Crispy Chow Mian, a Feel-Good Dinner

At times when we don't know what to cook for dinner, we always settle for the easiest dish. The one that everyone enjoys. While it's not always healthy, it's homecooked. We rarely eat out, only occasionally when there's the urge to splurge. I always feel so accomplished whenever I successfully cook dinner using only leftover ingredients. 1/4 of the chicken breast, half of the capsicum. While it is perhaps just me, I do feel like I'm some frugal goddess when that happens.

Tired of fried rice, the ultimate vessel to use up leftover ingredients, crispy chow mein or chow mian (I prefer to call it the latter) is also a good way to channel my inner frugal goddess. Of course, the name of my blog gives it away, we eat it with rice. It's the Chinese in us, without rice, it somehow doesn't feel like a meal. We treat the crispy chow mian not as our main carb. It's more like an extra crunch to complement the vegetables & meat.

I rarely cook with a real recipe, unless it's a new dish that I've never cooked before. This one is pretty easy. It all depends on what you have in your refrigerator. I use leftover roasted chicken from the day before, half capsicum, some mushrooms, green onions and peanuts. The noodles was boiled and deep fried until crisp, it was crunchy, but soft where the sauce from the stir fry soaked into the noodles.

The seasonings are mostly a dash of this and a pinch of that. But sweet soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper are strongly recommended. Sometimes when I feel cheeky, I also use spicy bean paste to season the stir fry. Fast and easy dinner.

I bet it's good to cure hangover too, yes?

Puffy, Chewy and Delicious Scallions Pancakes.

Most of my girl friends' weakness is always desserts. When choosing snacks, sweets will always be the number one choice. As much as I love chocolate, I find myself craving for salty, savory snacks almost every day. Sometimes the snacking urge is so sudden, I need a quick fix. Opening a bag of chips isn't it.

The other day, my son and I were reading the dimsum book, with beautiful illustration that never fails to whet our appetite. We stopped at the scallion pancakes recipe. Last time we had it, it was about 3 months ago. He wanted it, I wanted it. The decision was made, "scallion pancakes for brunch!", we cheered. Beside being so delicious, it is fun to make, too! These puffy golden pillows would make a great appetizer. Cut into smaller wedges and serve with toothpicks if you're feeling fancy.