Fried fish tail with leek and roast pork

 

My family loves eating fried fish and Chinese roast pork therefore this dish is a good combination to make everybody happy. Add garlic and leek and you now have a wholesome dish full of protein for growing children. You can fry the fish in the air fryer if you don’t want to have oil all over the kitchen.

 Ingredients 

1 fish tail
2 slices Chinese roast pork
6 cloves garlic
Leek 

Wash the fish tail and let it ‘drip dry’ so it won’t splatter when frying

Peel the garlic

Slice the roast pork and the leek
Make deep cuts in the fish tail

Deep fry the fish tail until golden brown

Transfer the fish tail to a serving platter

Use the oil to deep fry the garlic until golden brown

Remove the garlic and put aside

Leave about 1 tbsp oil in the wok
Put in the leek and fried garlic and mix thoroughly
Add a little water to help soften the leek and prevent it burning

Put in the roast pork once the leek is soft
Mix thoroughly

Mix the following seasoning ingredients:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
Salt and pepper
A little sesame oil

Put in the seasoning sauce and mix thoroughly
Add a little corn starch slurry into the sauce to thicken it

Pour the mixture over the fish and serve 

Potato, apple and egg salad (土豆沙拉)

Potato salad is a wonderful side dish to serve with roasted or barbecued meat. I replace some potatoes with apples to give it some crunch and tartness and make it a healthier dish. I don’t use herbs because the children don’t like them, but you can add chopped parsley to give it a nicer taste and colour.

 Ingredients

1 apple

5 small waxy potatoes (less if you use bigger ones)

2 eggs

Sweet mayonnaise.

Whole grain French mustard which gives it oomph

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and eggs.

Simmer until potatoes are tender but still firm (about 15 minutes)

In the meantime, wash and cut the apples into small bite size cubes

Put the cut apples in salted water to prevent them turning brown

Drain the water before mixing it with the potatoes

 Remove the potatoes and eggs from the pot and place into cold water to cool.

Peel the potato skin which will should come off quite easily

Cut into small cubes

Put into a bowl and keep aside

Peel the eggs and cut into medium size pieces

Put into a bowl and keep aside

Put the apples into a large mixing bowl

Add the potatoes and mix thoroughly

Add 2 tsp whole grain mustard and enough mayonnaise to completely coat all the vegetables.If you don’t have sweet mayonnaise, add 2 tsp sugar to sweeten it.Add black pepper (preferably freshly ground) and a little white pepper 

Mix thoroughly.

Add the eggs and mix again

The salad should look moist, add more mayonnaise if it is too dry.

Transfer to a sealable container and keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

Roasted pumpkin soup (南瓜湯)

Most of my dinner guests love this pumpkin soup probably because of the roasted flavour and taste. Just add a spoonful of fresh cream and chopped parsley on top before serving.

A pumpkin (南瓜) is sometimes called a squash or a gourd. It is usually round with smooth, slightly ribbed yellow or orange coloured skin and a concave top and bottom. In China the pumpkin skin is green in colour and they also have a long shape variety. The flesh is normally a deep yellow to orange coloration. It is rich in vitamins A, E, C and some B vitamins. Pumpkin is a great source of potassium, calcium and magnesium. It is low in calories so is suitable for dieters. In TCM, pumpkin is considered warm in nature, and a food that affects spleen and stomach. It is also used for the expulsion of tape worms

Ingredients

1 small pumpkin

3 potatoes

1 white onion

1 medium sized carrot

Cut all the vegetables into chunks

Put into a baking tray

Add

Ground salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp olive oil

A few sprigs of fresh rosemary

Mix thoroughly

Preheat the oven at 250 C

Place in the preheated oven and bake until the vegetables are soft

Remove from the oven and let it cool down

Transfer into the blender and blend until smooth

You may need to do it in batches if the blender cannot take all of it in one go

Transfer the pureed vegetables into a pot

Add 1 can of chicken broth and more water if the soup is too thick

Mix thoroughly

Simmer on low heat for about 5 mins and it is ready to serve

You can freeze any leftovers for future use

Spoon enough soup for 1 person into a plastic bag

Flatten the soup and fold the plastic over

Place the prepared bags of soup onto a tray and put into the freezer

Beef and long beans fried rice

I had a piece of left-over beef steak which is not enough for a family meal, so the best thing to do is use it to fry rice with left over long beans. It turned out to be a nice combination and the children loved it. I found that by adding soy sauce to the rice before frying makes it more flavourful and tasty. 

Ingredients

Long beans

Cooked piece of beef steak

Cooked rice

1 egg

Put the rice into a large bowl and add a little soy sauce and pepper

Mix the rice thoroughly and rub until there are no lumps in the rice

Slice the beef into bite size pieces

Cut the long beans into bite size pieces

Break the egg into a bowl.

Add salt and pepper and beat up the mixture

Heat a little oil in the wok

Pour in the egg mixture and let it set a little

Turn the egg over and break it into small pieces

Remove and set aside

Heat 1 tbs cooking oil with a little sesame oil

Add the garlic and fry till fragrant

Put in the rice and fry until it is thoroughly mixed

Remove and put aside

Put a little more oil in the wok.

Add the long beans and mix thoroughly

When the beans are cooked put in the beef slices and stir to mix everything together

Add the rice and mix thoroughly

Put the egg back into the rice and mix thoroughly

Dish up and serve

Transfer to the rice cooker to keep warm if not eating immediately