Simple and healthy quick fix

After moving from hotel to hotel in the first month, I’ve realised that I’m never ever going to see a kettle in the hotel room.  The little electri ones that you plug in for power.  That’s what you get usually in hotels in other countries but no, not in the US.  They supply you with a coffee maker, often good to make 1 cup of coffee at a time 2 for the more advanced ones and if you are lucky, you actually get a proper one with a little flask to make more than 2 cups. 

This just means more work for me because I’ll need to constantly refill the machine to make hot water cup by cup if I want to make anything more than a cup of tea. 

Hence, if you only have a coffee maker as in picture above, you can make the following in the hotel room:

Half/ Soft Boiled Eggs

This is a satisfying Singaporean/Malaysian breakfast where its usually paired with our local coffee or tea with Kaya toasts.  You may be able to buy Kaya which is a coconut+eggs+sugar kind of jam (trust me its yummy) from any Asian supermarket particularly those that carries Singaporean and Malaysian products.     

You’ll need:  1 small egg (small eggs cook faster), a cup and a coffee maker/kettle.

Steps: 

1. Put 1 egg in a cup of hot water (made from the coffee maker/kettle) to sit for 3 mins.
2. Repeat this step twice with the same egg in a fresh cup of hot water.
3. Add soya sauce or salt with pepper to taste.   

Do not put 2 eggs in one cup at a time because the heat from a cup of water will not be sufficient to cook both eggs.  The egg white should be white and semi solid while the egg yolk’s consistency is a little more sticky and oozes out slowly when broken.  OooOoOoO…

If you want boiled eggs, you’ll need to repeat and make fresh hot water for a total of 6-7times.

Couscous with vegetables

I’ve never had couscous in my life till I went to Perth Australia to hang out with my best friend.  She made couscous one day and it was the easiest thing ever!

You’ll need: 

1. 80 grams of dry couscous or the flavoured ones – Parmesan cheese couscous are my favourite!  For that you use half a pack of couscous with half the seasoning.
2. A plastic container (see my starter kit)
3. A fork or spoon.
4. Broccoli and carrots; cut them into small pieces so that its easier to cook.
5. Coffee maker/Kettle to make hot water.

Steps:

• Put broccoli and carrots into plastic container with enough hot water to cover them.  Cover and leave it for 3 mins
• Pour away the water, add the couscous and add about 150ml of hot water (estimated about 3/4 cup of water).  Add seasoning if provided.  Cover and let it sit for 5mins. 
• Fluff the couscous with a fork. 
• For plain couscous, add salt and pepper to taste.  Add Shichimi (a spicy Japanese condiment) for the extra Oomph!  

In case you are wondering, you can leave the vegetables in the same container when cooking the couscous or you can empty them into a cup temporary and cook the couscous in the plastic container separately. 

Happy cooking!