The Mundane Fare

i realised that how mundane things have become on some days.

i stay home pretty much these days and live out some pretty mundane times. on such days, they end up with dinners that look pretty much like this. simple mundane fare to end a simple mundane day. just The Wife and the kiddo at the dinner table with me.

in my younger days, i'd often rile at my mum for cooking the 'same ol same ol' day in day out, and i'd point out eagerly the inspirational glossy pages of recipe books she'd stashed away in the cupboard. hoping that she'd try something different for dinner. on occasions when she did, the evenings were more colourful and certainly everyone else had a few extra lines to say. of cos, it's back to the mundane the following day and takeaways were always helpful in breaking the monotoneity.

over the years, i've grown to understand the mundane that surrounded my mum's life. i'd concluded that a lot of sacrifice had to go into one's life in exchange for the mundane. had my mum not been a housewife, i'd be eating takeaways most of my formative days and be deprived of mundane, yet wholesome meals that i'd been 'so sick of' in my youth. it's definitely another set of mental challenge to stay home and take care of the house (strangely with the both of us at home and caring for just 1 kid, time really flies). i'm still nudging my mum to try out new stuff every now and then though i guess old habits die hard.

hence i'm dedicating this post to dishes that i'd skipped over previously - the un-interesting daily fare that sit on the dining table on most days of the weeks - the blanks that i'd otherwise not address in my blog.

Stirfry Asparagus with Carrots & Mushrooms

ingredients

• 10 asparagus, peeled and chopped
• 1 x large carrot, peeled and cut to strips
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 5-6 large button mushrooms, quartered
• cooking oil
• 1/2 tsp chicken stock powder (optional)
  
• fish sauce (to taste)
• chinese cooking wine (to taste)
  

recipe

• brown garlic lightly and add in the carrots. fry till the oil is slighty orange-y
• add in asparagus and some water. cover and let simmer
• when a sauce is seen in the frying pan/pot. add chicken stock and fish sauce. stirfry and simmer till asparagus is 80% cooked
• add in mushrooms, stirfry with dash of cooking wine
• let simmer till mushroom is cooked (not shrunk, so as to retain a degress of crunchiness) then remove and serve

Stirfry Pork Slices with Onion & Ginger

ingredients

• thinly sliced pork loin
• ginger slices
• 1 onion quartered
• chopped chilli (to taste)
• spring onion (cut to strips for garnish)
• chopped garlic
• dark soy sauce
• pepper
  
• fish sauce/ light soy sauce (to taste)
  
• cooking oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp chinese cooking wine

recipe

• brown garlic, ginger and onions till fragrant
  
• on mid-hi heat, add in pork slices and stirfry quickly (till about 70% cooked)
  
• add dark soy sauce, fish/soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil (you can actually choose to marinate the pork with these prior to cooking)
• when slices are about cooked, add wine, fry quickly, turn to low heat and let simmer for <1min
• add in chilli and spring onion, stir fry quickly and serve (for more spiciness, chilli can be added after the sauces are in)