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#JoandBoCooks – Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice Bowl (滷肉飯)

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Finally, another #JoandBoCooks after so long! We haven’t been able to cook for about 3 weeks ‘cause there was pipe leakage in our kitchen and now the problem has been diagnosed and repaired. Anyway, a few of you have requested the recipe for my Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice Bowl (滷肉飯) when I cooked it the other day, so I decided to make this dish today. I would say this dish is the easiest and the most satisfying dish that can be prepared at home.

The ingredients you need for this dish are:

Minced pork – 200 grams (good enough for 2-3 pax)

Chinese mushrooms – 6 to 8 mushroom

Shallot – 1 whole

Five spice powder (五香粉) – a pinch

Salt – a pinch

Sugar – 1 TS

Angel Oyster Sauce – 2 ½ TBS

Angel Light Soy Sauce – 2 TBS

Eggs – 2 to 3

Rice – 1 cup

If you’re thinking to cook it tonight make sure you soak the mushroom in a small bowl of water in the morning. It will help to rehydrate the mushroom and we also need the leftover water as stock to braise the pork later too =)

First, heat up 1 TS of oil in the pan, then add in cut shallots and mushrooms slices. In the meantime, also bring a pot of water to boil, and once boiling, turn down the heat, and cook the eggs for roughly 8 mins. I usually put the cooked eggs in cold water to stop the cooking.

Once the shallot turns golden, add in minced pork or chicken into the pan and stir fry till it’s cooked!

Stir it for a while then add in the Angel soy sauce! I’m using the Light Soy Sauce because we like the great taste and “umami” flavor that can only be brought out by using soy sauce, but we also want to reduce sodium in our diet. Consuming high amounts of sodium is unhealthy and can lead to health complications later on!

I am using Angel soy sauce and oyster sauce not only because they taste good or are a trusted household name in Malaysia, but because Bidor Kwong Heng is the first sauce manufacturer in Malaysia to use only non-GMO (genetically modified organism) ingredients!

They were also the first to receive ISO 9001:2000 and HACCP certification way back in 2002 and the company has also received the prestigious BRC certification and full FSSC22000 certification since 2011.

Angel Soy Sauce are 100% naturally-brewed for 3 to 6 months and are made without added HVP (hydrolysed vegetable protein), thus free of 3 – MCPD, a carcinogenic compound.

Don’t say I’m aunty but I’ve heard many stories or old wives tales about how some soy sauce and oyster are made using really cheap ingredients, or are made with lots of colouring and preservatives, so I only choose a good trusted sauce like Angel.

Then add in Angel Oyster Sauce! Oyster sauce is very commonly used in Chinese cooking but a good oyster sauce really makes a big difference as the taste is rich, but not overly salty or overpowering.

Then add in the salt, five spice powder, and sugar!

The chef and her very expressive eyebrows LOL. I was frying the shallot for the vege!

Once you have added in all the spices, it’s time to pour the leftover mushroom stock into the pan and let it slowly simmer. You need to simmer for 10-15 min! Oh yeah, remember to put in the eggs that you cooked just now too!

This is really a simplified version of this dish, and not to mention slightly healthier as you can ask your butcher to grind you lean meat to use in this recipe!

While waiting for the meat to simmer, you can prepare Taiwanese sausages as a side dish. The best way to cook Taiwanese sausages is to steam them first, and when they are cooked through, pan fry ‘till golden and crispy! This way you can make sure they are crispy on the outside but perfectly cooked on the inside =)

For the vege, I boiled one pack of Hong Kong kalian in salted water, then added 1 TBS of Angel Oyster Sauce, and topped with a bit of fried shallot and shallot oil!

Our dinner is served, Taiwan Braised Pork Rice with Taiwanese sausages!

For more information about the sauces I used in this recipe, go to www.bidorkwongheng.com

♥

July 29, 2016
Rain Or Shine

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The thing I hate the most when Im travelling is unpredictable weather, especially when it rains T_____________T More so when I’m visiting the beach. When I was in Croatia, it rained on the days that Jo was there, and some times we had no choice but to stay in our hotel room till the rain stopped. I was so frustrated because we couldn’t get anything done! Luckily Jo was smart enough to bring each of us a portable umbrella, its good enough to withstand light rain or drizzle but not when there is wind or heavy rain. Unfortunately for us the rain in Croatia was like thunder storm ><”

There were a few times I had to hide in a building to avoid the strong wind because I was so afraid it will break my only umbrella then I will have to end up wearing ugly raincoat .

The problem with my umbrella is because I got it in a random pasar malam so it’s very cheap hahaha. It’s flimsy, opens and closes very clumsily, and will fold over on itself when there is a strong gust of wind. When it’s cheap the quality is bad la obviously and the color and design is just disappointing. It doesn’t match any of my outfits at all.

After our trip, I told Jo I need to get myself a good quality umbrella that will hold up when there is a storm/ heavy rain and also matches my looks easily hahaha. Jo was like where got such thing o?

Well, guess what! I found one that can fulfill my requirements, Blunt Umbrella!

The Blunt Umbrella is designed in New Zealand, home to some very extreme weather where other umbrellas will simply not stand up to.

Blunt umbrellas are the only umbrellas with a fully tensioned canopy, meaning it has superb structural integrity. An umbrella’s canopy is only as strong as the tension applied to the fabric stretched across its ribs.

Blunt Tips also forming part of the Radial Tensioning System redirects and transfers your effort in opening the umbrella throughout its entire canopy surface, so it is super easy to open and close the umbrella.

No more fumbling around awkwardly in the rain trying to open or close your umbrella! Not to mention the Blunt Tips are a safety feature as regular umbrellas have pointy metal/plastic tips that might poke people in a crowd.

Blunt Umbrellas are wind tunnel tested for unflappable aerodynamic performance that sits effortlessly in the wind and provides maximum control. No more umbrellas getting blown away or folded over!

Another good thing about Blunt is that it comes with a zipped pouch for storage, so no more trying to fold your umbrella neatly in order to fit a tight pouch.

Thanks Blunt for making our life way easier when there is rain =)

I’m using Blunt XS_METRO IN pink

Check out www.bluntumbrellas.com/my for more info

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mybluntumbrellas
Instagram: www.instagram.com/mybluntumbrellas

♥

July 11, 2016
Journey To Wellness

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I’m sure most of you who read my updates regularly will know about my fitness and gym routines, but in this post I need to share about another aspect of health and wellness that not too many people think about.

If we rewind back to 2013, I blogged about my “special” heart (https://www.bobostephanie.com/my-special-heart/ & https://www.bobostephanie.com/my-heart-procedure-experience/) where I undergone a procedure called cardiac ablation to fix my very special heart which has a condition called Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT). Basically my heart has an extra impulse compared to a normal heart and this causes abnormal heart rhythm. The procedure uses a laser to ZAP the cells triggering the extra beat.

For more than a year, I had been suffering from the effects of SVT unknowingly, where I had many episodes of increased heartbeat in a week, leading to dizziness, loss of focus, nausea, and many other symptoms, and when they got really bad, I eventually visited a cardiologist.

Initially I was put on medication at around RM400 a month to control my heart beat and things got a bit better. Jo was very kind and understanding and took very good care of me throughout these few months. I had to stay clear of any food or activities that would increase my heart rate such as heavy cardio exercises, caffeine, and I even gave up clubbing.

After a few months, things eventually got worse, and ultimately Jo and I came to a very stressful decision to undergo the procedure that would cost RM30,000 including my hospital stay and follow ups. It was super hard to decide whether to continue on medication or to do the procedure because it was not 100% effective and also has some risks involved.

I’m not joking when I tell you that on a few occasions I did talk to Jo about what would happen if I passed away…I think this was a life-changing experience for me.

Thank god that all this was covered by my insurance, and I am very proud to announce that I am currently very healthy and have continued to embrace my new lease of life after this procedure.

This was really a big turning point in my life as it forced me to give up my lifestyle and to adopt a new one. My journey to wellness really started from here and from here, I started to eat healthy and also go to the gym. I want to be with the people I love for as long as I can. I guess when you have someone you love, you will do whatever it takes to change and I changed my lifestyle for them.

What I’m really trying to tell you guys is this, your health and wellness is really important, and everyone should be prepared, even from a young age. I was only 28 when I was diagnosed with a heart condition!

When I was diagnosed with SVT, I had just started working for a couple of years and as any fresh graduates will know, it is really tough to try and save money and be financially stable, let alone paying for insurance. In my case, signing up for medical insurance was one of the best decisions I made when I was younger.

Even if I had managed to save a little bit of money for, let’s say my dream wedding or a down payment for my dream home, it wouldn’t even have been enough to cover my heart procedure.

If you guys have been saving up for your future, you should guarantee your financial stability by making sure that any health complications will be taken care of, and would not affect your future.

Zurich Flexilife Plus

Zurich Flexilife Plus is a premium investment-linked insurance plan that is designed to take into account your different life stages. Put very very simply, with Zurich Flexilife Plus, you can customize your plan to suit you best at every stage of life.

You can choose your level of coverage, where you can add on early care critical illness coverage, comprehensive medical coverage, female critical illness coverage, and even maternity care coverage.

You can choose how much to apportion your premiums for investment.

You can also choose how much savings to include monthly. You can even make one-off top ups if lets say you get a big bonus at the end of the year.

It is also flexible where you can increase or decrease your coverage and premiums to accommodate your needs at different life stages, and there is even a no lapse policy for the first 3 years.

For more info please visit https://www.zurich.com.my/en/show-me-zurich-products/for-myself-protection/for-my-life/zurich-flexilife-plus

By the way, there is a contest going on https://www.facebook.com/ZurichInsuranceMalaysia/!

All you need to do is to ‘LIKE’ Zurich Insurance Malaysia.

Then required to click and enter the ‘Zurich #JourneyToWellness’ game tab. I strongly recommend you to go through the game tutorial before starting the game play =)

So the purpose of the game is to collect as many points as possible in a total of 3 minute! Once you’re satisfied with you result just clicks ‘Submit’.

Here are the amazing prizes for the winners of #JourneyToWellnessPrizes!

Grand Prize:1 x Travel Voucher Worth RM4,000.00+ RM,1,000.00 Cash Allowance

2nd Place:2 x iPhone 6s 16GB + Armband

3rd Place:2 x Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge + Armband

4th Place:

3 x Fitbit Charge HR WristbandConsolation Prize:10 x RM300.00 Cash Prize

You can also check out this heartwarming story of a little girl here

Have fun and all the best !

♥

June 28, 2016
PEDIGREE DENTASTIX – Closer Cuddles

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So finally we have completed our Pedigree 30 Days Challenge with our Nacho boy, and I can definitely say that not only Jo and I, but our babyboy as well, had lots of fun and learned many new tricks and activities through this challenge!

Probably our favorite activity with him so far is the “cup game challenge” where we put a DentaStix into an upside-down cup, and switching places with two other empty cups.

Then, we let him sniff the cups to find the DentaStix! The first time we played, babyboy just sat there, waiting for us to give him his favorite DentaStix but after some encouragement he will now actively look for it!

After feeding him Pedigree DentaStix for the last 30 days, I can tell you that his oral health has improved tremendously, no doubt thanks to the unique X-shaped treats, which have been clinically proven to reduce tartar build-up by to 80% and also 2 active ingredients in the DentaStix, sodium tripolyphosphate and zinc sulphate that eases plaque removal.

His teeth and gum lines are markedly cleaner and his breath smells like he has been brushed everyday!

I used to avoid letting him kiss or lick me but not anymore!

We also love all the attention we’ve been getting from him ‘cause he’s constantly expecting us to play a game with him and feed him his DentaStix. Yes, if you’ve read my last post, he is still constantly following us around.

Oh, Pedigree is running a Closer Cuddles content on their facebook page here!

All you need to do is just to take a picture with your dog (show them how much you love your dog!) and complete the given slogan in the most creative way to win. Contest starts on 16^th June until 11^th July 2016, so hurry up! P/S: Each contest starts on Wednesday and ends on the following Monday!

♥

June 20, 2016
Panasonic Beauty Cafe at Glass House Seputeh

I have been attending Panasonic beauty café events since 2014, but whenever I receive an invitation from Panasonic beauty, I still genuinely get really excited! This is because I know I would be able to check out all the new beauty technology for my face, hair or even body! Ever since I attended their first beauty café I told myself I have to keep coming back to check out more products from them.

I’m so glad that Panasonic invited me to their recent beauty café that took place a few weeks ago in Glasshouse Seputeh! It was also my first time going to Glasshouse and I have previously heard a lot of good feedback from my friends that have been there. They say it’s a perfect place for pictures because of the natural lighting.

They were right about this place, it’s literally a lush garden in a glasshouse!

The theme of the day was a garden with pastel colored flowers! We were told to wear full white or pastel colors so I went with full white instead =)

Got there early so I get to enjoy stuffing myself full of fingerfood haha.

There was a booth to showcase Panasonic Beauty Inventions!

This round Panasonic is introducing Mirco Foaming Cleansing Device (EH-SC50 RM499), Ionic Cleansing and Toning Device (EH-ST50 RM559) and also Styling Brush Ion (EH-HT40 RM199)

As usual, Panasonic Beauty Café started with a welcome speech by Mr Cheng Chee Chung, Managing Director Panasonic Malaysia.

Then a dance performance from ballerinas who were holding Panasonic Beauty new products.

Photo opportunity!

After that, it was our time to experience Panasonic Beauty products! I really like attending events that we can get experience a product hands-on instead of just walking around and taking pictures of the products and selfies. Hands-on experience helps us to better understand the products so that we can properly share with our readers, don’t you think?

We were brought into another room filled with Panasonic latest beauty products, such as EH-SC50 and also EH-ST50.

They even prepared handbag holders for each of us =)

When they told me we will be required to remove our makeup at the event my thought was like should I bring extra towel or whatever a? So happy that Panasonic was super thoughtful! They provided each of us with a cute pink hairband, a white robe and also a face towel!

First we listened to the instructions on how to use Panasonic Micro Foam Cleansing Device.

First step is to remove our makeup! We were using Bio-Essence makeup remover and EH-SC50. There is two different heads for this device, warm makeup removal and brush & foam cleansing. To use the warm makeup removal, you just need to press the warm button, apply the makeup remover on your face then glide the makeup removal head, from inside out, to carefully blend your make up with the remover. Once you’re done blending your make up with the remover, rinse off the remover.

Then it’s time for the facial cleansing step, which is my favorite step haha. I’m sure a lot of you have seen a few brands coming out with a facial cleansing device but I’m 100% you have never seen one that has a foam generator, I know =) When I first saw it I was like OMG, this is what I have been looking for!!! The step is pretty simple! First, attach the soft brush on to the device.

Add the foaming cleaner through the inlet and pour approx 4 ml of water into the center of the attachment cavity.

Press the WASH button and select speed! It’s super simple right and it makes facial cleaning way more fun.

Spread the foam around your face to slowly cleanse it!

The foam generator generates an airy foam like whipped cream that hands can never match. I had to look in the mirror to make sure I wont wash away my eyebrows T__T cause I’m too lazy to redraw again lol.

As a lazy person like me, I’m sure you will ask how to clean this devise after use? No worries because it’s super simple and it doesn’t require a lot of time haha. Just detach the brush then open the inlet and rinse it under running water =)

Same goes to cleaning the brush =) Then just leave it on the sink to air dry!

Once we are done with facial cleaning we moved to toner and moisturizer.

We are using EH-ST50 Ionic Cleansing and Toning Device for this step. All you need is the device, cotton pad and your toner and moisturizer.

Attach a cotton pad to the head and let it absorb the lotion.

Press the select button, select CLEANSE mode and set the ION LEVEL. Then press TEMP button and select the temperature of you preference. Grip the device on the ion panel from the rear, apply the cotton surface to the skin and gently glide it.

Then we moved to moisturize! Repeat like what we have done on the toner step but select MOISTURIZE mode instead.

The last step is to massage your skin with the MASSAGE mode on the device.

My face is so clean and fresh now!

Then we were given some time to re apply our make up =)

After our face now we move to hair, and a lot of people, including me have a lot of problem when it comes to styling our hair. When I’m lazy I just tie them into a bun but when I’m not I always curl it with a curler but the problem with the curler that I have is that it always burns my hand or shoulder = =” So happy that Panasonic came out with a better curler for clumsy girls like me! It’s Panasonic Styling Brush EH-HT40.

This tool comes with a brush and also a clip to let you achieve natural and beautiful curls! The best thing about it is that it wont burn your hand because of the static electricity suppressing brush.

Yoshi san from Number76 was there to demo how to style our hair using EH-HT40!

Then it’s my turn to do it myself hahaha.

I’m quite amazed that it’s so easy to use! All you need to do is to just gently brush through your hair!

It’s perfect to achieve a very natural end curls for my mid length hair.

Yeah, hair and makeup done at the workshop =)

My full white outfit of the day =)

Thanks to Panasonic for once again showing us your amazing beauty tools! I can’t wait to see what else you have in store for us in the future! For more info check out http://www.panasonic.com/my/consumer/beauty

♥

June 13, 2016