Toddler meal ideas

Some toddler meal ideas that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

1. Steamed pork with soup

This is a healthy and delicious dish. Because it is steamed it is not oily and only slightly flavoured. It is a popular food for people of all ages especially and originates from Hubei province in China.

age: above 12 months

Ingredients:

- minced pork 7 ounces / 200g

- half teaspoon of Ginger Juice

- Corn Starch 1 ½ teaspoons

- some Soy Sauce

- salt

- some Sesame Oil

- chives/spring onion cut into small pieces

How to cook:

Mix minced pork with corn starch, ginger juice and soy sauce

1. Mix the minced pork, corn starch and the ginger juice with one teaspoon of soy sauce and 2 teaspoons water. Make sure all ingredients are well mixed.

Form a layer of meat inside the bowl

2. Put the mixture in a bowl (which you will be using in the steamer), and use a tablespoon to press the mixture along the bowl's side so that it forms a layer that sticks to the bowl from inside, leave about a half inch / 1cm empty space to the rim of the bowl and make a hole in the middle at the bottom (like in the  picture above)

Add water

3. Add water to a level until the meat is covered

4. Steam for 15-20 minutes using a Steamer until it is fully cooked (if your rice cooker has a steam tray, then you can steam it while you cook rice)

5. Add a few drops of sesame oil, another teaspoon of soy sauce and some chives 

2. Assorted Tofu

This is a perfect dish to eat with some rice. Your child will benefit from both plant and animal protein, as well as vegetable fibers.

age: above 12 motnhs

Ingredients:

- Tofu 3-4 ounces / 100g cut into small cubes

- minced pork/beef/or a mixture of both 1 ounce / 30g

- 1 carrot cut into small cubes

- 3 leafs Chinese cabbage cut into small pieces

- 2 cups of Clear Soup

- Corn Starch

- half a teaspoon of Ginger Juice

- salt

How to cook:

1. Mix the minced meat with ginger juice, salt and half of a teaspoon corn starch, leave for 15 minutes.

2. Put the soup in a pot, then add carrots, boil until carrots are soft, then put Chinese leaf and Tofu inside, cook until Chinese leaf is soft, sprinkle some salt

3. If you want to thicken the soup, put 1/3 of a teaspoon corn starch into 3-4 tablespoon water, mix well, then put into the boiling soup, continue to cook and stir for one minute.

3. Rice

Rice is a good source of carbohydrates, Vitamin B3, B5, B6, Manganese, Phosphorus and Zinc. These are vital nutrition for our daily life.


I normally cook white rice (fragrant jasmine rice) together with millet and polenta (corn grits). This makes the cooked rice a nice mixture of white and yellow color, which is more appealing to children. On the nutrition side, millet and polenta are both rich in B vitamins, millet is also rich in iron. They can compensate the nutrition of rice and make it more nutrition-balanced.

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Baby porridge recipe Chinese

Vegetable and egg porridge

This is a simple but very nutritious dish that every baby will love: Baby porridge recipe Chinese style. Millions of Chinese parents swear on this food to ensure their baby's growth. Its secret lies in its ingredients. The rice contains a lot of energy, carbohydrates and trace metals. Eggs provide a baby's body with proteins and vegetables like spinach or Chinese cabbage are full of vitamins.

age: 6 months and above

Ingredients:

- 3-4 tablespoons / 50g Rice. I recommend to use this Jasmine Rice as it has a very good flavor. Don't forget to rinse the rice in some water before you cook it!

- water, about 1.5 cups / 400 ml (depending on the type of rice you are using, some rice needs more water and some needs less)

- A little bit of Chinese cabbage or spinach chopped into small pieces

- one egg yolk

- sesame oil

How to cook:

Sesame Oil

1. Add rice and water to a Rice Cooker and use the slow cooking option to cook until you cannot see the shape of the rice (some rice cookers have a "porridge option). I'm cooking rice with this Rice Cooker because it is very simple to use and use. It also features a steaming option that comes in very handy. If you do not own a rice cooker, you can use a pot to cook, cover the pot and use low heat, it will take around 1-2 hours until it is ready.

2. Add the egg yolk and chopped vegetable to the ready-porridge, cook on low heat and stir constantly for a few minutes till vegetable is soft and egg yolk is fully cooked.

Add 2-3 drops of toasted sesame oil(optional)

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