Simple Stir-Fried Mee Sua (wheat vermicelli)

I recently received a gift packet of thick mee sua. I have never tried frying mee sua but decided that it could not be much different from frying beehoon or mee. I did not deep fry the mee sua as that would make it a very unhealthy dish.

The dish ended up tasty, not unlike stir-frying noodles or spaghetti. Yes, I do fry spaghetti in the same manner that I fry my noodles or beehoon. It is a good, localized change from the usual fare of tomato based spaghetti.                      

For 3 pax

Ingredients :

300 gm thick Mee Sua (wheat vermicelli)

5 pips garlic, minced

Some chicken meat and/or pork slices (seasoned with some salt, pepper and light soya sauce, and some cornflour) or prawns

3 pieces of cabbage thinly sliced

Some carrot strips

5 shallots thinly sliced and 3 pips of minced garlic, fried in oil for garnishing

Coriander(cilantro) leaves, for garnishing

1 cup chicken stock

Cooking oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Method :

1. Lightly boil the mee sua in boiling water to soften it a little, but not too long, otherwise it becomes too soggy to fry.

2. Fry the minced garlic in oil till fragrant, add in the chicken meat/pork slices .
3. Add in the drained ‘mee sua’, fry a little. Add in chicken stock and vegetables.
4. Stir well, add seasoning to taste.
5. Fry till, the chicken stock is nearly all absorbed.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves and fried onion slices.
7. Serve warm with some sambal belachan.

Appraisals and Rewards

Time for that year end appraisal(could be over for some) and for the new year's increment, and not forgetting the bonus too.

How have you fare? Have you been adequately compensated and rewarded? Is your organization fair in its rewarding its employees? Do you have an opportunity to present to your superiors your performance for the past year and are you given the chance to bring up issues that have been troubling you or the challenges that you feel are not adequately supported with the right resources.

Appraisal is a process loathed by most people, appraisers as well as the appraisees. This is particularly so as it is almost impossible to be fully objective for a very subjective operation.

How does one then ensure that all that are involved are impartial and shows no favoritism? This will be much easier to adhere to if those in authority are seen to be so.

Managing the human side of an organization is never easy. Leadership in the right vein plays a crucial role here.

My wishes to all of you for a rewarding and fruitful assessment and that you do get what you wish for. If not, chart and document your progress as you work hard and perform better this year and hopefully your remuneration committee is receptive and wise enough. Otherwise, search for greener pastures.

For bosses, quoting Mr. Tan Thiam Hock "never underestimate the power of inspired teamwork".