Rice + Fried mackerel + Vegetable soup

Ingredients (per 1 portion)

• Indian mackerel, fresh — 80 g
• Rice, raw — 75 g
• Potato, fresh — 40 g
• Mustard greens, fresh — 25 g
• Carrot, fresh — 20 g
• Palm cooking oil — 6 g
• Scallion, fresh — 3 g
• Garlic — 3 g

Method

• Steam rice (guide nasi-putih-tanak).
• Marinate fish with salt + turmeric + lime 10 min; deep-fry at 170 °C to core ≥63 °C (guide ikan-goreng).
• Vegetable soup: boil potato first, then carrot, mustard greens & scallion last (guide sop-sayur).

Ingredient handling & storage

• Indian mackerel, fresh — Must be fresh on a cold chain ≤4 °C — clear eyes, red gills, sea smell. Cook or chill promptly; never >1 h at ambient.
• Rice, raw — Store in an airtight container, dry and cool ≤25 °C — moisture invites rice weevils and mould. Never store on the floor; use a pallet.
• Potato, fresh — Store dark, cool, ventilated — light triggers greening. Do not refrigerate (starch turns sweet).
• Mustard greens, fresh — Store ≤7 °C 3–5 days. For raw serving: wash under running water, soak in 1% salt water 5 min, rinse with boiled/drinking water.
• Carrot, fresh — Store ≤7 °C up to 1–2 weeks. Peel thin — much of the vitamin sits under the skin; large cuts minimise loss.
• Palm cooking oil — Store sealed, dark and cool. Used frying oil: strain, keep separately, reuse max 2–3×; discard when dark, foamy or rancid-smelling.
• Scallion, fresh — Store wrapped ≤7 °C, use ≤1 week. Wash between the stalk layers — soil hides inside.
• Garlic — Store whole, dry and ventilated. Peeled/minced garlic must be sealed ≤4 °C and used ≤1–2 days.

Food-safety warnings

• Indian mackerel, fresh — Mackerel risks histamine (scombroid) poisoning if left warm — histamine is NOT destroyed by cooking or reheating. Fish left too long at ambient is discarded, not re-cooked.
• Potato, fresh — Green/sprouted potatoes contain solanine — a toxin that SURVIVES cooking. Cut away all green parts and sprouts; if green throughout, discard the whole potato.
• Mustard greens, fresh — Served raw (crudité) = surface contamination goes straight to the body — salt-soak + boiled-water rinse is mandatory; raw tap water alone is not safe enough.
• Palm cooking oil — Never store chopped garlic/herbs submerged in oil at room temperature — the oil creates an anaerobic medium for Clostridium botulinum (botulism). If needed, keep ≤4 °C and use ≤4 days.
• Garlic — Hard rule: minced garlic stored in oil at room temperature → botulism risk (see oil note).

Allergens & consumption limits

For a child feeding programme, allergen data must be recorded per child and a substitution path prepared — do not just reduce portions for allergic children.

• Indian mackerel, fresh — MAJOR ALLERGEN: parvalbumin (fish muscle protein) SURVIVES cooking and smoking — heat does not remove it. Fish allergy usually persists for life; in severe cases even cooking VAPOUR triggers symptoms. Fish-allergic children get another animal protein; the kitchen must avoid shared pans/tools.
• Rice, raw — Rice is hypoallergenic — the safest staple and the base for multi-allergic children.
• Potato, fresh — Potato allergy is rare; the bigger issue is medical restriction: fried potato/simple carbs for obese/diabetic children in controlled portions.
• Mustard greens, fresh — Crucifer — same as cabbage: goitrogens in large raw amounts; serve blanched/cooked crudité for thyroid children.
• Carrot, fresh — Oral allergy syndrome — cross-reaction with birch pollen: mild mouth itch in pollen-allergic children. Cooking removes almost all risk (boiled carrot is safe for most).
• Palm cooking oil — Refined palm oil is nearly protein-free — practical allergy risk is zero. Restriction: daily fried-fat total is still capped by guidelines (not allergy).
• Scallion, fresh — Allium — same as shallot: rare, note if there is a history.
• Garlic — Allium allergy is rare; garlic contact dermatitis in cooks (burned/cracked hands) is fairly common. Consumption restriction: none at cooking levels.

Keeping the cooked dish

Fried fish ≤4 h ≥60 °C. Leftover mackerel: chill within 2 h to ≤4 °C, eat ≤24 h — histamine does NOT break down on reheating. Vegetable soup ≤3 h.

Nutrition per portion

≈463 kkal energy · 25.1 g protein · total 252 g raw weight per portion. Figures from TKPI Kemenkes — actual values vary with ingredient condition and cooking loss.

Scaling to N portions

Recipe is written per 1 portion. For N portions: staples (rice, protein, vegetables, fruit, coconut milk) scale linearly — grams × N. Strong seasonings (turmeric, chili, sweet soy, sugar, salt) scale at × N × 0.9; frying oil at × N × 0.85; broth/water at × N × 0.9 then correct evaporation ±2% per 10 min of boil. Add a 5% shrinkage buffer on the purchase total. Example at N = 100: Indian mackerel, fresh 80 g → 8 kg; Rice, raw 75 g → 7.5 kg; Potato, fresh 40 g → 4 kg. Full formula: guide "MBG portion scaling".