There was some roasted garlic in the fridge and since we were going to use the oven to roast vegetables, I thought might as well use the oven to melt some butter to make roasted garlic butter. 冰箱里有剩余的烤大蒜，我心想，既然今天有用烤箱，不如就同时软化牛油来做蒜蓉牛油。


And so, a whole piece of butter was placed in the same container with the roasted garlic. Into the oven during preheat. 想着，我就将烤大蒜取出，加入一块牛油，在烤箱预热时，将容器放入烤箱里。


I was afraid after preheat, the oven would further cook the roasted garlic, so after 3 minutes, I took out the slightly softened butter, scrapped the melted butter to cover the roasted garlic, return to oven for another 5 minutes. 因为用意是要软化牛油，不是烤大蒜，3分钟后，我取出容器，将已软化的牛油覆盖烤大蒜，再返回烤箱多5分钟。


That was my shortcut method. Nonetheless, here is a proper recipe. 那是我的懒人秘方，以下是真正的配方。


INGREDIENTS 食材
250g softened butter 250克 软化的牛油
30 cloves roasted garlic 30颗 烤大蒜

STEPS 步骤
Add softened butter to the roasted garlic 将软化的牛油加入装有烤大蒜的容器
Use a spoon to gently smash the roasted garlic and mix with butter till smooth 用汤匙轻轻压碎烤大蒜，与软化的牛油混匀
Let cool, put on lid and store in fridge 待冷却，盖上盖，放入冰箱冷藏


THE RESULTS 成品

This flavourful butter is not only good as a spread for garlic bread, it also adds flavour to grilled meat, fish, vegetables. 蒜蓉牛油不仅可用在法式蒜蓉面包，它也能在烤肉，鱼，蔬菜上提味。

INGREDIENTS 食材
1 packet of vermicelli   一包米粉  S$1.10
1 bitter gourd  一条苦瓜  S$1.70
2 tomatoes 两颗番茄  S$0.50
200g marinated pork belly 200克 腌制好的猪肉  S$2.80
2 eggs 两颗鸡蛋  S$0.50
1 white onion 一粒白洋葱  S$0.30
4 cloves of garlic 四颗蒜头 S$0.30
4 cloves of shallot 四颗小洋葱 S$0.30
200g dried shrimp  200克虾米 S$2.00
2 tablespoons cooking oil 两汤匙 食用油

STEPS 步骤

• First, soak vermicelli and dried shrimp in water
• After remove the seeds from bitter gourd, cut into thin slices
• Cut white onion into thin slices
• Cut the tomatoes into wedges
• Beat the eggs, add 2 tablespoons of water and season with salt
• Slice shallot, mince garlic and the softened dried shrimp
• In a heated wok, add a tablespoon of cooking oil
• Fry sliced white onion till soft and light brown, remove from wok
• Stir fry the minced dried shrimp till fragrant
• Add in minced garlic and sliced shallot, stir fry mixture for a minute
• Add in marinated pork belly, stir fry, then add in the fried white onion
• When the pork belly is cooked, add in sliced bitter gourd, stir fry
• Pour in the eggs mixture and scramble with the vegetables
• Add in tomato wedges
• Remove vermicelli from water and add to the fried vegetables
• Gently lift the fried vegetables to cover the vermicelli
• Place the lid to let it braise
• Add 200ml stock to soften and flavour the fried mixture

THE RESULTS 成品

Serves 4 可供四人食用

INGREDIENTS 食材

• 4 pieces claypot noodle
• 1 bunch choy sum 
• 200g pork belly 两百克三层肉
• 1 carrot 一条红萝卜
• 1 tomato 一粒番茄
• 5 cloves of garlic 五颗蒜头
• 3 cloves of shallot 三颗小葱头
• 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
• Salt and white pepper to season
• 1 teaspoon corn flour to season
• 200ml of chicken & mushroom stock
• 200ml water

• Cut the pork belly into about 1 inch per piece
• Season them with salt and pepper
• Add 1 teaspoon of corn flour
• Put on the lid and let it season in the fridge

• Mince garlic, slice shallot
• Cut carrot into small strips
• Wash and cut choy sum, separate stems from leaves

• Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil to a heated wok
• Fry garlic and shallot till golden brown
• Add in seasoned pork belly and stir fry till meat is 80% cooked
• Add in sliced carrots, followed by choy sum stems

INGREDIENTS 食材

• 6 pieces of shiitake mushrooms, soaked in water till soft, squeeze out water to make mushrooms dry then slice thinly.  Filter mushroom water through a fine sieve and set aside
• 450g of washed rice
• 1 head of cabbage ~400g, cut into big chunks
• 1 carrot ~100g, slice thinly
• 100g pork, slice thinly
• 20g dried shrimp, chop finely
• 20g dried scallop, washed and soaked for about 10 minutes
• 8 cloves garlic, chop finely
• 4 cloves shallot, chop finely
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 2 tablespoons dark soya sauce
• Light soya sauce and white pepper to season

STEPS 步骤

• In a heated wok, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil to fry dried shrimp
• Add dried shrimp and stir fry (dried shrimp usually sucks up all oil)
• Add garlic and 1 teaspoon of cooking oil, stir fry
• Add shallot and stir fry till fragrant
• Add in sliced mushrooms, stir fry till fragrant
• Add in sliced pork, stir fry and mix well

• Add light soya sauce and white pepper to mushrooms and pork contents, stir fry
• Add in sliced carrot, fry and mix well
• Pour in 3 tablespoons of dark soya sauce, let it caramelize while stir frying
• Add in shredded dried scallops, stir fry and mix well

• Add the washed uncooked rice, stir and mix well
• Pour in the mushroom water and additional water to make a total of 600ml liquid
• Throw in all cabbage to cover the rice
• Put on the lid and let cook at medium heat for 20 minutes
• Open lid, mix the cabbage with the rest of the contents, put on lid and cook for a further 10 minutes or until rice is fully cooked

While I was busy trying to figure out the difference between Post and Page in Blogger.  DT decided to cook dinner with whatever we had in the fridge.  So a Hokkien man found some yellow noodles, crab sticks, dried shrimp, bean sprouts, frozen vegetables and Voilà.... Hokkien Fried Prawn Noodles (small dried shrimps, not prawn 😊)

连续几天没上超市，冰箱里所剩无几。DT决定用虾米豆芽炒面，于是这位福建先生就炒了一锅似模似样的“福建炒虾米面”。卖相，香味真不赖，但好咸哦！是他用心炒的，所以我还是吃了两盘。👍

Here are the photos.

Some tips:

- a packet of about 10 whole garlic bulbs costs around S$2.30

- bake them as soon as possible, before they sprout

- it is a must to add oil, preferably extra virgin olive oil

- optional to add salt, pepper & your favourite herbs (I always add salt and pepper, sometimes rosemary to half of the lot)

- preheat oven at 180-200°C, bake for about 30-40 minutes

- leave the baked garlic in power-off oven for another 10 minutes

- to remove the baked garlic, I would usually peel the skin and pick out each baked cloves.  Less wastage & prettier whole garlic clove.

- these roasted garlic may be added to salad, as a side/garnish to meat dishes, add butter or olive oil as bread spread or simply as a snack

- store them in an airtight container (I use IKEA glass food containers) and keep in fridge, not freezer

- consume them within a week

Garlic is one of the most commonly used ingredient in all culinary arts.  It is often used as a flavouring ingredient in recipes or as a condiment.

I often roast young garlic bulbs as a condiment or add butter to make garlic spread.  As for stir fry cooking, I'll use old garlic.  What is the difference?  Old garlic has a stronger aroma, the papery outer skin is often brown colour, and it is usually sold in cloves.

Where to get & How much?

For old garlic, I'll get them from nearby local market or provision shop, which is usually S$? per kg.

I'll get young garlic from supermarkets, for e.g. Fairprice supermarket often sells a bag for S$2.30.  It usually has 10 bulbs in each bag.