Sausage and Potatoes in Tomato Sauce

 

This dish can never go wrong with adults or kids. Who doesn't love potatoes and sausages; they are a perfect match. It has been advised that potatoes are another good source of carbs compared to rice. The tangy sweet and sour sauce is so appetizing, i'm sure your child will be asking for 2nd serving of rice. It's quick and easy to make - another great dish for people with busy schedules or families.  

 

Prep Time : 10 mins

Cooking Time : 15 mins

Yield : 3 - 4 paxs

Ingredients : 

• 3 - 4 large russet potatoes
• 4 - 5 hotdogs or sausages
• 1 tsp minced garlic

Sauce :

• 3 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 2 tbsp water
• 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar

Method :

1. Cut potatoes into big chunks or cubes. 
2. Cut hotdogs or sausages into 4 - 5cm long. Personally i prefer using hotdogs for this dish as it is firmer and does not break easily.
3. Heat up enough oil in a non-stick pan and deep-fry the potatoes until they are golden brown. Remove and rest potatoes on paper toilet to remove excess oil.
4. Remove excess oil from wok, leaving an adequate amount for browning of sausages. Fry on low heat until sausages' skin becomes slightly crispy and cooked. Remove sausages from wok and rest them on paper toilet to remove excess oil.  
5. Heat up the remaining oil in a non-stick pan (about 1 tbsp) and add in the minced garlic, stir until fragrant. Combine the sauce together in a bowl and add it into the bowl. Once the sauce is slightly thicken, add the potatoes and sausages into the wok
6. Toss all items in wok and remove when sauce starts to thicken. Serve hot with a bowl of white rice.

Tom Yam Fried Rice

 

Besides having tom yam soup, why not opt for something different - tom yam fried rice. Just add tom yam paste into the fried rice and you'll still be able to enjoy the kick from the chill and fragrance of the lemongrass at the same time. You can add in any kinds of meat, seafood and vegetables to make it a complete meal. You can even add in some sliced red chillies to make it spicier. This dish is great for parties, picnics, or even a simple family meal.    

Prep Time : 5 mins

Cooking Time : 10 mins

Yield : 3 - 4 paxs

Ingredients : 

• 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, keep refrigerated overnight before cooking
• 1 chicken breast, thinly sliced or diced
• 50g beansprout
• 1/2 stick carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp garlic
• 2 chilli padi (optional)
• 2 - 3 tbsp oil

Marinate for Chicken:

• 1 tsp sauce sauce
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cornflour
• pinch of pepper

Seasoning :

• 2 tbsp tom yam paste
• 1 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp salt

Method :

1.  Marinate the sliced or diced chicken for minimum 10 mins in the fridge, best overnight.
2. Heat up oil in a non-stick pan and add in the garlic, stir until fragrant. Add in the eggs and stir occasional to break it into small pieces. Then add in the carrots and chicken and stir-fry until chicken is no longer pink.
3. When all is cooked, add in the cold rice into the pan and stir-fry with all the ingredients until mixed evenly. You may add in a bit of oil if the mixture is too dry. 
4. Lower the heat and add in the seasoning. Mix evenly to ensure that all the rice is coated with the seasoning. 
5. Add in the beansprouts, chilli padi and a dash of pepper, and toss it for another 1 - 2 mins before serving. 
6. Decorate with coriander leaves and serve. 

Spaghetti Bolognese

 

 

You can never go wrong with the traditional meat sauce with spaghetti. Adults and kids love it and it's so simple to make. The meal can be eaten alone or accompanied together with a bowl of soup, salad and baked potatoes. You can prepare this in advance and store the sauce in the freezer and heat it up whenever you want. Good for people with busy schedules or working parents.

Prep Time : 10 mins

Cooking Time : 15 mins

Yield : Serves 3 - 4

Ingredients :

• 1 packet of spaghetti
• 2 jars of pasta sauce, i prefer the beef flavoured ones
• 1 packet of mince beef
• 1 can of button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 sausages, cut into small sections
• 1/2 stick of carrot, finely diced
• 1/2 stick of celery, finely diced (optional)
• 1 - 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 white onion, finely diced
• 1 tsp dried or fresh oregano (optional) 
• 2 tbsp olive oil, or any other vegetable oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar

Method :

1. Boil a big pot of water with salt and cook spaghetti according to packet instructions. Drain and drizzle in olive oil to prevent it from sticking.
2. Saute the onions, carrots and celery in a hot pan with 2 tbsp oil until the onions turn soft and fragrant.
3. Add in garlic and saute until fragrant before adding the minced beef in. Do not over cook the garlic or else it will turn bitter. Cook until the beef turns brown.
4. Add in the pasta sauce, mushrooms and sausages and stir well. Cook on medium heat until sauce starts to bubble, reduce to low heat for another 5 mins.
5. Before turning off the heat, add in the salt and sugar into the sauce and stir well.
6. Placed a small amount of spaghetti onto a place and pour sauce on top. Best served hot.

Red Bean Soup with Sago

 

This simple traditional dessert is one of my favourite. You may serve it hot or chilled. I personally prefer it hot especially on a cold or rainy day. It just instantly warms the body. Red beans are quite heaty so don't eat it too often or else you may get a sore throat very easily.

Prep Time : 5 mins

Cooking Time : 30 mins

Yield : Serves 4 - 5

Ingredients :

• 1/2 packet red beans
• 6 - 8 pieces rock sugar
• 1 - 2 tbsp sago
• 1 knot pandan leaf
• 2 pcs dried orange skin (optional)

Method :

1. Soak the red beans for 1 hour, best overnight. This will enable faster cooking.
2. Boil 10 rice bowls of water in pot and add in the red beans and pandan leaf. Cook on high flame for 10 mins before turning it down to medium / low flame and continue cooking for 15 mins.
3. Boil the sago in a separate pot until it turns transparent. You may rinse the sago in cold water to remove the access starch, but it's not necessary.
4. When the red beans have turned soft, add in the rock sugar and sago, and cook for another 5 mins on medium / low flame.

Pumpkin Porridge

After returning from our Hong Kong trip, my hubby had frequent craving for pumpkin porridge which he had eaten there. So we went to the supermarket and bought a quarter piece of pumpkin and some minced chicken home to cook pumpkin porridge for him.

I don't eat pumpkin and didn't try out the pumpkin porridge that he had in Hong Kong, so i don't really know how it taste it. But fortunately, my hubby feedback that it was nice and similar, so i guess it was a success.

Prep Time : 5 - 10 mins

Cooking Time : 20 - 25 mins

Yield : Serves 2 -3

Ingredients :

• 3/4 cup carousal rice, soaked in water for 1 hour, best overnight
• 1 quarter pumpkin, cut into cubes
• 50g minced chicken, or pork
• 2 tbsp frozen corn

Seasoning :

• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar

Method :

1. Season the minced chicken with a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp of water. Mix evenly.
2. Steam the pumpkin cubes for about 5 mins or until tender. Put the cooked pumpkin into a processor and blend it until it becomes a smooth paste. 
3. Boil 3 cups of water and add in the soaked rice. You may use long grain rice if you do not have carousal rice.
4. Boil the rice on high heat for 10 mins, then add in the pumpkin paste , minced chicken and corn into the pot and mix evenly until the porridge turns yellow. 
5. Lower the flame to medium / low heat and cook for another 10 - 15 mins. Stir constantly to prevent porridge from sticking to the pot.
6. You may add in more water from time to time if the porridge becomes too dry.
7. When almost ready, add in the seasoning. 

Kailan with Chinese Mushrooms

For those who do not eat beef or is looking for a vegetarian version of the stir-fry kailan with beef, here it is. Just replace the beef with chinese mushrooms and it taste just as good.

I remember cooking this dish with a few of my classmates for lunch at our school nurse's house gathering. It was really fun doing it together and since it was our first time cooking it, we panic a little - worried that the kailan might be overcooked or too salty. A tip when cooking with chinese mushrooms - go easy on salt and / or soy sauce as it is quite flavourful and salty by itself.

Prep Time : 5 mins

Cooking Time : 5 mins

Yield : Serves 2 - 3

Ingredients :

• 300 g baby kai lan, cut into 5cm long sections
• 5 - 6 chinese mushrooms, soaked and sliced thinly 
• 2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced

Sauce :

• 1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp chicken sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 rice bowl of water

Method :

1. Soak the chinese mushrooms in a bowl of water till tender, then squeeze out the water and slice thinly.
2. Wash and cut the kailan into 5 cm long sections.
3. Heat up 1 - 2 tbsp of oil in a hot wok, add in the garlic and stir-fry till fragrant. Add in the chinese mushrooms and continue stiring for 30 seconds till fragrant.
4. Add in the kailan and stir-fry till the leaves starts to soften, then add the sauce in. Stir-fry for a while more or until sauce thickens slightly. 

Kailan with Beef

There are many types of kailan in the market but i like this type the most. I usually buy the baby kailan which has thinner stems as it is less bitter yet still be able to enjoy the crunchiness and crisp of the vegetable. But it's not easy to get; not all NTUC branches sell it. You can still use the large stem kailan if you're unable to find the baby type. This dish is an all time favourite for me as it has vegetables and beef all in 1 (as i mentioned in the beef bulgogi recipe that i love beef) - simple just serve it with a plate of rice and it's a complete meal. For those who are vegetarians or do not eat beef, you may leave it out or replace with pork, chicken or lamb. Although it was told that it was a typical cantonese dish, i believe other dialects groups and asians love this too. I could even find this dish in Bangkok.

Prep Time : 10 mins

Cooking Time : 15 mins

Yield : Serves 2 - 3

Ingredients :

• 300 g baby kai lan
• 100 - 150 g lean beef ( sirloin or flank steak), sliced thinly
• 2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced

Marinate :

• 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/4 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp corn flour
• 1 tbsp water

Sauce :

• 1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp chicken sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 rice bowl of water

Method :

1. Wash and cut the kailan into 5 cm long sections.
2. Sliced the beef thinly and mix in the marinate. Cover the bowl with shrink wrap and leave it in the fridge to marinate for at least 20 mins, best overnight.
3. Heat up 3 tbsp of oil in a hot wok and stir-fry the beef, stiring constantly. Turn off the flame and remove beef from wok once it's no longer pink. Do not overcook the beef or else it will be very chewy and dry.
4. Heat up 1 tbsp of oil and add in the garlic, fry till fragrant. Add in the kailan and stir-fry for 1 min till the leaves starts to soften. 
5. Add in the beef and the sauce mixture into the wok. Dish up when sauce starts to thicken.