Chinese Spinach Soup with Tofu & Fish

This dish is simple to cook, and my hubby likes to eat chinese spinach. The only thing I don't like is removing the fibre from the stalks of the chinese spinach. To counter this problem, the chinese spinach can sometimes be replaced with other green leafy vegetables that are not so fibrous.

Ingredients:

• one packet of chinese spinach or other green leafy vegetables, about 200gm
• fish fillet (I like to use red grouper or ikan kurau threadfin), about 180gm
• one box of tofu (beancurd), about 300gm
• about 500ml of water or soup stock
• a few thin slices of ginger
• one teaspoon salt
• one teaspoon sesame oil

Marinade sauce:

• one teaspoon salt
• one teaspoon sugar
• one teaspoon soya sauce
• one tablespoon sesame oil
• a dash of pepper

Method:

• clean, slice & marinate the fish
• wash & remove fibre from vegetables, pluck into about 6cm length
• cut beancurd into cubes
• boil water, add salt
• add beancurd, cook for about 10 minutes
• add ginger slices and sesame oil
• when water is boiling again, add fish, add vegetables, and cook for another 5 minutes

If you want the dish to look more appealing, consider adding carrot for colour. Cut into thin slices & cook with the tofu or cook a little while before adding the tofu. Continue with the other steps. Again, play around with your imagination or ingredients & seasoning. The recipe provided here is just a basic one which aims to save time & effort while serving something palatable.

Blanched Kale

If I feel tired but want something nutritious, this is a simple dish to cook.

Ingredients:

• 200gm chinese kale (kai lan), or other suitable green leafy vegetables
• 3 clove garlic, lightly crushed
• 500ml water

Seasoning:

• half teaspoon salt
• one teaspoon sesame oil or normal cooking oil
• one teaspoon fish sauce (optional)
• one teaspoon soya sauce
• one tablespoon oyster sauce

Garnish:

• one teaspoon fried shallot (can be prepared in bulk before hand & kept in the fridge)

Method:

• wash & drain the vegetables
• boil water, put in garlic, salt, sesame oil, fish sauce
• add vegetables and blanch (parboil) for about 2 minutes, until cooked
• remove vegetables promptly & arrange on serving plate
• dribble the soya sauce & oyster sauce onto the vegetables. (if necessary, add some of the water you've used for blanching to moisten the dish)
• add fried shallot as garnish & serve

This dish can be served with porridge for a simple meal. Simple fare, but easy to prepare & easy to digest, easy to clean up too :-)

Mixed Vegetables & Beancurd

This is an "all-in-one" dish. There are more steps involved compared to the others dishes I posted, but still quite easy to prepare. Here I cook in larger portion as the leftovers can be reheated with rice for my next meal, which helps to cut down time spent cooking. If you are preparing it as one of a few dishes for your meal, you could reduce the quantities given.

Ingredients:

• one packet frozen mixed vegetables (carrot & peas). I use an organic packet which weighs about 284g
• 2 tomatoes
• 8 small sausages about 5cm each. I use this because it's more convenient and both my husband & son like the taste. However I prefer to use minced meat (whether chicken, pork or beef) whenever it's available, anywhere about 250-350g is good enough, depending on your preference of proportion of meat to vegetable (I prefer about 250g)
• 2 packets of tofu (beancurd), each weighing 300g
• 1 heaped teaspoon of chopped garlic
• 1 heaped teaspoon of chopped ginger
• 1 heaped teaspoon of chopped shallot (I have a bottle of deep fried shallot which my mum prepared for me to keep in the fridge, I use this for convenience & to help cut down cooking time too)
• 2 tablespoon cooking oil
• 2 tablespoon cornflour with 2 tablespoon water (as cornflour mixture)

Seasoning:

• half teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon soya sauce

Sauce:

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon chicken stock sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 400ml hot water

Method:

• thaw, wash & drain the frozen mixed vegetables & sausages
• wash & dice the tomatoes
• cut the sausages into slices (if you use minced meat instead of sausages, you have to marinate it first with 1 teaspoon each of salt, sugar, soya sauce, sesame oil, cornflour and a dash of pepper)
• rinse & drain the beancurd
• heat 1 tablespoon oil in wok, add garlic, ginger, shallot. When fragrant, add mixed vegetables, tomatoes, sausages (or minced meat) & seasoning. Stir fry for 3 minutes on high heat. Ladle out & put aside
• pour the sauce ingredients listed into the wok. When boiling, add the 2 blocks of beancurd, cover & cook for 3 minutes on medium heat. Carefully ladle onto serving bowl
• continue to heat the sauce over high heat, add cornflour mixture & stir well for 2 minutes
• add the vegetables prepared earlier
• stir briskly for just half a minute to mix
• pour over beancurd

There, you have a colourful & nutritious dish!

Even Simpler Soup

Remember I introduced "Tomato with Cabbage (娃娃菜)" earlier? This cabbage is a versatile vegetable too, can be either stir-fried or cooked in soup (same as tomato, which I use quite often both in stir-fry and soup dishes). If you don't feel like heating up your wok, or want to have something light, try this!

Ingredients:

• one packet cabbage （娃娃菜）, about 300g
• water or soup stock, about 250ml

Seasoning:

• quarter teaspoon salt
• dash of sesame oil
• dash of pepper

Method:

• clean cabbage & cut into appropriate size
• when water is boiling, add seasoning
• add cabbage, cook for about 3 to 5 minutes

Simple? It's also good as a complement to other "heavier" dishes :-)

This is a very basic soup recipe. As usual, you could add other ingredients or seasoning sauces to make the dish more interesting.

Meat Patties

After you make the meat patties, either steam them or pan-fry them, depending on your taste & preference.

Ingredients:

• minced meat (I used pork, you can choose your preferred meat), about 300 g

Seasoning:

• half teaspoon salt
• half teaspoon sugar
• quarter teaspoon pepper
• one tablespoon soya sauce
• half teaspoon sesame oil
• one tablespoon corn flour

Method:

• combine minced meat & seasoning, mix well, let stand for 10 minutes
• take a heaped tablespoon of meat and roll into a ball between your palms, then press lightly to flatten, continue for all, making about 12 small patties
• if you prefer it pan-fried, heat one-and-a-half tablespoon of oil in a wok or frying pan, fry on both sides, approximately 5 minutes each side
• if you prefer the steamed version, put the patties in a plate & place them in a steamer when the water is boiling, cook for about 10 minutes

Other than using different cooking methods (maybe you can try deep frying?), you could also experiment with varying the seasoning or adding other ingredients (eg carrot) to get the flavour & texture you like.

Lady's Finger with Fishball

Usually I see lady's fingers cooked with chilli or dried shrimps or curry. This is something light which I improvised because my mum gave me some fishballs and it's more suitable for my son too.

Ingredients:

• one big packet of lady's fingers, about 200g I think, anyway my packet contained about 25 stalks :-), cut into slanted slices
• ten cooked fishballs, cut into quarters
• one tablespoon of crushed & minced garlic
• one tablespoon of oil for stir-frying

Seasoning:

• one tablespoon of salted soya bean sauce (豆酱)

Method:

• heat wok, add oil, swirl to coat
• add garlic, stir-fry until fragrant, about half a minute
• add lady's fingers and salted soya beans, stir-fry on high heat for about 2-3 minutes
• add fish balls and a little hot water for a dish moist with some gravy, stir-fry another minute or until water boil
• ladle & serve

You could try varying the ingredients or seasoning sauces to get a different dish.

Tomato with Cabbage (娃娃菜)

This is a fast-to-prepare stir-fry dish, which is also quite appetizing because of the tangy taste of tomato.

Ingredients:
- one packet of cabbage (娃娃菜), about 3 clusters or 300 g
- three tomatoes
- a clove of garlic, minced, approx 1 teaspoon
- one tablespoon of oil for stir-frying

Basic Seasoning:
- one tablespoon soy sauce
- one tablespoon oyster sauce

Method:
- wash & rinse cabbage, cut into appropriate length
- wash tomatoes, cut into thick slices (ie about 8 pieces per tomato)
- heat wok, add oil, add garlic, stir-fry till fragrant
- add tomatoes, stir-fry on high heat for a short while
- add cabbage, stir-fry on high heat
- add soy sauce to the side of the wok
- add oyster sauce to the centre, add about100ml water
- stir-fry till cabbage is cooked, cover it for a short while, then serve

Tips:
- seasoning suggested is the most basic. You could add a little salt, sugar, pepper, corn flour mixture according to your preference
- stir-fry carefully moving contents in the wok from the bottom to the top etc, and don't cook for too long. The tomatoes should still be "in shape" and not broken into a mess, haha.

Stir-Fry Cauliflower with Carrot

This is a simple vegetable dish.

Ingredients:
-one "ball" of cauliflower, about 450 gram
-one carrot
-a tablespoon of chopped garlic
-a tablespoon of oil for stir-frying

Seasoning:
-a tablespoon of mushroom sauce (or oyster sauce)
-a tablespoon of light soy sauce
-a teaspoon of salt
-a dash of pepper

Method:
-wash the cauliflower & carrot
-separate the cauliflower into "florets"
-peel & cut the carrot into shapes of stars (or just cut into thin slices)
-heat wok, add a tablespoon oil, stir-fry garlic about a minute, til fragrant
-add carrot & cauliflower, stir-fry for about 5 minutes
-add seasonings & some water, stir-fry for another minute
-cover & cook for 3 to 5 minutes more, until tender

Tips:
-I tend to cook it this long because I prefer it soft, you can cut cooking time for a more "crunchy" texture

Serve it with rice and other dishes. Enjoy your simple healthy food!

I'm Back! Announcement of 3rd Blog

The 15 days of Chinese New Year celebration has been a busy period, with lots of gatherings & visits, especially because we have many elder relatives in our family, and many friends too of course, haha. Well the busiest time is now over but I realized that while I was away from blogging, many people, even my son (who has just turned 9 years old) have been reading my blogs. That’s nice :-). It’s also a pleasant surprise to learn that more friends have started their own blogs. Wow!

For people who read my blogs, I do hope I can contribute in a positive way somehow. Some friends have excitedly shared with me that they tried my recipes on the cooking-simple-dishes blog. Though I’ll try to include as many healthy & nutritious dishes as I can, I would still like to give a gentle reminder to my friends: remember to eat regular & balanced meals containing high nutrition value, and try to avoid (junk) foods that are highly processed, contain additives & colourings, and those that have high fat, sugar & salt content. Remember the food pyramid, and eat more vegetables & fruits, not just “more” in terms of quantity but “more” variety as well, with as many different colours as possible.

As for friends who link to the teach-my-child blog, I hope you are not disappointed as the contents will be mainly on sharing my personal experiences & views in the upbringing of my own child. Anyway I’ve only one child, and my son is still young. There’s a long way to go, and really too early to say if I’ve brought him up well. I’m no guru in child education or development, just a mother who records down her experiences & thoughts, which would invariably include my flaws & limitations as well. In that sense, it is not yet “教子有道”，but just only“育儿经验分享”, though I must say I’m very grateful to my friends for giving me such a high level of recognition. :-)

Today I’ve also started a third blog, with contents on my personal views & encounters in daily life. Do feel free to give me your comments.

许多朋友相继开设自己的博客，有如雨后春笋，百花齐放，现代的科技促进了更多精神上的交流，大家在各自的空间里，传递正面的信息，真好！

很感谢朋友们链接到我的博客，希望我的拙作能起到抛砖引玉之效。不过有一点需要澄清的：teach-my-child blog 只是我在陪孩子成长的过程中，一些个人的看法、经验与体会，因此必然包括我本身的局限；而且我只有一个儿子，年纪尚幼，是否教养得好还言之过早，他日若能成才，也必然是由许多因素促成，绝对不只是我的功劳。朋友们厚爱，把它取名“教子有道”，令我诚惶诚恐，也鞭策我要朝这个方向去努力。

至于cooking-simple-dishes blog, 主要分享平常煮来糊口的小菜，当然没有专业水平，虽然尽量收录比较营养可口的食谱，但由于主要是煮给不太挑食的儿子，因此口味不一定适合所有人，欢迎大家给我一些指点或建议。无论如何，都希望对“吃”有兴趣的朋友们，要注意健康，虽说“病从口入”，幸好“营养”也是“从口入”，要尽量选择营养含量高的食物，多吃不同种类的蔬菜水果，避免高盐高糖高脂肪及“加料”（如颜料及化学成分）的食物。另外还要早睡早起，做适量的运动。

今天也开设了第三个博客，主要内容是分享对生活小事的想法，请大家多多指教。

祝大家在新的一年里，精神上有“进一步”的提升，生命有“进一步”的启发及超越，百尺竿头，更进一步！

Taking A Break Before CNY

Dear friends, if you've been reading my blogs, you'd have noticed that I've not been updating them recently. Reason being this is the last month before CNY (Chinese New Year, 7 Feb this year), and I've been channelling my concentration & efforts towards getting my house etc ready for it.

Though there's so much that I want to write & share about, this period I'm shifting top priority to my CNY project. So you'll likely hear from me again after CNY. Hope everyone enjoys a healthy, prosperous & fulfilling new year!

Broccoli & Carrot With Minced Meat

This is basically a stir-fry dish. If you have small kids, minced meat will be easier for them to eat than sliced meat. The red & green colours perk up their appetite too, especially if you have time to make some patterns like cutting the carrot & broccoli stem into shapes of stars, moons, triangles etc. They will enjoy the meal more by "hunting" for the next star or guessing what shape they'll get next. If you prepare the ingredients beforehand, it takes only a short while to cook.

Ingredients:
- 1 "ball" of broccoli
- 1 small carrot
- 100gm minced meat
- 1 heaped teaspoon of chopped garlic
- 1 tablespoon oil / sesame oil

Marinade:
- half teaspoon salt
- quarter teaspoon sugar
- half teaspoon vinegar
- dash of pepper
- half teaspoon cornflour
- half teaspoon soy sauce

Seasoning:
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- cornflour mixture (1 teaspoon corn flour dissolved in some water)

Method:
- marinate minced meat with above marinade sauce
- wash broccoli thorougly, cut & separate the stem from the "flowers". Remove some of the tough skin / fibre on surface of the stem. Cut stem into thin slices, & separate "flowers" into small florets
- wash carrot. Peel & cut into thin slices
- prepare garlic
- heat wok, add 1 tablespoon oil
- add garlic & stir-fry until fragrant
- add marinated minced meat, stir fry for a minute until almost cooked, ladle out & set aside
- add a few drops of oil / sesame oil if necessary into wok, add carrot & broccoli stem slices, stir-fry about a minute over high heat
- add broccoli florets, stir-fry for 2 minutes or until the colour change
- add minced meat from earlier on, stir-fry a bit, add some water / hot water
- add oyster sauce & soy sauce, continue to stir-fry for another minute
- stir corn flour mixture into the wok
- turn off heat, cover wok for short while, serve hot with rice or porridge

Tips:
- if you cut the carrot or broccoli stem into various shapes, don't slice them too thin, otherwise they'll break in the stir-frying process

If I only want to cook one dish for a meal, this is one of the dishes I prefer, as it's quite balanced in nutrition.

Delicious Steamboat

This is an all-in-one dish that my mum usually cooks for Chinese New Year or at times when she doesn't feel like cooking so many dishes. It's versatile as any ingredients can be used, though I usually use cabbage & seafood. The amount of food can also be adjusted according to the number of persons. And you don't need to cook all ingredients, you can just prepare the raw ingredients and serve them on plates for guests to choose & cook for themselves. Of course you have to provide the necessary "tools" for them like colanders etc. I like its flexibility in variety & quantity. Fun too!

Ingredients:
- a pot of hot water or soup stock
- vegetables, suggest cabbage
- seafood, suggest fish & prawns (even abalone if it's for Chinese New Year)
- others, suggest fishballs, mushrooms, carrot, quail eggs
- 1 or 2 slices of ginger, optional, to mask "fishy" taste

Method:
- prepare vegetables beforehand, wash & cut
- cut fish into slices, marinate with salt, pepper, sesame oil & a little corn flour
- for tastier soup use whole prawns. For easy eating, remove heads & shells, then also marinate with salt, pepper, sesame oil & a little corn flour
- prepare quail eggs by separately boiling & shelling them, just like making hard boiled eggs
- prepare all other ingredients, washing, cutting etc
- put sufficient hot water or soup stock into the steamboat, wait for water to boil, add a little salt & sesame oil if desired
- add cabbage, carrot, mushrooms, fishballs
- add ginger, fish, prawns
- add fishballs, quail eggs

Tips:
- fish, prawns & abalone cook rather fast, only put them into the boiling soup when you want to eat & ladle them out immediately when done
- turn down heat when not cooking. Prepare a little more soup / hot water than you need as soup in the steamboat will dry out due to constant heating. Add when necessary
- raw fishballs are cooked if they "float" in the soup
- you can add any other ingredients that you like, for example "yong tau foo", meat balls, crabsticks, "tang hoon" (vermicelli) etc
- if you don't have a steamboat, just cook everything in a big pot and serve with rice. Tastes nice too :-)