Our very first creation, stir-fried mixed vegetables.
I used a mixture of gailan, shredded cabbage, carrots, zucchini, peppers, bean sprouts and beans. That's about 5 cups of vegetables which I stir-fried in high heat in about a tablespoon of canola oil. The sauce is very simple, it contains a mixture of:
a knob of ginger, peeled and grated
1 clove of garlic, peeled and grated
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp of fish sauce
1 drop of dark sesame oil
a pinch of sugar
2 tbsp of water
a pinch of cornstarch
I premixed all of the sauce's ingredients in a bowl and added it at the very end. I guess the thing about this is trying to be organized enough to remember to prep everything so you just throw everything together. Another thing is cutting the veggies at about the same size to ensure that they cook evenly. I always add the bean sprouts at the end because I like mine crunchy. Everything is cooked in high heat so it takes less than 5 minutes, 7 at most. And because my wok is small, I had to make it in two batches.
But look at it, isn't this a good introduction?
Then we made this.
If my wok can make this chow mein without turning into a yucky sticky mush. Chow mein is one of my favourite noodle dishes ever and sadly it is also one of my biggest flop in the kitchen. Way back, like wayyyy before I had my wok, every time I made chow mein, the noodles stuck to the bottom of the pan, they broke and the vegetables turned soggy and became completely unrecognizable. See how crisp looking those veggies are?
This is perhaps the simplest and easiest noodle dishes around. Mine is very basic.
1 bell pepper cut into strips
1 small bunch of green beans, cut in half
1 carrot cut into strips
1 zucchini cut into strips
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1/2 an onion, sliced (the picture doesn't have onion because I hate onion so I picked mine off of my plate)
150 of boiled and drained chow mein noodles
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp of dark sesame oil
1/2 tbsp of oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp of soy sauce
3 tbsp of water
1 cup of prawns or some sort of protein
freshly cracked pepper to taste
I premixed the sauce so I mixed the water, soy sauce and oyster sauce in a small bowl. Then I blanched the vegetables in salted boiling water for 3 minutes and shocked it in cold running water and drained it well. I stir fried the onion and garlic in the canola oil. I added the prawn and cooked it until pink then I added the blanched veggies and half of the sauce then stir fried it for about 3 minutes in high heat then set it aside. I swirled the sesame oil in the wok then tossed the boiled and drained chow mein noodles for 5 minutes until lightly fried, seasoned it with pepper then added the remaining half of the sauce and tossed it until well coated and then I added the veggies and prawns. Voila, done.
Because I was feeling really bold, I thought I should try another noodle dish (had to use that left over noodles you know). This time I really went big and bold. I made Singapore noodles, or maybe I tried to make it at least.
My version wasn't as fabulous as J and J Wonton Noodle House's Singapore noodles but it wasn't bad either. It tasted home made... in a good way.
Again there's lots of veggies and protein of course. Mine had prawns, chicken (leftover I'm afraid) and tofu (I pressed it myself :-). Then I just made up the sauce. I used Madras curry powder, kecap manis, chilli powder, oyster sauce and fish sauce and there's the usual suspects, garlic and green onions. Not bad for a second rate copy cat I guess.
Well, looks like we won't be visiting J and J Wonton Noodle House or Sun Wah for a while. Hopefully we will be sorely missed. Maybe we'll stop by for the ma po tofu now and then.
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