Stir-fried Sweet and Spicy Tapioca Noodles

I made this for bento one winter. Bad choice, the cold weather solidified the oil and sauce which made the noodles texture rubbery.. It is better to eat this when it is pipping hot or reheating with microwave before consumption is highly recommended.


Serves 1

Ingredients:
1 serving Vietnamese tapioca noodles
2 bundles Choy Sum (cut into 3cm)
2 chinese dried mushrooms (soaked till al dente and shredded)
2 stalks spring onions (cut into 3cm)
10 slices of fish cake
1 garlic (chopped finely)
1 chicken breast fillet (cut into 1.5cm strips)
2 tablespoons canola oil

Garnish:
Chopped spring onions
1 egg (fried into omelette and shredded finely)

Seasonings:
1 tablespoon sambal chilli sauce
2 tablespoon Kecap Manis
1 tablespoon dark soy
1 tablespoon light soy
Dash of salt and pepper

Preparation:
Combine amd mix seasonings in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons of water. Set aside.


Cooking:

• Heat oil in a thick-based metal pan.
• Add fish cake and fry till fragrant.
• Add garlic, spring onions and chicken.
• Fry for about 3 minutes, add Choy Sum and mushrooms.
• Fry for about 2 minutes, add noodles and combined seasonings.
• Mix thoroughly until contents are evenly coated.
• Lower heat to medium and fry for about 5 minutes.
• Garnish and serve.

Glutinous Chicken Rice （糯米鸡） Bento

We can easily over-indulge in this if we're not careful. Our digestive systems take longer to break down the starch for this than the normal rice, so do take note not to overeat.

I didn't cooked the glutinous rice using the conventional method of steaming it in a steamer for that takes too long and I don't have the patience for fussy cooking. It was my first time making this and I was already using the rice cooker to cut corners. The texture of the rice turned out very well, so cheers to modern technology.. hehe..

Caution: Do not consume this bento in an enclosed space (for example - inside a train carriage), as the aroma is quite intense and those who are not eating it may not appreciate smelling it.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 cups glutinous rice (washed and soaked with just enough water in rice cooker for at least 5 hours)
2 cups chicken stock
2 chicken breast fillets
6 slices ginger (julienned finely)
1 garlic (chopped finely)
4 dried chinese mushrooms (soaked till al dente and shredded)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light soy
1 teaspoon dark soy
1 teaspoon cornstarch
salt and pepper to taste
chopped spring onions for garnish
sweet sambal chilli sauce and drizzle of Kecap Manis for serving

Preparation:
Cut chicken fillets into strips of 1.5cm each.
Marinate chicken with wine, oyster sauce, light soy, dark soy, cornstarch, salt and pepper.


Cooking:

• Heat sesame oil in pan and stir-fry the marinated chicken with mushrooms for about 2 minutes.
• Add chopped garlic, fry until chicken slices turn whitish.
• Remove chicken and mushrooms from pan and add to glutinous rice.
• Add the julienned ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and dash of pepper.
• Mix chicken and seasonings with rice thoroughly.
• Add chicken stock and cook rice as per normal.
• Garnish with spring onions and serve with drizzle of Kecap Manis and sweet sambal chilli.

Sambal Fried Rice

I like to cook fried rice. It is economical and easy. We can get a balanced meal out of it by combining meat (for protein) and vegetables (for fibre).


Serves 1

Ingredients:
1 hotdog
2 large eggs
1 small bunch broccoli
1 garlic (chopped finely)
1 bowl leftover jasmine rice
canola oil

Seasonings:
1/2 teaspoon Thai sambal curry paste
1 tablespoon light soy
Dash of salt

Preparation:

• Beat eggs in a bowl lightly, fry and scramble in a non-stick pan. Set aside.
• Separate the thick stem from broccoli and cut into small stalks.
• Blanch stalks in boiling water for 5 minutes and set aside.
• Remove the tough skin of stem and cut into thin slices.
• Quarter hotdog (lengthwise) and cut into 1cm cubes.

Cooking:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in non-stick pan and fry hotdog until slightly crisp.
• Add garlic and broccoli stem slices, fry for 3 minutes.
• Add scrambled eggs and rice.
• Use wooden spatula to separate rice lumps, stirring constantly to mix the ingredients and fluff up the rice.
• Add blanched broccoli and Thai sambal when the rice is loose and soft.
• Mix sambal with rice and ingredients thoroughly, ensure rice is evenly coated.
• Add light soy and salt to taste.
• Fry for another 2 minutes and serve.

**Notes:

1. I prefer to use jasmine rice because it is more fragrant, softer and less starchy, but long grain or basmati is also fine.
2. A tip to keep rice moist during frying, lightly splash droplets of water over rice after you have loosen it. This will release steam and prevent the rice from hardening or getting too dry.
3. Always use leftoever rice for fried rice because freshly cooked rice is too moist and will result in a gooey mess.
4. Using a non-stick pan will prevent the rice from sticking to the pan and also prevent the usage of excessive oil.