I'm a full-time mummy

For this post, I am sharing my next food recipe, Hakka Yong Tau Foo or stuffed tofu, bean curd and okra with fish paste. By the way, you can also use brinjals, bittergourds, mushrooms and red chilis but I omit them because I'm not a fan of them and I'm cooking this dish for the whole family (means including our kiddos) so I have to omit spicy stuff for the moment until they mastered eating spicy stuff. Some yong tau foo recipes calls for fish and pork meat paste but I'm using ready-made fish paste for my recipe today.

I remember my late mum used to do this dish every now and then. She was of Hakka descendants and boy oh boy, I just love eating that dish and it was one of the dishes in my list that I want to replicate and I am very happy to be able to make this dish, though not the same taste but it was quite close. I still remember her buying the fishes (mackerel if not mistaken) from the morning wet market and made the fish paste from scratch.

Without further ado, here is the recipe for Hakka Yong Tau Foo:

Ingredients:
* Ready-made fish paste
* 3 okras (ladies fingers) - quantity up to you actually
* 8 fried tofu puffs - quantity up to you actually
* a sheet of dried Chinese bean curd sheet (rinsed to remove the salt)
* 3 bean curds (square white color) cut half diagonally - quantity up to you actually
* Garlic - 1-2 cloves chopped finely
* Oil - about 2 ~ 3 tbsp

Sauce:
* Water - 2 cups
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 tsp sugar
* 3-4 tbsp of taucheo (fermented yellow bean sauce)


Methods:
* Clean the okras and slit the middle, remove the seeds and pat dry for stuffing later. (You can do the same step if you use red chili)
* For the fried tofu puffs, rinse with water and poke an opening at the top surface with either your finger or knife for stuffing later.
* For the bean curd sheet, I soaked it in water for a few minutes to wash off the salty layer of the sheet.
* For the bean curd squares, slit gently in the middle for stuffing later.
* Stuff the fish paste into the okras, fried tofu puffs and bean curds.
* Put some fish paste into the bean curd sheet and wrapped it - thickness / layers depend on you.
* Place the stuffed ingredients onto a plate and steam for about 5 minutes.
* Fry the garlic next until you smell nice garlic-ky smell from the frying pan. Be careful not to overfry them as it will give bitter taste then.
* Pan fried the steamed yong tau foo for a few minutes.
* Add the ingredients for the sauce and stir in.
* Let the sauce simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
 

Outcome:

My hubby likes the dish very much and our 5 years old boy loves the bean curd ones while I preferred the ones in fried tofu puffs.

This recipe is for keeps!

To view my other recipes, feel free to hop over to my Recipe Library page for more info!

For this post, I am sharing my next food recipe, one that I learned from this awesome cooking book I bought (will share one of this days)! My MIL used to make this dish often as hubby's side of family is Hokkien and they love to eat pork dishes. As a Cantonese, I'm not really a fan of pork dishes but I told myself to give this recipe a try and see how it turns out. After all, I promised myself I will learn to cook for the family, so that said, I have to cook whatever dishes that my family likes, not just what I like. Right?

Without further ado, here is the recipe for Simple Braised Pork in Soy Sauce with Hardboiled Eggs:

Ingredients:
* Garlic - 1-2 cloves chopped finely
* Ginger - sliced thinly
* Eggs - quantity up to you
* Pork - cut into bite sized
* Oil - about 2 ~ 3 tbsp

Sauce:
* Water - 2.5 cups
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 tbsp sugar
* Sweet soy sauce - 1/2 cup


Methods:
* Boil eggs separately and once done, let it cool.
* Heat oil in frying pan, fry the ginger slices for a minute or two.
* Fry the garlic next until you smell nice garlic-ky smell from the frying pan. Be careful not to overfry them as it will give bitter taste then.
* Fry the pork until brown.
* Pour in the sauce.
* Let the sauce simmer for 1 hour.
* Add eggs about half hour before end.


Outcome:

My hubby likes the dish and being a Hokkien who loves to eat pork dishes, I feel happy to hear that feedback. This recipe is for keeps!

To view my other recipes, feel free to hop over to my Recipe Library page for more info!

For this post, I am sharing the different ways you can stir-fry pasta, at the same time ensuring it is healthy and kiddo-friendly meals! I normally cook pasta or fried rice for our kiddos' lunch and will try to mix and throw in whatever ingredients I have on hand. So feel free to go crazy with the ingredients hahaha... Without further ado, here goes my post on Stir-Fry Pasta:

Ingredients:

Methods:
* Prepare your pasta, make sure it's al dente.
* Heat oil in frying pan.
* Fry the garlic next until you smell nice garlic-ky smell from the frying pan. Be careful not to overfry them as it will give bitter taste then.
* Fry the meat (if any) until cooked. You can fry the egg(s) and/or veggies after that.
* Add in the cooked pasta and continue frying.
* Add in the vegetable broth and soy sauce and/or pepper and salt. Fry for 1-2 minutes some more.
* Dish is ready!

Outcome (some of the pics I managed to snap):

I like cooking these dishes, they are easy, fast, healthy and kids-friendly. I normally get everything done in half hour time. Hope you can try out some of these ideas and be more creative than me!

To view my other recipes, feel free to hop over to my Recipe Library page for more info!