Fried Macaroni (09 May 09)

Fried Macaroni

When I was young (during my secondary school life), I can't remember when & where I tasted spicy fried macaroni before.. but I simply love it! I remember once, one of my malay guy friend brought a packet of fried macaroni (prepared by his mom) to school and enjoyed it during recess time. I envied him as I have been searching but couldn't find any malay stall selling fried macaroni. I give up..

Then I can't remember exactly when (think few years after I stepped into working life), I suddenly saw malay stalls selling my favourite spicy fried macaroni at Pasar Malam!! Although those spicy fried macaroni are plain without any other ingredients other than macaroni, red chillies & sambal chilli (I suppose so), it is still very yummy. But somehow it is way too hot for me as the chilli seeds are fried together with the macaroni. I really wish they can fry it with less chillies & without chilli seeds..

Anyway, ever since I know that pasar malam sells the fried macaroni, sometimes I will buy a packet for dinner or supper whenever there is pasar malam near my home. I introduced this dish to my hubby & mom-in-law as they have never try it before. They like it too, except for the spiciness. They cannot take it.

Last year, I browsed through my secondary school home economic textbooks (recipes pages) & I found this recipe - fried macaroni. Although it is not the spicy fried macaroni that I love, I still decided to try out this dish one day. So finally, I prepared it for lunch on Vesak Day (09 May 09)! I did not follow strictly on the steps & ingredients stated in the recipe. I amended a bit on my own based on my preferences.

Something exciting to share - For this dish, I used the red chillies which my hubby & I have planted it ourselves! Actually my mom-in-law threw a few chilli seeds in the pot of soil few years back. But they didn't grow well. Suddenly last year, 1 of the seeds grow slowly into a small plant. We were shocked as we didn't expect any more chilli seed to grow. Since then, my hubby and I took extra care to the baby chilli plant. After a year of hardwork, it has grown into a beautiful plant & have grew more than 10 chillies so far. After they have riped, my hubby cut them off and we gave most of them to my mom-in-law (as she cooks more often than me). We keep 4 chillies at home so that we can use it whenever we cook.

So now my chance is here.. hee hee.. I used it for this fried macaroni dish! Our chillies are pretty hot as compared to those selling in stalls!!! My mom-in-law did commented before, that the chillies are hot as she has already used them for some of the dishes she prepared (before I prepared this dish). I have removed the seeds of the chillies before I fried it with the macaroni but it is still pretty spicy!

Although this fried macaroni is totally different taste from the one I love, but my hubby commented that it tastes nice! He always gives me credit for whatever I cook & bake. This is one of the reasons why I always enjoy cooking for him. No stress at all as I can just explore and play around with the ingredients and seasonings without referring to any recipes. But I always feel stress when preparing meals for families & friends. I always worried that I won't be able to prepare the same standard as what I have prepared for my hubby and in the end, disappoint my families & friends. This is definitely my weak point as it always affect the standard of my dishes without fail!

Anyway, for this dish, I think the taste is not bad.. worth giving it a try ^_^

These red chillies are our fruits of labour! ^_^




Recipe for fried macaroni (my revised recipe)
Serves 2

Ingredients:
80g - 100g macaroni
200ml water
2 cloves garlic, chopped
100g chicken meat, sliced
6 large grey prawns or 10-12 small prawns
150g / 8 stems of caixin, cut into 4cm lengths
50g beansprouts, removed root area
2 chillies, sliced & removed seeds
2 tsp oyster sauce
Pinch of salt
Oil

Seasoning:
2 tsp light soya sauce
Pepper

Garnish:
Shredded omelette (optional)

Method:
1) Bring water in the small pot to boil. Add a pinch of salt and a tbsp of oil to the boiling water.
2) Add the macaroni and boil for 8mins until cooked. Drain the macaroni and set aside.
3) Heat the oil in the pan. Fry the garlic until fragrance.
4) Add the chicken meat, prawns and seasoning. Fry until just cooked and add the caixin, beansprouts and chillies. Fry for 1 min.
4) Add the macaroni and oyster sauce. Fry for another 5 minutes.
5) Garnish and serve hot.