Meatballs with spaghetti

Western meals are usually easy to prepare especially the one pot dishes. Today I am using some leftover meatballs instead of minced meat for the sauce

Ingredients

Meat balls from Ikea (frozen)

1 green bell pepper

1 medium sized yellow onion

1 large can ready cut tomato

½ can of tomato paste (using the balance which was frozen)

Finely dice the pepper and onion

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil

Add the onion and some chopped garlic

Put in the tomato paste and canned peeled tomatoes and mix thoroughly

Put some hot water into the can and add to the sauce

Simmer for 5 minutes

Add the meat balls and green bell pepper

Put in a couple bay leaves and a sprinkle of mixed herbs

Cover and simmer on low fire for 30 minutes

Stir occasionally to make sure that it is cooked evenly

Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente

Stir frequently to make sure it is cooked evenly and does not stick to the pan

Drain and put the spaghetti into the sauce and mix thoroughly

Put some spaghetti onto a plate and sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top

Choy sum with fried egg soup

This is another one of my quickie soup which the children love. You can add mee hoon or mee suah to make it a meal on its own.

Choy sum or cài xīn (菜心) is a green leafy vegetable with fairly thick but tender stalks and yellow flowers. Literally translated it means vegetable heart and it looks somewhat similar to kai-lan but the taste of choy sum is much sweeter than kai-lan. It is an excellent source of vitamin C, vital B-complex vitamins, vitamin K, vitamin A and minerals such as calcium and potassium. These nutrients can be beneficial in the prevention of such diseases as osteoporosis, heart disease and cancer.
Ingredients

2 eggs

1 small bundle baby choy sum

Cut the choy sum into bite size pieces

Separate the stems from the leaves

Prepare the stock and put in the stems

Add the leaves when the stems are slightly soft

Turn off the fire when the leaves are soft so that it doesn’t become overcooked

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

Put a little oil in the wok
Pour in the mixture and spread it out until it looks like a pancake

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

Cut the eggs into small pieces

Add the eggs to the soup

Season with salt and pepper

Dish up and serve immediately so that the eggs do not become soggy

Fish in soya sauce

This is a very simple and quick to cook dish which the children love especially the gravy. For beautiful presentation, garnish with some chopped spring onion and thinly sliced red chilli.

Ingredients

A block of threadfin fish (Ang Cho in Hokkien)

A piece of young ginger

Today I am using kicap manis which is an Indonesian sweetened aromatic soy sauce. It is made from a fermented paste of boiled black soybeans flavoured with garlic, star anise and palm sugar. It has a thick syrupy consistency with a molasses-like flavour due to the generous addition of palm sugar. 

Wash and slice the fish

Cut the ginger into fine strips

Heat the sesame oil in a wok then add the ginger

Fry the ginger until light brown and fragrant

Add 1 tbsp oyster sauce and 1 tbsp sweet dark soya sauce

Add 200 mls water

Put in the fish

Turn the fish over after 5 minutes

Season with salt and pepper

Cook for another 5 minutes

Dish up and serve with steamed rice or plain porridge

Fried kang kung with crispy prawn chilli

Kang kong is one of my favourite vegetables especially in the dish called Jiu Hu Eng Chai. However, the most popular way to stir fry kang kong is with shrimp sambal belacan but it is equally delicious fried with garlic or fermented bean curd.

 Chinese water spinach is called eng chai in hokkien or kong xin cai (空心菜) in Mandarin which translates to ‘hollow heart vegetable” and kang kong in Malay. It has long hollow stems with very thin pointed leaves and is grown in water or damp soil. It contains carotene, amino acids including polyphenol (an antioxidant), and minerals such as potassium, iron and magnesium, vitamin C, E, nicotinamide, riboflavin and fibre. Being rich in iron it is extremely beneficial for people with anaemia as well as pregnant women who require iron in their diets. Kang kong is also used in herbal medicine for the treatment of fever, liver disease, and most importantly diabetes in pregnant women. Never eat raw kang kong because it may have an intestinal fluke parasite called Fasciolopsis buski that anchors itself to the intestinal walls causing indigestion, allergic reactions and abdominal pain which can be fatal if untreated. 

Ingredients 

1 large bundle of kang kong

When cooked, it will shrink down by half so it is advisable to buy more

I have different types of crispy prawn chilli paste

Today I will use the one by Hengs (middle one)

Cut into three to four-inch lengths

Do not use the tougher lower 1-2 inches of the stems

Soak in rice water for 20 minutes

Heat some oil in the wok and fry some chopped garlic until fragrant

Put in the kang kong and make sure it is well coated in the oil

Make a well in the centre and put in the salt and pepper and stir the vegetable into it

Add a little water and mix well

Take out the children’s portion

Put the required amount of sambal paste into the remaining kang kong in the wok

Quickly stir and mix well so it does not over cook

Transfer to a serving platter and serve

Fried tang hoon

The first time I had fried tang hoon was in the 80s and it was fried with small thin shelled lala which was absolutely delicious. I tried frying it and it was a disaster as the tang hoon stuck together. It was only 2 years ago that I tried frying it and realised that tang hoon need more water compared to mee hoon so now it is one of the noodles that I serve for lunch or family gatherings. 

Ingredients

1 small bundle choi sam

Skinless chicken breast

Bacon chips

Cut the choi sam

Separate the stems from the leaves

Slice the chicken into small pieces

Fry some chopped garlic until fragrant then add the bacon

Add the sliced chicken when the bacon is slightly brown

When the chicken has changed colour add the choi sam stems

Add the leaves and mix thoroughly

Add 2 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce

Season with salt and pepper

Mix well and add 300 mls water

Rinse the tang hoon

Put in the tang hoon and stir to make sure everything is well mixed

Add more water if necessary because tang hoon will stick together if there is not enough water

Keep on stirring until the tang hoon has absorbed almost all the liquid.