When Taps Run Dry, Keep Calm and Cook Simple Meals

Of late we have been going on quite a number of one pot meals due to water rationing.   We have been seeing very little rain for months but it has been raining this past two days, hopefully it will continue this way and dams will get filled again.  For now, we are getting tap water on a 2 day rotational basis.  So, the lesser pots/bowls to wash the better :)

Donburi (Japanese all in one meal of a meat/vegetables dish served over rice in a bowl) inspired meals are always welcomed in my home.  Perhaps it's entwined in our culture,  the satisfaction of a even one simple dish over hot rice is just hard to describe.  The sight of each grain of rice getting coated with some heavenly looking gravy and with steam still coming out of is already a sight worth admiring for me :) 

Mapo Tofu is a dish which originated from the Szechuan province in China.   There are many interesting stories about this dish but essentially they centre around an old grandmother("Po") with pockmarked("Mazi") face, who created this dish. As in its name, Mapo Tofu is a tofu dish cooked with minced meat and chilli bean sauce.    The authentic version of this dish is fiery and some to the effect of tongue numbing with the amount of Szechuan peppercorns used in it.   The burst of flavors for this dish is quite amazing.

However, this is a Chuka (Japanese style Chinese dish) version that i am sharing here, it is not as spicy and with a tinge of sweetness coming from the use of Mirin.  Have hot steaming rice ready and just spoon the dish over when it is ready.  Throw in some steamed/blanched greens and you will have a complete meal to go in 15 minutes.

As much as we love our rice, i try not to serve rice everyday of the week.   If  pockmarked grandmother tofu earlier on was funny for you, i bet you will laugh at this one too, translated Claypot Loh Shu Fun means Claypot Rat Noodles! Worry not though, there are no rats in them!!!   It is just that the noodles look a little like a rat's wriggly tail :)

This is another fast to go dish, all you need is to have some minced meat and vegetables, the seasonings used are pretty common if you make Chinese cuisines frequently.  For some extra kick we love adding some sambal belacan (spicy prawn paste) into it.

It is not necessary to use a claypot for this but  it does seem to taste better. Heat is confined within the small little pot thus locking in all the wonderful flavors.

Recipe-Mapo Tofu
Source: Spotted on Her Frozen Wings with recipe from Just One Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 160 gms ground pork
• 1 package silken tofu
• 2 stalks spring onions, sliced

Sauce

• 2.5 tbsp chilli bean paste (1.5 tbsp)
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp miso
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil (omitted)

Thickening solution

• 1tsp corn flour
• 1/4 cup water

Method

1. In a large pan or skillet, heat up oil on medium high heat, saute garlic and ginger till fragrant.
2. Add the meat and break up with a wooden spoon.
3. When the meat is cooked, add the sauce mixture. Stir to combine and add the tofu. Cook until tofu is heated through. 
4. Mix gently and try not to mash the tofu too much or dish will become unsightly. 
5. Pour in the cornstarch solution for sauce to thicken.
6. Stir in the green onions just before taking it off the heat.
7. Spoon onto hot rice or serve separately as a side dish.

Recipe - Claypot Loh Shu Fun

Ingredients (Portion for 1 pax)

• 100-150g loh shu fun
• 100g minced meat (pork/chicken)
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp corn flour
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 3 meatballs
• 2 shitake mushrooms, soaked in some water to soften then drain and slice
• 2 baby corns, sliced
• A handful of choy sum/bok choy
• 2 stalks spring onions, sliced

Seasoning

• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp cooking caramel
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp chicken stock granules
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tbsp sambal belacan (optional)

Method

1. Marinade minced meat with soy sauce, corn flour and a dash of pepper. Set aside.
2. Wash and drain loh shu fun.  Blanch with some hot water to remove oil then drain it.
3. Heat up 1 tbsp of oil in the claypot.  
4. Add in garlic and shallot.  Fry until fragrant.
5. Add in minced meat and break up the meat with a wooden spoon.
6. Add in mushroom slices.
7. Add in loh shu fun and seasonings.  Stir to mix well.
8. Add in meatballs and baby corns.
9. Add in water and let it come to a boil.  
10. Taste and add seasonings if required.
11. Add in choy sum and mix well.
12. Crack an egg on top.  At this point, some will turn off the heat, cover the pot and allow the egg to slow cook on its own.  It looks prettier this way, stir the egg in just before eating.  But to be on the safe side, i prefer to mix mine in and continue with the heat for another minute or so.
13. Garnish with spring onions before serving.

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From the Land Below the Wind

I love this other name that the state of Sabah has.  Land Below the Wind, a  name given by seafarers in the past simply because it's located south of the typhoon belt, thus setting it free from climate disturbance. Sabah is well known for its beautiful beaches and it is also home to the tallest peak in South East Asia.  

It's the month of Land Below the Wind on the Malaysian Food Fest blogging event.  Do hop over to A Pepper's Love for a better introduction on Sabah.

I first caught sight of this Burnt Bottom Rice Vermicelli, an All in One Meal at  Wendy's blog, Table for 2 or More.  To me this is one of the easier among many Sabah specialities that she has shared :)  I was also intrigued by the name.   After reading the post, I came to a conclusion that it sounded fairly similar to the Cantonese Style Fried Rice Vermicelli which we on the west side is more familiar with.  The difference is for this one the egg is fried like an omelette while for the other egg is added into the gravy.  I also did a quick search to find more reference on it, and found some on this blog called Foodiot KK by a Sabahan.  He mentioned that the gravy can be cooked either with meat or seafood.       From the clicks, it's obvious i went for the latter.   Oh, and I couldn't resist throwing in some greens to make it a balanced meal.  Now I am not sure if this is still the authentic Sabah Style Burnt Bottom Rice Vermicelli :)

I tried this on a day when I needed a quickie.  It was done pretty fast, around 30 minutes.  In a rush, 

the photos were taken with my Iphone.  

Verdict? We quite like it.  It's actually heavier than Cantonese style as there quite a bit of egg in it.  I find the portion quite big for one but my 14 year old son polished it clean.

Recipe
Reference : Table for 2 or More

Ingredients

• 50g rice vermicelli 
• 2 eggs
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• A handful of mixed seafood (shrimps, baby octopus, clams, mussels etc), season with some salt and pepper
• Some green mustards

Gravy

• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 2 tsp corn starch
• Salt, soy sauce and pepper to taste

Steps

1. Soak rice vermicelli in water until soften.  Drain and drip dry.
2. Mix all ingredients for gravy.  
3. Heat up a wok and add in 2 tbsp of oil.  Meanwhile, beat the eggs.
4. Pour eggs into wok.
5. Spread rice vermicelli over egg.
6. Once the base is brown golden, flip it.
7. Allow rice vermicelli to have some crisp and golden patches (i.e. to lift up to its name :)).  Dish up.
8. Add some oil into wok.  Fry shallot and garlic until fragrant.
9. Add in seafood and fry briefly.
10. Add in gravy and seasonings.  Let it come to a boil and is slightly thicken.
11. Throw in mustard greens.
12. Pour onto rice vermicelli and enjoy!

I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest Sabah Month hosted by Mary Of a Pepper's Love

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Let's Talk about Fridays

I know it's a bit too early to talk about Friday when she's sitting dragging her feet :) But time flies, she will be here faster than we would have thought :) Friday is my favorite day, i love the prelude to the weekend more than the weekend itself! 

In recent weeks, I have consistently made all in one noodle dishes on Fridays.  Don't know how long this trend will last but it has been fun so far.  I guess it will be until someone in the family screams "Stop, no more noodles!" or until i run out of noodle ideas.  All in one noodle dishes are normally quite easy to prepare and the other thing that i love about it is the family gets to spend more quality time at the table instead of just concentrating on the food  (plus there are lesser dishes to wash)! All in one are no brainers, everything there is to eat is already on one's plate, so one can chat while eating, of course the no food in mouth when talking rule still applies here :)  Noodles Friday it shall be for now!

Mee Siam is common in Malaysia and Singapore as far as i know.  From what I read it was originally a Malay dish until the Nyonyas added their zest to it.  Simply put, it's vermicelli fried in a sweet, savory and tangy gravy.  Two  versions to it, the dry and the wet.    Over in Malaysia, it's the dry version that we are used to while it's the wet one for our neighbors down south.    So, it's the dry one that I am talking about here.  This recipe from a local daily was the one I referred to for my maiden attempt many many moons ago and it was love at first bite!  I don't refer to it anymore since getting mine more or less there.

Vermicelli fried with a combination of  prawns, tofu puffs, chives, bean sprouts and gravy made from a blend of chilli, shallots, preserved soybeans plus tamarind juice, topped with thinly sliced omelet plus a squeeze of calamansi juice and topped with some sambal belacan is simply divine.   Very interesting mix of flavors and how vermicelli does such a good job at soaking up these flavors makes this dish so appetising and difficult to stop at!  

Recipe
Reference : Kuali.com

Ingredients

• 500g rice vermicelli
• 2 eggs
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced 
• 10 pieces tofu puff cut into slices
• Calamansi cut into wedges
• 300g prawns shelled
• 3 tbsp dried shrimps soaked and minced
• 200g bean sprouts
• A handful of chives, cut into around 5 cm length

Gravy (mix all ingredients except tamarind juice together)

• 10 dried chilli (replaced with 5 tbsp of store bought chilli paste to tone down spiciness for little one and is a cheat in way because handling chilli is no easy job)
• 5 shallots, slice and minced
• 2 tbsp minced preserved soybeans
• 3 tbsp tamarind paste mixed with 60ml water (squeezed for tamarind juice)

Seasoning

• Light soya sauce/Fish sauce
• Sugar

Steps

1. Soak rice vermicelli in water until soft.  Drain and set aside.
2. Fry beaten eggs in a shallow pan with a little oil like making an omelet (without stirring).  Remove and cut into thin strips. Set aside.
3. Fry sliced shallots in some oil until golden brown and crispy.  Set aside.
4. Fry gravy ingredients with 2 tbsp oil until fragrant and oil separates.  Add in minced dried shrimps and fry until fragrant.
5. Add in tamarind juice and bring to a boil.
6. Add in prawns and tofu puffs.
7. Add vermicelli and mix well with gravy.  Add in a little water if it's too dry.
8. Add in bean sprouts and fry for 1-2 minutes.  Do not overfry or sprouts will turn out limpy. 
9. Add in seasoning to taste.
10. Add in chives and fry for another minute.
11. Dish out and serve with omelette strips, fried shallot and calamansi wedges on the side.

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