Lunch Box Meal for 1: Lunch - Chinese Potato and Mince Meat Stir Fry

Cooking time 10-15min (with most items prep the day before)

Chinese potato and mince meat dish serve with vegetable, mushroom and rice

These days I have been waking around 5.30am to cook my meals for the office and It will take about 1 hour to complete 1) 1 breakfast, 1 lunch and 1 tea break from scratch with some prep work done the day before for faster assembly the next day. Steaming the rice using my electric lunch box takes about 30min. I have been saving the funds for my meals to buy books for my kids. At the same time, I could decide how much oil and the type of meat used (organic). It would be faster if you only want to make 1 meal but I cover all my bases. I also do have bigger appetites compared to my peer 😅

I made the sauce in advance, then when I want to use it I will use a dry spoon and take out 1 or 2 teaspoons. These are the little things that help in speeding up the process. I keep it for about a week in the fridge and ensure the utensils are dry.

For the meat, I store it in the silicone ice cube tray that I use for my baby. Then I will take out the portion that I want for my lunch.

To me the dish is easy to cook as there is no need to marinate in advance, common ingredients (mainly with a potato and meat and you are good to go) and takes about 10 min to be ready. The main waiting time was to wait for the potato to soften.

 

Chinese Potato and Mince Meat Stir Fry

“PNB” stands for Prep the night before

2 – 3 clove mince garlic “PNB”

2 cube of mince pork “PNB”

1 potato slice soak in water to remove starch. Ideally half an hour, but I just soak, wash and change water, drain then cook

2-4 tsp Sauce (I prep this a few days ago to use a few times as you see fit) “PNB or in advance”

1 tsp Chinese cooking wine

Cornstarch solution – about 1 teaspoon with pipe water

 

Sauce prep – I don’t use all the sauce at one go. I use the sauce a bit for multiple dishes. You can reduce it further if you only want to use it for 1 to 2 times a week.

1.5 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 tablespoon light soya sauce (low sodium – I bought mine in Jusco and it is a Japanese brand)

½ tsp sugar

½ tablespoon sesame oil

1 tsp  dark soya sauce (I am not a fan of my food looking very dark. Add more if you are)

 

Slices potato soak and wash away the starch

Food prep - 2 minch meat cube, garlic for current dish and vege dish, sauce

........

Steps:

1)      Put some oil in a pan, stir fry garlic, followed by minced pork.

2)      Add the sliced potato stir fry then add water to cover the potato.

3)      Put about 2 tsp of the sauce

4)      Cover the pan and let it stew for 6 minutes. Adjust the fire accordingly about medium to small.

5)      Test that the potato is soft.

6)      Add Chinese cooking wine followed by cornstarch solution to thicken the sauce

 

Other side dish

I pair it with shimeji mushroom, any green vegetable, garlic and a bit of salt stir fry.

Breakfast

Bread with condense milk, cheese and egg

Zucchini muffin (Baby, toddler and adult) Salt and sugar free

 

Made about 9 pcs cupcake

INGREDIENTS:
A)
1 large eggs

1/4 cup applesauce/yogurt/mash banana

1/4 cup honey (above 1 yr old)/4 kurma paste + top up with milk for the remaining space in the cup

1/8 cup or 32g any mild tasting oil
A bit pure vanilla extract

B)
1/4 tsp or 0.7g cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt (i didnt put)

1 cups flour (or almond flour if gluten free)

C)
1 cups shredded zucchini, not squeezed and packed

Optional topping
Walnuts, chocolate chip, chia seed, fruit like blueberry or strawberry

1. A) Mix wet ingredients, I use handblender to ensure wet ingredients are well mix. No need to beat till fluffy.

2. Add B) by sieving the dry ingredients and stir with spatula

3. Shred C) and add in. No need to squeeze out water. Prefer to use the smaller shredder hole. Stir with spoon. There will be more liquid ooze out to mix wet the batter.

Bake at 375 fahrenheit 20m. Poke with stick to check for doneness 

Baby Simple Tomato Pasta Stir Fry Pasta -

Below is a pasta recipe with the paste made from scratch that baby eats. There is no salt and sugar.

Pasta paste

Onion - About 1 tsp

Garlic 1

Tomato paste 1 cube

Meat - Can be meat of choice/Fish

Cherry Tomato

Organic Baby Mushroom - 1 (its a small pcs of mushroom)

Vegetable of choice

Cook the pasta seperate till soft

1. Add butter/olive oil then stir fry onion and garlic

2. Stir fry mushroom

3. Add meat if any

3. Add tomato paste and add water.

Note: Tomato paste are made in

advance and consist of cherry tomato, celerry, carrot and holland onion. Blend then cook with oil (tumis) till the water reduces.

Baby breakfast ideas

 1. Oats 

- With fruits like banana, dragonfruit, mango, apple

- With dried fruits - raisin, kurma

2. Pancake - Banana, apple, dragonfruit

3. Steam Tofu - with blended dragonfruit or mango

4. Baby waffle

130g flour, 1 egg, 240g milk, 5g baking powder, 28g melted butter, sugar replace with kurma paste - mix

5. Mash potato and creamy pumpkin sauce.

Sauce - blend puree pumpkin + cream cheese + milk. Cook to reduce liquid. Can use on pasta. Can add ikan bilis powder

Yogurt Chia Seed Blueberry Kurma (Baby, Toddler, Adult)

 2 - 4 tablespoon yogurt (original, full fat, no sugar)

Some chia seed (baby max 1/2 tsp) stir mix

1 to 2 round cube Kurma paste (made ownself by soaking kurma for few hours, take out seed, blend and store in silicone cube). I uses kurma when the fruit is not so sweet and if baby don't like sour

Fruit of choice (Puree Nangka/Mango/Dragonfruit)

Sweet Sour Pork or Chicken (Adult or Toddler)

Sweet Sour Pork or Chicken (Adult or Toddler)

 

A)      Marinate

200g streaky pork/chicken fillet/boneless chicken breast – cut to cube

1 tablespoon Shaoxing huatiao wine

1 teaspoon light soya sauce

1 teaspoon oyster sauce

1 egg white – help to make it crispy

1 tablespoon corn flour

 

When want to fry, coat with tapioca flour

 

B)      Sauce

1 – 2 tablespoon tomato sauce

Blend tomatoes

1 teaspoon Worchester sauce

60ml/cup water or more.

Cornstarch solution – cornstarch mix with water

Optional – capsicum, pineapple and tomatoes

 

Cook the sauce then only add the fried meat and serve.

 

Serve with rice, bak choy, broccoli carrot, ubi

 

Next time I will make the sauce in advance, buy the meat – add the sauce to the meat before freezing. Lay the meat flat. Sauce also the day before prepare – keep in container and put in fridge.

French Toast [For Adult, Toddler and Baby]

 French Toast [For Adult, Toddler and Baby]

Serving size 10 bread

Beat the following:

4 Eggs

180ml milk of your choice

¼ to ½ tsp cinnamon

Sprinkle some nutmeg (optional)

20g butter

[If make for baby, take out some and put some Kurma paste – 1 cube to 2 small]

20g sugar (for adult and toddler)

 

Dip the bread into the batter then cook. Can add butter when cooking.

 

Next time would probably prepare batter first the day before