It’s almost the end of Phase two after two months of the end of the Circuit Breaker. Things are slowly picking up and returning to normalcy – at snail pace – but at least I can glimpse some light at the end of the tunnel now.
Work continues to be from home, with some occasional opportunities to return to the office and meet with some colleagues based on split team arrangements. Meetings are a lot easier to arrange nowadays because we do not have to compete for meeting venues anymore and worry about social distancing rules since these are held virtually. I still miss face-to-face meetings though, because it’s easier to conduct, more real, more immersive, more interactive, all of which are much lacking in the digital world. And I’m not alone.
Recently, I saw an ad (i cannot recall what it was trying to sell) and it featured a video about a mother who lost her job but gained through the additional time she had with her child and family during the Circuit Breaker, adding that 2020 had to be the best year she’s ever had.
……………….
I mean, seriously, ads need to stop telling lies, because anyone with kids would immediately disagree and try to debunk such myths. A mom who’s lost her job, lost her income, got to stay at home and worry about livelihood – happy? Or frustrated? Plus, it’s madness to have to stay at home ALL DAY AND NIGHT with a kid and anyone knows that (even with all the fun times we’ve had). I’m so glad that the boy is able to return to school after the extended duration at home and I’m happy to spend the remaining hours I have with him in the evening.
I still love him to the moon and back nevertheless. He’s growing up gradually and it’s fun to talk to him about what happens around us. Just recently, I was fetching him back from school with a heavy load on my shoulder. I got frustrated at having to carry so many things and I told him that he has to help me because he’s a big boy now. He said ok, and offered to take ownership of his school bag. And he dragged it all the way home without a word of complain. That’s really mummy’s boy and boy I was touched.
He is really growing up too quickly. Someday, one day, I will recall all these sweet moments and wish everything can start all over again (as a working mom I’ll say again)… but before that, let’s tuck in first and grab a bite of the potato puffs that I have made with all the love that I have in my heart.
Ingredients:
- Potato: 3 medium, peeled
- Chicken stock cube: 1
- Butter: 1 tbsp
- Ground white pepper: a pinch
- Coriander: 1 stalk, finely chopped
- Oil: 2 tbsp + enough for shallow frying
- Garlic: 1, finely chopped
- Minced pork: 300g
- Fish sauce: t tbsp
- Shaoxing wine: 1 tbsp
- Ready-rolled puff pastry: 9 sheets, thawed
- Mayonnaise/Thai sweet chilli sauce: to serve with
Method:
- Boil potatoes in water till soft.
- Drain, but leave 1/3 cup water.
- Dissolve chicken stock cube in water used to cook potato. Pour this back into potato.
- Add butter, white pepper and coriander. Mash potato finely. Set aside.
- Heat 2 tbsp oil in wok. Saute garlic till fragrant.
- Stir in minced pork, fish sauce and shaoxing wine. Fry till pork is almost cooked.
- Add in mashed potato and stir to combine well. Switch off heat.
- Cut each slice of puff pastry into 9 squares.
- Spoon 1 tsp potato filling onto centre of each square. Fold over to form a triangle. Press the edges to seal, fluting with a fork if desired.
- Heat remaining oil in wok.
- Shallow fry puffs 1min on each side till golden brown.
- Set on paper towels for 5min.
- Serve hot with mayonnaise or Thai sweet chilli sauce.
Disclaimer:
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This recipe was kindly adapted from Periplus Mini Cookbooks’ ‘Yum Cha & Asian Treats’.
Trick:
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If you are lazy and do not wish to do any shallow frying and clean up the oil stains after that, you can bake the puffs in the oven for 20min at 200 degrees Celsius. The puffs are definitely not as puffed-up and evenly browned as shallow frying, but still crispy and tasty nevertheless as long as you make sure to eat them straight out of the oven!
Serving:
Makes 63 medium-sized puffs
