Valerie Tay shares her husband’s very tasty fried vermicelli and porridge recipes, along with tips on how to make general purpose stock.
WHEN I got my man, he came without an instruction manual, the ability to cook nor basic experience in doing housework.
Eighteen years of marriage later, during which he fathered four children (luckily, all with the same woman), he is a changed man.
The crow’s feet around his eyes look like the crows have also borne four little crows. And I no longer help him pull out the whites from his hair, as I’d rather have a greying man than one with a shiny pate. Not that a shiny pate isn’t sexy, I hasten to add, in case similarly domed ones are reading this, or women whose spouse are so adorned, or should I say unadorned?
Though I still haven’t got the man all figured out yet, as after all, he is supposed to be from Mars and I’m said to be from Venus, JW now does lots of household chores and even cook! Fortunately for me, I found out he was a natural when I began teaching him home economics early on in our marriage.
Even though I am now a full-time homemaker, and JW the breadwinner, come weekends, he whips up lunch for the family easily, in less than an hour, giving me a nice break from fixing lunch. I help by putting all the ingredients on the kitchen countertop in the morning, and making a little pot of stock ready for his use.
It has become a sort of family tradition for Papa to dish up fried been hoon on Saturdays and porridge on Sundays for lunch. They’re both easy to do and fast to cook, so much so, that we hope other Papas out there will put on their apron and show the kids that Papa, too, can cook.
The first step to making a one-dish meal for under S$7 (enough for two adults and four children)
WHEN I got my man, he came without an instruction manual, the ability to cook nor basic experience in doing housework.
Eighteen years of marriage later, during which he fathered four children (luckily, all with the same woman), he is a changed man.
The crow’s feet around his eyes look like the crows have also borne four little crows. And I no longer help him pull out the whites from his hair, as I’d rather have a greying man than one with a shiny pate. Not that a shiny pate isn’t sexy, I hasten to add, in case similarly domed ones are reading this, or women whose spouse are so adorned, or should I say unadorned?
Though I still haven’t got the man all figured out yet, as after all, he is supposed to be from Mars and I’m said to be from Venus, JW now does lots of household chores and even cook! Fortunately for me, I found out he was a natural when I began teaching him home economics early on in our marriage.
Even though I am now a full-time homemaker, and JW the breadwinner, come weekends, he whips up lunch for the family easily, in less than an hour, giving me a nice break from fixing lunch. I help by putting all the ingredients on the kitchen countertop in the morning, and making a little pot of stock ready for his use.
It has become a sort of family tradition for Papa to dish up fried been hoon on Saturdays and porridge on Sundays for lunch. They’re both easy to do and fast to cook, so much so, that we hope other Papas out there will put on their apron and show the kids that Papa, too, can cook.
The first step to making a one-dish meal for under S$7 (enough for two adults and four children)
PREPARE THE SOUP STOCK
Ingredients
A handful of ikan bilis (50g, head on) – give them a quick rinse
1 onion – peeled, leave whole
5 garlic cloves – rinse, leave unpeeled (saves time)
5 kelp knots – rinse (kelp is available at some Fairprice supermarkets under the Pasar range)
Method
Bring a small pot of water to boil, add all the ingredients and leave to simmer on low heat, covered, for half an hour.
TIP
DIY soup stock is one of the easiest things to make. It can be prepared in advance the day before when you have a spot of free time (such as after dinner on Friday night), or make it on Saturday morning itself after breakfast. We boil a full, small pot and use only half for the fried bee hoon. After it has cooled completely, store the leftover stock in the pot in the fridge. On Sunday, the remaining stock is poured into the porridge pot. Top up the stockpot to full with water and boil for another round of stock for use in the morning. Add the second extraction (discard stock ingredients) to the porridge pot and boil the rice in this flavourful homemade stock. Top up with more water if necessary.
Ingredients
A handful of ikan bilis (50g, head on) – give them a quick rinse
1 onion – peeled, leave whole
5 garlic cloves – rinse, leave unpeeled (saves time)
5 kelp knots – rinse (kelp is available at some Fairprice supermarkets under the Pasar range)
Method
Bring a small pot of water to boil, add all the ingredients and leave to simmer on low heat, covered, for half an hour.
TIP
DIY soup stock is one of the easiest things to make. It can be prepared in advance the day before when you have a spot of free time (such as after dinner on Friday night), or make it on Saturday morning itself after breakfast. We boil a full, small pot and use only half for the fried bee hoon. After it has cooled completely, store the leftover stock in the pot in the fridge. On Sunday, the remaining stock is poured into the porridge pot. Top up the stockpot to full with water and boil for another round of stock for use in the morning. Add the second extraction (discard stock ingredients) to the porridge pot and boil the rice in this flavourful homemade stock. Top up with more water if necessary.
JW’s Wholesome Fried Bee Hoon
1 pack of Fairprice Bee Hoon – soaked, then cut with scissors to shorter, easier-to-stirfry length
1 cabbage (600g) – cut into strips (you only need to wash the outer leaf before cutting)
2 carrots – cut into strips
400g bean sprouts – rinse, discard black bean skin
1 foam tray pack of minced AirPork (or minced chicken, if you prefer)
4 fish cakes – cut into strips
4 eggs – beat and season with dash of pepper
3 cloves garlic – chopped fine
3 shallots or 1 red onion (whichever is handy) – chopped fine
Seasoning
Oyster sauce – 1 tbsp
Light sauce – 1 tbsp
Tomato sauce – 2 tbsp
Chilli sauce – 2 tbsp (or to taste)
Pepper – couple of dashes
Method
Saute garlic and onion in 2 tbsp oil in a large non-stick wok. When lightly browned, add minced meat and separate meat into bits as you stirfry for 1 minute. Push meat to side of wok and add eggs. Stirfry eggs for ½ min. Add carrot and cabbage, mix well. When vegetables are half-cooked (and volume reduced), add bee hoon and stir-fry. Add a rice bowl or two of strained stock (depending on your preference for dryer/wetter bee hoon) and stir-fry the noodles, mix well.
The stock disappears as it is absorbed by the bee hoon. Stir-fry a little longer till bee hoon is steaming hot (add another half bowl of stock if you think it is too dry for your liking). At this point, bee hoon is almost cooked. Add beansprouts, fish cake, seasoning and mix well. Turn off the flame as soon as bean sprouts turn translucent. Put the wok cover on to keep bee hoon warm till it’s time to serve lunch.
TIP: You might find the amount of vegetables (carrot, cabbage and bean sprouts) resembling a mountain at first. Don’t worry. After cooking, the mountain becomes levelled somewhat. Anyway, this is a vege-heavy recipe, as we believe in feeding the family more vegetables.
Do not overcook bean sprouts – or else, in addition to losing their lovely crunch, they look limp and wilted, not a pleasant sight.
It is much easier to stir-fry noodles with a spatula in one hand and a pair of wooden, unvarnished chopsticks in the other. Try it and you’ll find that handling and tossing of the noodles is more efficient.
We like to sprinkle some Tean’s Crispy Prawn Chilli over our plate of bee hoon for extra kick. Everytime I buy a new bottle, I remove the cap and stand the bottle upside down over a sieve in a rice bowl. The sieve covers the mouth of the bottle, preventing the chilli flakes from falling out, but allowing the oil in the bottle to be drained off. After leaving it to drain for an hour, put the cap back on and it is good for use, sans a half bowl of oil.
I wrap leftovers from this bee hoon lunch in foil and store it in the fridge. On Monday, I pop the foil packet into the toaster for half an hour for a no-fuss reheated lunch. The cost of ingredients for six is a mere $6.65.
JW’s Chock-a-block Porridge
It’s chock-a-block with ingredients, because when you DIY, not only do you get homemade goodness, you also get lots of ingredients.
Rice (for quantity, see tip below)
Minced pork or sliced batang fish (rotate weekly to keep things interesting) - season with dash of pepper, 1 tsp light soya sauce
Cured squid (cuttlefish) - cut into thin strips
Spring onion – wash and snip to short bits with scissors
1 small can braised peanuts - reserve fluid
1 small can pickled lettuce (we love its crunch) - discard fluid
2 you tiao (fried fritter) - toast it crispy, snip into small rings and sprinkle on porridge just before serving (optional, we don’t add this every week as it is deep fried food, but it is an occasional treat for the kids)
1 pack of Fairprice Bee Hoon – soaked, then cut with scissors to shorter, easier-to-stirfry length
1 cabbage (600g) – cut into strips (you only need to wash the outer leaf before cutting)
2 carrots – cut into strips
400g bean sprouts – rinse, discard black bean skin
1 foam tray pack of minced AirPork (or minced chicken, if you prefer)
4 fish cakes – cut into strips
4 eggs – beat and season with dash of pepper
3 cloves garlic – chopped fine
3 shallots or 1 red onion (whichever is handy) – chopped fine
Seasoning
Oyster sauce – 1 tbsp
Light sauce – 1 tbsp
Tomato sauce – 2 tbsp
Chilli sauce – 2 tbsp (or to taste)
Pepper – couple of dashes
Method
Saute garlic and onion in 2 tbsp oil in a large non-stick wok. When lightly browned, add minced meat and separate meat into bits as you stirfry for 1 minute. Push meat to side of wok and add eggs. Stirfry eggs for ½ min. Add carrot and cabbage, mix well. When vegetables are half-cooked (and volume reduced), add bee hoon and stir-fry. Add a rice bowl or two of strained stock (depending on your preference for dryer/wetter bee hoon) and stir-fry the noodles, mix well.
The stock disappears as it is absorbed by the bee hoon. Stir-fry a little longer till bee hoon is steaming hot (add another half bowl of stock if you think it is too dry for your liking). At this point, bee hoon is almost cooked. Add beansprouts, fish cake, seasoning and mix well. Turn off the flame as soon as bean sprouts turn translucent. Put the wok cover on to keep bee hoon warm till it’s time to serve lunch.
TIP: You might find the amount of vegetables (carrot, cabbage and bean sprouts) resembling a mountain at first. Don’t worry. After cooking, the mountain becomes levelled somewhat. Anyway, this is a vege-heavy recipe, as we believe in feeding the family more vegetables.
Do not overcook bean sprouts – or else, in addition to losing their lovely crunch, they look limp and wilted, not a pleasant sight.
It is much easier to stir-fry noodles with a spatula in one hand and a pair of wooden, unvarnished chopsticks in the other. Try it and you’ll find that handling and tossing of the noodles is more efficient.
We like to sprinkle some Tean’s Crispy Prawn Chilli over our plate of bee hoon for extra kick. Everytime I buy a new bottle, I remove the cap and stand the bottle upside down over a sieve in a rice bowl. The sieve covers the mouth of the bottle, preventing the chilli flakes from falling out, but allowing the oil in the bottle to be drained off. After leaving it to drain for an hour, put the cap back on and it is good for use, sans a half bowl of oil.
I wrap leftovers from this bee hoon lunch in foil and store it in the fridge. On Monday, I pop the foil packet into the toaster for half an hour for a no-fuss reheated lunch. The cost of ingredients for six is a mere $6.65.
JW’s Chock-a-block Porridge
It’s chock-a-block with ingredients, because when you DIY, not only do you get homemade goodness, you also get lots of ingredients.
Rice (for quantity, see tip below)
Minced pork or sliced batang fish (rotate weekly to keep things interesting) - season with dash of pepper, 1 tsp light soya sauce
Cured squid (cuttlefish) - cut into thin strips
Spring onion – wash and snip to short bits with scissors
1 small can braised peanuts - reserve fluid
1 small can pickled lettuce (we love its crunch) - discard fluid
2 you tiao (fried fritter) - toast it crispy, snip into small rings and sprinkle on porridge just before serving (optional, we don’t add this every week as it is deep fried food, but it is an occasional treat for the kids)
Method
Boil rice with strained soup stock in a large pot, stirring occasionally. Reduce flame when it begins bubbling. When rice is softened, add pork, braised peanut (including fluid). When rice has reached the porridge consistency that you like (some like their porridge almost congee-like, while we like our porridge still grainy), add fish (if you’re using), cuttlefish and spring onion. Add pepper and light soya sauce to taste, though you would not need to add much of the latter because of the flavorful stock.
Serve porridge in large bowls for older children and adults, and soup-plates (cools faster) for younger kids. Top with pickled lettuce and you tiao.
TIP:
I buy a foam-tray pack of cured squid from Fairprice, cut squid up into thin strips, divide into four individual portions and store them in the freezer, good for four Sunday lunches.
Three cups of rice makes enough porridge for our family of six (two adults, four kids), so you can use that to gauge how much rice to cook.
We grow potted onions (and also pandan and curry leaf plants, though that has got nothing to do with this recipe). It ensures we have a fresh supply of spring onions handy.
As we have a porridge lunch once a week, we stock up on cans of pickled lettuce and braised peanuts whenever there’s a promotion.
Here’s another cost-saving tip: There is a big difference between the taste, texture and fragrance of steamed rice of different grades. But when it comes to porridge, the difference is not that stark. We stock two grades of rice at home, a basic one for cooking porridge and a higher grade rice for steamed rice. For a 5kg pack, the difference in prices of the two grades represents a savings of several dollars.
Boil rice with strained soup stock in a large pot, stirring occasionally. Reduce flame when it begins bubbling. When rice is softened, add pork, braised peanut (including fluid). When rice has reached the porridge consistency that you like (some like their porridge almost congee-like, while we like our porridge still grainy), add fish (if you’re using), cuttlefish and spring onion. Add pepper and light soya sauce to taste, though you would not need to add much of the latter because of the flavorful stock.
Serve porridge in large bowls for older children and adults, and soup-plates (cools faster) for younger kids. Top with pickled lettuce and you tiao.
TIP:
I buy a foam-tray pack of cured squid from Fairprice, cut squid up into thin strips, divide into four individual portions and store them in the freezer, good for four Sunday lunches.
Three cups of rice makes enough porridge for our family of six (two adults, four kids), so you can use that to gauge how much rice to cook.
We grow potted onions (and also pandan and curry leaf plants, though that has got nothing to do with this recipe). It ensures we have a fresh supply of spring onions handy.
As we have a porridge lunch once a week, we stock up on cans of pickled lettuce and braised peanuts whenever there’s a promotion.
Here’s another cost-saving tip: There is a big difference between the taste, texture and fragrance of steamed rice of different grades. But when it comes to porridge, the difference is not that stark. We stock two grades of rice at home, a basic one for cooking porridge and a higher grade rice for steamed rice. For a 5kg pack, the difference in prices of the two grades represents a savings of several dollars.
