Beef Jerky (Ang Moh style) - With the Philips Airfryer

I'd like to lead a simpler life but I don't think I'm very successful, seeing as last week alone, I'd purchased several household appliances! I know it's not everyone's cup of retail therapy but gadgets do get me excited. Oops.

As I type, I'm editing because I really bought more than I could remember!
Yes, there was that small Philips rice cooker on sale at Courts. I'd bought 2! 1 for my MIL and 1 for ourselves because the current one although quite new, has a crappy pot that burns the rice at the bottom, every single time! Also because we do not need to cook much rice on a daily basis, it would make more sense to have a smaller one (which would mean I'd have to keep the bigger one in storage for parties!)

Then of course, we had misplaced our brand new 2nd Xiaomi Powerbank and so that had to be replaced, didn't it? It was a case of buy a new one or fight with hubs to use the only one we had when both phones threatened to die on us at the same time!

Then I drooled over a food dehydrator (but good girl me, managed to pass...for now). I did not, however, manage to pass on a wet and dry vacuum cleaner because I'd like to really suck the blardy aircon pipes clean. Hubs is not very convinced of the usefulness of this purchase. He's the one who usually removes and cleans the aircon filters but he thinks we'll end up having to call the aircon serviceman anyway. So anyway, that fat gadget now sits lonely right smack next to our living room TV because it's waiting for me to use it.

Oh yes, of course, I had to fight myself for a very long time but I ended up buying a steady pomp pee pee Tefal frying pan. Not the useless light one. This one's heavier and the handle doesn't look like it'll come lose loose so easily (like my previous one). There is also the option to use it on an induction stove. I held out on this one for a long time because, sigh, some people at home like to use metal tools on Teflon and buying another Teflon pan to replace the scratched Teflon pan, well, seems pretty useless if old habits die hard! Grrrr! I was waiting for the Happycall Diamond frying pan price to drop but it never did. Was very tempted to buy an imported set online but I decided I really didn't need 2 frying pans, 1 with cover, 1 without cover, 2 pots, 1 with cover, 1 without cover when all I needed was a frying pan! So, yes, I finally bought the last heavy duty Tefal pan hanging on the nearby NTUC Xtra's rack. Oh crap! I forgot, I'd also bought a 30cm Paella pan!

So anyway, because I was a very good girl and resisted the temptation to buy a food dehydrator, I attempted to use my current Philips Air Fryer to cook some Beef Jerky. I dare not say Biltong because airfrying beef, albeit well-seasoned beef, for 20 mins cannot come anywhere close to Biltong!

When I told hubs I had been so tempted to buy a food dehydrator, he didn't even hear me out. He just shook his head and said, 'No, just use your airfryer!' He's right. I really have NO SPACE for it. It looks very much like a food steamer and I had given my food steamer away because it had taken so much space on my limited counter top AND had been underutilised!

So, to the supermarket I went. Bought my Round Beef Steak. Sliced it thinly and soaked them in a motherload mix of spices!

Put in a third of my beef into the airfryer. Was too ambitious. Set it to 200degC for 10 mins and walked away. 10 mins later, I walked back to charred sticks! Felt really sad to have lost 1/3 of my beef! Shall save my face and not show the pic (yes, I did take a pic of the shame).

Tried another third and this time, set it for 200degC for 2 mins.

It looked like something you would eat as a dish but looked far from Beef Jerky (or Biltong)! So I put in another 2 mins. It was tedious. I repeated the steps about 4 times which actually meant a total of 8 mins before I thought they looked presentably hard and chewy.

Looking at the state of the grill at this point (in the above pic), I was thinking, what a chore it will be to clean the pot and grill! I was hoping it would remain fairly easy to clean! But it surprisingly took very little scrubbing to get the charred bits out. Perhaps because there was no oil involved.

Then, finally, what I thought looked decent enough to be called Ang Moh Beef Jerky (as opposed to Asian Bak Kwa)!



I stuffed a small piece into hub's mouth. He said it tasted no different from 'burnt meat'. Gee, thanks. I sent a pic of it to my SIL Down Under and she thought I had fed my dog too much corn (ouch!). LOL. My kids said a tad too salty but they devoured the lot anyway cos it was addictive!

So, I'm a far, far way from being simpler. My mind is still thinking of the dehydrator being able to do a better job at Ang Moh Beef Jerky than my air fryer. Tonight, I'm going to try to make it again but using minced beef. Want to see if I can get the consistency to come out like the yummy commercial Biltong Sticks! This time, I will make my seasoning drier. Let's see how it goes. Meanwhile, I'm wondering if the dehydrator will still be on sale tomorrow...

(UPDATE: JULY 2015 --> I did purchase a dehydrator and have been making delicious beef jerky which looks less like poo and tastes more like the real thing! Will blog about it soon)

The way my brain is wired

(This piece was written while I was still doing the TDVL course. I had saved it in 'Drafts' and forgotten all about it. Just in case you are reading and wondering why I refer to the course as though it is ongoing, you'll understand why. I have since completed the course.)


Attending the TDVL course and being able to go home to discuss it with hubs because he has already attained his, made the both of us realise something. Not that we didn't already know but it emphasized how different both our brains are wired.

Of the two, I am the more organised one. Even if you see a mess (which I am fully capable of), it is an organised mess and I know exactly where my things are. The rest of the family must silently appreciate it because they come to me for simple things like a nail clipper, a ear digger  a decent pair of scissors and well an assortment of stationery. By the way, yes, horrors, Asians have a clever thing they use to poke into their ears and it's not a cotton bud. We've been doing it for ages and we're still not deaf. It goes without saying that you will grow the art of ear digging once you do it often enough. LOL. I saw some Westerners trying to fashion a paperclip into something they could dig their ears with. Poor things! It's like a dollar something for 3 sticks in Singapore, if you ever come. LOL.

Anyway, why? Why do they come to me when they have already their own 'equipment'? Simple. They can never find theirs. I can't count the number of times I have bought them their own personal ear diggers (luckily they come cheap). Instead, they'll come to look for me when they need some ear pampering. The girl is a super expert at misplacing her. Hubs is worse. Look, we're not crazy over ear diggers. I'm just giving you an example of items they come to me for. If they do use mine, I will usually give it a good and thorough cleaning first! The way I am going on about ear diggers, I'm not sure if this post should be called 'The way my brain is wired' or 'Asian ear diggers'. Haha.

Hubs has a very relaxed attitude about generally everything. Very little fazes him except when his wife is late. Yep, that irks him no end. He is very punctual. In fact, he likes being early.

Anyhoo, I gave hubs some examples of bad English I had heard in class. I was very irked by it because the contextual meaning was lost on me. Hubs heard the badly phrased English question and understood it immediately. We both laughed about it because he thinks I think too much and too deep whereas he thinks so shallowly that the badly phrased question posed no issue to him!

I told him I couldn't take it that the topics covered jumped all over the place and were not in tandem with the sequence of the printed notes. Within a single module, there was no consistent sequence. Hubby's retort? "Why? Okay, what. Ha ha ha". (him laughing not me). I was not amused.

He said he had already thrown away or misplaced his course materials. He was so relaxed about it and he has passed his tests. Sigh. I am afraid because I need sequence and logic in what I absorb (I find it hard to absorb a badly constructed syllabus), that I am going to remember nothing and that I am going to fail. Aiyoh. This week, we start routes. Hubs found this tough. Hopefully (and I am really hopeful), it's cos his carefree, free range mind cannot take a more rigid set of routes and mine will. Hopefully. We will see. (Heard many people failed this particular module several times).

Anyhow, this is what I wanted to say. Not sure how 2 people with such different types of brain wiring could end up falling in love but hey, we did and we're still in love so I guess it doesn't really matter, does it?

MDT Training

Fear.
Signing up for the TDVL.

Attending the 20 night course.
Passing all the tests at the first try.
There was fear before doing all of the above.

Jubilation.
Triumphant receipt of one's TDVL.

Fear.
Picking up passengers.

Fear.
Not knowing the location.

Fear.
Not knowing the route.

Fear.
Equipment failure.

Alamak! So much fear! Scared shi*t!!!
Sorry, just trying to be calm and poetic but to not much avail. I should add 'panic' to 'fear' too! I guess all new taxi drivers feel this way.
In all honesty (and hubs agrees with me), if I had to rely on this solely for my income, I'd find it easier to conquer my fear and just do it!

Well, at least I know a bit more about handling the equipment on board the cab!
Comfort Delgro makes you attend their MDT (Mobile Data Terminal) course as well as a customer service session.

 

MDT Training (Pic 1)

I don't wish to infringe any copyright issues or flout any taxi company rules so I've 'cartoonised' my photo of the equipment set up at the training session instead of showing the actual photo. Don't sue me, please. I'm doing this so others can learn from it. Might be useful for those intending to join the taxi company and wondering if enough training will be provided. I'm not sure but I think other taxi companies might have a similar set up for their inhouse equipment training.

For the above pic (pic 1):
Top left is the printer.
Bottom left is the taxi metre.
You can see the MDT and my printed notes below. I later moved to another terminal because I realised from the way the buttons were placed (at the bottom) that this MDT was different from the one in hub's cab. This MDT was an older model whereas hubby's cab has the newer terminal installed.

 

MDT Training (Pic 2)

For the above pic (pic 2):
Top Right is the cashless payment terminal.

The training was good and adequate! I had a fairly young trainer who was lively and engaging. I'm not sure how much information was assimilated by the other Uncles attending the course with me. One guy did own up that he was 'slow' and so I guess how much you assimilate at the course depends on your own assimilation speed. I personally understood the handling of the equipment thereafter. But, I know myself. I will surely forget how to handle some of the different cashless modes available unless I get enough practice (do you tap, swipe or insert?)

I was furiously scribbling notes. In part because I have a terrible memory and also to share important points with hubs. But hubs has already finished this course, you may say. Yes. That is hubs. He is not a good student. He is a fantastic hands on person! (You have permission to read more into that than what I actually meant. LOL).  He of course already knows how to handle the cashless payments but when I taught him how to use the Map search option on his MDT, it was like he was learning it for the first time! Sly guy; he did ask me to pay extra attention in class so that I could come home and 'teach' him!

Kiasu me. I'm gonna print out the hotline numbers and make sure the taxi has a copy! Wait breakdown how? In reality, my most important hotline will be my hubby's number. First thing I will do is call hubby for help!!! Yikes!

Hello, Taxi Aunty!

I only set 2 goals for myself this year; to get my Taxi Driver's Vocational Licence AND my Bus Driver's Vocational Licence. One down, another to go! (addendum: actually, as an after thought, there is a 3rd goal and that is to sleep earlier at night!)

Taxi Aunty, Me!



Exactly 23 years to the day after I was issued my Class 3 driver's licence, I have been issued my TDVL!
I am officially registered with Comfort Delgro as my husband's relief driver. I won't register myself as a hirer yet because I am still working full-time. I already went on my maiden drive and intend to start driving weekends soon!

Hubs told me several times that he was very proud of me *blush*. In all these years of marriage, this is about the only time I have heard him say this so loudly and clearly and several times to boot!

I guess this officially makes me a Taxi Aunty!
Haha!
This is for you, Papa!



Goodbye, Papa!

Papa (1940-2015)

My father passed away a week and a day after Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

If there is anything to learn from both my father and Mr Lee, it is that you can live simply.
My father was a simple man. He needed very little and I mean, very little. He was generous in his heart and Jesus knew this.

My husband was Papa's confidante and caregiver. In the end, it seemed apt, that it was my husband who carried him to his final resting place at the columbarium. That is just his physical remains. For us, Papa's death is a bittersweet occasion. We grieve and yet, it is a celebration of sorts. By the Grace of God, Papa was baptised as a Roman Catholic at the age of 74 and died just a few days short of what would have been his 75th birthday on Easter Sunday. When I think of his long and painful journey, I cannot help but be in awe of the Mercy and Love of God.

After his retirement, Papa had become a taxi driver. He had to stop driving after his first stroke. He passed away on the morning of my TDVL tests. Yes, I passed all 4 tests that morning with the help of the Lord. So with the passing of one taxi driver, another is born in the family. In better health, Papa would have been amused that I was getting a TDVL license.

Goodbye, Papa! You are in a better place now. Rest well in the arms of Jesus!