Monday lockdown brunch — home-cooked plate at the kitchen counter. Circuit breaker meant working from home, which meant Monday lunches were now brunches, eaten somewhere between 10am and 11am because we got hungry early and didn’t have meeting calendars to respect.

We had:

Hot rice base
Fried egg
Stir-fried vegetables
A protein side
Chilli sauce

The format is the same lockdown weekday rotation that we’ve fully internalised by now. Rice cooker timer goes off, vegetables hit the wok, egg in the pan, protein in the small skillet, three pieces of equipment running simultaneously. About 20 minutes from start to plate.

The rice was hot fluffy jasmine, properly steamed. The base of any lockdown plate.

Fried egg was the M-style sunny-side. Crispy white edges, runny yolk. Always the right move because it adds richness without adding a separate sauce.

Stir-fried vegetables today were a mix of cabbage and carrot with a smashed garlic clove. Tender-crisp, light salt-and-soy, the right colour contrast against the beige rice and egg.

Protein side was a small portion of pan-fried sausage — sliced rounds in their own rendered fat, browned both sides. The cheap, reliable, lockdown-staple add-on.

Chilli sauce on the side because rules apply.

Mondays in lockdown had a particular quality. The work week starts but nothing else really does — no commute, no morning coffee shop, no office canteen. Brunch at the kitchen counter became the small daily marker that the workday was about to begin.

Lockdown taught us how to make peace with the routine.

Overall: 4.2 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Reliable Monday lockdown brunch — keeping the rotation.

Original IG post