Is it possible to fry spring rolls with little or no oil? Well, I tried that and this is what happened. This idea occurred to me because I’ve had “roasted” spring rolls while on expedition in Nepal.

The spring rolls look dry and somewhat unevenly browned. In terms of looks, it’s not that great, but taste wise, it’s still good. Skin is crunchy, the filling is still quite juicy. Note that you’ll need a non-stick pan.

Of course, you need a good sauce. A “drop” of garlic chilli sauce on top of a puddle of sweet black sauce does it for me.

© Chan Joon Yee

Got this from my sister in Australia. Meticulous labelling, Australian style. Since I won’t be celebrating Chinese New Year again this year, I’ve decided to make a simple yet extravagant dish for the weekend.

First, we’ll take a look at how gorgeous this piece of abalone is. It’s been precooked in its own juices. Guanranteed yummy.

The first step is of course to slice the abalone. You’d need a very sharp knife. Make sure the slices are as thin as possible. Thick abalone is really tough to chew. Not good for those with shaky teeth or dentures.

Well, actually, the first thing you ought to do is to cook the spaghetti. I showed you the picture of the sliced abalone earlier because it looks better. Anyway, you don’t want your spaghetti al dente in this case. Make sure it’s well cooked.

The usual olive oil, onions and ginger. The ginger is important. It goes really well with the abalone.

Once the ginger and onions are fried, you’d put in your vegetables and abalone. I like dou miao because the elegantly fibrous texture goes very well with spaghetti.

A generous amount of oyster sauce goes in, followed by the cooked spaghetti and 2 eggs. You’d toss the spaghetti around until the egg is nicely cooked. I don’t like my eggs too gooey in this case. Finally, a sprinkling of cut chillies to add colour and also to give added stimulation to those who love it.

© Chan Joon Yee