Mother-in-law's pa-mee (打面)

Everyday you learn something new...

My mother-in-law is heng hua dialect, so one night when we were over at her place for dinner, she cooked a huge pot of what they called, pa-mee (打面). I'm not sure how authentic is it, but it's delicious!

She bought this noodles from the market near her place, and I loved it as it doesn't have the alkaline taste like in those "yellow noodles".

So she gave me a packet and I tried to make a pot one evening. I'm not sure how, but I guess the main things would be the soup base, ingredients and the noodles.

Soup Base
Chicken breast, with bones
Ginger, one thumb size nob, smacked with a knife
Salt
Chicken powder

Boil for an hour, skimming off any excess oil or scum. Remove chicken and ginger.

Ingredients
Shitake mushrooms
Pork shoulder, sliced
Cai xing
Toufu fish cakes, sliced

Put everything into the soup base and boil until pork slices are cooked. Adjust flavour accordingly, it should be slightly more salty than usual to balance out the bland noodles.

Noodles
Put raw noodles in a big bowl, pour boiling water into it and swish it around for a few seconds before pouring away the water. Run under cold water for a few seconds and set aside.

When the soup is ready, add in the noodles and boil for not longer then a minute. Serve!

It's delicious, easy to make, and everybody in the family loved it. Definitely a recipe to keep!

Pasta with Cheese and Sweetcorn

As a stay home mom, I'm starting to go crazy just thinking of what to cook for the next meal! So one day I thought I sought some inspiration from the library, and found this recipe.

Interestingly, the Caucasian idea of a meal is a little different from what I was taught as an Asian Mom. Nothing wrong, I guess it is just quite enlightening. Maybe we Asian moms need to lightened up when it comes to meal times. Does bread only can to be eaten at breakfast? Does rice always need to be our staple at every meal?

I grew up in a family where a "proper" meal equates to a hot meal consisting of rice, soup, vegetables and meat. But in this day and age, I think as long as the child is receiving all the necessary nutrients and eating healthy, it doesn't really matter what constitutes as a proper meal. Right?

So I broke away from tradition and tried instead of what my baby likes, and this recipe seemed perfect. More importantly, it is easy and quick to make, which I think is vital to all mothers out there.

1. Cook pasta according to packet’s instructions.
2. Stir in the sweetcorn a few minutes before the end of the cooking time and cook until both are cooked.
3. Drain and return to pan. Add cheddar cheese, ham, parsley(optional) and butter and stir everything together.

As expected, my 2 year old daughter loved it, even I was savoring every bite! I tried a few more recipes from the book, but I think this one is a keeper.