Yes, you can! As a matter of fact, anybody can…and with Melissa leaving for Wellington sometime in February next year, I have to make sure that she can too. Well, I’m talking about cooking…and the other day, I cooked a few simple dishes for a balanced meal in the hope that she will be able to whip up something like that anytime she wants when she is over there.
For the vegetable dish, I cooked bitter gourd that I had cut into thin slices after removing the seeds inside…
These are the ingredients that I used…
After I had browned the ginger strips in a bit of oil, I added the minced meat (optional or may be replaced with shrimps e.g.) and the black beans and after a while, I added the bitter gourd. To cook the vegetable, add a little bit of water to boil it for a while and add salt and msg (or chicken stock granules) according to taste. Lastly, I broke an egg into the wok and scrambled it, mixing it with everything else inside. Then it is ready…
As for the meat dish, I opened a can of corned beef and mashed it…
In the meantime, I peeled some potatoes and cut them into chunks/cubes and boiled them until they are cooked/soft…
I cut one Bombay onion into thin slices…
…and using a non-stick pan, I heated up the corned beef before adding the onions. Once the onions have softened, I added the cooked potatoes and mixed them well with the beef…and sprinkled a pinch of msg for extra flavour. Then, it is ready to serve…
Note that I did not use any extra oil the way some people do to sauté the onions first. This is because the corned beef itself contains a lot of fat and I did not want to add any more oil to it.
Finally, the soup. I decided upon the Foochow-style tofu soup and these are the ingredients one would need…
…and of course, you will need some tofu, cut into cubes like this…
Brown the ginger slices in a bit of oil in a wok before adding the minced meat and canned oysters. Add water and let it simmer for a while to bring out the flavour of the ingredients. Then you put in the tofu and simmer a bit more. Add salt and msg or chicken stock granules according to taste.
The soup is ready and when serving, sprinkle some chopped spring onions or Chinese celery on top…
Some people may want to add a bit of Foochow red wine to it…or cornflour to make it thick like sharks’ fins soup…or even black vinegar for a bit of sourish taste. Personally, I prefer it clear like this.
It’s really so simple. Don’t you think you can do it?
Comments on: "You can…" (26)
Yay! I’m FC!
What are you doing up so early during school holidays? Unable to sleep…so excited, waiting for your exam results? Hahahahahaha!!!!
Wow. It is EXTREMELY easy to cook all these! A very good recipe, Master Suituapui!!
Yes, it is very easy. Don’t expect me to cook anything that requires a lot of work! I’m basically a very lazy person! LOL!!!
I bet she will b eating potatoes a lot there and it takes a long long time to boil d potatoes till they r soft. A faster way is throw it inside the microwave n will b done within minutes. Tis is d student way of cooking, hahahaha
That should be easy for her. She loves potatoes and she’ll be renting a studio room in an apartment with a kitchenette – microwave inclusive! Must buy her a book on microwave cooking…
too much of microwave cooking also not so good la…simple cooking like this will be the best for her…
Ya…I also have this uncanny suspicion of the microwave. My missus uses it all the time to heat up food. I would rather take out the pan or wok to do that. She also uses that to cook instant noodles…
Please don’t buy her a book on microwave cooking!! Use that to heat, not to cook. Health and nutrition wise, cooking with microwave is a no no.
Ya…I can’t understand how that thing can be good when things like tee-piang and kompia becomes hard as stone when cold – after being reheated in the microwave…and it’s not that convenient to use for heating either. Sometimes so hot on the outside, cold on the inside…and have to do it all over again! And sometimes, I end up making a mess too!
after two months stay in sandakan, i think i can cook so muchy better now, egg la, fish la, meat la, crab la also boh mun doi already
before that i can only cook spaghetti, pancake and maggie mee…i dont even know how to fry an egg =.=
now, im a wifey material already hahahaha…
LOL!!! What makes you think that all wives must know how to cook in this modern day and age? Can find a husband who can cook…or can afford to eat out all the time! Hahahahahaha!!!
wah.. all new dishes to me la.. new recipes for me to try as well.. i like the corn beef, never took that before in my whole life! maybe i use the shredded ones from the supermarket instead… i love bitter gourd too, sometimes i boil soup with that but then, my kids din’t like the bitterness in the soup… all i did was to dig a hole in the bitter gourd and stuff all the minced meat inside and boil… then after soup ready, take out the whole bitter gourd and cut it up .. lol..
We also cook that bitter gourd soup here too…but you can slice the bitter gourd and stuff the hole with minced meat…and drop into the bone soup when it is boiling. Or you can steam them, cook some light (e.g. black/fermented bean) sauce and pour over the slices. My daughter does not take bitter gourd like that either – so I seldom cook it these ways.
Shredded beef and corned beef not the same – but I guess you can get frozen corned beef in your supermarkets there. Here, we have to used the canned ones and I used Linkz or Mili (over RM5.00…and canned luncheon meat and sardine are around that price these days! Stewed pork ribs over RM8.00! *pengsan). The other (imported) brands of corned beef are very expensive – over RM10.
No worry, Mel can always check out your blog for simple recipe! So you gotta be hardworking to demo the step-by-step guide like this one. BTW, I love the bitter gourd
Ya…that’s what I told her. From now on, instead of posting on things I can eat in Sibu, I’ll cook some simple recipes…and she can look them up when she wants to cook something.
hey you might wanna try bitter gourd with egg and salted egg yolk. I had that last week and it was awesome even I’m not a bitter gourd person!
Yes…that’s one of the specialties at Ruby Restaurant here. My daughter would not touch bitter gourd with a 10-foot pole until she ate that there… Coming to Sibu? We can go and have that there – the best I have had anywhere! Others have tried but do not come anywhere near.
Looks like Chef at Home preparing another Chef Abroad……
Well, I certainly hope Chef Abroad will cook and eat well…and not get too engrossed in her work and end up skin and bone all over again! SIGH!!!
Wow, the bittergourd. I’ve never tried it with black beans before. Thankx for sharing these. I’ll definitely try them out!
Yes, I CAN!
The restuarants use “tau cheo” (fermented beans)…but I did not have any in the house so I used black beans. Also nice. You can try to fry with salted eggs also – very nice.
I cooked corned beef yesterday too! But it didnt taste so nice, or i cannot remember the taste already, so so long i never had corned beef. Ah..the tofu soup!! I should try this soup. That canned oyster is it called “teng ang”?
I dunno. You can see the tin in one of the photos. Is “teng ang” razor clams? That one’s different. In Foochow, we call the soup “tau hu teir” or “tau hu lear” or something like that). What corned beef did you use? Do NOT buy those red and yellow tins from CHINA (Great Wall?) – really mushy and horrible (but cheap). Links or Mili are nice and affordable, around RM5 plus…others can be quite expensive – from Brazil, Argentina or New Zealand – some over RM10 a tin. But those are nice too!
I am not a bittergourd person… I shall avoid that
. But I do love potato and cornbeef… oh now that is much tempting me~
Yes, I have many friends who will not touch bitter gourd but some have grown to love it after taking the veg fried with salted eggs at the Ruby Restaurant here. My daughter loves corned beef with potatoes and onions…and the tofu soup too. Today I’m cooking fresh beef with onions and potatoes soup…
you make me hungry hahaha!
I can’t stand the smell actually… even celery too! >.< and those are the best vege for us
.
Oh looks like me and your daughter are alike. I might try cooking the corn beef thing one day. But hubby complains that corn beef is not good… oh wait… I can't cook beef in his house! Aiyaks!
Oh dear! My mrs also… Not keen on canned food! But then we do not eat all the time! And we’ve been eating those things since young. Still alive leh? LOL!!!
Hahaha! Well, it was the canned food he doesn’t like.. he says it is fattening because the cows are corn fed a lot and then made into this… er… I don’t know don’t ask me.. he watches the discovery channels more than I watch tv XD.
I dunno why it’s called corned… Always thought it has got something to do with it being minced. Never mind! Just eat! It isn’t banned so it should be pretty safe…
sometimes i wonder why you name your blog … still crazy after all these years!..
should have been still HUNGRY after all these years! =P
LOL!!! Many people have told me that, but then I’m never hungry as I eat all the time. Maybe should be named “Still crazy about food after all these years”. LOL!!!
the oysters look so thin and dry, it is tasty?
These are canned oysters – contribute to a hint of oyster taste and to the sweetness of the soup. That’s part of the recipe in Foochow tofu soup. They’re not thin or dry since they come soaked in brine or something. You should see the Amoy Brand clams in soy sauce also from China – BESt for frying mihun…but the oysters are SO minute these days. I think what you can get out my nose is MUCH bigger! LOL!!!
I think you’ll have to buy some angmoh vegies and show Mel how to cook those la……difficult to find bittergourd in NZ! Recommended vegies – broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, baby spinach (very yummy, just stir-fry with garlic and a bit of oyster sauce), cabbage. And for something even easier which she just has to cut up and rub with some butter and salt, then bake in the oven – pumpkin, sweet potato, parsnip.
And I’m sure the butcher has pre-marinated cuts of meats – so again, just bung them in the oven, and voila….dinner’s ready!
Ya…I told her cauliflower overseas is so nice and sweet…just boil with a pinch of salt and eat! And I loved cauliflower cheese in the UK. Very fragrant too…not like the ones we have here. She likes broccoli and sweet/potatoes… I think she’ll be fine there…IF she’ll cook, i.e. Checked the map, supermarket’s just across the road from her apartment!
Waaaa… impressive how you can make something simple into something that looks so tempting.. too bad i don’t like bitter gourd. Just came back from a camp and arrived at 2.30 this morning. Yawn. Tiring but rewarding =)
Simplicity is the best! Hahahahahaha!!! Applies to the feminine gender too! Too much make up and accessories may do more harm than good! LOL!!!
Of course she can as she got a good teacher!
Nice cooking there! I learned something today.
So which dish are you going to cook?
i used to nvr eat bittergourd,herbal soup n many more but now im opposite it as i like it most…lol
i ever ate bittergourd cook by my china fren and it taste more bitter(which i like)then normal ppl cooks as its got tricks when u cut the bittergourd so it wil taste bitter…
Ya…there is also how you can choose the bitter gourd when you are buying it. They say cut and soak in salt water and all that but I don’t mind it bitter – a little bit. Wah…you mean your China girl kah? Hahahahahaha!
The first thing that cross my mind was whether she could buy all these in Wellington. I suppose they can be bought but expensive.
One of the girls we came across had no idea how to cook rice. I have a proposal for you to train her for the next 2-3 months. How about showing her how to cook rice in a rice cooker, boil/fry/scramble eggs, cooking cabbage/broccoli/cauliflower in different ways, etc. Then how to grill/fry fish like mackerel (sardine), grill/roast belly pork/chicken, how to cook/use bacon.
Since sheep is everywhere in NZ, she must learn how to prepare lamb. hahaha… I hope she likes lamb.
Oh, make sure you stand aside and let her cook and not you cook and she stand aside.
Ya, I did that…but she said she would want to do it all right from the start including getting the ingredients ready – I did all that for her. Hehehehehehehe!!! Thanks for the advice. I guess she can buy the lamb/beef cuts at the supermarket…and just grill, then eat with BBQ or black pepper sauce… and the vegetables are fresh and sweet – can just boil and dip in oyster sauce and eat. Most things are available there – the prices are more or less the same, just do not convert to our currency! LOL!!! UK’s worse! When I was there in 1994, one dried chilli…or one bulb of garlic was 20p and my friend there tells me it’s a lot more than that now – some 60-80p. Then, the pound was RM3.50, imagine how much a dried chilli there is now in our money!!! LOL!!!
LOL…..yes, it is expensive for some items in UK. Actually many other things are more or less the same. However, services are very expensive in UK.
ok, to see how successfull is your coaching, please do start posting pictures of her cooking. hehehe. And I will encourage her.
Pressure! Pressure! Hahahahahaha!!!! Hope to do that one of these days…
eh you made all the dishes sound so so easy!
i like bitter gourd omelette, the dry type that’s wrapped inside the eggs.
lovely, homecooked stuff.
It IS easy, otherwise I would not bother to cook. Must try the bitter gourd omelette one of these days. Sounds good…and easy! LOL!!!
Simple dishes and I believe she can cook it over there.
But…I have never added any black beans with the bitter gourd. Looks weird. :p
In some restaurants here, they cook it with fermented beans (tau cheo)…but I substituted it with black beans. It was nice… What’s so weird about that?
i ad corned beef with potatoes and onions this past week and this reminds me to get bitter gourd next time in the Filipino store so I can make some nice veggie dish
You’re overseas, right? There’s a Filipino store too? Nice! Can get whatever you want…but usually more expensive – or at least, that’s the case in the Chinese/Oriental stores…