How to Make Crispy Pork Rind (Lanyih)

Crispy Pork Rind/Lanyih

Pork rind (or Lanyih in Iban language) is actually the part of pork with lots of skin and the fat. It resulted from that pork skin and fat fried in its own oil and separate into pork lard and crispy crackling pork rind. When I was small, my mother likes to add this pork into vegetable soup, it tasted and smell divine. It also can be taken on its own as a snack. In Chinese hawker stall, you normally find these small pork rind bits in your char kuey teow, dry pork mee etc.

I always found the pork rind sold in packets in Pasar Bau, Sarawak to be a bit smelly and I do not like them (in it's uncooked form). That was until I tasted a homemade pork rind done by Momo's grandmother. It was the best I have ever tasted, we could just munch on it on its own. It never crossed my mind that we could actually do it ourselves. Since Momo also knew how to do it, I have been bugging him to buy pork fats for me to try, and that was about 3 years ago. Finally he bought it for me last Sunday.

Its very easy to do. What we need is just a kilo of pork fats. That cost us RM10/kg. The lady pork seller has already cut it nicely into small bits, just nice to sprinkle on your char kuey teow, but I would not mind for a bigger pieces either.

Clean and dry it. Sprinkle just a pinch of salt.


Heat up wok. Once it's hot, lower down to medium low fire. Dry fry the pork fats. Pls excuse the dark wok *shy*


You can fry it in big batches. It was my first try, so I was just being safe. Then just let the stuff cook away. You can see that the pork rind and the pork lard slowly separating. It's done when the pork rind turn gold color. Drain the excess oil from the pork rind using paper towel.


For a kg of pork fats, you can get almost a kg of pork lard. Keep this for when you stir fry vegetables.


And the resulting crispy pork rind, about 4 cups, and to be kept in an airtight container. Yummy... Add this to my maggi mee, mmg sodap!!

How To Choose Milk Powder Dispenser

When my baby was younger, she would feed few times at night so I like to prepare her milk powder with the right amount in a milk powder dispenser and put it at the bedside table. This way, I don't need to go to the kitchen and make fresh milk dispensing whenever my baby cried. This is a helpful little invention, as I can shorten the time for me to prepare her milk, make her happier and both of us can go back to sleep as soon as possible. This is the usage other than the time when I am going outdoor with my baby.

Basically, there are two types of milk powder dispenser available. One is cascading type, and one is rotating type. See the photo below.


Left to right : Cascading and rotating type of milk powder dispenser.

Here's the pros and the cons;

1. Cascading Type:
Pros;
-bigger compartment with wider mouth. Easy to fill up with milk powder, that would means less spillage.
-dispensing hole at the center, thus ensure that no milk powder remains when you dispense
-easier to wash

Cons;
-The compartment has to be rearranged after one of the compartment being used up. Very messy sometimes, especially when you are in a hurry or very sleepy :D

2. Rotating Type:
Pros;
-Just rotate the dispensing hole (the cover) when one compartment is being used up.

Cons;
-Compartment can be small, especially for dispenser which have more compartments, thus more spillage occur when you pour the milk powder. For this reason, try not to buy a dispenser which has more than 3 compartments
-Normally wider in size, thus taking up space e.g in your baby bag
-Dispensing hole is not on the center, there will be some milk powder stuck at the corner. Sometimes you have to shake it so it fall.
-Slightly more difficult to wash as it have corners.

My choice would be the rotating type just for the reasons that it is so convenient to rotate the cap. It made my life so much easier..

How to Use Little Bean Steam Sterilizer

Since I received lots of traffic coming to my site with keywords such as 'how to use Little Bean steam sterilizer' whereas I did not put any instruction on how to, I think I might as well put it in here in the hope that it can clear new parents doubt.

I am still head over heel over the sterilizer, I don't think I can live without it. It really made my life so much easier.

This is step-by-step instruction on how to use the sterilizer.

1. Wash the bottles and wash the sterilizer. Add 90ml filtered water to the sterilizer. From my experience, 90ml is just enough to cover the steel plate on the sterilizer, so it's not necessary to measure anymore..

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2. Put on the bottle rack.























3. Arrange the bottles on the rack. Since the second tier is not enough for all 6 nos of MAM bottle accessories, I attached the bottom of the bottle loosely together to the body, minus the rubber valve. Arrange the rest of the accessories on the second tier.























4. Put on the cover. Switch on the main power. Then switch on the Start button.























5. While the water in the sterilizer is boiling, there will be random numbers showing on the indicator.
When the water become steam, the countdown from 8-0 minutes will start, as shown on the indicator. This is when the sterilizing process going on. Do not touch or open the cover at this moment.























6. When the sterilizing process is complete, there will be beep sounds. After that, the number '3' will show. This means that the bottle will stay sterilized for up to 3 hours if it remains unopen.























7. You may re-sterilize by just pushing the button again by waiting at least after half an hour (eventhough for me I will do this only twice a day).
8. You must wash the sterilizer and change the water EVERY DAY. Otherwise, you may feel kinda soapy slippery on your bottles. Air dry your sterilizer after use if possible.
9. If there is accumulation of calcium deposit, pour vinegar to cover the steel plate overnight. Scrub and washed it thoroughly the next day, then use as usual.

Caution: The sterilizer is very hot during and after sterilization. Please handle with care. Make sure to cool down your feeding bottle before using.

Disclaimer : I will not be held responsible for any accident occur due to users following the instruction above. Common sense apply..

Good Luck Charm

Last Monday, my white gold chain broke. I did not realized that the thing inside Marion's grip was actually my heart-shape white gold pendant which was given by my hubby for my birthday this year. She dropped it and it fall into a tiny hole at my car's handbrake which I never knew existed. Out of all places... What was the odd? I felt like crying...

I actually sent my second job application last week Friday night, and I was very confident that they will call me. Call they did,on Monday morning. I was surprised it was that fast. You know what else? He asked me to go that evening itself. I was stuck for words. I told him it was too short notice, the next day (Tuesday) would be ok. Set. I panicked since I haven't actually done much revision so far, I kept on putting my reference books aside.

Told myself I should be fine, despite being brain-dormant for almost a year. I would just cocked-up some long winded stories so they would forget to throw technical questions at me. Sounds good. Ahaha...

I got a day for preparation, including my file and my attire. Neat cloth, washed hair, simple make-up, a dash of perfume, high heel waiting by the door, yada yada.. and yet I felt incomplete without my necklace. Then I remembered Marion's necklace and Cross pendant which was a gift set given by her daddy.

Hmm.. maybe.. maybe my necklace was meant to be broken. Maybe I was meant to wear Marion's necklace for the interview. Put it on, I felt complete, I kissed the Cross and went off with butterflies in my tummy.

Almost 1 hour into the interview, my interviewers who are the directors of the company, went out, I guess for some deliberation. 5 minutes later, one went back in and told me, "Ok, we can match your expected salary, although it's a bit high yada yada (that's a BS, I know). Pls wait for 5 minutes, we are printing your appointment letter."

My mouth dropped. I could only said, "Uh? That was fast". Never in my entire working life. Ahaha. Marion's pendant must have been the good luck charm ...


Happy..... :D

An Eye for An Eye

I was chatting with my ex-colleague yesterday afternoon. I am not proud to say this, in fact a chill running through my spine when she told me about it. I just found out that immediately after I left, my former boss was sick, gone through an operation and warded, had MC for a month, and was using a crutch to work. He was just recently got slightly better and managed to walk around without the crutch. My ex-colleague told me that it might have been because I had cursed him. I had only felt a slight tinged of empathy, but I remember I was thinking about him almost every night prior to my delivery, and I tell you it was not in a good way. Little did I know that the silent prayers that I made those nights was actually happening at the same time.. and I know what I had prayed and wished for.. in fact was not fully done yet. There was more. Someone has done injustice to my yet-to-be-born daughter, and it was fair enough that one's generations to come will suffer the same, if not worse than what one did to her.

Do I want to undo it?

Really, I don't know if I want to. Not yet.

What Was Life Like At that Time

Oh ya..before I myself forget. Let me just jot down my peculiar behavior during my pregnancy with Marion, so that I can compare it in the future *God bless us*

Things that I like :
a) Homecook food, esp my mom's and my siblings cooking, esp traditional food
b) Malay food
c) Mamak food (except curry and sambal)
d) Heaping on Sunny Hill's ice-cream during the final month. Heaty..

Things that I hate :
a) Chinese food
b) Curry and laksa Sarawak
c) Soya bean & milk .. still dislike, but no more gagging
d) Fruits... until to date :(

Things that I normally don't do:
a) Super lazy to cook. I practically stop cooking since the first 2 months of pregnancy. The most I cooked was maggi mee for myself if Momo too tired to go out to buy food.
b) Lazy to do ironing, cleaning, laundry etc. To think of it, I was just too tired to stand up on my feet.
c) No more shopping. No mood..

Main Masak Masak

Honestly, i have been a bit quiet recently in the blog but hey im still around. I got a renew enthusiasm for cooking at the moment, as I know once I get back to join the workforce, these days of culinary experimentation will literally be over. I have not just learning how to cook better, but also on how to do better food photography. I don't know where it's gonna bring me, but at least my hubby is a one happy man right now eheh, He not just get to eat good food, but also get the chance to practice his photography skill using his new dSLR (ahemm). I've been slowing down these few days as I need to get ready to be called for interview. I did not apply much this time around, I already got one appointment from a MNC who headhunted me, and I just sent my cv to my ex-company biggest competitor. Serve them right if i able to get it. Anyway, wish me luck, i badly needed one right now!