Based on Experience Beat up eggs and add salt, pepper, and chicken/anchovies bouillon; Set aside Add in other side ingredients into the eggs mix Heat up cooking oil, saute garlic for a few seconds Pour in first layer of egg mix and let cook for a few minutes on M...

Son 1 just started working and after a hard day's work, I want to provide him (and them, eventually) with simple home-cooked food. I tried to take pictures of all the food we've made so far but most of the time, I forget. 😖 Pan-Fried and Air-Fried Chicken Breasts Marinaded butterfly-cut chicken breasts with oil, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, paprika, cumin, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, pepper, and a touch of vinegar Marinade for 2 hours Bring to room temperature Pan-fry each side for 2 to 3 mins each side Air-fry for 15 mins Cook sauce with remaining chicken juice in the pan with broth, soy sauce, oyster sauce and chili/tomato sauce and a little bit of sugar Adjust to taste; serve as topping/baste/sauce ENJOY Stewed Cabbage and Carrots This is something the boys have always loved. I used to have leftovers saved up for me but today, they kind of sent-it and did everything in, piling vegetables onto their plates. To them, as long as it's not bok choy. L...

Trying to do some easy prep food and the last few times, I tried to pickle vegetables and reserve tofu and eggs. Success rate is so far around 70% but HOW did we live and survive without the Internet? LOL 1. Leftover rice I don't know about other households but in this one, we try really hard not to waste food and we feel really good when we clean as many things up. These few months, I've got my MoJo back a little and not only are not wasting food (rice, especially) but also simple stuff like marinades and sauces. 👍 2. Microwaved chic breasts - Soy, Honey, Sriracha sauce The chicken breasts were cooked in the oven beforehand and these are leftovers too but they were still good. All we needed was a bit of a re-cook and good sauce. Removed the chicken breasts and cut them into bite-sizes and placed aside. In the pan, remade the sauces with light soy sauce, sriracha and honey. Goddamn delicious.  3. Steamed eggplants with chili and onions I finally learned how to cut the eggplant...

I've been cooking tons these days, trying to make the most of our budget and time, but other days, maybe just.... CAVE IN just once? This has always been one of our favorites, outside of all our Kopitiam favorites, and it's just sad that I did not get the whole promo set thinghy. THIS  is NOT  a Paid Ad. We just liked it.  Some days, we resign ourselves to just instant cup noodles because time is scarce and we have to make do. However, the above was actually a mid-tier cost-inefficient choice. I know. But it's delicious and we like it.  SOMETIMES, you know.  I made some stews, some soups, and today some egg plants together with air-fried chicken chops (that I have no picture of) along the way and I think we're eating good. =)

The streaky yolk is what we live for in this house. I made fried rice and all we needed were these little babies.  All they need? Soy sauce, some fragrant oil, aromatics, and maybe some simple sauce mix of your choice. Burnt and cooked on the bottom yet streaky on the top.  The best, no? 

Been cooking a lot these past months but these delivery apps are completely disappointing sometimes. I am sure I am not the only one. I made braised nuts from the really cheap kind of peanuts we can find in Malaysia, not the soft Japanese variety. Where do we find those, anyway? Are they so much more expensive? I was surprised, however, with the number of unique ingredients needed in the braising sauce. Thankfully, I have some  of those so it was all good.  I am inserting some random pictures I've taken into this post because I am kinda fighting A.I. LOL. I don't think they can read my post and fit it into their algorithm to rank me and this post. The plan is to be an outlier.  Based on what I have written, combined with the OG photos I've posted, I wonder what AI thinks I am all about. Is it food? Travel? Cooking? Kids? Movies? Writing? SEO? I Started blogging since forever so I am curious about the accumulation of info they have about someone as insignifican...

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...