Bak Steak aka Meat patties

Oh woe is me.  My body can't decide whether to be sick or not.  It could be hayfever though.  Either way, this in between not sick, not 100% makes me turn to my number one way to make myself feel better - food. Is that terrible? No, I didn't think so.  

The only problem is, I want to EAT food, but I don't necessarily want to spend hours over a hot stove COOKING it.  This is where this dish comes in.  Bak Steak means Meat Patties in Hokkien. This is a very common dish in the average Penang household and is one of my go-to dishes when in dire need for some TLC.

This is a one pot dish, combining all the essential elements of a well balanced meal - protein, vegetables and carbohydrates!  This is usually served on a bed of steamed rice.

Ingredients :

300g pork mince

2 potatoes, thinly sliced

1 big tomato, thinly sliced

1/2 onion sliced

1 stalk of scallions (optional)

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 teaspoon corn flour mix with 1 teaspoon water

Salt and pepper

Oil for pan fry

Steps :

Marinate pork mince with salt and pepper set aside.

In a pan, heat oil in medium heat. Roll pork mince to a ball and flatten in the heated pan. Fry until brown and turn over to the other side. Remove meat and set aside. 

Once the meat is done, put the potatoes in and fry them until cooked. Remove and set aside.

Leaving about 1 teaspoon oil in pan and fry the onions till caramelised. Add oyster sauce and water. Bring to boil. Add in sliced tomatoes, cooked pork mince and potatoes. 

Taste and adjust seasoning if required. Stir until all coated in the sauce. Add in the corn flour mixture into the pan, and then turn the heat off immediately. This will thicken the sauce. If using scallions, add in at this stage. Dish up on a plate and serve immediately.

Along with the little desire to be cooking whilst unwell, I'm pretty sure most of you will agree dishes are also an unwanted chore to do when sniffly or scratchy. The beauty of one pot dishes definitely help with the minimal dishes left to clean (or if you're like me, give your husband/significant other/flattie/kidlets the puppy dog eyes and a dramatic snuffle and hope you can entreat them to do them for you!)