Italian Meatballs

Ingredients:

90g white bread, torn into small pieces (without crusts)
45g milk
990g ground beef
400g ground pork
2 large onion (170g), finely chopped
30g finely minced garlic
30g fresh flat leaves parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs, lightly beaten
60g grated parmesan cheese

olive oil

• Soak pieces of bread in milk while you prep the other ingredients.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine beef, pork, onion, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, eggs and parmesan cheese. Add in soaked breadcrumbs.  Use hands to mix everything together. 
• Lightly oil your hands to prevent from sticking and gently compress and shape the meatballs  to your preferred size.
• Heat a little olive oil over medium high heat in a frying pan and brown the meatballs in batches.  Once browned (but not cooked through), transfer them onto a plate.

To make pasta sauce:

Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine (optional)
salt & pepper, to taste
olive oil

• With the same frying pan, add a little olive oil.  Saute chopped onion until soft. Add in minced garlic and fry until aromatic.
• Add in crushed tomatoes and bring to the boil. Add in meatballs and simmer for about 20 minutes, turning the meatballs occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve the meatballs on cooked pasta.  Garnish with more parmesan cheese.

Braised Glass Noodles With Prawns

[4 -5 servings]

(A)
800g prawns

(B): Marinade
3 coriander roots, chopped finely
6 cloves garlic, minced (38g)
15g ginger, minced
1 chilli, chopped finely
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp oil

(C)
400g glass noodles
20g ginger slices
20g garlic slices
1 chilli, sliced (optional)
1 tbsp oil

(D) Sauce:  (Adjust to suit your taste)
4 cups of water (or prawn/chicken stock)
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1/4 tsp sugar
pepper & salt to taste
1 tsp sesame oil

(E)
coriander leaves or spring onion to garnish

• Clean prawns by removing the heads and cutting off all the legs (leaving the shells on).  Using a sharp paring knife, make a slit along the back of the prawns and remove the vein. Set aside. 
• In a bowl, mix together ingredients (B). Heat 3 tbsp oil in a small pot until hot, then pour into the paste, stir to combine. Pour half of the mixture over the prawns and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
• Soak glass noodles in cold water for about 20 minutes.  Drained and set aside.
• Heat a little oil in a frying pan (or saucepan).  Fry the marinated prawns until half cooked. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
• In the same pan, add in 1/2 tbsp oil fry sliced ginger and garlic until aromatic.  
• Add in noodles and pour in the sauce.  then place the prawns on top of the noodles and spoon the remaining (B) mixture over the prawns.  Cover the pan and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the noodles turn transparent.  Add more water/stock if necessary.  Turn off fire when all the liquid has been absorbed by the noodles.  Drizzle sesame oil over and garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve hot.

Green Bean Vermicelli (or Glass Noodles)

B:  Marinade

Marinate prawns

Pan-fried Ricotta Dumplings in Tomato Sauce

Recipe from Two Greedy Italians

For the dumplings:
200g high protein flour, plus extra for dusting
220g ricotta
3 egg yolks
25g parmesan, fresh grated
a pinch of grated nutmeg
a pinch of salt
freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce:
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 chilli, sliced
2 x 400g canned tomatoes (whole or diced)
a handful of basil leaves

• In a large mixing bowl, mix all the dumpling ingredients together to form a soft and moist dough.  
• Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes.  Roll dough into a long thin sausage shape, then cut the dumplings into 2cm pieces.
• Bring a pot of lightly salted water to the boil and cook the dumplings until they float to the surface.  Transfer the dumplings onto a plate.
• Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and place the dumplings in a single layer and fry until dumplings are lightly browned on each side.
• Meanwhile to cook the sauce, heat olive oil in a pan and stir fry the onion and garlic until soft.  Add in chilli and fry for a minute.  Add in tomatoes and basil. Bring to the boil and let simmer for about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
• Toss the pan fried dumplings into the tomato sauce and sprinkle over some grated parmesan before serving.

Udon Mee Goreng

Mee goreng which means 'fried noodles' in Malay is a common dish found everywhere from mamak stalls to restaurants in Malaysia. It is traditionally made with yellow noodles (Hokkien) fried with prawns, meat, tomato, vegetables of your choice and flavoured with sweet soy sauce, tomato sauce and a little curry spice.  Instead of yellow noodles, I used fresh Udon noodles and omit the curry powder. 

Ingredients:

500g fresh Udon noodles
1 big onion, cut into cubes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
150g minced pork (marinate with 1 tsp cornflour, dash of pepper, 1 tsp cooking wine)
1 bunch pak choy, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 spring onions
2 bird's eye chillies, sliced
1 large tomato, cut into cubes
5 fried tofu puffs, halved
fish balls
fish cake, sliced thickly
2 eggs
Cucumber slices, to serve


Sauce:
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp kicap manis (or dark soy sauce)
1/2 tbsp tomato sauce
dash of white pepper

• Heat about 1 tbsp of oil in a wok and stir fry the onion and garlic until fragrant. Add in chillies and marinated minced pork and fry until just browned.
• Add in fish balls and fish cakes, followed by tofu puffs .  Then add in tomatoes.  Toss until tomato softens.
• Add in a little more oil if desired. Add in the noodles and sauce and toss until noodles are heated through.
• Move everything to the side of the wok and crack the eggs into the wok with a little more oil. Fry the eggs until slightly firm before mixing through the noodles. Lastly add in pak choy and spring onion and toss through the noodles.
• Serve noodles with cucumber slices or a wedge of lime on the side.

Macadamia Crusted Chorizo Pasta

 

Ingredients: (for 2 persons)
250g spaghetti
70g macadamia nuts
100g chorizo
70g cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, grated
50g crumbled fetta cheese
olive oil
black pepper
salt

• In a hand blender, chop macadamia nuts coarsely
• Cut chorizo into small cubes or you can blend it coarsely in a blender.
• Heat about 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan, put in chorizo, macadamia, salt and black pepper. Fry them until crispy.  Set aside in the pan.
• Meanwhile, place cherry tomatoes into a tray. Drizzle some olive oil over them and season with salt and black pepper.  Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 20 minutes or until blistered and starting to burst.  Remove from oven.
• Cook spaghetti until al dente. 
• Toss the hot spaghetti into the chorizo and macadamia mixture.  Add in roasted tomatoes and fetta cheese which will melt slightly.  Season with more black pepper. Drizzle with a little olive oil and serve hot.

Pumpkin Rice Vermicelli (金瓜炒米粉)

I am not a fan of pumpkin; however much to my delight this dish of Pumpkin Noodles taste amazingly delicious and it is so easy to cook.  The pumpkin lends a sweetness and vibrant colour to the dish. I decided to toss in some basil instead of coriander leaves and I am glad I did because the basil added so much much flavour to the noodles. If you like pumpkin, why not give this dish a try ...

Ingredients:  (Serves 2 - 3)

200g dried rice vermicelli
270 - 300g pumpkin, cut into strips
25g dried shrimps
3 large dried shiitake mushrooms (about 20g)
3 cloves of garlic (about 15g), minced
1 scallion
1/2 cup thai basil leaves
3 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 tbsp sesame oil

Seasoning: (adjust to taste)
1 cup water, or more - adjust accordingly
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp fish sauce (optional)
ground pepper

• Soak rice vermicelli to soften.  Drain.
• Wash and soak the dried shrimps in warm water for about 5 minutes.  Drain and chop into small pieces.
• Wash and soak the shiitake mushrooms until softened.  Discard the stems and slice thinly.
• In a hot wok, heat up 2 tbsp of oil and fry mushrooms and dried shrimps.  Then add in minced garlic and scallion and fry until aromatic.  Toss in pumpkin.  Splash a little water if too dry. (Do not overcook the pumpkin).  Dish out and set aside.
• In the same wok, heat up the remaining oil and add in vermicelli and seasoning. Toss to combine.  Then add in the pumpkin and toss well. 
• Dish out and serve hot.

Lamb and Vegetables Soup

There is nothing better than having a steaming hot bowl of homemade wholesome soup on a cold day, it warms you from the inside out! Throw in some cooked macaroni and it makes a perfect meal and it's an easy lunch or dinner to put together.

Ingredients:

1 kg lamb forequarter chops, trim all excess fat
2 big brown onion, cubed
6 tomatoes, halved
3 large carrots, cubed
3 large potatoes, cubed
3 stalks celery, cut to chunks
a thumb-size piece of ginger, smashed
1/2 tbsp black peppercorns, crushed
4.5 litre water
salt & pepper, to taste
coriander leaves, to garnish

• Blanch lamb chops in boiling water for about 5 minutes, drained and rinsed with cold water.  Set aside.
• Fill a large soup pot with water and bring to the boil.  Add in blanched lamb chops and all the ingredients (except salt & pepper) and bring back to the boil.  Simmer for 2 - 3 hours under low fire until meat is tender.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves before serving.

A Simple Rice Vermicelli Soup

Happy 2015 everybody! 

After a long break overseas, I am back with my first post for the year.  I know it is a very simple bowl of noodle soup - nothing to shout about - but I just wanted something plain and simple for lunch today.  It is so easy, you don't even need a recipe for this.  

I am linking this post to Little Thumbs Up January 2015 : Pasta / Noodles 
hosted by Anne Regalado - My Bare Cupboard  & 
organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY.

Fried Flour Vermicelli (Misua/Meen Seen) [ 炒面线 ]

Misua or mee suah (in Hokkien) or meen seen (面线 in Cantonese) is a very thin type of salted noodles made from wheat flour, salt, tapioca starch and water.  This noodle signifies long life in Chinese culture, therefore it is always served as Longevity Noodles during birthday dinners.   

Ingredients:

300g flour vermicelli (面线)

200g chinese chives, cut into 3cm length

300g bean sprouts

40g dried shrimps, soaked to soften then coarsely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 shallots, finely sliced

enough oil to deep fry vermicelli

Seasoning:

1 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

salt & pepper, to taste

1 cup water

• Prepare a big bowl of boiling water.  Set aside.
• Heat enough oil in a wok and deep fry vermicelli, one bundle at a time until light brown (watch the noodles carefully as it gets brown very quickly).
• Remove the noodles with a slotted spatula and drain on absorbent paper.  Then blanch noodles in hot water until softened, or al dente and drain well in a colander.
• Heat oil in wok and stir fry garlic and shallots until fragrant.  Dish out and set aside.
• Stir fry dried shrimps until fragrant, then add in noodles and seasoning.  Then put in chives, bean sprouts and the fried garlic and shallots. Toss well. 
• Dish out and serve immediately.

Stir fried somen

Ingredients:

230g Somen (noodles) 
100g bean sprouts
100g chinese chives (ku chai), cut into 2 cm length
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 tbsp dried shrimps, washed and soaked to soften, chopped coarsely
3 tbsp oil
salt & pepper, to taste
2 tbsp light soy sauce

• Blanched noodles in boiling water until al dente.  Place into a colander and rinse under cold running water.  Drain well.  Set aside.
• Heat up oil in a wok and stir-fry chopped garlic and shallots until aromatic.  Add in dried shrimps and fry until fragrant.  
• Add in noodles and toss well.  Season with light soy sauce, salt & pepper.  Add in beansprouts and chives.  Toss for a few minutes to mix well.
• Dish out and serve with chilli oil.

Pan Mee (Board Noodles 板面 )

Pan Mee literally means "Board Noodles" in Chinese. Today I decided to make Pan Mee using my pasta machine which has been sitting in my cupboard - its existence almost forgotten.  Since I had this machine for 12 years, it had only been used a total of 4 times!  Talking about underutilised.

Ingredients:  (Serves 5)

500g high protein/bread flour

230ml water

1 tsp salt

1 egg

• Using a stand mixer, combine flour, salt, water and egg together with a dough hook.  Knead until dough is smooth. 
• Cover the dough and rest for 1 hour. 
• Knead for a few minutes before dividing the dough into 5 equal portions and flatten the dough with your palm. 
• Feed each portion of dough which has been coated with flour through the pasta machine a few times. Then using the pasta cutter attachment, cut the dough sheet into the desired thickness.  
• Bring a pot of water to the boil.  Add in a little oil and salt.  Drop a serve of noodles into the boiling water.  Noodles are cooked when they float.  With a slotted spatula, remove the noodles and transfer them into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.  Drain the noodles and set aside. 

Soup:  (Cook for about 2 hours)
4 litres water
2 chicken carcass
1kg (pork) soup bones
a knob of ginger
salt and pepper to taste

Toppings:
300g minced pork, marinate with some corn flour, pepper, sesame oil and soy sauce
2 pieces of wood ear fungus, soaked and shredded
5 dried shiitake mushroom, soaked and shredded
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
pepper
salt
sugar
1 small bowl of anchovies (ikan bilis)

Garnishing:
Coriander leaves
Green mustard (Choy Sum), blanched

• Heat some oil in a saucepan, stir fry anchovies until crispy. Transfer onto a bowl and set aside.
• Add more oil and sauté the garlic until aromatic.  
• Add in minced meat and stir fry for about 5 minutes.  Then put in mushroom and wood ear fungus. Add in dark and light soy sauce.  Season with salt, sugar and pepper.  Cook for another 5 minutes or until cooked.

To assemble:

• Placed a serve of cooked noodles in a bowl.  Ladle some hot soup over it and top with the blanched vegetable, meat topping and fried anchovies.  Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Served with chilli oil.

Dan Dan Noodles (担担面)

Dan Dan Mian (Noodles) is one of Sichuan's famous street foods and simply translates to "Peddler's Noodles".  The hawkers used to carry these noodles and the sauce  in two baskets hanging on each end of the poles over their shoulders - hence the name 'Dan'.  This dish is essentially wheat noodles topped with spicy pork and Sichuan vegetable mixture with sauce.

Recently I discovered another version of Dan Dan Mian which is sweeter and creamier than the usual spicy, hot and numbing flavour of the Dan Dan Mian.  This version has the addition of sesame & peanut sauce and also some carrots and cabbage pickles; and not as spicy which I preferred.   I read it somewhere that the Taiwanese version tend to be sweeter, less spicy and have a thicker sauce which include sesame or peanut paste.

Today I decided to cook a vegetarian version of the Dan Dan Noodle with tofu and King Oyster mushroom as the main ingredients. 

Sesame & Peanut Sauce:

I put everything into my new blender Spectablend and blend until fine and smooth. 

50g white sesame seeds, lightly toasted
80g roasted peanuts
200 ml water
3 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp sesame oil

Pickles:
300g cabbage, finely shredded
200g carrot, finely shredded
60g raw sugar dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water
100ml lemon/lime juice

• Sprinkle salt over cabbage and carrot.  Set aside for about 20 minutes.  Rinse and drain well.
• Combine sugar mixture and lemon/lime juice together and pour over vegetables.  Mix well and store in a glass container overnight in the refrigerator.

Mushroom & Tofu Sauce:

160g firm tofu, finely diced
130g King Oyster mushrooms, finely diced
90g Sichuan preserved vegetable (Zha Cai), rinsed and finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small knob ginger, minced
2 tbsp scallion
1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, toasted and ground into powder
2 tsp chilli bean sauce/ chilli oil
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
dash of white pepper
2 tsp sugar
3/4 tbsp black rice vinegar
200 ml water
1/2 tbsp cornflour + water (for thickening the sauce)
3 tbsp cooking oil
dash of sesame oil
coriander, for garnishing
cucumber, julienne
Udon noodles

• Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Saute ginger, garlic and scallions until aromatic.
• Add in mushroom, tofu and preserved vegetable and stir-fry for 5 minutes.  Then add in ground Sichuan pepper, chilli bean, light and dark soy sauce, sugar, pepper, black rice vinegar and water.  Simmer for about 10 minutes.  Thicken sauce with cornflour mixture.
• In a pot of boiling water, cook noodles according to instructions.
• Put a serve of noodles in a bowl.  Pour tofu and mushroom sauce over the noodles.  Top with cabbage & carrot pickles, julienned cucumber and spoon a generous amount of sesame & peanut sauce over the noodles.  Garnish with coriander leaves.

Low Shu Fun (老鼠粉) / Silver Needle Noodles (银针粉) - 2

Can you tell the difference between the two Low Shu Fun?

Low Shu Fun in minced meat, mushroom and wood ear fungus sauce

I came across this recipe posted by Florence and decided to make another batch of Low Shu Fun using just wheat starch and tapioca flour.  By omitting rice flour, I was hoping to get the almost translucent texture.   I am quite happy with the result although it is nothing like the Kampar  Low Shu Fun. 

Ingredients:  (yields 455g of cooked noodles)

125g wheat starch

60g tapioca flour

1/4 tsp salt

170 ml boiling water

2 tsp cooking oil

• Combine flours and salt in a mixing bowl.
• Pour in boiling water.  With a wooden spatula stir to combine into a rough dough.
• When the dough is cool enough to handle, add in oil and knead until oil is incorporated and a soft and smooth dough is formed.  
• Cover the dough and let it rest for about 20 - 30 minutes.
• Take a piece of dough and roll it into a rope.  Cut into small pieces (the size of green peas).  Shape each pieces of dough by rolling it in between your palms to form a tapered needle shape.
• Put a large pot of water to boil. Add in a little oil.  Put in the noodles.  
• Once cooked, the noodles will float to the top.  Cook for another minute.  Remove the noodles using a slotted spatula and transfer into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.
• Drain the noodles in a colander.  
• Noodles are now ready to be used in your favourite recipes.

 I am submitting this to Malaysian Food Fest Perak Month hosted by WendyinKK of Table for 2 or more

Low Shu Fun (老鼠粉) / Silver Needle Noodles (银针粉)

One of my favourite food during my childhood days in Kampar was Low Shu Fun (老鼠粉  - Rat's Tail Noodles) served in a simple clear soup with some fish balls and fried fish balls.  Now after all these years, whenever I visited  Kampar, this is the one thing I must have. 

This short and stubby noodles is known as Rat's Tail Noodles (or Low Shu Fun in Cantonese) to the Malaysians and Singaporeans.  However, people from Hong Kong will shudder when they hear this name - Rat's Tail Noodles? It is named as such possibly because of the shape which is long and tapered like a rat's tail?  However, it is better known as  Silver Needle Noodles (银针粉) or Rice Drops outside Malaysia/Singapore.  

Last weekend I decided to make my own Low Shu Fun from scratch.  After experimenting for hours in the kitchen together with my other half, we finally achieved  the texture that we like - a little chewy and neither too soft nor too hard.  As I didn't have the correct mould to press out the noodles, I had to shape them by hand; a very time-consuming task. However, I think it is worth the effort because everyone in my family loves it, and best of all, it's preservatives or additives free!

Ingredients:  (Makes about 410g noodles)

80g rice flour
50g tapioca flour
40g wheat starch
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp cooking oil
135g boiling water

• Combine flours and salt in a mixing bowl.
• Pour in boiling water.  With a wooden spatula stir to combine into a rough dough.
• When the dough is cool enough to handle, add in oil and knead until oil is incorporated and a soft and smooth dough is formed.  
• Cover the dough and let it rest for about 20 - 30 minutes.
• Take a piece of dough and roll it into a rope.  Cut into small pieces (the size of green peas).  Shape each pieces of dough by rolling it in between your palms to form a tapered needle shape.
• Put a large pot of water to boil. Add in a little oil.  Put in the noodles.  
• Once cooked, the noodles will float to the top.  Cook for another minute.  Remove the noodles using a slotted spatula and transfer into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.
• Drain the noodles in a colander.  
• Noodles are now ready to be used in your favourite recipes.

I am submitting this to Malaysian Food Fest Perak Month hosted by WendyinKK of Table for 2 or more

Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta Salad

A no-fuss pasta salad which is great for hot summer days where minimum cooking is required.  In fact, you don't really need a recipe to make a salad.  Just look in your refrigerator to see what you may have on hand.  It will be more interesting to add a variety of different colours and textures into the salad.  Instead of whisking up your own dressing, just open a jar of store-bought pesto and add to your salad.

Ingredients:

150g Angel Hair Pasta
1 jar of Sundried Tomato Pesta (190g)
celery (cut into small chunks)
salad leaves
cherry tomatoes
cucumber (cut into small cubes)
button mushrooms (sliced)
carrot (cut into small cubes
salt & pepper
olive oil

• Cook pasta according to package instructions.  Drain.  
• Combine everything in a big mixing bowl.  Toss well.
• Drizzle some olive oil before serving.

I’m submitting this to Little Thumbs Up, hosted by Mui Mui@My Little Favourite DIY & Zoe@Bake for Happy Kids.

This is Mui Mui@My Little Favourite DIY’s 1st time in co-hosting an online cooking event with Zoe@Bake for Happy Kids.

Kerabu Bihoon (Rice Vermicelli Salad)

Ingredients: 

400g rice vermicelli (soaked in water until softened)
10 shallots, finely sliced
1/2 cup lemon juice (approx)
2 tbsp sugar
150g dried shrimps (washed and chopped)
200g prawns (shelled and deveined)
2 tbsp finely chopped torch ginger flower (bunga kantan)
3 tbsp dessicated coconut, light toasted and pound
3 tbsp fried shallots
1 small cucumber, julienned
1 small carrot, julienned
some mint leaves, shredded
some coriander leaves, chopped


Dressing:
100ml lemon juice
1/2 tbsp sugar (or to taste)
1/2 tbsp salt
6 tbsp fish sauce (or to taste)
6 tbsp sambal belacan
3 tbsp fried shallot oil

• Blanch vermicelli  in a pot of boiling water.  Drain and rinse under cold running water,  then drain well.  Set aside.
• Marinade finely sliced shallots in lemon juice and sugar.  Set aside.
• With 1 tbsp of oil, stir-fry dried shrimps until fragrant and pound.  Set aside.
• Fry or boil prawns until cooked.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients together and toss well to mix. 
• Serve immediately.

Fried Cubic Noodle (Char Kuih Kak)

When Poh made Cubic Noodles in MasterChef-All-Stars recently it brings back memories of the popular street food in Malaysia - Char Kuih Kak  or fried Loh Bak Go (Radish Cake). 

Ingredients for the cubic noodles (rice cake):   I halved the recipe from my  Chwee Kueh recipe (Serves 3)

110g rice flour
2 tbsp tapioca flour (or cornflour)
1 tbsp wheat starch
1/2 cup cold water
1 1/4 cup boiling water
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt

• In a mixing bowl combine rice flour, tapioca flour, wheat starch, salt and cold water together.  Stir in oil. 
• Pour boiling water into the batter and stir until batter is smooth.
• Pour into a 17cm round pan and steam over boiling water for about 25 minutes or until cooked.  
• Cool the rice cake thoroughly before cutting into cubes.  

Ingredients for frying cubic noodles:

3 tbsp chopped pickled radish (chai poh)
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 eggs
a few sprigs of chinese parsley
beansprouts (about 3  handfuls)
oil

Seasoning:  (to taste)
dark soy sauce
light soy sauce
sugar
salt & pepper

• With about 2 tbsp of oil, pan fry the cubic noodles until golden brown.  Transfer to a plate and set aside.
• Stir fry the pickled radish and garlic until aromatic. 
• Return the cubic noodles to the wok.
• Push the cubic noodles to the side of the wok then crack eggs into the centre and scramble until egg is just set.
• Pour in seasoning.  Toss well to combine.
• Finally add in beansprouts and chinese parsley.  Toss until well combined and heated through.
• Serve while it is hot. 

Homemade Egg Noodles

My first attempt at making egg noodles -

 

Ingredients:

300g  'OO'  flour
4 egg yolks
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp water

• In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix flour and salt together.  Then add  in egg and yolks, oil and water.  Knead until the dough is smooth.
• Cover dough and let it rest for about 30 minutes.  
• Cut dough into 6 pieces and using a pasta machine, roll and cut into noodles.
• Hang the noodles on a suspended dowel or chopsticks to dry until ready to cook.

Basil Pesto Pasta

Ingredients:

1 cup walnuts (light toasted) [or toasted pine nuts]
2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 small cloves garlic
100g  parmesan cheese
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

• Combine, walnuts, basil and garlic in a food processor and process until they are finely chopped.
• With the food processor still running, pour in the olive oil gradually.  Add in cheese and season with salt and pepper.
• Before serving with pasta, a tablespoon fresh cream can be stirred into the pesto for a creamier flavour. 

Fried Glass Noodles

Ingredients:

200g glass noodles (also known as bean thread or cellophane noodles) - soaked till softened
250g minced pork
60g dried shrimps (washed and chopped coarsely)
50g dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked until softened - shredded
3 shallots-sliced finely
5 cloves garlic - minced
500g bean sprouts
spring onions - garnishing
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
5 tbsp cooking oil

Sauce: (mixed all together)

2 cups water
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp chicken stock granules (optional)

Seasoning - to marinate minced pork:

1/2 tbsp cornflour
1/2 tbsp cooking wine
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
dash of pepper

• Heat sesame oil with 2 tbsp cooking oil in a wok.  Add in shallots and garlic and stir fry until fragrant.  Transfer into a bowl and set aside.
• With about 2 tbsp of oil, stir fry dried shrimps and then mushrooms.  Set aside.
• Heat about 1 tbsp oil in the wok, stir fry the marinated minced pork with half the fried shallots/garlic until it changes colour.  Transfer into a bowl and set aside.
• Pour sauce into the work and bring to the boil.  Add in noodles and put in the cooked meat, dried shrimps, mushrooms and the rest of the shallots/garlic. 
• Toss and fry and noodles until the sauce dries up.  Add in bean sprouts and toss until well combined.
• Dish out the noodles and garnish with spring onions.