Headed to Phuket Thailand

We have done a few local vacations since living here, mostly in Maylasia, and have explored all/most of Singapore...so now we are headed on a vacation to Phuket Thailand in a few days.

It is only a 1 1/2 hour flight and we are really looking forward to it. We know a lot of people who have vacationed there and LOVE it, and return again and again. Planning on snorkeling in the coral reefs off of Phi Phi Island, exploring Phuket, and relaxing on the beach. Will update our blog next week when we return with photos. Bon Voyage! :)

National Dish of Singapore- made special for Maddie

Since moving here, Madeline has not been able to experience the cool "hawker centers"-the place where you can get traditional food from all over Asia for dirt cheap (and really really good). Due to her allergies, we have stayed clear of these areas-but she is always asking what some of the dishes taste like. One of these dishes is the national dish of Singapore...The Hainanese Chicken Rice.

A candidate for ‘national dish’, is it can be found in almost every street corner coffeeshop, hawker centers, hotels, and coffee houses in Singapore. Brought to Singapore by immigrants from Hainan, China, it has evolved to become the delicious Singaporean dish it is today.

I had to tweak the recipe for our liking and allergies, but Madeline and I made it tonight and it was really great and tasted very very similar to the ones in the Hawker centers. The typical recipe calls for a whole chicken (skin on) and uses a lot of fat to cook it in. I modified the traditional recipes I found and came up with the one below. If you would like to try our version-it is quite yummy and tasty with the ginger and garlic. The locals add the Chili Sauce or soya sauce when eating for more flavor and punch, but we stuck to the plain and simple. We served it with some fresh steamed green beans, it was a great easy dinner with two big thumbs up from the kids and Brian. :)

Sibley version of "Singapore Chicken Rice"

1lb boneless chicken breasts
1 scallion, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 slices fresh, peeled ginger (plus more for grating in rice)
chicken broth (I used one and a half cartons of Organic Chicken broth)
6 to 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped (and minced for rice)
4 cups long-grain uncooked rice
1 tsp fine salt

Optional: Mix together for Chilli Sauce
2 to 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice, 5 tbsp finely chopped fresh red chilies, 5 cloves garlic, chopped, 3 tbsp finely chopped ginger, 1 tsp fine salt, 1/2 cup boiling hot chicken stock (what you cooked the chicken in)


Directions:
Pour chicken broth into large pot (reserve enough for rice). Place chicken with scallions, 2 cloves sliced garlic and sliced ginger into pot. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer just under boiling point and cook, covered until just cooked through, about 20-30 minutes. (I have a rice cooker, but if you don't just cook the rice on the stove)Take more chicken broth, uncooked rice, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and fresh grated ginger to the pot/rice cooker. Make rice as usual with replacing water with chicken broth. Once done, chop chicken once cooked and serve with steaming hot rice and optional chilli sauce. Dark soya sauce is also an ideal accompaniment (which we couldn't do because of maddie's allergies). Super easy and super good. Hope this makes sense, email me if you have any questions of comments if you make it at home.

A little bit of Singapore, brought to YOU. Enjoy!

Ambulance etiquette

I was sitting in a huge traffic jam yesterday on one of the highways. I knew there must be an accident coming up. Then I noticed that WAY behind me was an ambulance stuck behind all the traffic. His lights on. His sirens on. Sitting... waiting patiently with all the other cars/trucks/mopeds/etc. Yes, that's right. You don't have to pull over for emergency vehicles here in Singapore!
No one really pays any attention to emergency vehicles. I saw one the other day waiting to turn in an intersection, lights on, sirens on, and NO ONE let him turn. Isn't that just crazy????
I did some online "research" to figure out why no one pays attention to emergency vehicles here. I read this on one website:
"Remember that a lot of Singaporeans consider an ambulance nothing more than a rich person's ride to an expensive private hospital." And on the same page, someone wrote: "They do say that if you want to get to the hospital fast (and in one piece) here, take a taxi." Someone wrote that they actually witnessed a taxi passing an ambulance (with its lights on and siren blaring).
Thank goodness that we haven't had any emergency that would require calling for an ambulance, but I believe I might dial a taxi instead after what I witnessed the other day.

Kids trip to Little India

Madeline and Grant have been begging me to take them to Little India, so I took them the other day.

We got there first thing in the morning and explored Tekka Market, a giant "wet market" (like a farmers market) and witnessed the buzzing people getting fruits, meats, flowers, etc. Madeline did NOT like the meat section and quickly told me she wanted to go. She didn't seem to enjoy the frog legs, ducks with their heads on, fish, and chicken being cut up. :) She might end up being a vegetarian one day. Grant loved it and wanted to walk around the whole place.

We then explored all the stores and watched the fresh flowers being put together for the offerings they use in the temples. The wonderful smell of jasmine and curry were all around us. We went into a beautiful temple and Grant loved observing all the people and interesting statues of their Gods. He didn't want to leave, so we had to drag him out of it, and he asked if we could go to some more temples.

Maddie really wanted henna on her hands so we found a shop that was open. She got a beautiful peacock and flowers on her hands, and Grant got a really cool dragon on his arm. The black ink flaked off after 45 min and the ink then turned reddish color on their skin. It will stay on for up to a week, but swimming will make the color fade more quickly. It started to fade on the kids after 4 days and now they want to do it again!!! :)

Happy Birthday KIM!

This blog is dedicated to my dear friend back home in Windham....Kim.

Today (actually it was yesterday with the USA a day behind us) is her birthday!!! HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM!!! Wish I was there to celebrate with you, torment you, embarrass you, and sing very loudly to you.


She HATES to have her photo taken...so the ones I have she is usually scowling at the photographer or not smiling, so here are a few I found from my birthday party (she made me wear a crown and she wore a boa).

KIM- we miss you so very much and we hope you have (had) a great Birthday! Sending you long distance birthday hugs and kisses~!