Canton style Spicy Eggplant with Pork Mince Stir Fry

Spicy Eggplant with Pork Mince Stir Fry - My classic lazy dish!

This is one of my favorite dish, it is so quick to make and I can guarantee thumbs up! You can use the ready made sauce for this dish, is even quicker.

Ready made sauce for this dish looks like this, there are other brands availble in Asian supermarkets, but Lee Kum Kee is always a safe option!

Ingredients:

- 1 Eggplant (diced into cubes)
- 500g pork mince
- Chili bean sauce
- Hoi Sin Sauce
- Fresh Chili (if you like it extra hot)
- Spring Onion (to sprinkle at the end, is optional)
- 2 Gloves of Minced Garlic
- Minced Ginger (optional) 
- Sesame Oil

To Marinate Pork Mince:
- Splash of Soy Sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Chicken Powder (optional)
- Sugar (just a little bit)
- Pepper ( just a little bit)
- Splash of Sesame oil

Steps

1. Marinate pork mince with soy sauce, chicken powder, sugar, pepper and sesame oil. This is a basic marinate I use for almost all meat if I cook chinese dishes.

2. Cook eggplant in a few heap spoons of oil (eggplant require a bit more oil to cook).

3. Set aside eggplant. Stir fry garlic, giner & pork mince until cooked, add eggplant back into the pan.

4. Add Chili bean paste (this is quite saulty - adjust to your own taste, I normally add about 2 tablespoons - give or take), Hoi Sin Sauce (2 tablespoons - adjust to yuour liking) & fresh chili if you like it to be extra hot.  Spring onion & Sesame oil to sprinkle on top  at the end.

                      

5. Served on rice or noodles!

Tip: if the sauce besomes too thick, add a few splashes of water.



Easiest Chinese Barbeque Pork Recipe - Simply Delicious!

Chinese BBQ Pork - the EASY version!

This recipe is for lazy people like me, less work, less ingredients - but awesome result! There are hundreds of Chinese BBQ pork recipes out there, but this one got to be the easiest way! For those who buy the ready made BBQ Pork from chinese shops, you would know how expensive they can be by the kg! I think they are around $23 a kilo.

Note: I don't normally use measuring spoons etc unless it is necessary

Ingredients

- Around 1.5 kg of pork neck ( you can use pork fillets, but they are more expensive and not as much fat so it will be a little dry), prices varies for this cut of meat, the cheapest I got was $7.99/kg at Chatswood Westfield Fresh Food level. 1.5 kg will serve a good 3-4 portions.

- Few heap spoons of  Char Sui Sauce ( I use Lee Kum Kee brand, 1.1kg bottle cost about $7.00)
- Few heap spoons of Hoi Sin Sauce ( Kee Kum Kee brand again, around $3.50 a jar). Both sauces are good to have in your pantry items at all time!



- Honey

- Soy Sauce

- Sugar

- Sesame oil

Steps

1. Cut meat LONG way, depending the size of the meat you got, you can probably get 3 - 4 long strips (If decided to make this later, you can always wrap the meat strips separately with cling wraps and pop them in the freezer)

2. Cover meat with Char Sui Sauce and Hoi Sin Sauce

3. For best result, marinate in fridge over night 

4. Put marinated pork in pre-heated oven, 180 degrees. Depending the size of the meat, once you see some charcoal on the edge of the meat, it should be ready. If you are unsure, poke the meat with a thin metal rod, it is cooked if clear liquid come out from the meat. 



5. Brush honey on the meat, turn oven off, leave it in the oven for couple of minutes

6. Cut and serve!! I like to make a light/ sweet soy sauce to go with the meat and rice, but this is optional!
Just mix soy sauce with water (50:50), add sugar and sesame oil, heat up until sugar melts.

Note: You can also try this recipe with chicken thigh fillets, YUMMO!!!

Tip: Left over BBQ Pork can be use in stir fry and fried rice. I know someone who even put it in their sandwiches!

Enjoy!

General money saving tips for young families

One of the side effect of having a child in your life is that most household will become reliant on a single income. I am off work now after having my first child, it has been 4 months since I last saw any money going into my personal account. I am still struggling to come to terms that I have to rely on my husband for everyday spending money and that I cannot contribute to our mortgage repayment. There is nothing much I can do at the moment as baby is only 10 weeks old, but to get through this tough times. Saving money has become my full time job ( other then breast feeding!), and so I like to share my experience with people who are in similar situation.

I am often surprise how little people cook at home these days, and choose to go out for take away, no wonder why we are called the fattest nation in the world! I know there are varies reasons why people don't want to cook, but the most obvious one is TIME! No one have time these days, especially working mums, somehow something have to give, but it should not be our health. So here I like to share some of my ideas on how to cook up a nutrient meal in minutes and tips on how to save money at the same time.

With some preparation during the week, you will find yourself a lot more relax when it comes to dinner time! I am a new mum with a 10 week old baby, if I can manage to do all the cooking I am sure you can too!

Some Basic Tips on saving money:

MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE YOUR SPEND MONEY: DO YOU WANT IT OR DO YOU NEED IT?

• Get online to check out weekly special from supermarkets
• Buy from market such as Paddy's or flamington, you will be amazing how much you can save on fresh fruit and vegetables! Where possible, group buy with family and friends
• Buy meat & seafood in bulk when it is on special - Divide into meals portions and freeze - check out Chinese butcher & seafood shops before heading to your local supermarkets, Chinese butcher & seafood shops almost always offer better value
• Visit Asian grocery stores, many items are far cheaper then your local supermarkets
• Only buy in-season fruit an vegetables - check out http://seasonalfoodguide.com/ 
• Freezer Bags or sandwich bags are always handy to have at home
• BPA free boxes to freeze cooked meals
• Always cook extra, take lunch to work at least 3 times a day. You will save at least $30 -$50 a week
• Register yourself on online grocery store such as groceryrun.com.au, Save on Brands and OffYourTrolley
• Don't try to be a Masterchef during the week - you'll just stress yourself more, keep it simple and fresh!
• Buy a BBQ - let the man do the cooking at least once a week, plus this is great for those hot summer days!
•                                          
• If your husband drink beer, encourage him to brew his own, you will save thousands and he will be so proud of himself!
• Essentials in Pantry must have:  Pasta, Diced Tomato, Pasta Sauce, eggs, Potato Mash, Spices, Soy Sauce, Oyster Sauce, Satay Sauce, plain flour, Coconut Milk, Lemon Juice etc
• Invest in a BluApple, this is a gadget that can save you hundreds on dollars, basically it prolong the freshness of your fruit and vegetables in your fridge - for more information click here.
• Invest on power saving gadgets and light bulbs, turn off everything and unplug electronics when they are not in use
• Try to do all your washing and cooking at off- peak hours to save on electricity bill ( check this out with your energy provider)
• Clean fridge coil - this will help your fridge to run more efficiently hence using less electricity. Click here to check out how.
• Buy baby items in bulk - things such as nappies & wipes
• Make your own baby food
• Toilet train your baby. I start putting my baby on a potty since 8 weeks old, this will save you a lot of nappies. There might be people out there who are against this idea backing up with some fancy research findings, fact is, nappies are considered a luxury item in some countries, they either use cloth nappies or just let their babies go on newspaper! Also think about all the dirty nappies that goes towards the landfills...it is just horrendous. Couple of interesting websites regarding this issue - Born Potty Trained, pottytraining.com.au and diperfreebaby
• If you are a smoker - consider giving it up for your health (or for the sake of your children), not only will you save thousands of dollars, you will gain your health back! Check out this website for more information on how to quite smoking for good.
• Cancel that expensive gym membership if you only go once or twice a week, put on your joggers and run around the block - is FREE!

This list can certainly go on and on and on... I will update this in coming weeks.