Stir fried French beans with minced meat

This is another favourite dish of the children and old folks in my house. It is a good accompaniment with white congee. Also suitable during confinement.

Green beans are very delicious with a crunchy texture and great flavour. Some of the health benefits of green beans include reduced risk of heart disease and colon cancer as well as improved regulation of diabetes. They also provide a big boost to the immune system, the health of the eyes and bones, while regulating the digestive processes. They have also been shown to reduce the risk of birth defects for pregnant women. Green beans can cause allergic reactions involving rash and itching in some people. It also contain oxalic acid may crystallize as oxalate stones in the urinary tract in some people.  

Ingredients

1 bundle French beans

Minced pork or chicken

Chopped garlic

Cooking oil

A little sesame oil

Salt and pepper

Marinate the meat with:

½ tsp soy sauce

½ tsp sesame oil

½ tsp cornflour

Salt and pepper

Mix thoroughly and set aside

Remove the strings from the sides of the beans.

Slice the beans into bite size pieces

Heat the oil and sauté the garlic until slightly brown. 

Add the minced meat and stir until it changes colour. 

Add the beans and mix thoroughly.

Add a little water at a time to prevent the beans from burning

Cover and simmer on low fire until the beans are tender

Dish up and serve

White bitter gourd (白苦瓜) omelette

Finally i have got my act together after sorting out my pc and camera. So here is the first post for the year.

White bitter gourd is more commonly found in Taiwan compared to green bitter gourd. It is less bitter, and the children are willing to eat it when fried as an omelette.

Ingredients

1 medium sized white bitter gourd

2 eggs

Halve the bitter gourd and remove the seeds

Slice thinly

Add 1 tsp salt and mix thoroughly

Leave for 10 minutes

Rinse off the salt

Drain off the water

Crack the eggs into a bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Beat slightly with a fork and set aside

Put a little oil in the wok.

Add some chopped garlic and fry until fragrant

Add the bitter gourd and stir until cooked

Pour in the beaten eggs.

Tip the pan around until the eggs completely covers the bitter gourd

When the bottom is brown, turn it over to brown the other side

Break it up into bite size pieces

Dish up and serve

Pita bread with curry puff filling

I love curry puffs especially the filling but sometimes I am too lazy to make the pastry so here I am using pita bread instead. This dish is great for a quick lunch or snack. You can freeze any leftover filling to use another day.

Ingredients

200 grams chicken breast meat

1 medium size onion

4 potatoes

2 tbsp curry powder

1 tsp chilli powder

Mince the chicken breasts coarsely

Finely dice the onions and potatoes  

Heat 2 tbsp oil in the wok over medium heat.

Sauté the onions for about 2 minutes or until soft and golden

Add the minced chicken and stir until the colour changes

Add 2 tbsp meat curry powder and mix thoroughly

Alternately, you can fry the curry paste first and then add the chicken

Add 100 ml water to prevent it burning

Add the potatoes and mix thoroughly

Add salt according to your taste

Cover and cook till the potatoes have softened and the curry is almost dry

Turn off the fire and let it cool down

1 packet pita bread

Heat up the fry pan

Put in the pita bread and brown it

Cut the pita bread into 2 pieces

Open up the pita bread and fill with the stuffing

Add some finely sliced lettuce if desired

Serve immediately

Lemak sweet potato leaves (红薯叶)

This is a nyonya dish which is absolutely delicious. You need to get the long stemmed variety which is sometimes quite difficult to find. It is the crunchy stem which makes the dish so delicious. I was so happy to find it in one of the local markets so had to cook this dish.  

Sweet potato is a long and tapered edible tuberous root with a smooth skin whose color ranges between yellow, orange, red, brown, purple, and beige. Sweet potato leaves are heart shaped with a pointed tip. The top four inches of the tips including both the stem and leaves as these are the youngest and most tender parts of the greens. They are mild in flavor with a taste similar to that of water spinach. Sweet potato leaves are an excellent source of antioxidants and contain high levels of vitamin A and C, as well as riboflavin, thiamin, folic acid and niacin. They also provide impressive amounts of fiber, along with calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, copper, potassium and iron.

Ingredients  

Sweet potato leaves

50 gm dried prawns

200 ml chicken stock

4 tbsp chilli paste

Coconut milk

Sweet potato (if desired)

Separate the sweet potato leaves from the stem

Remove the skin from the stems

Wash and keep aside

Heat up 1 tbsp oil and fry the dried prawns until fragrant

Remove the prawns and set aside

Remove the oil

Bring the stock to boiling and add the chilli paste

When the stock smells aromatic, add the coconut milk and dried prawns

When the gravy starts to boil add the stems and cook for 2 minutes

Add the leaves and simmer for another 2 minutes

When the vegetables are cooked remove and serve with rice

Shitong market in Taipei

This is the so called wet market that most expats go to. The price is ridiculously high. I bought a medium sized chicken and it cost RM 60.00. In fact all the items are so expensive so have to look for cheaper markets to go to. The saving grace is the different types of dumplings esp the mini bah chang.

so happy to see pucuk paku here

Apologies for long silence

Well I moved to Taipei in June and since then I did not have my pc with me and did not do much cooking as I am busy exploring the place. Finally I have a new pc so will start posting soon when I am more settled and familiar with the markets.