Do you eat canned food? When Kris blogged about canned food, it made me think of the canned food I had been eating occasionally (ahem!) and in the past.
When I was a child, I grew up with my grandparents. Grandpa was a fan of canned goods. We used to have luncheon meat (yes!), corned beef, stewed pork, baked beans, Campbell cream of tomato/mushroom soup and even beef tongue in the pantry. That last one I have not seen anywhere except once at Cold Storage.
When I went to live with my parents, my mum also had a stash of canned food in the kitchen, mostly baked beans, sardines and tuna. Her collection was not as extensive as grandma's hee..hee... One of the canned food that she used to buy is Ayam Brand Chili Tuna.
What does she do with it? Well, she boils up some Maggi Mee, drains the noodles and adds chili tuna, sliced cucumbers, grated carrots, sliced shallots and a generous squeeze of lime juice. To that a generous helping of herbs like daun kesum, kemangi (basil) and mint is added. Mix it all up and you get some sort of noodle kerabu.
Mum removes the chili padi as she can't tolerate the heat. Me? I am very gung ho and I eat all the chili padi.
In my early working days, I lived in a rented room. Cooking was not allowed by the landlady (I wasn't keen on cooking back then, so it was fine) and sometimes I do get tired of chap fan. That's when I would turn to canned food for a change.
I used to buy those Heinz Chunky Soups (they are quite expensive now) and heat them up by immersing the can in a container of hot water. Or I get creative and cook Maggi Mee (secretly in my room using a heating element) and mixing the drained noodles with baked beans. That was my make believe spaghetti hah..hah... How sad.
I still buy canned food these days but I consume them sparingly. Lets see what have I cooked using canned food.
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| Nasi Goreng Sardine |
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| Luncheon Meat Aglio Olio |
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| Luncheon Meat Omelette |
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| French Beans with Luncheon Meat |
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| Luncheon Meat Fried Rice |
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| Meatballs with Baked Beans |
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| Curry Tuna Cakes |
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| Braised Pork Trotter Meehoon |
Quite a few, eh? Mostly luncheon meat hah..hah.. Well, I am sure that there are a few more canned stuff in my pantry that I could use to cook many more wonderful dishes. We shall see!
Nope, not me. I try my best to eat unprocessed, whole foods. It's been years since I've eaten something out of a can.
ReplyDeleteGood for you! I don't expect you to go near canned food knowing that you are very much into wholesome foods.
DeleteI see you have more ingenious ways of making use of canned food than me. Most of the time, I would just use them as they are...or just add an additional ingredient. I've never thought of using them in rice, noodles or pasta dishes...I must now. I'm eager to try this chilli tuna. P/S: Looks like you have already discovered the 'wonders' of a can of Narcissus stewed pork leg much earlier and used it to fry an awesome meehoon (much like my MIL in her mui choi kau yoke recipe!). You should try to make that since you like fatty pork...and see if it makes a difference.
ReplyDeleteI am waiting for your mui choy kau yoke recipe! I would love to cook it since I love it a lot. As it is right now, I don't even know how to prepare the mui choy >.<
DeleteCanned luncheon meat is my favourite.
ReplyDeleteMine too hee..hee..
DeleteI like the curry tuna cakes. Nowadays the only canned food I have is cat food, lolx!
ReplyDeletehah..hah... cat food!
DeleteHello! Been busy, eh? I just got back from Miri, jalan jalan cari makan! I love all the above...especially the luncheon meat omelette. Yumsss!!! Gee! So long I have not fried the canned stewed pork bihun! Gotta do that soon!
ReplyDeleteYes, so busy! I am looking forwards to reading what you did and ate in Miri :)
DeleteSeldom take canned tuna. If do, it would be when go picnic or camping. Haha. And we would go for the normal tuna. Not spicy since my kids cant take.
ReplyDeleteYummy lookong photos. All looked good, I wouldnt know you used canned food.
I used to buy tuna sandwiches from the bakery. Somehow theirs taste better LOL!
DeleteBaked bean is the canned food that I think I buy the most.
ReplyDeleteBraised pork is also another canned food that I always buy.
Baked beans is a regular in my pantry because my partner likes it :)
DeleteMy mom makes the best canned stew pork bihun hee hee
ReplyDeleteAh! I am sure she does! I haven't cooked it in a long time.
DeleteWhen we were kids, all the canned food were like prized items kept inside the kitchen's vault (Chai Tu Cupboard). Nowadays we keep hearing how unhealthy canned food are. I ignore them all. Muahahahahaha
ReplyDeleteI love your trotters mee hoon. That curry tuna cakes were served in one hotel buffet!! I ate them and yumeh.
My late grandma's kitchen cupboard was full of canned food, like a provision shop LOL! I have been looking for the stewed trotters but can't get lately.
DeleteI'm eyeing on that meat balls with baked beans, I wonder why I never think of this combination! I always cook mine with adding fried egg only, how boring >_<
ReplyDeleteI got the idea from another blogger. It's a nice combination.
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