This must be Confucius' Favourite dish. The eggplant that doesn't have any egg. 鱼香茄子但有没有🐠哦。

Ingredients

1 large brinjal, sliced into halves and then lengthwise
250g minced pork
Half a carrot, blanched.
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 sprig of spring onion, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon of (fermented beancurd) spicy bean paste
0.5 tsp of fish sauce
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tsp of dark soya sauce
A squeeze of lemon
100 ml of water


Marinade for minced pork

1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp minced garlic

Cornstarch mixture

1 tablespoon cornflour
2 tablespoons water

Optional

Chopped spring onions
Sliced red chilli
1 tablespoon of chicken/ pork/fish floss

Method

Shallow fry brinjal slices. Heat three tablespoons of oil in the pan, place brinjal slices skin side down. After a few minutes, turn it on its side and repeat till all sides have been shallow fried. Set it aside on some kitchen towels to drain the oil.

Heat up the reserved oil and fry the remaining minced garlic with the white portions of the spring onion till fragrant.

Add in the minced pork and fry together with the spicy bean paste. Add the brinjal and blanched carrot slices. Stir fish sauce, oyster sauce, dark soya sauce and a squeeze of lemon into 100ml of water before pouring it over the ingredients in the pan. Give it a good mix to ensure that the sauce coats the ingredients evenly.

When it starts to bubble, turn the heat to low to let it simmer for 5 minutes. Then turn up the heat and thicken the gravy by stirring in cornstarch mixture to desired consistency.

Garnish as desired and serve hot with rice. Maybe two servings of rice. :)

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

It's about comfort food #CookForFamily

It isn't rocket science to #CookForFamily.

But it might be rocket science for a possible followup on #WashForFamily :p

Cook and eat first.

Worry about the wash later.

So let's talk about what you need.
Just if you'd like to know, that's 22 small chinese black mushrooms, 150g of dried baby scallops, 10 leaves of lettuce, 3 bunches of parsley, 500g of minced pork.
Heavily dependent on the number of people you're feeding
and what you like.
Well what I like.
Mushrooms.
If you couldn't yet tell. :)

The minced pork is seasoned with oyster sauce, sesame oil and kikkoman light sauce.
And for that crunch,
Preserved vegetables.
Dong Cai. 

I couldn't find the rice cup that normally resides in the rice container so I used a jollibean container.

Washed and dried of course.

1.5 containers for 5 of us.

I left it to soak for just a half hour.

Makes it easier to break later with the stirring process. Skip that if you like porridge with whole rice grains.

Just a note:

These rice grains are thirsty hippos that drink up a lot more water than you'd expect.

If you dont want an overly thick and dry porridge,

go easy on the amounts of rice or please have a big pot!

Add in chicken soup stock or just one chicken stock cube.

Just keep stirring, just keep stirring.

And add on water throughout the bubbling process.

Add in roughly formed minced pork balls once it comes to a boil.

And you get lunch that looks like this.

Warm, comforting and nutritious porridge.

From our kitchen to yours. :)

mushroom minced pork balls in oyster sauce

once in a while,

we see something new on the dinner table.

while we love the perennial favourites that she dishes out since our days of youth (or mine at least :p)

we're willing to try new dishes and give our due comments.

and this, falls into the to-be-cooked-again category.

first thing this reminded me of, was the entire black mushroom topped with minced pork paste as they usually do for hotpot places.

i realise that perhaps if it were to be steamed, the mushroom might end up being too dry.

this was just nice. the juices of the minced pork and fragrance of the mushroom.

the oyster sauce that complemented with its saltiness.

thanks for cooking dinner. day after day. :)

Coffee Shop Surprise

What would your reaction be to a customer standing at your store looking at the menu but not making a move to order? In a coffeeshop, that is. That customer would be me, yes indecisive my other name. I was half expecting to be ignored or clucked at irritably. None of that though. I eventually voiced my inability to decide between that or laksa and I was met with an understanding smile in return. What a surprise. :)

Wasn't up to taking coconut milk today so I made a quick decision to order a meepok dry. It's been awhile since I had pork and was braving myself for that porky smell but there was none of that. :)

A simple affair at lunch with juicy minced pork bits, a few slices of fishcake with two soft and chewy fishballs on the side in soup. At $2.50, this was value indeed.

Parents are out of town which means my servings of fresh fruits have come to an abrupt stop. To make up for that, my Zespri happy pack came by the courier last evening. The fuzzy kiwi thumbdrive is just the cutest! :))) And there's even a 4-pack of kiwi fruit. The green variety though. Leaving that for my brother and since I was out on a course, I went shopping one lunch for these packs of fast fruits to the rescue. :)

Berry blend was a welcome change from the usual cranberry packs I pick up at the supermarket. A marked difference in costs, but a whole lot more variety in taste. <3

Lian Wah Kopitiam

Blk 133 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3

minced pork, mushroom and scallop porridge for a rainy wednesday

A very welcome mid week break. Or a break anytime in a week is always welcome. :) 

I got out of bed later than I planned to and shelved my jogging plans only to realise that I was put on kitchen duty for lunch. How convenient.

It's been awhile. This used to be a Sunday staple for my family. The only 'dish' that my mother will admit to being able to cook a little better than average. Honestly, she can cook a lot more than just a one pot porridge. It's just something she'd rather not do. In any case, if she can do it, you can do it too! :)

All the measurements of the ingredients are technically nonexistent. It's really up to you as an individual.

But just if you'd like to know, that's 22 small chinese black mushrooms, 150g of dried baby scallops, 10 leaves of lettuce, 3 bunches of parsley, 500g of minced pork. Varies depends on the number of people at home and who's cooking. I love mushrooms so... :p

I couldn't find the rice cup that normally resides in the rice container so I used a jollibean container.

Washed and dried of course. 1.5 containers for 5 of us. I left it to soak for just a half hour. Makes it easier to break later with the stirring process. These rice grains are thirsty hippos that drink up a lot more water than you'd expect. If you dont want an overly thick and dry porridge, please go easy on the amounts of rice or the alternative would be to have a big pot!

With a lot of stirring, additions of water throughout the bubbling process and roughly formed minced pork balls, you get lunch that looks like this. Warm, comforting and nutritious porridge on a rainy day.

From our kitchen to yours. :)