Summer time calls for light meals that are easy to eat, light and not overpowering, but still appetising for the warmth that we can easily doze off with. More well known light meals may be salads (with appetising tangy dressing), mezze plates (dips, spreads), and antipasto.
What would constitute a light CHINESE style meal then? My family would often cook up a pot of mung bean congee (mung beans and rice cooked into a broth) in the afternoon, so by dinner time it would be just cool enough. Unlike the popular pork and preserved egg congee in yum cha restaurants, mung bean congee is not flavoured and not cooked in stock. Bland and tasteless? Maybe. But the light fragrance of the mung beans makes this congee are refreshing and somewhat wholesome summer staple.
Shallot pancakes are a favourite to accompany mung bean congee. It's not exactly light, but it is very appetising. A plain flour dough is first rolled out as a flat sheet, spread with oil, freshly chopped shallot, and a sprinkle of salt, then rolled up to give the pancake layers. It is then dry-fried until golden, and will have a very light, soft fluffy texture. A plate of stir-fried ONG- CHOI (green chinese vegetable) with garlic provides a wholesome and delicious accompaniment to the meal.
We don't normally have desserts after our dinner, but today we had some left over black glutinous rice cakes layered with taro paste. This is lightly sweetened, slightly chewy thanks to the glutinous rice, and perfect with a bit of Chinese Oolong tea or jasmin green tea. Satisfying yet doesn't add too much to the calories count....
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