Home-cooked dish Nyonya bian chee

Nyonya bian chee is mainly made up of minced pork, potato and croutons. — Photos: PATSY KAM

I WAS running out of ideas on how to cook minced meat, apart from the usual steamed pork and black soy sauce dishes. Then, a friend reminded me of bian chee from my childhood. What’s with the name bian chee, you ask? Frankly, I have no idea. That’s what my mother used to call it. Who knows why the old folks named the dishes the way they did?

My mum used to make this once in a while when I was growing up and I loved the croutons that came with it. I hardly cooked this when my sons were growing up though, because frying the croutons seemed like too much effort. Now when I think about it, I don’t know why I hesitated as this dish isn’t challenging at all.