After a long hot, humid day, I just wanted to have a simple meal without the hassle of taking a long time to prep and cook. In a country where rain is unpredictable and the humidity grabs you, making you feel tired by the end of the day, a simple meal that does not take a lot of time to prepare is just the perfect solution to provide the necessary nutrition whilst fulfilling the taste buds.
The Soup:
I sauteed garlic and carrots first, slow heat and closing the lid of a deep dish saucepan so that the carrots would soften and have a slight caramelized flavor before adding the already marinated chicken. The chicken was marinated with chilli paste, oyster sauce and lots of white pepper before putting it in the saucepan to sear on high heat. Meantime, I switched on my electric kettle to boil water. Once the chicken was nicely seared and almost cooked, I put in the sliced celery, rock salt and freshly ground black pepper and closed the lid again, slowed down the heat, for the flavors to infuse for a few minutes before adding the boiled water and letting the soup come to a boil. Stir all the ingredients together, adjust the taste and the soup is done.
Vermicelli:
I love the Chinese vermicelli, also known here as "mee suah". It's one of the cheapest noodles you can get here and it is so easy to cook. Put a pan of water to boil. Once the water is boiled put in the dried noodles. A small packet usually has four rolled up dried noodles. It is enough for two persons. Give the noodles a quick stir to loosen the rolls up and in about 1 minute, quickly drain them and divide them into the serving bowls. Leaving them until they get cold makes them stick together.
To Serve:
I like to top the vermicelli already in the bowl with baby spinach first, before pouring the hot soup over so that the spinach gets cooked. To make it extra spicy, cut some chillies, to some diced tomatoes and pour some thick, sweet soy sauce over it and stir and add that to your dish for that extra kick.
How's that for easy, healthy home cooking!
~Aunty Faizah
3 September 2017
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