Every 7th day of Chinese New Year (also called ‘Ren Ri’ ; 人日), Ah-mm will tell me to go and buy 7 types of vegetables for her to cook 七样菜. 人日 is literally ‘human day’. According to Chinese legend, 女媧 created different animals on different days. Humans were created on the 7th day after she created the world, so Ren Ri is also known as everyone’s birthday. Don’t be surprised if a Chinese wishes you ‘Happy Birthday’ on this day!

Some markets will pre-pack the 7 assorted vegetables for you so you don’t end up with big bunches of everything. Ah-mm says there’s no hard and fast rule as to which vegetables go into the dish, but she insists on having Chinese leeks (大蒜), pronounced ‘da suan’, which sounds like calculating (money).She also always got some 春菜 (mustard greens) but it’s kinda hard to find. My 7 types of vegetables this year:

1. Chinese leeks (red leeks)
2. Spring onions
3. Chives
4. Celery
5. Cabbage
6. Puay Leng (Chinese spinach)
7. Xiao Bai Cai

You can add in some meat slices like lean pork, but I added bak gwa this year hehe. Slice the bak gwa into strips and fry them together with the leeks, chives and celery in the beginning, so that the entire wok has the smokey fragrance of bak gwa. But watch the fire to prevent burning. I like them a bit charred though!

For seasonings, I simply added a bit of mushroom powder. You can add some chicken seasoning powder or light soy sauce if you don’t have mushroom seasoning. Enjoy your birthday today and I wish health and happiness for everyone!

The post CNY dish: 七样菜 Stir Fried 7 Vegetables appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I love vegetables, especially when they’re simply steamed or blanched in water without any seasonings. The husband doesn’t share the same love so this stir fried dou miao dish is perfect for him.

I had some leftover Taiwan sausage in the fridge (yes I buy processed food too!) and sliced them up to add to the dish hoping that someone else would eat it. Although Taiwan sausage is delicious, I really recommend adding sliced chicken fillet strips (or pacific clams!) instead :)

The thing about stir frying vegetables is that it can become limp if you add too much seasonings like soy sauce or oyster sauce, and I’m not a fan of soggy vegetables (cooked-to-death napa cabbage and fishballs soup is another matter altogether. I LOVE IT!). My vegetables must be stir fried on high heat and remain bright and crunchy from wok to plate. Just a little bit of seasoning is enough. Really, vegetables give out water on their own and drowning them in even more liquid will make it a soggy mess. My choice of seasonings for stir fried vegetables are mushroom granules, XO sauce or a light sprinkle of fish sauce and Chinese cooking wine. With dou miao, take note not to undercook it or it will taste grassy, but don’t overcook it in sauces or liquid too. Use high heat and a bit more oil.

This is the mushroom granules that I use and I get a whole big packet from Sheng Siong:

What’s your favourite way to eat vegetables? Can you accept eating them without any condiments or dressing and simply steamed or blanched?

The post Stir Fried Garlic Dou Miao (Pea Shoots) appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I have to confess that this was dish was initially a flop! I realised my experimental Stir Fried Zoodles wasn’t going to work, so halfway through cooking, I quickly decided to transform it into a cold zucchini salad served with a squeeze of lime. Worked beautifully!

My intention was to replace egg noodles with zucchini ribbons since I’m trying to be as low carb as possible. It seemed like a great idea, but as I added more and more ingredients in the wok (chicken, bean sprouts, carrots, bell peppers, onions) and as the zucchini started to give out water, I figured stir fried soggy zoodles doesn’t seem that sexy after all.

I switched off the flame and got rid of the excess water. By then, I had already seasoned the vegetables. No biggie, I was going to give these crunchy vegetables a new lease of life. Instead of stir fried noodles, they’re going to be a cold salad! Chill in the fridge and sprinkle a little sugar (and crushed peanut, if you have it!) on top, then finish off with a gentle squeeze of lime. The husband loved this “refreshing salad” (his words, not mine) but I highly doubt he would say the same if I had fed him this salad’s past life.

To make zucchini ribbons, I used this spiral cutter that I got from ToTT some time back. It cost about $25 and can be used to make ribbons out of carrots and radishes too.

The gadget is fun to have but cleaning is quite a pain. I also didn’t like it that it could be stained by coloured vegetables, like carrots. If there’s a good brand of spiral cutter that you’re using, please buzz me!

This cold salad will be great as an appetizer or as part of a bento box. I can imagine serving it with a lunchbox of rice and teriyaki chicken or salmon. So when you make a mistake in your kitchen, don’t throw out that dish! Create something new with it. The results might surprise you!

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