Flour Vermicelli 面线 （麵線）Hokkien Mee Swa

April 6 and April 8: Cos of cough, I'm advised by nurse to avoid fish and chicken. Hence,I'm taking the risk to use minced pork and canned chicken broth for this dish (as I am also getting sick of having all my soup tasting full of veges... :S ), and to prevent any morning sickness syndrome, I've added ginger to remove as much as possible, the "meaty" and "oily" taste of a usually tasteful dish. Hence, no sesame oil or fried onions are used to make this dish even more tasteful. :P

Ingredients:

• Tomatos x 1 at $0.225 (High in Vitamin C, and contains A, B... http://www.cookingnook.com/facts-about-tomatoes.html)
  
• Xiao Bai Cai x 2 at $0.40 (Rich source of minerals e.g. iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium, Vitamin K,C,E,... http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarbsuperfoods/a/greensnutrition.htm)

• Minced Pork x 1/4 cup (I bought at $2.00 that can cater for about 5 servings) at abt. $0.40 (fat, sodium and protein.. http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition-calories/food/generic/lean-pork-mince)


• Flour Vermicelli x 2 bundles at abt. $0.28 (1 box contained 10 bundles, average priced at abt. $1.40 per box)


• Swanson Chicken Broth x 1/4 can at abt. $0.36 (1 can abt. $1.38)


• Ginger x 1 inch long at abt. $0.075 (bought 1 stem at $0.30 which can be used for abt 4to 5 times depending on the about of ginger you prefer)Egg x 1 at abt. $0.27 to 0.55 depending on the brands (good source of vitamins, protein and minerals, e.g. iron, calcium, phosphorus http://www.organicfacts.net/nutrition-facts/animal-products/nutritional-value-of-egg-and-egg-white.html)


• Total Cost (min: $2.01, max: $2.29)

OR

"on the 8th, I've run out of eggs and Xiao Bai Cai, hence, I dumped in the bean sprouts and spring onions that I've found in my fridge instead)"

• Spring Onion x 2 stalks at abt. $0.10 (High in Dietary Fibre, Vitamins A, C, ... http://www.great-workout.com/nutrition/vegetables/spring-onion-nutrition-facts.cfm)



• Bean Sprout x 50 g at abt. $0.10 (Vitamins A, B, C, E.. free from cholesterol.. ideal for anyone counting calaries.. .http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/29536/mung_bean_sprouts_nutritional_value


• Total Cost: $1.54

Method

I was having difficulties searching the right recipes for this dish as search for "vermicelli" or "Mian Sian" or "Mee Sua" kept returning me the wrong results such as those fry vermicelli (Dang1 Hun4) or spicy Mee Sua) and was already going to try mixing and matching the recipes I've found to get the soup Mian Sian that I want when to my surprise, inside the box (for the Sim Soon Fat Flour Vermicelli), was a copy of the directions for cooking in traditional chinese. It was a challenge to read as I am too used to English and simplified Chinese but skimming through it, it was a reassurance that this wouldn't be another disaster meal :P ).

And of course, to prevent another horrible tasting, I use Chicken broth this time round. Though I am supposed to abstain from Chicken because of my cough, I cannot imagine myself trying to down a "salt water vegetable soup" again. :P

1. Boil the egg for about 10 minutes and cut them into halves

2. Prepare the Ingredients concurrently

• Cut Tomatoes into 8 (cut according to your own preference)
• Cut and Wash Xiao Bai Cai (I've only cut away the base as I love long vegetables)
• Flour Vermicelli (as I don't like the "flour taste", I have also rinsed the vermicelli through water)
• Feel and Cut Ginger (I've cut about 4 x 1mm thick ginger to be boiled with the soup as I am afraid of the smell cos of my pregnant condition, remaining ginger used for minced pork)
• Minced Pork (As I'm afraid of the smell cos of my pregnant condition, I rinse the pork through two rounds of hot water, and marinate it with Soy Sauce, Pepper and Finely Chopped Ginger for about 10 minutes)
• Wash and cut the Spring Onions

3. Boil the water for the soup (I added about 1 big bowl - check out the bowl of the finished noodles for reference, of water)

4. Add in the 1/4 can of Chicken Broth (note: You can add more according to your preference. I have only added 1/4 can or lesser as again, I do not wish to have the oily and meaty taste)

5. After the water is brought to boil, add in ginger and half of the spring onions (this is optional) and continue to simmer til you smell the fragrance of the ginger.

6. Add in the remaining ingredients and boil for another 1 minute (for me, I added one more minute as I wanted the soup to taste more sour )

7. Add in the flour vermicelli and boil for another 1.5 minutes.

8. Serve the vermicelli with the cut eggs and sprinkle over the remaining spring onions

Additional Notes:
My Preferred Choice (recommended by Mum and sis' MIL) too

This tasted slightly thicker and more like spaghetti (you may use this if you refer thicker noodles) :

Carrot Porridge and Vegetable Clear Soup

Monday, April 5th 2010: Failed attempt to cook my carrot porridge and vegetable soup upset my stomach so much so.. that I ended up puking again :S

I should have stucked to half a cup of rice instead of 1 cup as stated in the receipe online for a portion of 1 pax. :S In the end, I burnt the porridge :( and all the sweet taste of the carrot is gone. *Sob*

Looking at the vege soup, you would have known why it tasted so horrible. :P I hadn't used any broth at all and it simply tasted like salt water. Ah..kakakak... >_<"

Without much appetite for dinner, I was relief that I could down a packet of Fish and Chips from the coffee shop. The coleslaw and baked beans helped ease the discomfort with their sour and sweet taste too. Hopefully the next round will taste better but I will definitely stock up more ingredients beforehand. :P Cos.. I have completed forgotten to chop the vegetables until very fine and.. I could only dump in what I found in my fridge as I was desperate for some vitamin E and C for my cough. Next round, I am going to try out the recipes and do justice to my tummy!

Vegetable Clear Soup Receipe (1 pax):

• 2.5 cup cup of finely chopped vegetables (e.g carrots, beans, spring onions, cauliflower, capsicum, cabbage, mushrooms)
• 1 tablespoon cornflour
• 2.5 cups of water
• Salt, pepper
  
  Method:
• Boil the water
• Mix in cornflour with quarter cup of water.
• Pour the cornflour mixture into the boiling water and stir for some time.
• When the water becomes almost clear, add all the vegetables.
• Turn off the heat in 2 minutes, and add the salt and pepper to taste.
  
  

Carrot Porridge (1 pax)

• 0.5 carrot
• 0.5 cup of rice
• 4 cups of water
• 1 stalk spring onion
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
  Method
  
• Wash the spring onion and chop finely
• Julienne the carrot
• Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes
• Place the rice in a pot and add the water
• Bring to a boil, add the carrot and lower heat to a simmer
• Simmer till porridge and carrot are done
• Add the salt and sprinkle the chopped spring onion before serving

Spagetti with Chicken Frank (15 mins dish)

Used to take me 1.5 to 2 hrs! Ha.. why? You may wonder.. such a simple dish.. but not a veteran cook and someone with passion for cooking.. it just took me that long.

After the many failed attempts and trial and error, this dish finally taste more decent and in fact, Yummy! Especially at this period when all food taste or smell too oily, fried, or "fishy"... this sour and sweet dish is very yummy for both bb and mum! :P

• Bring Water to boil
• Add in 1 teaspoon of olive oil and salt
• Add in spagetti and stir (til all noodles are submerged)
• Live to boil for another 10 mins at low heat
• Slice capsicums, tomatos and chicken franks
• Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and throw in sliced ingredient to fry til fragrance is out
• Add in Prego sauce and stir fry
• Drain ready cook spagetti and cool with cold water
• Serve Spagetti with sauce.
  
  Cost (6 adults):


• $0.80 : Capsicum x 2 @ $0.35 per 100 g (bought at wet market, but usual price is abt $0.50 or above at supermarket)


• $5.20 : Prego x 2 bottles 397g @ $2.60 per bottle (bought at Fresh Produce Specialist, current promotion price online NTUC is $2.45, usual price $2.70)


• $2.35: Valley Chef Chicken Franks x 0.5 pack to full pack, 340g per pack @ $2.35 (free contribution from brother in law, latest price obtained from Cold Storage Online)


• $0.50 : Tomato x 3 (bought from Wet market, forgot unit price)


• $1.60 : Maicar Spagetti x 1 pack at 400g @ $1.60 (Econminimart)
  Total Cost: $10.45 ( abt. $1.80 to $2.00 per pax)