Fried Tofu with Minced Meat

Whenever I cook tofu, there will not be any fish or chicken platter for dinner. The tofu or bean curd is one of the best source of low-cost, high quality protein available in the market.

I would normally lightly fry the off-white firm tofu to make it slightly more crispy and fragrant. The whole family enjoys this dish, even my daughter who does not fancy eating tofu very much.


Fried Tofu with Minced Meat



100 gm minced pork
6 pieces brown square tofu
10 gm carrot, shredded
2 spring onions, chopped
1 tsp ginger, shredded
2 shallots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 3 tbsp cold water
salt, pepper, sugar, water

1. Heat 1/2 the oil in the wok and toss fry the tofu lightly.
2. Drain and dish out.
3. Add in remaining oil to saute the ginger, shallots and garlic till fragrant.
4. Fry the carrot for a minute.
5. Add the minced pork and stir fry salt, oyster sauce, pepper and sugar.
6. Pour in 1/2 cup water and cover to boil.
7. Add back the fried tofu and spring onions.
8. Stir in cornstarch and cook until gravy thickens and become bubbly.
9. Serve hot with rice.

Stir Fried Broccoli with Prawn

I was pretty amused when one of my son's friends who came visiting, declared that he loves to eat broccoli, so much so that I will always remember him as "the broccoli guy" whenever I refer to him.
Broccoli comes from a cruciferous plant whose leafy stalks and clusters of green buds are eaten as a vegetable. The benefits of broccoli are manifold.
It can help boost the immune system, build stronger bones, saves eyesight, combats cancer, protects the heart and controls blood pressure.
One setback, though, broccoli also produces a lot of intestinal gas. So I normally fry it with ginger and garlic to reduce the gas production.

Stir Fried Broccoli with Prawn


1 cluster of broccoli, cut into small florets
100 gm prawns
100 gm carrot, sliced
1 teaspoon ginger, shredded
2 shallots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp cornflour
salt, pepper, sugar, water

1. Heat oil in the wok.
2. Saute the ginger, shallots and garlic till aromatic.
3. Fry the prawns for a minute and dish out.
4. Blanch the broccoli and carrot in small pot of boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Drain well and add to the wok.
6. Mix back the prawn with the oyster sauce, salt and sesame oil and stir fry for a minute.
7. Blend the cornstarch, sugar and pepper with some water from the pot and pour in.
8. Stir fry and cook until gravy thickens and bubbly.
9. Serve hot with rice.

Mee Suah Soup

Mee Suah (面线) is a type of noodle made from wheat flour and is very brittle in uncooked form as the strands are pretty thin. My children were served the customary mee suah on their first birthdays by their paternal grandmother. Mee suah, literally translated as noodle 面 and thread 线 , signifies longevity and as such is eaten during birthday celebrations.

Mee Suah Soup is great for a light lunch on Saturday. Everyone gets to eat a bowl of delicious mee suah soup with 3 different types of cooked pork and one egg, soft, medium or hard boiled depending on preference. My recipe for Mee Suah Soup serves five persons.

Mee Suah Soup



1 box of mee suah (10 pieces)
100 gm minced pork
100 gm pork, sliced thinly
1 long strip of pork ball, cut to bite size
5 eggs
2 stalks spring onions, finely sliced
100 gm lettuce
2 liter water
1 tsp toong choy (preserved Chinese cabbage)
2 tsp tapioca flour
1 thumb-size ginger, smashed
salt, soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper

1. Marinate the minced pork and pork slices separately with salt, soya sauce, pepper and sesame oil.
2. Boil toong choy, ginger and water in a pot.
3. Blanch the lettuce lightly and dish out.
4. Toss pork slices in tapioca flour and stir into stock, ensuring the meat does not stick together.
5. Mix the remaining flour into the minced pork and scoop small balls into the soup, stirring.
6. Add in the meatballs and salt to taste.
7. Scoop a single serving portion of the boiling soup into a separate saucepan. (use one with a handle for easy pouring)
8. Break an egg into the soup but do not stir.
9. Meanwhile lightly blanch the dry mee suah in a wok.
10. Drain and add into the boiling soup with egg.
11. Serve hot with the lettuce and spring onions.

Fried Bitter Gourd with Egg

My children never like to eat bitter gourd until I discover how to get rid of its bitterness by marinating it with salt and rinsing it later. Now they enjoy the bitter gourd fried with eggs.

The nutritious bitter gourd is rich in iron, beta-carotene, potassium, phosphorous, Vitamins B1, B2, B3 and C and fiber. It's good in treating diabetes. It is also an excellent digestive agent and helps in stimulating the secretion of gastric juices.

Fried Bitter Gourd with Egg



1 bitter gourd
100gm prawns, shelled
2 tbsp oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon ginger, shredded
2 shallots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
salt, pepper

1. Cut bitter gourd lengthwise, remove seeds and slice thinly at an angle.
2. Marinate with 1 tsp salt for 1/2 hour.
3. Wash and squeeze almost dry.
4. Heat wok with oil.
5. Saute the ginger, shallots and garlic till fragrant.
6. Fry the prawns for a minute and push to the side of the wok.
7. Stir fry the bitter gourd for three minutes.
8. Crack the eggs in a bowl, sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.
9. Mix in the prawn and stir in the eggs, breaking the yolks.
10. Flip bitter gourd over and dish out when eggs are cooked.
11. Serve hot with rice.

Steamed Egg Custard

Eggs are very nourishing. They contain one of the best quality source of protein as well as almost all the essential vitamins and minerals that we need.

I normally buy Omega-3 eggs as they contain the Omega-3 fatty acids which are important for overall good health and supposedly help prevent cardiovascular disease.

Many a time when I run out of food in the fridge, I'll just whip up a simple dish with just eggs. My children love this and wish that mum would always cook simple egg custard which is so easily digested, no chewing required.

Steamed Egg Custard


4 eggs
400 ml water
1/2 tsp salt
pepper, sesame oil
spring onions, chopped

1. Break eggs into a bowl.
2. Add pepper and salt and beat with a fork.
3. Add lukewarm water and stir evenly.
4. Transfer to serving plate and onto the steaming tray and cook with the rice in the rice cooker.(Otherwise, steam over boiling water at low heat for about 15 minutes)
5. Garnish with sesame oil and chopped spring onions.
6. Serve the firm custard hot with rice.

Fried Hokkien Mee

When I was younger, I love to eat Hokkien fried mee while my Hokkien friend would always ordered Cantonese fried noodles whenever we went out for supper. Who could have guessed as destiny would have it that I would end up marrying a Hokkien man whilst she married a Cantonese guy!

Fried Hokkien mee is thick yellow noodles braised in thick dark soy sauce with pork, prawn, squid, fish cake and cabbage as the main ingredients with cubes of pork fat fried until crispy. Normally the lard (from frying the pork fat) is used to fry the meat and prawns.
For home cooking, however, I do not use pork fat or lard as it has very high cholesterol content and hence not too healthy.

Fried Hokkien Mee


1 1/2 kg fat yellow mee
100 gm pork, sliced thin
100gm prawns, shelled
2 slices of fish cake, sliced
300gm Chinese cabbage, cut into 1/2 inch strips
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 shallots, sliced
1/2 tsp ginger, shredded
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 1/2 bowls water
Salt

1. Heat oil in the wok.
2. Fry the ginger and shallots till golden brown.
3. Add in the chopped garlic and saute till fragrant.
4. Fry the prawns till just cooked and dish out.
5. Fry the pork with some salt.
6. Mix in the fishcake and cabbage and stir fry for a minute.
7. Add 2 bowls of water.
8. Rinse the mee in hot water before adding in.
9. Mix the black sauce, oyster sauce, soya sauce and salt with remaining water.
10. Pour into the mee and mix evenly.
11. Cover wok with lid and simmer over high heat.
12. Add back the prawns and mix everything together.
13. Lower the heat slightly and simmer noodles till gravy is thick.
14. Serve the mee hot with sambal belacan.

Stir Fried Four Angled Beans

The four-angled bean is a creeper plant that grows easily in the backyard. This bean is known as kacang botol (Malay) or sei lim tau (Cantonese). I started growing this plant recently and it excites me each time I discover whitish purple flowers blooming.

I feel invigorated hunting for the beans which are cleverly camouflaged amongst the thick foliage. It's like treasure hunting. Plucking the fresh beans for cooking within the hour gives me a sense of satisfaction!

Four-angled beans can be eaten raw as it is crunchy and crispy and the Malays normally serve them with sambal belacan as ulam. I prefer to fry them though. Sometimes I would use it in a dish called sei tai tin wong where four types of different beans are stir-fried together.


Stir Fried Four Angled Beans



100 gm four-angled bean, cut into 1cm length slant
100 gm ladies' fingers, sliced at angle
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 shallots, sliced
1/2 tsp shredded ginger
1 tsp Cosway Delichef Crispy dried shrimp readymix
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
water

1. Heat oil in the wok.
2. Fry the ginger and shallots till golden brown.
3. Add in the chopped garlic and saute till fragrant.
4. Add the beans and ladies' fingers and salt and stir fry for two minutes.
5. Stir in the readymix and mix well.
6. Sprinkle some water if it is too dry.
7. Serve hot with rice.

Teocheow style Steamed Fish

"Give me a fish, I eat for a day. Teach me to fish, I eat for a lifetime." - Robert Louis Stevenson. Unfortunately I do not fish myself but I buy the fish from the market! We have fish on the dining table at least three times a week.

There are many ways of cooking fish. I always prefer to steam it as steaming brings out the freshness in the fish. However, not all kinds of fish can be used for steaming. White pomfret, sea bass or siakap and treadfin or ma yau are excellent candidates for steaming.

Teocheow style Steamed Fish


1 piece white pomfret
1 tabsp. shredded ginger
50 gm salted mustard greens, soaked, squeezed and shredded
2 black mushrooms, soaked and sliced
1 piece white soft tofu, cut into 6-8 pieces
1 tomato, cut into wedges
2 sprig spring onions, cut to 1 inch length
1 piece red chilli, sliced
2 pieces pickled sour plum, slightly mashed
Sesame oil, onion oil, pepper, soya sauce, salt, sugar

1. Make two slits on each side of the fish. Rub lightly with salt.
2. Sprinkle some sugar on the mustard green and mushroom separately.
3. Place fish on serving plate.
4. Arrange the mustard green, mushroom, tofu, tomato, sour plum and ginger on and around the fish.
5. Add a few drops of sesame oil, onion oil, soya sauce and pepper on top.
6. Place plate onto steaming tray and cook with the rice in the rice cooker. (Otherwise, steam over rapidly boiling water for about 15 minutes)
7. Garnish with chilli and spring onions just before serving.

Fried Udon Mee

Udon are thick noodles, a type of thick wheat-based noodle popular in Japanese cuisine.

It looks somewhat like the thick yellow mee which we use in the Fried Hokkien mee. Udon is usually served hot as noodle soup in a mildly flavored broth. However, I normally fry it with black pepper sauce as it is one of my daughter's favorite noodles.

Fried Udon Mee




5 pkts Udon noodles
300 gm cabbage
100 gm pork, sliced thin
100 gm prawns, shelled
2 slices of fish cake, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 shallots, sliced
1/2 tsp shredded ginger
2 tbsp oil
3 tbsp black pepper sauce
1 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp black sauce
2 cup water

1. Heat 2 tablespoon oil in the wok.
2. Fry the ginger and shallots till golden brown.
3. Add in the chopped garlic and saute till fragrant.
4. Fry the prawns till just cooked and dish out.
5. Fry the pork with some salt.
6. Mix in the cabbage and stir fry for 2 minutes.
7. Add 1/2 cup water and cover for a minute.
8. Loosen the udon and add in.
9. Mix the black pepper sauce, black sauce and soya sauce with remaining water.
10. Pour in the sauce mixture.
11. Add back the prawns and mix everything together.
12. Serve the udon hot.