rice again

It seems that we can never run away from rice or rice products in Singapore. Rice, vermicelli, certain types of nonya kueh... they are all made from rice.

Da and I had arranged to meet at Amoy hawker centre for lunch today. The hawker centre is somewhat closer to my office than his office but there is a wide variety of food available.

As I had arrived early, I proceeded to one of the snack stalls at the hawker centre and bought several pieces of "ban cheng kueh". This is a local snack made from flour with filling such as peanuts and/or red bean paste. The stallholders used to operate a stall in a coffee shop in Marine Parade Central and we have patronised their stall since the late 1990s. They have recently moved to the Amoy hawker centre.

When Da arrived, we decided to eat at at nearby Indian Muslim shop instead. They specialise in briyani and roti prata. However, we ordered steamed white rice with two types of vegetables, one fish cutlet and one fried chicken thigh. Our lunch, which also included a glass of lime juice and a mug of kopi tarik, cost us approximately S$11.

Da and I were held back at work and by the time I arrived at my mother's home (Da being still at work), it was past 9 pm. The Grand Lady Chef (@ my mother) was busy in the kitchen.

What was she cooking?

Ah... fried rice vermicelli (bee hoon).

This time, the Grand Lady Chef fried the rice vermicelli without using tom yam paste. She used chicken stock instead!

Sprinkle some fried shallots and baked cashew nuts on your plate of fried rice vermicelli and you are ready to enjoy a steaming hot plate of home-cooked goodness.

Thanks, Ma!

Shaloam,