Stay at home: Conserving and Extending spring onions

UK lockdown:  Day 4

Self isolation: Day 14 

Our family of three have been 'self isolating' as we have symptoms of the coronavirus. It has been 14 days now and our last food delivery was over a week ago.

At a time when getting food and supplies to the house has become increasingly challenging, I am trying to conserve what I can and make it last just that little bit longer. Herbs, garnish all seem a little lavish in the current climate when so many are struggling to get basic essentials.

Even More Spring Onions
Here's something you can do that will extend the life of your spring onions. Ask the kids to help and be responsible for caring for their plants.

Chinese Noodles in mushroom & pork gravy

 Chinese noodles in Soy Mushroom Sauce using Leftover Roast Pork

Chinese noodles in a mushroom gravy...
There is a kind of noodle dish where the noodles are neither immersed in broth nor stir-fried in a sizzling hot wok.  Instead, the cooked noodles are tossed in a deliciously rich, usually soy flavoured sauce, with each strand of noodle glistening with mouth watering gravy.

I find this style of noodle the most comforting mid-week, when in the dark of the evening you arrive home, the mechanical hum from the long train journey still ringing in your ears and the ideas from an earlier brainstorming session still buzzing in your head.    

Chicken, Sweet Potato & Mixed Vegetable Lettuce wraps ("Sang Choy Bau")

Chicken Sang Choy Bau with Sweet Potato

HEALTHY SANG CHOY BAU with chicken and sweet potato...
Sang Choy Bau is a Chinese classic commonly served as a starter all around Australia, where I grew up.  It literally translates to "lettuce wrap" and in its traditional form, is simply a lettuce cup filled with minced pork and vegetables.  These days, you will find many variations of the original recipe, from minced beef or chicken to duck or even quail meat.

In creating this recipe, I was keen to fill my Sang Choy Bau with lots of different coloured vegetables, rather than simply with meat.  So, this healthy recipe brings together lean chicken breast and everyday vegetables like carrots, celery and peppers with soy and oyster sauce to create a quick and tasty modern twist to a Chinese classic.

Easy way to grow Spring Onions

A few months ago, I wrote about an easy way to grow spring onions (also called scallions, salad onions or 葱).  Anyhow, a family member who lives in Sydney, Australia read the post and decided to try it out, resulting in great success and these fantastically lush green leaves.  What can I say?  These spring onions grown out of a container in Australia turned out even better than ours did in the UK. 

Growing Spring Onions for FREE!

Spring onions(also known as scallions, salad onions or 葱) are absolutely essential in Chinese cooking - my mum uses them as a garnish atop almost everything from clear broths to Hainanese white-cut chicken*. I am a little less organised and don't usually have time to garnish my meals, so I tend to slice them up into longer pieces and use them in dishes like stir fried beef with spring onions and ginger.

Recycled Spring Onions growing amidst Coriander in the 'Chinese' wing of our Garden

Anyhow, spring onions are one of those quiet but remarkably generous vegetables that are always having a secret sale for those in the know, and that's the 'buy-one-get-more-free' sale.