Delicious Ikan Kembung

First time cooking? No problem, blow them away with this dish!


Hello friends, today I would like to teach you all how to make a delicious meal containing rice, fish and a tangy chili sauce. This dish is good for first timers (homecooks) who have just started cooking because we all know cooking is so fun.

Estimated time of completion: 45 minutes (cooking) + 45 minutes (cleaning).

Indgredients: (1 - 2 servings)

1) 1 Cup of Rice ( anykind)

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 2)2 Pieces of Small Mackerel (ikan kembung)

3) 200 g of Chilli

4) 20 g of bird's eye chilli (chilli padi)

5)4 Lime

6)4 cloves of garlic

7) A stick of ginger

8) small piece of tumeric

9) 4 medium sized tomatoes.

10) Two red onions.

Steps: 

The Sauce

1) Peel the skin of the garlic,onion, ginger and tumeric and set it aside.

2) Cut the tomatoes into quaters and remove the hard middle part.

3) Wash the lime and cut it into quaters for easier squeezing.

4) Cut it into medium sized pieces and place in a food processor and then BLITZ IT. ( A blender works fine.)

5) Once blended, take out the paste and fry it with about 3 - 4 tablespoons of oil, let it cool then squeeze in the lime juice.

Note: If you have some anchovies, just dump them in the blender as well because that will give more depth of flavour to your sauce.

The Fish

1) Clean the fish, by removing the gills, guts and washing all the blood from the insides.

2) Rub it with salt and keep in the fridge until ready to use.

3) When ready to use, take it out of the fridge and remove excess liquid.

4) Preheat some (9 tablespoons) oil on a medium to low flame.

5)Put in the fish and let it fry 3-4 mins on each side flipping only once.

6) Once done remove and place it on a paper towel to drain excess oil.

7) Cover the fish in the sauce and it is good to go!

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Tips: Do not touch the fish so the skin does not tear or stick to the pan.

Fish goes really well with something tangy that is why I add alot of lime juice to the sauce, especially fishes with a strong distintive flavour like mackerel.

The Perfect Rice

1) Put one cup of rice into a small pot and wash it three to four times or until the water turns clear.

2) Put in one cup of water.

3) A pinch of salt is optional.

4) Bring the rice to a boil, and then turn down the flame to lowest setting and leave it for 15-18 mins.

Optional: You can add in some ginger to the rice to make it a little bit more fragrant, this extra step goes a long way.

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Once everything is ready just put in on a plate and there you have it an amazing first timer recipe that will replace that instant noodle and fried egg lunch your'e having.

What makes a leader, a leader? 5 Things.

Do you think you got what it takes to be a leader? Our group had came up with these top 5 fundamental qualities that a leader should have. Not that the other values are not important, but this 5, to us, are absolute core.

1. Responsibility

Nothing screams responsibility more than a leader will. Responsibility is what makes a leader, a leader. If not, there would not be a purpose to have a leader in the first place. To hold a responsibility is not easy, and it is definitely no easy task to fulfill it. 

2. Character

Character is the root of every issue, and every solution, including the ways to be a leader. Having a good character as a leader is so important. Character influences the way the leader works, thinks and interacts with people. With great character, comes great leadership. No one wants to follow a leader with poor behavior, right?

3. Servanthood

This particular value has been very popular among the recent generation leaders. Followers think that a leader should not only be giving instructions, but instead do it with them. As Miss Helena put it, "Leaders need to turun padang." We think that way too. There's no way someone would follow a boss instead of a leader. Don't give work to them, work with them.

4. Discernment

"To do this, or to do that?" When you have decisions to make, not between good and bad, but between good and good, what do you do? A good leader possesses the value of discernment and is able to make decisions like these. Its not about him, its about whether that specific decision will be best for the team, to produce the best outcome possible. What is a leader when he or she cannot do this?

5. Vision

Even though you have all the resource in the world, the best people, how would things even work if you do not have a vision? Vision is so important to a leader. He or she should be able to visualize the progress and goals of the team, instead of moving forward blindly, not knowing what's next. In the end, the lack of vision might lead to failures, and ultimately, destruction to the team. 

You think it's easy to be a leader? Think again. 

Apply What You Have Learned

The past few months of Personal Development Lessons have made me realized something important. That is to apply what you have learned into your life is another challenge itself. It is something easier said than done. There were definitely moments where you suddenly have the motivation to change or do something after you have watched a movie, read a book or listened to a great advice. You felt that you were certain that this special one time you could really make it unlike those previous ones where you gave up after a few days but the truth is you would end up giving in again and living life like you used to and no changes were made. 
PDL classes are just the same, it is easy to read or memorize the topics and contents in the course but difficult to apply them into our life. I personally think that when a person truly has the determination to apply what he or she has learned, one should slowly apply them step by step and not immediately have sudden changes. I believe that is when the changes and improvements will come. 

5 important characteristics of a leader

                        5 important characteristics of a leader

      

Today,we would like to share with you guys our top 5 characteristics of a leader.It is also a good opportunity to see how others think of what characteristics a leader should possess.

1. Responsibility

 As a leader, you have to be responsible on your role.You are the brain of the group.Every decision

 you made, every opinion you agree with and every action you take determine the success of the group work. Also,a leader is like an input of a process. He/She triggers the starting point of a work. He/She motivates,helps,advise, guide and lead the team on the journey of doing the group work. 

    2. Servanthood

Please bear in mind that being a leader is not just to give order and command to tell your teammate what to do and others must follow. People would never willing to obey your order all the time. Thus, you should be open-minded to accept other. For example, when come to discussion, you should appreciate other opinion and take them into account if they are legit and suitable. Also, this might a good time for you learn something from others.

    

    3. Commitment

How much commitment you put on something determine how much precious and important it means to you.If you put full commitment to your work, you would not just blindly want to finish work,but you will take it seriously and try your very best to make your work the best among the others.Also, it is important to show your commitment not only to the work at hand, but to your promise.Keep your promise and transform them into reality.By doing so, you can earn and built the trust and respect from your teammates.

   4. Problem-solving

Being a leader, you have to at least master some useful and effective problem-solving skill. When problem appears, you have to think of any solution immediately and solve it. The solution you used should be fair to any parties, effective and logic.Here is where your critical and creative thinking play an important role.

    

   5.Vision

We put vision at last because there are some people just set the vision and never work on it.We strongly believe if only we have possessed all the value and principle such as diligent, determination  and so forth, we are only eligible to set our vision.Respect the vision you made,and work it because they are guidance, light that lead you to success.

5 out of 21 characteristic of a leader

Yesterday, we discussed about the 5 characteristic of a leader. A leader definitely will have more than 5 characteristic, but all of us may not be having all 21 characteristic that a leader should have. Hence, We chose 5 out of the 21 characteristic that we think is the most important.
             The first characteristic that we chose was vision. Vision is a skill to be able to look through what can happen in the future. A leader should have this to see what others cannot see. For example, if you are selling an art, in order to make the art valuable, you have to increase the price to let people buy it. The art may not be selling out for a long time, but you will make a lot of profit when it is sold instead of just a few dollars because you are too scared that people would not buy your art.
             Next, servanthood is our second choice for the characteristic because we have to let the group member know that we care about them. A leader who will do the work that he assigned to the group member tends to make the group member put more effort into the work because they felt respected.
             Subsequently, we chose commitment to be the third characteristic. When the group member know that the leader is committed to the work, they will know that the leader can be trusted and they will like to work harder because of the enthusiasm of the leader.
             After that, we chose relationship because a good relationship between leader and group member is essential. The group member will have no problem to do any work that was assigned by
the leader, but they will not do the work or not putting their effort to do the work if they have a bad relationship with the leader.
            Lastly, we chose problem solving because a good leader is supposed to know how to solve problem in a group. For example, if  there is a conflict occurred, the leader is supposed to solve the problem and find a win-win solution so that the group member will think it is fair.
           

Five Out of Twenty-One

Today, we had a class on Characteristics of a Leader. This lesson is based on John C. Maxwell, who came up with 21 indispensable qualities of a leader. I found this very interesting as it was the first time I've heard about it. Definitely worth reading more about it ( if I have time ops!) To spice things up in class, we were split into groups to have a discussion on which top 5 characteristics that we agree would a leader should have out of the 21 given. It was not an easy decision to make! This is because all qualities are equally as important! In the end, we managed to rule down to these five:

1. Character
Doesn't it always start with ourselves? Our personality, attitude is everything. To make a change in this world, we have to make a change within ourselves first.  Even Sean Covey had stated in his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, that is to first make deposits in our Personal Bank Account before Relationship Bank Account (jeng jeng jenggg). Furthermore, we have to "Be Proactive" towards our life. Therefore, a character is the first main quality a leader must have to make an effective good leader.

2. Vision
Without vision, we are just blinding living our lives. It is as if we have no purpose. Wouldn't that be boring? Thus, we all agreed that a leader must have his/ her visions. It is very similar to having goals. Both gives us a purposeful focus in life to target at. We have something to achieve and that we will work hard towards it. It is also like a motivation for us in life. By having visions, a leader will lead his teammates to victory in anything.

3. Responsibility
When we have roles, we have responsibilities. We cannot avoid them which is why this is our third characteristics. A leader bears heavy responsibilities, be it for himself, friends, family or his followers. He must be self-discipline to handle his responsibilities well so that people have trust in him. A leader understands what to get done, and work along with his teammates to get the job done. A good leader will also be responsible for the well-being of his teammates. Remember, you want to be a leader, not a boss.

4. Discernment
Today I learnt a new word, which is this word! It actually means an act of making the best decision between two good choices given. A leader must consider the cause and effects of his decision due to the fact that he cares for others. A leader wants to benefit everyone, and not only for himself. This quality is essential because we will use our successful intelligence skills ( analytical, creative and practical) to help us decide the wisest choice to go along with.
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5. Communication
This tool is the key to everything. Without it, our relationships and listening skills would not be enhanced. Youth in this world now faces the problem of not being able to communicate properly. The lack of this soft skills prevents them from obtaining a job, even more so be a good leader. It is crucial for us to nurture our communication skills for the better of a future ( which includes being a successful leader! I'm sure majority of us wants to be a leader, rather than a follower)

That's all for today dear blog. Thank you for reading! :)

5 Characteristics of a Leader

A leader is the most authoritative and important member of a group. Think about it as having a brain and the rest of the body, and the leader is the brain. What does the brain do? It makes decisions just like how a leader makes decision for his/her team. Thus, let us look at the 5 needed characteristics of a leader.(Ranked in order)

Number one, COMPETENCE. What is competence? It is the ability to do work properly, in short. A leader with competence is a leader that can do his/her work properly and this will make the team better. Unlike a leader that is not competent he will drag the team down, so there is no benefit in having an incompetent leader as part of the team and will only drag the team down.

Next, a leader must also be a person who listens to his teammates and try to understand all types of opinions thrown at him. This is to avoid a bias leadership which would make some team members feel uneasy about the way things are run in that group.

A leader must also have a positive attitude i.e being optimistic even when times are hard because without the optimism then it is very hard to look at the bright side of ideas and solutions. Rather than tearing everything down an optimistic leader will build things up.

Having initiative is also another key characteristic because initiative is what makes anyone ( leaders/ or not) to take that first step towards anything. Leaders lead and if they do not take that first step then they are not considered leaders.

Leaders also need plenty of self-discipline. What this is, is the willingness to do something whether he/she likes it or not. This will make a leader someone who does what needs to be done or it could even be something simple such as neat attire. Thus, other members of the group will consider this type of leader a role-model.