Fancy some cheaper sashimi?

So the other day my parents and I were trying to kill time while waiting for relatives and we decided to enter this little shophouse that was open on a Sunday morning. We had no intention whatsoever of buying anything because we purely wanted to kill time. Well, we ended up buying a lot more than we intended to because we wanted to see how fresh the fish really was and whether it was worth our while, because it certainly was worth the money. 

We ended up buying some fresh tuna (~RM15 ea), vacuum packed and frozen salmon (~RM15 ea), unagi (~RM30 ea), short grain rice, miso soup paste, sushi molds, vinegar, wasabe and ginger.

Yep, definitely more than what we expected. 

Because I wanted to photograph the whole experience of eating sashimi at home for the very first time, we whipped out our most 'restauranty' plate and shaved some ice and made the whole plate look pretty.

I think I should stop typing now and let the photos do the talking. 

Yes, boys and girls, this was actually done at home. 

My mom also steamed the frozen unagi. Yes, the restaurants basically just steam your unagi and all of them have already been pre-cooked/pre-grilled, vacuum packed, frozen and sent to your favourite Japanese restaurant, surprise surprise. 

More photos after the jump! Like seriously, just click 'read more'!

Easy Crispy-skinned Oven-Baked Chicken Thighs

If you're constantly busy with schoolwork but still want a nice hot meal, here's a quick and easy way to have a satisfying meal without burning down your house! ;)

I was making some pilaf and wanted to incorporate some protein into my dish and I wanted the easy way out so I decided to chuck three chicken thighs into the oven and I was so surprised with the results I HAD to share it.

This recipe is so easy there's no need for a recipe list. All you need is salt, pepper, olive oil, chicken thighs and an oven!

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven at 220C and prepare your chicken.

2. Season your chicken with some salt and pepper on both sides and drizzle with some olive oil.

3. When your oven has reached the desired temperature, place the chicken inside the oven and WALK AWAY after setting your timer to about 20-25 minutes depending on the size of your chicken.

And voila! You have crispy-skinned chicken in no time.

If you want to add more flavour to your dish, you could add in some rosemary or thyme and some garlic as well.
Also, if you're really bored, you could whip up some pilaf to go with it using this recipe here.

Wild rice pilaf served with root vegetables and that oven-baked chicken.