Friday, 12 June 2026
There has been some interest in my recipe for Chow Mein with it igniting some childhood nostalgia. I was specifically asked what spices I use to flavour it. Just in case a bowl of chow mein resonates with other readers of our blog, I have decided to record it here. This is my Mum’s recipe and when she made it for us as kids, she always called it ‘Eat & Die’ and served it with rice.
Ingredients:
750g minced beef (or meat of choice, more or less depending how meaty you like it)
1 packet Chicken Noodle Soup
2 heaped dessert spoons of Keen’s Curry Powder (more or less, to taste)
2 brown onions cut in half and sliced
2-4 sticks of celery sliced crosswise
Handful of green beans topped and tailed and cut to 2-3cm lengths
Cabbage (1/4 large cabbage or 1/2 a smaller cabbage, sliced) I like to use savoy cabbage
1-2 carrots, coarsely grated (this is my tweak to the family recipe to add a bit more colour)
Method:
Heat a small amount of oil in a wok (or electric frying pan) and brown the mince, breaking it apart
Add the Chicken Noodle Soup and curry powder and stir through the mince
Add all vegetables, except the cabbage, and 1/2 to 1 cup of water, and stir
Cook for around 30 minutes, checking regularly and adding more water as necessary to stop it sticking
Add the cabbage on top of the meat and vegetables
Let the cabbage ‘steam’ on top for 15-20 minutes, until slightly wilted
When it’s done to your taste, stir the cabbage through and serve.
Notes:
I serve it with three-minute noodles rather then rice
I never make it exactly the same way twice, because I’m not exact with any amounts
Mum always cooked it in the Sunbeam electric frying pan. I used to too, but use a wok now and find that much easier to control temperature and water level so that it doesn’t stick on the bottom.
And now that recipe club is over …
We had a lot of rain overnight, but it had stopped this morning, by the time we were up and about. Preparing breakfast, I thought I heard rain again but, no, the resort’s garden sprinklers had come on. The garden probably didn’t need water after overnight rain, but I guess they’re on a timer?
After breakfast, it was time to pack up and move on again today. Driving back out on the Minilya- Exmouth Road we hoped that we might be able to drive into the other side of the Cape Range National Park on one or both of Shothole Canyon Road and Charles Knife Road. The map showed these roads as unsealed so, after the rain, we had some concerns about what condition they might be in.
At Shothole Canyon Road the decision was made for us with a yellow ROAD CLOSED sign across the beginning of the road. We reached Charles Knife Road, which is named after a young Charles Knife who plotted a route into the Cape Range so that WAPET (now Chevron) could drill for oil. Oil had been found in the Rough Range, but the well soon dried up. It was hoped the explorations in the Cape Range would be more productive. They were not!
The road was sealed so, initially, we thought that we might just go as far as the sealed road took us. As the road climbed the views quickly became spectacular. We were so surprised because the range looked very low from the other side yesterday. Approaching from this side the range was revealed to be much higher and much more weathered than we had anticipated.
As we neared the end of the bitumen there was a sign that said Road Closed Ahead. We’ll just see what the unsealed road is like. We stopped to take some photographs then drove over what seemed to be the legs of a road sign, but there was no ROAD CLOSED sign in sight. Are we supposed to drive beyond here or not? Oh well, a couple had already gone ahead of us in a HiAce van so, on we went. If a HiAce van can do it, the MU-X certainly can.
We reached a fork in the road and took the right hand fork, soon finding ourselves at the Thomas Carter Lookout. The view was spectacular and, if we had had four hours to spare, we could have undertaken the Badjirrajirra Walking Trail, a loop trail that incorporates another viewpoint overlooking the Shothole Canyon. We returned to the fork in the road and took the other fork which took us to the remnant of WAPET Oil Well No.3, one of the wells sunk while exploring the range for oil.
Driving back out to the main road, we stopped for yet another canyon/gorge photograph. As we pulled up we saw a group posed near the edge of the canyon. One of the group was very excited when we pulled up as she reckoned she had spied people who could take a group photo for them. When she saw our DSLRs she yelled out to the group that she had found professional photographers to take their photo, ha, ha. Bernie took their group photo and we asked where they were from. Seven from Portugal and one from Canada. Although one of the guys said – ‘We’re from Portugal, she’s from Lisbon’. I likened that to the rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne.
Finally, after yet another chat, this time with a couple from Fairfield, we made our way back down the hill to the Minilya-Exmouth Road where we turned right to head to Coral Bay. We passed Burkett Road, where we came in on Tuesday, and continued south alongside the Giralia Range. Fifty-one kilometres later, we made the turn to travel the 12 Ks out to Coral Bay.
Coral Bay nestles at the southern end of the Nyinggulu Coastal Reserve and is still within the boundary of the Ningaloo Marine Park. It is a pretty town that is much smaller and less commercialised than Exmouth. And the sun was shining here which was lovely after travelling through some heavy showers on our way south. We found our way to the Coral Resort Bakery, where we tracked down some chunky steak pies for lunch.
After making use of the facilities, we were soon back on the road, now heading for today’s final destination, Carnarvon. Not far south of Coral Bay, we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.5 degrees south, before rejoining the North West Coastal Highway. Soon after that, we drove past the Minilya Roadhouse, which sits between the Minilya River and Barrabiddy Creek. These waterways flow into a body of water named Lake Macleod on our map. We suppose that there is a lake out there somewhere but, from the road, it just looked sort of swampy.
We crossed the Gascoyne River and started driving through banana plantations and fruit orchards. Mainly nectarines we think? We eventually reached the turn off for Carnarvon and made our way to the Discovery Park. As we pulled in at about 3.30pm, Ross and Sharon were just heading out for some groceries, after setting up their van.
We needed a few supplies too, so we unloaded the truck and then headed into town. On the way, we filled the tank with Amplify Diesel at the Ampol Service Station. The truck needed a big drink as we had run the tank to about its lowest point of the whole trip. We took a drive along the waterfront and then found ourselves out on Babbage Island.
Babbage Island is home to the One Mile Jetty Precinct which includes: the One Mile Jetty Museum, the Babbage Island Rail Museum, the Lighthouse Keepers Cottage, a Mangrove Boardwalk and a number of other walkways. Hmmn, the Lighthouse Keepers Cottage had just closed and the jetty is currently being restored, so much of the area is barricaded with temporary fencing. The whole area looks a bit sad at the moment but, hopefully, the restoration will breathe new life into it.
After re-stocking at Woolies, we made our way back to the cabin. We made arrangements to join Ross and Sharon later at their van for a BBQ chicken dinner. I set to work with the hairdryer to finish drying out my hiking boots. I wore my white runners today which is completely impractical, but I didn’t think it was the weather for sandals. Not that a bit of rain deterred Bernie from wearing his open footwear. Goodness knows why anyone in their right mind would pack a pair of white runners to travel through the Red Centre, the Kimberley and the Pilbara? All that red sand is the natural enemy of the white runners!! I thought I would wear them in the towns, but even the towns have been filled with red dirt.
Steps: 7,169 (4.65kms)
