MCS 135—Simply Good

Simply Good

HEALTHY FAMILY MEALS

This book, written by Laureen Ong-Tam, Gnanamany Philip and Chan Lai Keng, was produced as part of the MCS 135 celebrations to raise funds in support of MWS’s Eat Share Connect campaign. It will be available from MWS and local churches.

Laureen Ong-Tam, one of the books behind Simply Good

Why did you, Gnanamany and Lai Keng write Simply Good? We wanted to help families plan and prepare healthy meals in a short time, as many find home cooking challenging and resort to convenience food, which may not provide a balanced and nutritious meal.

We also hope that this cookbook will encourage more families to enjoy the benefits of cooking at home, and enjoying the pleasure of eating, sharing and connecting with each other.

What was the process behind the co-writing of the cookbook? I worked with [Dr Teo] Li Bee and Lydia [Sng] to produce the cookbook—Li Bee cast the vision, Lydia managed the provisions and I worked with the team of passionate cooks and with God’s grace we made it happen.

The challenge was in choosing which recipes to include. We received more than 70 recipes! They were all very interesting but we had to, together with the Working Committee, whittle it down to 30 recipes that would capture the interest of the reader.

What’s so special about these 30 recipes? They are nutritious, delicious, simple to cook, and the ingredients cost under $10 for four people.

Gnanamany, Lai Keng and I worked on Chinese, Indian, Malay and other recipes that are familiar favourites. These traditional recipes have been streamlined for fuss-free preparation and were tested by friends to ensure they work. A dietician, Liow Min Choo, and a nutritionist, Ralph Ong, verified that the recipes are nutritious and healthy. We also had invaluable inputs from Eck Kheng, our producer from Landmark Books.

Which is your favourite recipe, and why? The sweet sour chicken: the ingredients are easily available; it looks great on the plate; and it’s such an incredibly tasty dish that’s good for you—even children love it! And it’ll take you just 40 minutes to get it on the dining table.

My father was a local preacher at Pentecost Methodist Church. I thank God I was raised by a strict Methodist parent. As a worshipper in the Methodist church I was given the opportunity to experience God in so many wonderful ways, especially during service to Him in WSCS for more than 40 years. The WSCS in the Methodist Church is not just an organisation—I see the women as living organisms to know Christ and to make Him known. What does being a Methodist mean to you?

Sweet Sour Chicken

Nutritious, delicious and easy to cook!

Preparation Time: 40 min / Difficulty: medium

INGREDIENTS

1 chicken breast, skin removed, cut into 3-cm cubes ¼ tsp salt ½ cucumber, pith discarded, sliced into 3-cm wedges 2 tbsps vegetable oil 1 tsp chopped garlic 2 big tomatoes, cut into wedges 1 small bowl diced fresh pineapple 1 big onion, quartered 1 yellow capsicum, sliced into 3-cm lengths 1 stalk coriander leaves, plucked

SEASONINGS

A. 2 tbsps vinegar and ½ tbsp sugar B. 2 tbsps plum sauce and 3 tbsps tomato ketchup C. 1 tbsp cornflour, 2 tsps light soya sauce, 2 tbsps water

DIRECTIONS

1. Marinate chicken with salt.

2. Marinate cucumber with seasoning A.

3. Pan-fry chicken with oil and garlic until chicken is brown on all sides.

4. Add the tomatoes, pineapple, onion, capsicum and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add marinated cucumber together with its seasoning, and seasoning B. Stir-fry for 5 to 10 minutes.

5. Thicken the gravy with seasoning C. Stir-fry for another 2 minutes.

6. Taste and adjust to your preference. Dish out and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with brown rice.

OPEN HOUSE Saturday 28 March 2020

ACS (International) Singapore is a distinctive international secondary school open to all Singaporeans & other nationalities, offering an allround English-based education for students aged 12 to 18 years leading to the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP).

Building Through Belief, this school of choice provides Achievements Include

• Exceptional examination results, very strong value-added achievement and an all-round holistic education

50:50 mix of local and international teachers who uphold the dual Methodist ethos and ACS heritage Small class sizes with overall studentteacher ratio of 8.7 : 1 40 different CCAs –16 Sporting, 12 Visual and Performing Arts, 12 Special Interest Groups Over 25 overseas trips per year Over 200 formal student leadership positions Scholarships for 4 Singaporeans to undertake the IBDP • Students with perfect score of 45 points

• 20 “Top in the World” awards in IGCSE examinations over each of the past nine years Students accepted to Oxford and Cambridge universities for the past eight years Admissions to top universities in the UK, the US, Australia and Singapore PSLE and Singapore GCE ‘O’ Level students achieve outstanding valueadded examination results for the IBDP with improved pathways to good universities Successes at national level in Athletics, Touch Rugby, Debating, Orchestra, Volleyball, Taekwondo, Ice Hockey, Fencing, Swimming, Artistic Swimming and Rhythmic Gymnastics.

Mr Rob Burrough Principal

Mrs Tan Siew Hoon VicePrincipal

Mr Gavin Kinch VicePrincipal

INFORMATION SESSIONS

Dr Kristopher Achter VicePrincipal

9:00am Principal’s Address 9:30am –12:00pm School tours & presentations by staff & students Oldham Chapel, ACS (International) 61 Jalan Hitam Manis, Singapore 278475