Wednesday 12 May 2010

"Emergency/Rainy Days" Dishes

Not sure about you but during my childhood days, my mom would usually have some canned food and rice grains stashed up, she says... it's for rainy days or at times for emergency cases. Can't blame her when she have experienced 13th May incident.

Those days as I recalled there isn't much frozen food unlike now when it's so convenient to store ready-to-eat where one just heat up with a microwave oven. Just like her, in my larder I would usually have a can or two (err may not have all at the same time though) of the following stuff for rainy days when I did not manage to go to the market and too lazy to go out to eat.

Tuna Fish: I usually have both in spread or in brine. The spread is convenient for snacks and sandwiches. Can be toasted with some grated carrots and cheese. Jazzing up by topping a piece of toast with tuna spread with homemade tomato sauce (based on Marcella Hazan's recipe).

Baked Beans: I loved baked beans!!! Yes I really do. I liked mine cooked rather than straight out of the can. Can just simply stir fry with celery and carrots as a dip for English muffins or cooked with scrambled eggs (yikes how come I haven't posted on this??? Let me go find the photo first!). I've even tried braising pork ribs with it!

Corned Beef: This comes in handy too to stir up some quick snacks by using onions, capsicumcorns, eggs... the possibilities are endless.

Fried Dace with Salted Black Beans: Loved this with congee (rice porridge) but when fried with kai lan... can dress it up to another level!

Luncheon Meat: I hardly have these but once in a long long while I would get a can. Very handy to just slice and fry, at times lightly coated with egg dip. Most times it can turn into a delicious fried rice.

Preserved Olive Leaves: Great with congee (rice porridge) too. If you have some minced meat stashed up in your freezer, you could come out with more variety of dishes such as Minced Pork With Preserved Olive Leaves. Packed a punch too when use it to fry rice.

Sardines in Tomato Sauce: Before tuna fish came in with a bang in the 90s, sardines no doubt IS the only ever ingredients people ever use in their sandwiches for parties or picnics!!! I remember helping my aunties making them on many occasions. Chopped shallots or onions are a must into mashed sardines and just seasoned with a squeeze of lime before spreading on buttered white bread. Capt'n Hook introduced me to fry rice with sardines and seriously this is good stuff too!

One dish that I'm sure you can find it on your dinner table is sardines that are just simply stir fried with onions! This dish is so simple to cook up, all one need to do is fry sliced onions in oil till slightly soften, add in sardines (I liked to remove the bones and internals first) and stir, mash up a little along the way depending how chunky one like the sardines. Just need to season with a bit of lime juice or in this case I've used lemon juice. Simply served with hot rice or in between 2 slices of bread and it's good to go.

Sardine Stir-Fried With Onions


Well, of course there are eggs and frozen goodies but those are reserved for another time ;-)

18 comments:

  1. as for the sardines, you might want to add cili padi on top of the onions & lime juice! My wife always prepare this way.. blew me right off!

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  2. would a recipe combining sardines, tuna, baked beans, corned beef AND luncheon meat, all in the same dish, sound too gross? heheh :D

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  3. leo, i wud add chili is my boiboi is not eating it

    sean, if i make that, wud u like to be my test bunny? :p

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  4. this is your rainy day meals? its my most days meals!! LOL:) thanks for the round-up, VERY HELPFUL!

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  5. Talking about May 13th, how ironic when it's merely 8 hours away!
    Gulp! >_<

    Anyway, I would have imagined myself pigging on sardine/tuna sandwiches, and mi segera.

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  6. Oh I haven't had luncheon meat for the longest time! Delicious (if not particularly healthy, hehe).

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  7. When I am lazy or cook for myself, a can of tomato sauce sardines or luncheon meat is good enough for me! Easy and they are tasty. :p

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  8. Yay - i love my sardines too - i like to use tamarind juice & add in chunks of tomatoes & chillies, besides the onions, hehe!

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  9. i like spam and the pork ribs thingy in a can. They pork ribs are so soaked thru with juices that the BONE is soft and can be eaten. It literally crumbles! you know the one? LOL

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  10. LURVE luncheon meat. :D
    (Unfortunately it's now banned from my household because my health crazy dad says its too unhealthy... *wail*)

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  11. I just made sardine curry today using canned sardines in spring water. Canned tuna is also my pantry-staple :d

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  12. Celine, glad I was of help :D so which one you try first?

    J2Kfm, aisay I shld hv hold the post and post it today!

    Kenny, exactly! I wonder why all the yummy stuff not very healthy??

    totally agree with you Rose. thanks for coming by

    PG, nice but too much work! hahaha I'm pure lazy

    C&C, I have one post on using that to cook beehoon but the pic sucks so I din link :p

    J, I think I only ate thrice last year :p

    tigerfish, over here we can only commonly find sardines in tomato sauce, cheap too as they're local brands

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  13. When run out of idea what to cook, all these will help, haha!!

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  14. i loveeee all! luncheon meat, sardines...bring them all on! ^_^

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  15. Hahaha. Yup sounds like my pantry as well. My mom lagi geng...I think my Dad's household can be self sufficient for 2 weeks to a month..(depending on whether me and my sis go back to bunk in)

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  16. i'm new to ur blog actually but even if ur post is about can food, it still makes me starvin'...then i read the previous post...i think i've gotta find sumtg eat haha

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  17. hahaha Mimi, glad to be of your help :p

    i can't think of anyone who are not fans of such goodies, Rita!

    thanks for coming by Simauma, all the way from Japan!

    kekeke Unka I guess our folks must be around the same age then!

    thanks for all the kind words ravishingpeacock. sorry to make you hungry :p but do come again!

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  18. I'm not good in cooking. Therefore, normally I will order pizza in raining days. Suggest you a website to win Domino's online discount voucher -- www.uol.my

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Blog Revamping

Hello... I'm in the midst of revamping my blog to make my life a little easier. So do not be alarmed as work is still under construction.

Cheers,
Babe_KL
16 Oct 2012