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