Noodles with Fried Meat Sauce (Zha Jiang Mien)

The westerners have pasta with bolognese sauce, we have ‘Zha Jiang Mein’… Much like its western counterpart, the Chinese version is as tasty and easy to prepare… This dish is also popular in Korea where black bean sauce is used and it’s called ‘Ja Jang Myun’… I have never tasted the Korean version but I was told it’s slightly sweeter… Although the name of this dish suggests that it is fried, it’s actually not oily, just the way it is cooked… With the julienned vegetables served as topping, this dish is actually quite healthy and balanced…

In China, the noodles are made fresh although a variety of noodles go well with the sauce… Personally, I love it with dried wheat / longevity noodles… I don’t have any longevity noodles in my kitchen so I used spaghettini instead…

 

Noodles with Fried Meat Sauce (Zha Jiang Mien)

Ingredients:

200g noodles (dried wheat noodles or pasta)

200g ground meat (best is slightly fatty pork but I use lean)

1 packet pickled mustard, chopped (char choy)

3 pcs dried shiitake mushroom, soaked and sliced

1 cucumber, 1 carrot and 2 red chillies, julienned

Seasoning:

1 tblsp garlic, chopped

1/2 tblsp ginger, chopped

2 tblsp chili bean paste (tau ban cheong) or soya bean paste

1 tblsp shiao shing wine

1 tblsp hoisin sauce

1/2 tblsp sugar

500 ml chicken stock or water

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp dark soya sauce

Method:

1. Cook noodles in boiling water according to manufacturer’s instruction. Rinse the noodles under cold tap water and set aside.

2. Heat up 2 tblsp oil in a wok. Sauté garlic, ginger and mushroom until fragrant. Add in ground meat and stir-fry, then add in pickled mustard.

3. Add seasoning and stock. Cook until sauce is thick and dish out. Place a bed of noodles on a serving plate, top with enough fried sauce and julienned vegetables. Serve hot.

Serves 3.

Cost/serving: RM 3.50

Fried Rice with Nyonya Fried Chicken

It’s been a week or two since I last cooked as I was out of town… Being eager to spend some time in the kitchen again, I took out my entire collection of recipe books and browsed through each book… Just love buying and reading ‘em and then drool all over the pages!!!… More often than not, the books will end up in the library rather than the kitchen…

I’ve been dying to try out a fried chicken recipe from a local cookbook but I dread the cleaning up afterwards!!!…  Oil splatters on the kitchen tabletop and all over the floor… It’s a nightmare!!!… Never mind about that… I have to satisfy my cravings…

So I made the fried chicken and served with some fried rice… I threw in some stir fried peppers to make a balanced meal… Well, not exactly the best side dish but that will do as peppers are the only vegetable I have in the fridge… Here’s the recipe from the book…

Nyonya Fried Chicken (Inche Kebin)

Ingredients:

3 whole chicken legs, chopped into bite-size pieces

oil for frying

Marinade:

2 tblsp curry powder

1 tblsp worcestershire sauce

1/2 tblsp light soya sauce

2 tblsp ginger juice

1 tsp salt

2 tblsp sugar

2 pieces fermented red bean curd

1 tsp pepper

1 tblsp corn flour

1 tblsp plain flour

50ml thick coconut milk

Method:

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add in chicken and mix well. Marinate for 4hrs, preferably overnight.

2. Heat up oil in wok and deep-fry chicken pieces until almost cooked. Dish and drain.

3. Reheat oil and deep-fry chicken pieces until golden brown and crispy. Drain and serve.

Serves 4.

Cost/serving: RM 2

Simple Fried Rice

Ingredients:

4 bowls of cooked rice

4 shallots, chopped

100g mixed vegetables

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp salt

1 tblsp light soya sauce

1 tblsp oyster sauce

dash of pepper

1. Heat up 2 tblsp oil in a wok. Saute shallots until fragrant and add in egg. Add a dash of soya sauce and pepper to the eggs and scramble till cook.

2. Add in rice and seasoning and fry until aromatic. Lastly, add in mixed vegetables. Serve hot.

Serves 4.

Cost/serving: RM 1.00

Cost of meal: RM 3.80

Lasagna bolognese

Lasagna is a popular baked pasta dish that is made of layers of pasta with different types of filling… Some delicious filling include a meat sauce (like the one I’m making), spinach, sausage, pumpkin, eggplant etc… It takes a bit of effort to make lasagna but it’s definitely worthwhile… I am feeling a bit more ‘hardworking’ today so I plan to turn my bolognese sauce to lasagna…

Lasagna is not an everyday food as it is quite rich and filling… I am exploring recipes for a low fat version using cottage cheese and till I find one I like, I’m happy with my usual recipe…  The total time required to make this lovely dish from scratch range from 2-3 hours (including baking time)… My lasagna layers were made of no-cook lasagna sheets, meat sauce, béchamel sauce, parmesan cheese and some low fat cheddar on top of the layers…

 

I baked the lasagna for 45mins until golden brown and the whole kitchen smelled like bakery!!!…

I served the lasagna with some tossed salad in balsamic vinaigrette… Yummy!!!… Now, I better go to the gym tomorrow…

Cost/serving: Between RM4.50-5.50

Italian Classics II: Bolognese Sauce

Has anyone NOT eaten spaghetti bolognese before???… Arguably the most recognized Italian dish around the world, spaghetti bolognese or ragù alla bolognese in Italian is strangely much less popular in it's country of origin, Italy… This sauce originates from Bologna, Italy where it’s traditionally served with fresh tagliatelle or lasagna…

There’re many bolognese recipes around but a good one always call for long simmering to get a rich red sauce… Some recipes call for an hour of low heat simmering and some recommend 3-4 hours or up to 8 hours for best results… A combination of meat are normally used in the sauce but chicken generally requires less cooking… As I can’t cook beef at home, I normally go for a combination of pork and chicken for this lovely sauce… For convenience, I cook this sauce in big quantity and freeze in portions so that I can make a pasta bake or lasagna anytime… Over the years, I’ve tried many different recipes but I like the following as it is a traditional recipe from an Italian…

Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients:

500g minced beef (I use pork)

300g minced pork shoulder (I use chicken)

50g tomato paste

1 onion, diced small

3 carrot, diced small

5 celery, diced small

3 cloves garlic, chopped

ground nutmeg

50g Italian parsley, finely chopped

125g pancetta, chopped (or bacon)

2 x 400g cans of whole plum tomatoes, chopped

2 cups red wine (can substitute with stock)

125ml olive oil

freshly grated parmesan cheese

salt & black pepper

 

Method:

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan, then add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and stir over high heat for 5 mins until soft. Add the pancetta and cook for 2 mins.

2. Add in ground meat and a pinch of salt, black pepper and nutmeg, brown for 10 mins and stir occasionally.

3. Add in the red wine and let it cook until the liquid thicken (about 6min). Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste and bring to a boil.

4. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 1-3 hours, stirring occasionally. (I simmer for 45mins as I don’t want to cook the chicken for too long. Try to stew for as long as you can with beef, it really makes the difference!!!).

5. Season with salt, pepper and add in parsley. Serve with cooked pasta and parmesan cheese.

Serves 10 or more.

Cost/serving: RM3.50

A Glutton’s Dinner

As Miss Cook Alot was exhausted from a day out of shopping, we decided to get some comfort food for dinner… And nothing says comfort food like “Bak Kut Teh”!!! So off to Klang we went with CK, SY and JY!!! The Bah Kut Teh at Centro was good as the meat was so juicy and tender it was practically falling from the bone!!! The soup was thick and full of flavour as well… The best thing about the dinner??? The price!!! Only RM 10.00 per head… Now if that isn’t value for such awesome Bak Kut Teh, I dunno what is…  

As we finished dinner @ 7.30pm and it was too early to go home, CK suggested that we go over to Kepong for dessert… So what if Kepong is on the other side of town, we are gluttons and we will go to the very ends of the Earth if we had to… As Kepong is Ed’s home turf, he joined in for dessert… As the list of items we had in total are too numerous to list, we will rely on the pictures to do the rest of the talking…

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Hmm I wonder where we will go next week??? Hmmm…

Tagliatelle with Pesto and Chicken

You either love or hate pesto… Some people dislike the smell of basil… Pesto sauce great on it's own with any pasta… Throw in a source of protein and some vegetables and you have a nice meal… Here’s what I did for a quick dinner the other day… 

Season cubed chicken breast with some garlic, thyme, salt, black pepper… Then pan-fry in a little olive oil until golden brown and reserve…

Meanwhile, cook some tagliatelle until al dente, drain and add to a heated saucepan… Use 1-2 tblsp pesto per serving and toss well with the pasta… Add some warm water to the pesto to loosen the sauce… Serve on plate with chicken and parmesan shavings… Dinner is served!!!…

Cost/serving: RM3.10

Italian Classics I: Homemade Pesto

So… what is this greenish vibrant glop that you see above???… Introducing the lovely aromatic sauce originating from Northern Italy – Pesto!!!… The name comes from Italian pestâ, which means ‘to pound’ or ‘to crush’… Pesto is normally made of basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic & parmesan/romano cheese… Best thing about pesto – no cooking needed!!!…

You can easily purchase pesto in different variations from the supermarket… They are available in green (with herbs like basil or rocket) or red (with sun-dried tomato or bell pepper)… However I think these sauces are a bit pricey, often costing more than RM 15 for a small jar… Anyways, I seldom give in to bottled sauces when I can make from scratch… Pounding up your own homemade pesto can be expensive too, owing to the type of ingredients (especially basil & pine nuts) that go into into the green glop…

I recently discovered cheap organic basil @ Justlife (Gardens/Ikano)… I was delighted!!!… It’s amazing that these organic ones (50g for RM1.50)  are actually cheaper than those in most supermarkets (e.g. Jusco 50g for RM3.99)…

Here’s the recipe for pesto…

Homemade Pesto Sauce

Ingredients:

100g fresh basil, washed and shredded

125ml extra-virgin olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic

100g freshly grated parmesan cheese

30g pine nuts, lightly toasted

Pinch of salt & black pepper

Method:

Pound up basil and garlic with a pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar until basil is bruised (you can use a food processor but I think it tastes better pounding by hand). Add in pine nuts and continue pounding. Drizzle in olive oil. Remove mixture into a bowl and stir in cheese. Adjust seasoning. Use 1-2 tblsp of pesto per person

Note: You can substitute pine nuts with walnuts or cashew nuts. Another version of green pesto is to substitute basil for rocket and hazelnuts for pine nuts. You can refrigerate and freeze the sauce. Just leave out the cheese (cheese don’t freeze well) and add it in only when you eat. If refrigerating, add a layer of olive oil to prevent oxidation.

Serves 6-8

Cost/serving: RM1.20