ANN/THE STAR – Reality struck me that we often fail to appreciate certain aspects of life.
Having been accustomed to savouring the delectable meat patties with an eggy twist that my mother expertly prepared during my upbringing, I never truly contemplated the dish’s origins. However, a recent incident changed my perspective – a friend requested me for a beloved childhood recipe, and it got me thinking.
When I asked my mother about it, this was what she said: “As a full-time housewife, I have to constantly think about what to cook. When I got fed-up of making the usual steamed minced meat, I decided to combine the minced meat with some beaten eggs and chopped spring onion, added some flavouring and made it into patties.”
Although the dish may appear deceptively easy to make, patience is necessary as the heat cannot be too high during the frying process.
Otherwise, the patties may be burnt on the outside whilst still remaining raw inside.
Nowadays, I cook this dish regularly for my own family as well.
MUM’S EGG AND MEAT PATTIES
Ingredients
– 250 grammes (g) minced chicken
– Four large eggs
– Two tablespoons chopped spring onion
– One tablespoon oyster sauce
– Quarter teaspoon pepper powder
– One teaspoon sesame oil
– Half teaspoon salt one cup oil (for frying)
METHOD
1. Crack eggs into a large bowl and beat them.
2. Add in minced chicken and spring onion. Stir to mix thoroughly.
3. Add in oyster sauce, pepper powder, sesame oil and salt. Stir well.
4. Heat oil in pan. Once it is hot enough, lower down the heat to medium.
5. Place two tablespoons of the egg and meat mixture into the pan. If you have a ladle, that would be a good yardstick for one patty.
6. Let the mixture cook for about two to three minutes, then use a spatula to fold the egg-meat mixture into a half- moon shape. Be careful when doing this as the occasional oil splatter may happen.
7. Once one side of the patty turns golden brown, gently flip it over to fry the other side.
8. Scoop patty out of the pan once both sides turn golden-brown. Set aside on a plate.
9. Repeat steps five to eight until all the egg- meat mixture is used up.
10. Serve the patties with your favourite chilli sauce or ketchup. Goes well with rice or you can eat this on its own. – Alice Yong