Hairy melon (known also as fuzzy melon or fuzzy squash) is a special vegetable from Asia. We also call it marrow green in Singapore. It should be available at most Asian supermarkets or specialty product stores.
It’s exterior looks like a large kiwi, with the fine hairs, but the interior comes as a cross between winter melons and zucchini. To me, at least. LOL.
It must be peeled before cooking and has a mild taste. We usually cook it as a stir-fry dish or soup. This recipe below is quite simple to follow and is a good variation to the usual broccoli, bok choy and cabbage stir-fry.
Ingredients (Serves 3 adults):
- Half a medium-sized hairy melon (or a small one)
- Half a small carrot
- 6-8 medium prawns, deshelled and deveined
- 1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Dash of ground pepper
- 1 egg, beaten
Instructions:
Step 1: Slice prawns into halves sideways. Peel hairy melon and carrot. Cut into strips about 2-inch long and set aside. There are seeds inside which can be eaten, but if you do not like it, you can remove the seeds when cutting.
Step 2: Heat up a wok or pan with cooking oil. Add in the chopped garlic.
Step 3: When garlic starts to brown, add in carrot strips (because carrots take longer to cook). Stir fry for 1 minute. Add in the prawns and hairy melon strips. Stir-fry till carrot and hairy melon strips are soft.
Step 4: Add sugar and salt for seasoning. Stir-fry for another 1 minute.
Step 5: Pour the beaten egg evenly on the vegetables and stir-fry to blend well. Add a dash of ground pepper. Stir-fry a few more times. It’s ready to serve!
Because hairy melon is mild flavoured, it takes on the sweetness of the prawns and aroma of the egg very well. I think children will enjoy it too.
As usual, I will keep a portion in my thermos food jar right after cooking to keep it warm as long as possible. Hmm. Does it look appetizing to you?
When I cook the soup version (which is quite similar) on another day, I will also post the recipe here to share. Do stay around!
Japanese miso soup is a comfort soup I often cook out of convenience as the ingredients are really simple to get. That’s why I always have a tub of miso paste ready in my fridge. LOL.
Unlike Chinese double-boiled soup which takes a long time to simmer, miso soup can be prepared in just 10-15 minutes and it’s so light that you can drink it anytime of the day.
Ingredients (Serves 3-4 adults):
- 3 tablespoons miso paste
- 3 cups water
- 150 g soft tofu
- 100 g fresh enoki mushrooms
- Handful of dried kelp/ konbu (optional)
Instructions:
Step 1: Fill stockpot with water. Soak dried kelp in water for at least 1-2 hours to soften it.
Step 2: Cut tofu into cubes. Wash enoki mushrooms, remove the portion at the roots (about one inch) and separate them. Cut enoki mushrooms into half length-wise.
Step 3: Boil stockpot of water and kelp. When the stock is boiling, transfer the tofu cubes and enoki mushrooms into the pot.
Step 4: Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add in miso paste. Stir to dissolve it well.
Step 5: Cook for another 2-3 minutes at lower heat.
There are different types of miso paste available in the market. If you are vegetarian, just make sure you get one which is purely miso without any extra seafood flavouring.
Remember to transfer the soup while it is hot into a thermos food jar if you are bringing it for your lunch box.
Enjoy!
Happy Ox Year to all my Chinese readers!
I have been really busy since yesterday’s night reunion dinner and it’s 2 am now. Dozing off soon…
So this post is going to be short and sweet. Just want to show you how proud we are of our home-made Yu Sheng (Lo Hei) last night. In fact, we are going to make it again tomorrow when my aunties and uncles come to visit. Hehe.
This Yu Sheng is really special as it is made up totally from fruits instead of the usual ingredients. My mum learnt it from a TV program and I have yet to find out she does it. If you are keen to know, I’ll ask her for the recipe. I’m sure she will be glad to share.
Well, for my other friends who don’t understand what Yu Sheng is all about, this is a short explanation I got from Wikipedia.
This dish is served as an appetizer to raise ‘good luck’ for Chinese New Year. In a celebration known as “lo hei” (families and friends gather around the table and, on cue, proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while saying auspicious words out loud to mark the start of a prosperous new year and it’s customary that the higher you toss, the greater your fortunes!
Typical ingredients include: fresh salmon, daikon (white radish), carrot, red pepper (capsicum), ginger, daun limau nipis (lime tree leaves), Chinese parsley, chopped peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, Chinese shrimp crackers (or fried dried shrimp), five spice powder. The dressing is made primarily from plum sauce.
We have to toss it really high before we can eat it. Hehe. Does it look fun to you?
That day, I felt like eating something really light, so I cooked this very simple Spaghetti Aglio Olio for lunch.
This is a no-frills recipe, and is very easy to follow. If you like the aromatic blend of garlic and olive oil, you would probably enjoy the taste. If you are cooking for your kids, you may want to add some sausages and ham to go along with the spaghetti in case they think it looks quite plain.
Instructions (Serves 3 adults):
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons garlic, chopped finely
- 300 g spaghetti
- 3 tablespoons fresh or dried english parsley flakes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- Juice from half a lemon
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Cooking Instructions:
Step 1: Boil water in a stockpot enough to cook the spaghetti. When water boils, add a pinch of salt and drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil.
Step 2: Put in the spaghetti and cook for about 7 to 8 minutes till al dente. You can taste a strand of spaghetti to check on it. If you prefer them softer, leave it for another minute or so.
Step 3: Remove the cooked spaghetti and place them in a colander to drain of excess water.
Step 4: Heat up the rest of the olive oil in a pan. When oil is hot, add the chopped garlic. Stir fry till garlic is fragrant.
Step 5: Transfer the cooked spaghetti back into the pan. Toss spaghetti with garlic till well blended.
Step 6: Add lemon juice, salt, parsley flakes and ground black pepper. Mix well. Serve.
This is my simple and satisfying lunch.
Another all-in-one lunch box idea for the lazy you (and me). I hope you like it!
It’s less than 10 days away now. Chinese New Year is approaching really fast on 26th January and I have been exceptionally busy!
I am trying to keep up with the spring-cleaning. And I have so far completed only 10% of it. Haha.
I am trying to keep up with the cooking. But who feels like cooking when my body “screams” of resting after all that spring-cleaning?
I am trying to keep up with the posts for this blog. But I may run out of photos to share if I stop cooking for a while.
Hmm. I wished I was a super woman! But I don’t have 48 hours to spare, so I can only make the best out of what I have. LOL.
Sorry, I would like to apologise first if you see me lesser next week as I try to juggle my work.
Actually I still have two recipes pending and I hope to share them with you really soon.
Catch ya!
