16 Creative Ways to Cook Frozen Wonton!

Wontons – also known as Wantan 云吞 – are a versatile and delicious dish that can be enjoyed in numerous ways. From traditional boiled wontons in soup to creative twists like wonton tacos and Szechuan Spicy Wontons, there’s a method for every palate. Discover 16 enjoyable ways to prepare and savor this culinary favorite in my latest blog post! It has been a while since I last posted. 😁

Pan-fried Wonton / Dumpling / Winged Gyoza

1. Pan-Fried Wontons
   - Add oil on heated flat frying pan and pan-fry Wonton.
   - Pour a mixture of potato or corn flour and water into the frying pan with the Wonton. The mixture will become a crispy golden-brown layer like wings holding all the Wontons together.
   - Fry until golden and crispy. Takes lots of practice to perfect the wings of this dish. 😁
   - Serve with a sweet chilli sauce or a mixture of rice vinegar with soy sauce.
   
   
2. Steamed Wontons
   - Unlike dumpling which has a firm shape, wonton is soft. To prevent them from lumping together after steaming, we have to put each wonton in a silicon cupcakes container. Refer to photo below.
   - Steam in a steamer for about 15min until cooked through.
   - Serve with a little side-dish of Chinese black vinegar – Zhenjiang black vinegar 鎭江香醋 with ginger strips for dipping.
   
   
3. Wonton Soup
   - Boil in a chicken broth with leafy green vegetables like Caixin, mushrooms and fresh spring or fried onions.
   - Serve hot as a comforting soup.
   
   
   
   Air Fryer Silicon Cupcake Container
   
   
4. Deep-Fried / Air-fried Wontons
• Deep-fry until golden brown and crispy. If you prefer the air-fry option, you may choose to air-fry the Wonton with 7 holes round silicon Air Fryer Cupcake Pan as seen in the photo above. 
• Serve with a sweet and sour dipping sauce.
  
  

Wonton Noodles using Jinjili Whole Prawn Wonton; huge with fish roe.

1. Wonton Noodle Soup 🍜
   - Boil and serve with egg noodles in a flavorful broth.
   Usually I pair Wontons with Yee mee 伊面 noodles, as the crispy texture gives a good contrast to the soft Wontan. 
   - Garnish with fresh spring onions and a dash of sesame oil.
   
   
2. Baked Wontons
   - Line the baking tray with baking paper. Arrange the Wontons on it. 
   - Brush Wontons with oil and bake in the oven for about15 mins (200°C) until crispy.
   - Serve with a side-bowl of Guacamole or Salsa.
   
   
3. Wonton Chips
   - Fry until crispy.
   - Serve with various dips like hummus, guacamole or sweet chili sauce.
   
   
4. Wonton Salad
   - Boil or bake in the oven for about 15 mins (200°C) until cooked.
   - Serve on a bed of mixed greens with a dressing.
   Try mixing grated yuzu, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce and brown sugar for a zesty dressing. Let the mixture sit for about 10minutes before serving.

Fried Wonton using Jinjili Prawn Wonton

10. Wonton Tacos
    - Fry, air-fry, deep-fry or bake in the oven for 15 mins (200°C) until crispy. 
    - Serve with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and sour cream.
    
    
11. Wonton Ravioli
    - Boil until tender.
    - Serve with Marinara sauce and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
    
    
12. Wonton Lasagna Cups
    - Line Muffin tins with Wonton
    - Layer with Marinara sauce and Ricotta cheese.
    - Top with Mozzarella cheese and bake in the oven for about15 mins (200°C) until bubbly and golden.
    
    

Wonton with Sesame Sauce - ate this at a restaurant in Singapore

10. Sesame Sauce Wontons
    - Air fry or deep fry Wonton.
    - Pour creamy sesame salad sauce over the Wonton. Creamy sesame salad sauce like Kewpie Roasted Sesame Dressing can be easily bought off the shelf.
    
    
11. Stuffed Wonton Capsicum
    - Cut Capsicum into shapes like a cup, sprinkle some oil on it. And fill each with a boiled Wonton.
    - Line the baking tray with baking paper. Put stuffed capsicum on it. 
    - Bake in pre-heated oven 220°C for about 10min until the Capsicums are tender. 
    - Ideal as an appetizer or side dish.
    
    
12. Wonton Hotpot / Steamboat / Shabu Shabu
    - Boil Wonton until cooked.
    - Serve with desired dipping sauce.
    My favorite steamboat dipping is chopped fresh chilli, garlic and soy dipping sauce with a dash of black vinegar. 😋

16. Mala Wonton (Szechuan Spicy) 
    - Boil Wonton and drain it.
    - Stir in a spoon of spicy chili crisp (i.e. Lao Gan Ma or Heng brand) and serve. Goes well with a bowl of white rice!
    

These cooking suggestions should provide a wide array of options to enjoy Wontons in different and delicious ways!

AI Christmas Greetings

I am having fun exploring AI image creation. AI tools help me to save loads of time from taking or selecting or editing the photos. Here are the few AI creations I had churned. After the images are created, I just have to add the text to the images in Photoshop.

 

Happy Paw-Mother's Day

 

To all the paw-parents! 
Thank you for your unwavering love for the fur kids.

Coachella

Coachella is an annual music festival held at a desert city in California. 

Very delighted to be able to experience live music of Coachella online via Youtube. It has been a while since I attend a beach party. God I missed the energy, ambience and dance music! 

fun uplifting dance music by Duck Sauce in Coachella.
Images from Youtube.

Kelly Jie Seafood Restaurant

Coconut Pudding with theatrics that aptly put us on cloud 9

This restaurant has been around for years, it was formerly known as TPY Mellben. For a seafood restaurant, their price is reasonable. We paid about S$40 each pax; without having alcohol. 

Kelly Jie is famous for the crab dishes. Instead of the usual crab curry, we ordered the crab beehoon this round. The crab beehoon's milky broth was flavorful. The prawn paste chicken wings were juicy. The boneless 排骨王 and venison were very tender and the coconut pudding flew us to cloud 9!

I am thankful that we sat outdoor to enjoy dining under the stars, cool evening breeze and music from the singing basker nearby. My family and I had a wonderful bonding feasting outdoor for the first time in 2 years since Covid. Looking forward to more family dining time here!

Venue: Block 211 Toa Payoh Lorong 8 #01-11/15 Singapore 310211.

Ambience: 9 out of 10

Cleanliness: 9 out of 10

Remarks:

• Warm helpful waiters and waitresses. 
• Street parking at public carpark, enter from Toa Payoh Lorong 8 market.
• Chinese restaurant with tables suitable for 4, 6, 8 or 10pax. 
• Equipped with ecommerce website, which offers delivery and pick-up services.

Xmas 2021

 

May this Christmas be bright, buoyant and bountiful
for you and your loved ones! 

Mooncake & Tea Pairing

It is our tradition to give mooncakes to our clients and elderlies to show appreciation during Mid-Autumn Festival. Every year, my family and I are spoilt with varieties of mooncakes. As mooncakes are heartily heavy, we love to brew a pot of fine tea to balance the load, aid digestion and enhance the experience.

Below is Classic list Formulas for Matching Mooncakes with Tea:

Green Tea – Any sweet (i.e., lotus paste or yam mooncakes)

Pu'er – Savory (i.e., salted egg york mooncakes)

English Tea – Sweet (i.e., fusion sweet mooncakes)

Oolong Tea – Savory or nutty (5 nuts mooncakes) My family and I loves the Nanyang Tea series.

Cold Brew Carbonated Tea  – Cold Desserts (Snow skin mooncakes)

How to Deal with Nasty Client?

Having heard many bad customer experience from my peers and having met a few ridiculous clients myself; I decided to write this video script. I paid an animator to do this video to create awareness about the bad behaviors of some terrible clients.  

Have you met nasty clients like this? How did you react?

Every business have bills and employees to pay. If companies are squeezed dry, it will collapse! Livelihood of the staffs and their families will be affected. In tough times like pandemic, be kind. Support businesses by ensuring they have enough to survive.

As a boss or leader, protect your employees by saying no to unjustified rude demands of bad customers. By doing so, you gain respect from both the staffs and clients.

Creative Dating

This is a short extract from the free webinar Creative Dating which was held in February. It was recorded over Zoom.

In this video, I shared on how my dad date my mum when they are mobile. Some of the viewers asked for more of these fun and affordable date ideas which is suitable for young and mature. They can be found in my ebook Can't Stop Dating, available for sale at https://amzn.to/3tm8bJL.

Cant' Stop Dating

This is my first time as a book author! It was published 3 days ago. Fresh from the stove! 💖

Thank God I manage to complete it before Valentines day. It will be very useful for couples looking for Valentines Date ideas. Very excited to share this book to all of you!!! 😊😊 

 

Usual price US$ 5.99. Now 0.99!

This ebook is available for sale at Amazon US https://amzn.to/3tm8bJL 
Discount is valid till 14th February 2021. Get it now! ☝

There are a total 52 dating activities suggested in this book.10 of the activities are catered for cyber space; suitable for couples in long-distance relationship or quarantine. These fun couple activities will last you for an entire year when you date once weekly. I have added matching conversation starters to go with each activity. To prevent conversations from running dry, I have also included a chapter on Conversation Sparklers which has 85 conversation topics to get both you and your date interacting on a personal or deeper level. With so many cues in this compact book, there will be no dull moments during your dates! 💖

Besides the checklist of romantic date ideas, this book also equips you with the heart ware for dating through:

• tips for singles who are planning their first date

• relationship tips on good communication for both singles and couples

Please check it out 👉 https://amzn.to/3tm8bJL 

Note: Kindle books can be read via Kindle App for PC/iOS and the Kindle Cloud Reader via web browser. The Kindle app is free software that you can download to your computer.

Indoor Date Ideas

Thankful for the internet, lock down is not so unbearable after all. Couples who are stuck at home could try these free resources available online for fun couple activities time. For couples who are in long distance relationship or quarantine, try these to curb the longing as well!  

I have included Conversation Starters to match the activities. They keep your date engaging, fun and memorable! Let the cyber date nights begin 💕

Online Game Night.
Play Taboo, Boogle or Rummy - just don’t use software to try and cheat to win (unless it makes the game more fun!) 😄 

💬 Conversation Starters: 

a. What was your favorite game when you were a kid? Mine was anything that involved pizza before playing.

b. Have you ever played Pictionary? Do you like it? All of my pictures seemed to look like a stick figure with a crown that was for some reason on fire. 😂

Screen capture of Youtube

Virtual Travel
Watch scenic videos together in high 4K or 8K resolution in Youtube. Some videos even offer 360view. Now we can finally see what the world looks like from on top of Mt. Everest! 👀

💬Conversation Starters: 

a. Where would you travel if you could go anywhere in the world? Maybe I’m lazy, but I think I’d choose my couch - to watch Netflix. 😆

b. What do you think it’s like in Antartica? I’m not positive, but I bet it feels a lot like how cold my shower is in the morning. 💦

Write a song for someone
Too hard to write a song? Get AI to help. You could be the next Lil’ Wayne or Garth Brooks...or maybe even Lil’ Garth!

💬Conversation Starters:

a. If you could have a celebrity write a song about you who would it be? How fun would it be to have a country song about you! 💞

b. If someone wrote a rap diss song about you...what would they say? I think people would pick on my ridiculous date night ideas. 😆

These are 3 of the romantic date ideas I have written for my ebook. This is my first book. I am so looking forward to share with you! Let you know here once it is published.

Stay home, stay safe, stay happy!

Merry Christmas

May joy, hope, happiness and good health be yours this Christmas season. 

Blessed Christmas & Happy New Year!

Walking boost Creativity

I love walking. Super elated to discover this exercise boost creativity by leaps and bounds today! 

I discovered from a study by Marily Oppezzo and Daniel L. Schwartz that walking increased the creativity of 81 percent. Which explains why I always feel much refreshed after a walk. I shall use this information to encourage more folks to walk!

Katana Soundbar Review

I managed to get a used Creative Sound BlasterX Katana as a hand-me-down under monitor gaming speaker system. I have to say the immediate plus point is the form factor. It is great for my study room and for any city-dweller with a space constraint. The sleek sound bar is two 12-inch rulers long, 6cm high and 8cm deep, almost like putting a short baseball bat under the monitor. The sub-woofer is slightly taller than a 12-inch ruler, with a width shorter than my mobile phone and depth less than a 12-inch ruler. This combination allows me to tuck neatly and discreetly away a powerhouse 5.1 speaker system with a maximum output power of 125 watts that would give any unsuspecting computer user a blast of a surprise or a heart attack. 

For a work from home perspective, I confess the award-winning Katana is an overkill. But if you need to make excuses for yourself, the Katana does gaming, Spotify and Netflix audio pretty well, making a compelling case for work, learn, play and watch at home solutions, all rolled into one. While I am not a PS4 gamer, I had a great time down memory lane with Pac-Man when a friend hooked it up to a PS4 unit. For Netlflix, I was glued to my 28inch UHD monitor for a 24 hour Korean Drama marathon. The cinematic audio just clung me to the chair. Be warned, the Katana with good video resolution can be addictive and bad for your health when it comes to movie and drama binge-watching.

The Katana comes with aux-in, headphone, mic-in and USB-flash and computer connection, in case you are wondering what you can plug to. It also comes with Bluetooth connection too. There is a remote that comes with the Katana, in case you want to put some distance between yourself and the speaker, like bed and study table. 4 preset audio modes allow you to switch between, gaming, concert, cinema and the one mode you need without covering the speakers with blankets at night to avoid neighbours knocking angrily at your door - night mode. I know, it would be great to have a study or work mode to feel less guilty buying the Katana. And if you still want more out of the Katana, it comes with a Dolby Digital 5.1 channel decoder and 7.1-channel virtual surround sound. This is all made possible with the SB Axx1 audio processor, found in Creative's top audio and sound card products. You know you are in good hands when the authority on sound cards decides to put their mark in a speaker system. Now, if you still need more control, there is Sound Blaster Connect software for you to twiddle more via a PC for finer audio enjoyment. Somewhere in the Sound Blaster Connect is the Crystallizer function which improves vocals which means I get to hear my online meetings and video tutorials better. Yes, it does meet my work needs and boost productivity!

Well, the ultimate test for any audio product is in experiencing it and for me, the Katana passed the test with very high marks. Lucky me as it currently costs S$ 399 even at promotional price. But now that I have had an awesome experience, I know it will be a much appreciated present for my nephews and niece. What surprises me, for a product launched in 2016, it still does a splendid job compared with other sound bars in the market that cost double or triple the price. Good product designs, I guess do stand the test of time. I am proud of our Singapore company Creative!

Aeropex AfterShokz Review

There is no such thing as the perfect audio listening device. What you want for your listening experience largely depends on the context. For a rock concert, you would want large speakers - something that will never fit in the house - in an outdoor stadium blasting your music, with concert goers singing and screaming to the melody and beat. At the other extreme end, when you want privacy of your music from others, headphones or earphones help to secure your personal listening pleasure.

My husband got a pair of Aeropex AfterShokz bone conduction headphones which we have been using for months. They weigh an incredible weight of just 26g, not much heavier than a "Fun Size" Mars bar. You hardly notice the weight when you wear it and since it rests on the cheekbone rather than over or on the ears with headphones or inserted into the ears with earbuds, they offer relief from heat, discomfort and ear pain associated with typical headphones or earbuds. And most importantly, it doesn't slip off from my ears like earphones. 

Bone conduction technology uses the cheekbone to transfer sound without using the eardrum something we are accustomed. This technology actually helps those with hearing issues. Since bone conduction technology does not need the Aeropex to cover the ears, there is minimal loss of surrounding awareness.

This increases the safety factor for outdoor use for running, cycling or leisure walking. I find that the Aeropex has an additional advantage it allows me to listen to music without intrusion in my ongoing thoughts. When I make calls or listen to online tutorials, being able to think along with tutorials played is a big productivity plus point.

Comfortably hidden behind my hair

The Aeropex is completely wireless using Bluetooth 5.0. Pairing was a breeze, taking less than 2 seconds to complete. Aeropex boasts an impressive continous playtime of up to 8 hours and has a range up to 10 meters for something so light. With the work from home reality brought about by Covid-19, the Aeropex wears almost like part of your head and cheekbone, allowing you to take a call while cooking in the kitchen, pace aroung while you talk or engage in another conversation while listening to music on headphones for a the period of a full working day, without a need to take them off for a re-charge. The mic quality works fairly well for me and it does not pick up much background noise. Charging time is around 2 hours which means the Aeropex will be fully charged after dinner, before you go to sleep.

It comes with IP67 rating making them fully sweat and waterproof, great for intense workouts, extreme weather or long hours of use. I tried walking and running with the Aeropex, and it wore surprisingly well without any concern of it falling off. I cannot say the same for some of the true wireless earbuds which can drop with shake of the head. The audio controls are on the side of the phones and not overly complicated to use.
 
While audio resolution is often criticized to be compromised for bone conduction headphones, I found the audio quality loss to be a very acceptable tradeoff for the other benefits the Aeropex offers.

The Aeropex offers a forward soundstage with mid-range being its strength. It does have reasonably good bass, though not a deep one, in spite of being just 26 gram in weight. The vocals are sufficient clear. This makes for good pop, R&B or Jazz listening. For those who may want better audio resolution from the Aeropex sometimes, a set of ear plugs provided helps isolate external sound when in use. I never found the need to use ear plugs.

The build quality is good and there has not been much stain or discoloration even after months of use. The proprietary USB charging cables are very neat as the magnetic charging tip clicks snuggly to the Aeropex without any effort for insertion.

In summary, the Aeropex is not a smart headphone nor does it provide ultra high audio resolution for audiophiles. But the Aeropex does a pretty good job to facilitate multitasking while allowing for long hours of usage with discomfort or loss of awareness. S$ 236 is a good buy considering the light weight and slim form factor which comes with a neat silicone pouch. Nonetheless, the Aeropex as a productivity enabling headphone meant for indoors or outdoors extended use makes a strong value proposition. I love this thoughtful tool from my hubby!

Mid-Autumn Festival2020

 

Happy to see kids playing with their lanterns in my hood. Their laughter brighten the evening merrily along with the moon. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! 

Seats for Staffs

Having managed a few corporate public events, I have came across clients who demanded all the events staffs not to sit down; even during off peak hours. Deep down, I wonder if these clients can tolerate standing or walking non-stop for 3 hours. 

Last week, I brought my Dad to Changi General Hospital for his regular check up. I saw seats provided for frontline staffs during off peak hours. Very kind and considerate of them! 

Changi General Hospital, kudos for looking after your employees well! Keep it up!  👍🏻
#beinghuman #goodemployer #cgh #lydiagan_singapore

Photo taken by Lydia Gan, faces have been blurred.

Favorite Mooncake

 

What is the moon cake that you crave during mid-autumn festival? 

In Singapore, we are spoilt with wide variety of moon cakes to chose. Over the years, moon cakes has evolved from the classical ones with bean paste, 5 nuts or lotus paste filling. Bakers are cracking their brains  to create new moon cake flavors every year. Examples of modern fusion renditions of moon cake are truffle chocolate, lychee and charcoal beer! Some bakeries are also coming up moon cakes based on their specialty, like the Lapis moon cake. Many stores offer Mao Shan Wang durian snow skin moon cakes for the king of fruit worshippers too. This is a colorful, lucrative but very competitive market!

Personally, my true love lies in the spiral Taro moon cake! It is also known as thousand layer yam moon cake. I would chose the version with salted egg yolk which complements the thick creamy yam filling. The egg yolk is symbolic of the fullness of the moon, very apt for the mid-autumn festival.

Wishing you a happy mid-autumn festival!

Strength

 

Philippians 4:13

Encouraging everyone to find peace and strength in this season. Thankfully, vaccines for Coronavirus has been created and is at the final phase of development. Let's press on and look forward to a healthy Covid19 free world!

Appreciate Good Bosses

 

The pandemic has created huge debts and bankruptcy. Many of our friends and family are out of work and unemployed with many businesses now out of service. 

I have spoken to many of my business owner friends, they are struggling to survive and keep their full-time staffs. They could have chosen the easy route to fold but they are determine to stay in the business to provide for the staffs' livelihood. Their grit, kindness and integrity is admirable!

If the company you work for continues, no pay reduction or retrenchments; give respect for what the owner(s) must be going through to keep it going. 2020 is about survival, leave the daily complaints and anything else minor behind. Be thankful and show respect for what you have. Work hard and show your boss/owner/company the appreciation they need and deserve.


#pandemic2020
#appreciate
#appreciateboss

#thankfultobeemployed