So, the end of 'Diary of a Female GP' is in sight. Still, there is no guarantee I will be able to finish it by the end of this month. I still aim to do so, but am worried work will interfere with my ability to do so. At the moment, it feels like an axe is hanging over my neck, edging ever closer.
I hope you will enjoy today's excerpt from the work in progress. This is actually also a recipe for a lovely Chinese meal if you ever wanted to try it.
At half-past four, I shut down the computer and put it away. Today Chinese is on the menu and this means I need to make a lot of preparations. These preparations start with setting the table for our meal.
First, I break three eggs for an omelette, adding parsley and pepper. While that is cooking, I cut an onion for the satay sauce I make.
The omelette is done, and I put it to the side, taking out a saucepan and frying the onions until they are soft. Then I add a small jar of crunchy peanut butter and stir it until it is mixed. Now, I add ground ginger, coriander, garlic powder, cumin, curry and turmeric. I take a jar of sambal oelek from the fridge, this is a chilli pepper paste, and add two teaspoons to the mixture and now also add three teaspoons of soft brown sugar. This is stirred for a while longer and now milk is added until a smooth sauce emerges. The satay sauce is nearly ready and I add a little soy sauce and leave the sauce to heat a while longer before putting it to the side.
The next job is to put a large pan of water on the stove and bring it to the boil. Once it boils, I will add one nest of medium egg noodles per person to the water and allow it to soften and get ready. But in the meantime, I have a chance to cut the remaining ingredients for the bami goreng, which is like egg fried noodles.
Starting with spring onions, I cut those in thin slices, then cut a carrot in small cubes. A small pack of cooked ham is cut in small squares too and the omelette is now cut in small strips. After placing the noodles to the side, I turn my attention to marinading the chicken for the satay. The marinade I use consists of soy sauce, cumin, coriander, garlic, turmeric, curry, ginger and sambal. The chicken is cut in small cubes and stirred into the marinade to fully cover the meat and then left for ten minutes.
Now, I get another three eggs and get them ready for a second omelette. This omelette will be egg foo yung. The version I make is called foo yung hai, which is the same in a tomato sauce. For the omelette, I also need a filling and I cut two more spring onions, a few button mushrooms and place them in a bowl. Cold water prawns will also be added when I prepare the omelette later on.
The tomato sauce is easy to make. One mug of bouillon is put in a saucepan and brought to the boil, I add four tablespoons of tomato ketchup and next; I add ginger powder, cumin and a little garlic powder and a teaspoon of sambal. Again three teaspoons of soft brown sugar go into this sauce too and this is mixed until a smooth sauce appears. The sauce is still rather thin by now and to bind it, two teaspoons of cornflour are mixed with a little water and then poured and stirred into the sauce until it thickens. This is put to the side too.
The preparation stages of the food are now over with and I can start cooking now. The satay sauce and tomato sauce are placed on two smaller burners and put on a low heat, stirring occasionally. Two woks are added to the larger burners and with oil added, I fry the marinated chicken on a medium heat. To the other wok I add the cut spring onions, carrots, ham and omelette and also some petit pois. On top of this, I add cumin, coriander, garlic, turmeric, curry, ginger and sambal and I stir-fry this for a few minutes. After draining the noodles, I add these to the mixture and continue to stir-fry the mix. The satay is not forgotten about and I stir-fry this at the same time.
Once the bami goreng (egg fried noodles) are ready, I place the wok on the table ready for the family. It will remain hot for long enough to allow me to use the now vacant burner to prepare the foo yung hai. To do this, I first fry the spring onions, mushrooms and cold water prawns and add a little pepper and parsley. When they are ready, I place them to the side and prepare the omelette, adding the mixture to it while it is not yet set. Once this is ready, I fold over the omelette and place it in a serving bowl, then pour the tomato sauce over it. The satay sauce and the satay meat, I leave this in separate pieces these days rather than placing them on a skewer, also are added to the table, and it is time to call the family to the kitchen.
Joni.
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