JG PlayClub (27/3)

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Angeline
Last Saturday was Alicia’s first lesson of Term 2 at Julia Gabriel. The usual instructor was on reservice so there was a stand-in teacher for the day. Honestly, that lesson really made me appreciate the wonderful lessons Alicia has been having. Truly, a teacher is the one that makes all the difference to a lesson taught. Storytime has never been so boring and never have I seen anyone tell a story like that. She stumbled over the words and it seemed to me that she didn’t know the story very well at all (read: poor lesson preparation). Furthermore, I couldn’t see any link between the chosen storybook (about a pony) and the theme for the week (noodles). I thought it’d be commonsense that a teacher should choose something relevant, something pertaining to what needs to be emphasised for the lesson. I mean, even if the story didn’t centre around noodles, they could have at least chosen a book that centres around something starting with the letter ‘n’ since that’s the emphasis for the week. I was really disappointed with the storytelling and I think most people would have been able to do a better job. Anyway, nobody was paying attention during the English storytelling because it just didn’t manage to get the kids’ attention. In contrast, the Chinese drama section was fabulous – there was audience participation as well as direct relevance to the theme.

Anyway, we were very late for class that day and when we arrived, it was already time to do art so we’d missed the indoor freeplay session, the funpass and magicbox segments. Here’s Alicia’s art for the day: a plate of kway teow and a plate of noodles 😀
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Braised chicken wings in hoisin sauce

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Angeline
We had these braised chicken wings last night and Alicia happily ate up two midwings with rice and broccoli served on the side. She must be wondering where mummy has been hiding all the good food from her all this while… lol. Anyway, we’ve decided to start feeding her table food as long as it’s not too unhealthy or extreme in taste. She’s been rejecting her porridge so we figured she should be wanting to start on our food and since she’s 20.5mths old already, I feel that it’s alright that she stops eating baby food. I’m sure there will be some who don’t agree that children should eat such food but I think it’s really up to the individual. To each his own. My picky one eats – that’s all that matters to me. 😀
Braised chicken wings in hoisin sauce

Ingredients:
  • 1kg frozen chicken wings (cost me only $4.50! and the taste is not compromised in any way)
  • 4 slices ginger
  • 2 bunches spring onion (cut into 1-2″ length)
  • 2 cloves shallots (sliced thinly)
  • 2 cloves garlic (sliced and lightly smashed)
  • enough water to cover my 1kg of chicken wings (it’s ok for the tips to stick out a bit from the water)

  • cornflour



Marinade for the chicken:
  • Lee Kum Kee chicken marinade

  • ground black pepper

  • hua diao jiu


Seasoning (amt depends on how much chicken you have and water you add)

  • 3-4T hoisin sauce
  • 1T oyster sauce



Method:
  1. Clean the chicken wings and remove the extremely fatty portions. Marinate chicken for a few hours (I did so overnight).
  2. Heat some oil in a wok and fry the ginger till fragrant first.
  3. Add the spring onion, shallots and garlic and fry till fragrant.
  4. Add the chicken wings and sear both sides (I had to do this in two batches since my wings were fat and huge).
  5. Pour enough water to cover the main body of the chicken wings, add the seasoning and bring to a boil.
  6. Cover the wok and simmer for 40min on low-medium heat. Stir every now and then for even cooking.
  7. Add a little cornflour solution to thicken the gravy.
  8. Serve hot with hot fluffy rice.


For toddler’s consumption:
  • Remove the meat from the chicken wing for the tot if she is unable to handle the chicken wing on her own.


Posted in Chicken, Chinese Food, Food for kids, Proteins for the tot, Recipes | Leave a comment