Stirfried Bittergourd with Beansprout

Stirfried Bittergourd with Beansprouts (28 Mar 2012)

Not many places serve this simple yet unusual combination of bittergourd with beansprout. So far, I've only had it at Good Fortune Restaurant, Bandar Puchong Utama. The restaurant is famous for country village food and it claims not to use MSG. The food didn't looked fancy but it tasted home cooked and had good flavours.I decided to cook the dish myself seeing that my parents loved it so much.

All you need is bittergourd, 30 cents worth of beansprout and some minced garlic. The only advice I would give is to soak the bittergourd in salt water to reduce the bitterness. 

Stirfried Bittergourd & Beansprouts Recipe

Ingredients:

1 medium bittergourd

50gm beansprouts

1 tbsp garlic, minced

1/2 tsp chicken stock granule (optional)

1 1/2 tsp soy sauce

A dash of pepper

2 tbsp water

Method:

1.  Cut bitter gourd into half length-wised. Use a metal spoon to scoop and remove the centre pulp and seeds. Slice bittergourd thinly then soak in salt water for a while.
2. Wash and drain the beansprouts. Remove the black husk and roots if any.
3. Heat up wok. Add a tablespoon of cooking oil. Saute garlic until fragrant.
4. Add the bittergourd and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock granule and water. Cover with lid for 30 seconds.
5. Add in the beansprouts, soy sauce and pepper. Stirfry for another 1 minute.
6. Ready to serve!

Deep Fried Curry Pork Belly

Deep Fried Curry Pork Belly (27th Mac 2012)

If you saw my last post, you'd know how "motherly" I've become lately. I aspire to be a good mum before the little ones grow up and leave the nest! Sniff, sniff.... How fast time flies?

I usually cook pork belly Hakka style which is to use fermented beancurd and 5-spice powder to marinade the pork before frying. Today, I decided to do something more Malaysian. Marinade the pork following the recipe from the last post. However, 15 minutes before deepfrying, mix 2 tablespoon of meat curry powder to the pork. Deepfry until golden brown.

If you feel experimental, I'd suggest you try turmeric powder, chili powder, lemongrass or a combination of all that, to give the pork the extra edge.

Fragrant Garlic Pork Belly

Fragrant Garlic Pork Belly (28 Mar 2012)

"Indulge your kids with delicious food & they'll be happy all year round!"

I truly believe in my motto. Meal time is always a wonderful time for my children especially when Mummy makes an extra effort to cook something special. My boys would frequent the kitchen to see what's going on and even help out whenever they can. They seem to be at their best behaviour without even trying (before, during and after the meal!)

I am certainly not asking you to feed them like cattles! I take my children's diets very seriously, but I also take time to LISTEN to their personal views on food that they like or dislike. So by the "extra effort" I mentioned, I basically mean to listen to my child's individual food preference and cater to that while providing the nutrition he needs! You will see a wonderful bond growing between you and your child (Not unlike when you show interest in his favourite cartoon or make time to watch him play soccer at school).

Anyway, it's a Tuesday and I felt that my boys needed a little "pick me up". I suffer from Monday blues so why can't my kids, right?  So, I went to my freezer and took out a strip of pork belly to defrost. That's one similarity between them that I can work with - they both love pork! But how do I cater to their individual preference but not spend any extra time cooking?

Thus, the creation of "one pork belly kills 2 dishes"! I made two totally different flavours with the same seasoned pork belly. I've separated the pork marinade recipe which you could marinade the night before or 1 hour before frying.

Pork Belly Marinade

600gm pork belly, sliced thinly
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Shao Hsing wine
A dash of pepper
1 tbsp cornflour

Mix well and keep refrigerated and covered.




Fragrant Garlic Pork Belly

Ingredient:
300gm marinaded pork belly
1 1/2 tbsp garlic, chopped finely
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp chilli sauce (Maggi chili sauce or garlic chilli sauce is fine) 
1/2 tsp sugar (omit if you use Maggi chilli sauce. It's sweet enough on its own)
1 tbsp water

Method:

1. Take the marinaded pork belly out of the fridge at least 1/2 hour before frying.
2. Deep fry pork belly until it turned golden brown. Drain and put aside
3. Heat up the wok. Put 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Saute the chopped garlic until fragrant.
4. Add the rest of the seasoning and water. Bring to boil before returning the fried pork belly to the wok
5. Mix well until all pieces of pork is coated with sauce. 
6. Ready to serve!

Maggi Goreng (Fried Maggi Curry Noodle)

Maggi Goreng (21 Mar 2012)

9 Aug 2012
I just had to add to this post. It's amazing that this is the post with the highest number of hits! Thank you to all the supportive Maggi Goreng fans out there! Just a thought... since it's so popular, perhaps I might be able to open a Maggi Goreng stall in Australia in the near future?


21 Mar 2012
It might be Mac & Cheese or Hot Dog for you but this is my all time favourite supper! It's a Malaysian thing and the quickest tastiest way to cure that poor tummy growl after a late night movie! I'd really like to know who is the brilliant person who invented this mind blowing snack? Please tell me if you know!

What is Maggi Goreng? Well, we basically cook a packet of Maggi Instant Noodle Curry flavoured but instead of serving it soupy, we stirfry it with egg and its curry seasoning. As an added value, some stalls would add vegetables and tofu. As you can see, mine is just plain old noodle with egg, which my kids could smell from miles away. They devoured the whole plate of noodle as quickly as I prepared it (which was only 8 minutes to be exact!). 

Maggi Goreng Recipe

Ingredients:

1 packet Maggi Mee Curry Flavour

1 tsp garlic mince

1 tbsp cooking oil

1/2 tsp dark soy sauce / kicap manis

1 egg

Method:

1. First cook the noodle in boiling water as you normally would. Drain the noodle after 2 minutes or almost cooked.
2. Heat up 1 tbsp of oil in wok. Saute garlic mince
3. Break the egg into the wok and give it a good stir before adding the noodle.
4. Pour half the sachet of curry seasoning into the wok and add the dark soy sauce. (Some of you might notice that I've reduced from a whole sachet to half as I've found that it's too salty if I do not add any vegetable, tofu or meat to the noodle. But then again, if you like it really flavourful, by all means add the whole thing!)
5. Sprinkle a little water and stirfry for 2 minutes.
6. Ready to serve. Normally you'd squeeze half a lime on the noodle to give it a nice tangy flavour!

Steamed Tri-Colour Egg (Sam Wong Dan)

Steamed Tri-Colour Egg (24 Mar 2012)

When my baby girl started taking solids, steamed egg was one of the easiest food to introduce. (Precaution: We generally introduce eggs into the baby's diet at 8 months old. First the yolks, then the whites). It was silky soft and I could easily add meat and vegetables into the dish to make it nutritious. Chinese style steamed egg varies in its fillings.You could use minced meat, fish paste, mushrooms or even have plain steamed egg. In most recipes, the egg texture will turn out smooth as we use the same egg:water ratio. 

The colours are as lovely as the taste!

 I found some lovely salted duck egg, preserved century duck egg and kampung(free range) egg from my local wet market last Saturday. I knew straight away that I was going to make tri-colour egg over the weekend. How much did it costs? RM2.50 for a dish - cheap and tasty!

Steamed Tri-Coloured Eggs Recipe

Ingredients:

2 kampung eggs (You should have 1/2 a rice bowl of egg mixture after beaten)

1/2 century egg 

1 salted egg york

3/4 bowl of water

Note: Water:egg ratio is 1.5:1. So regardless of how many eggs you use, once you have beaten the eggs, add 1.5 times more water of the volume of egg mixture you use.

Seasoning:

1 tsp soy sauce

A drop of oyster sauce

A dash of pepper

1/2 tsp cooked garlic oil

Method:

1. First, put on the steamer on high heat

2. Clean the shells of the century and salted eggs. Place them in bowls like the picture above.

3. Beat your fresh eggs. Add seasoning and water. Make sure you stir well.

4. Slice the century egg into desired chucks. Break the salted egg yolk into pieces too. Place them in your steaming dish.

5. Sieve your egg mixture into the steaming dish.

6. Place the dish carefully into the steamer and steam on medium high heat for 5 minutes or until your egg is firm to touch.

7. If you steam with the steamer lid on, your egg would probably look rough on the surface and bubbles inside. The trick is to leave a gap when steaming. I leave a chopstick on the edge of the lid to let a little steam out.

Carrot Walnut Cake

Carrot Walnut Cake (21 Mar 2012)

As you know, I'm not quite a baker, hence the lack of sweets and desserts in my blog! However, since the carrot walnut cake is one of the most demanded cakes that my mum bakes, I've somehow got to give it a shot! The recipe is actually from my aunt (an absolutely multi-talented woman. Thank you, Auntie!) who is kind enough to let me post the recipe online.

This is a wonderful simple cake that you just can't have too much of. It's wholesome, healthy and great for any occasion. If you are good at cake deco (something I'm lacking of), do some fancy little carrots that I see most people put on top of the cake :)

Homey Wholesome Cake!

Carrot Walnut Cake Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups of cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp soda bicarbonate
2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup castor sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used corn oil)
3 cups grated carrot
1 cup walnut
2 tsp vanilla essence

Cream Cheese Topping:
250gm cream cheese
113gm butter (1/2 a stick)
1 1/2 cups of icing / confectionery sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Grease a 10 inch round / square pan, whichever you fancy
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda bicarbonate, cinnamon powder and salt. Set aside
3. In a mixer, cream the brown sugar, caster sugar and vegetable oil. Add the eggs one by one while mixing.
4. When batter is creamy, add the vanilla essence.
5. Alternately, fold in grated carrot and walnut.
6. Pour batter into greased pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Check with a cake skewer at 40 minutes.
7. When cake is ready, leave on wired rack to cool.
8. To prepare the topping, cream the butter, cream cheese and icing sugar. Add in vanilla essence and lemon juice.
9.  Spread the topping on the cooled cake. I sliced my cake into half so that I could get some of that yummy cream cheese in between :)

  

Szechuan Hot & Sour Soup

Szechuan Hot & Sour Soup (15 Mar 2012)

 
I'd like to call this soup an Asian version of a minestrone. It provides all the nutrition you need in a meal, but still taste heavenly. If you have a very Asian kitchen like mine, you'd bound to have the basic ingredients for this recipe. I knew I had a packet of dried lily buds somewhere in my kitchen, but I gave up finding it as I was getting hungry!

What's more, you can choose to do the quickie 15 minutes soup or the 2 hours full recipe! As you already know, I love to cook from scratch but don't worry, for this recipe I've used both methods. I understand how demotivated it must feel if you have to boil chicken stock for a couple of hours just to serve yourself!

For a vegetarian version, omit the garlic and meat. You could use mushroom stock to replace the chicken stock.

Szechuan Hot & Sour Soup Recipe (for 4 rice bowl)

Ingredients:

100g pork,cut into 1 inch strips

4 Chinese mushrooms

1 piece of black fungus

A handful of lilybuds 

1/2 cup of bamboo shoots (optional)

1 box of silken tofu

2 slices of ginger

1 clove of garlic, minced
2-3 dried chilli

Pork Marinade:

1 tsp cornflour

1/2 tsp rice wine

A dash of salt & pepper

Seasoning:

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp of rice vinegar

1 tbsp of black vinegar

Cornstarch

1 Egg, lightly beaten

Stock:

Quick version - Mix well 2 tbsp of chicken stock powder to 1 rice bowl of water

 Normal version - Use 1 chicken carcass with 3 inch of white radish and boil for 1 1/2 hours.

Garnishing:

Scallions, sliced thinly

Chilli oil (optional)

Method:

1. Soak Chinese mushrooms, black fungus and lily buds into hot water until they turn soft.
2. Meanwhile, marinade pork until ready to cook.
3. Slice mushrooms and black fungus thinly. Wash lilybuds and cut off its hard tip. Wash & remove seeds from dried chilli.
4. Remove tofu from box and cut it into 1 inch strips.
5. Prepare chicken stock early if you are making your own stock. Otherwise, prepare the quick version. 
6. In a pot, add a tsp of oil and saute ginger & garlic. Add in pork and stirfry until half cook. Put in the rest of ingredients except tofu. Stir fry until fragrant. Add soy sauce and continue to fry for 1 minute.
7. Add 4 rice bowls of  chicken stock (quick - 1 bowl of stock + 3 bowls of water)
8. Add tofu and bring to boil. Pour in the rice & black vinegar. (You can use either one too)
9. Make sure that your cornstarch has a slightly thick consistency. Pour it in and stir well. Turn off the heat. Pour the egg in and stir with a chopstick. 
10. Ready to serve! Do add some la mien if you want a heartier meal!

Thai Beefball Noodle Soup

Thai Beefball Noodle is a common street food in Thailand. It is basically rice noodles with some beefballs and beansprouts in a beef broth, garnished with some Thai basil and fried garlic oil. There are many versions of the tasty noodle ~  some with beef slices or tendon, some are spicy or prepared dry.

Nevertheless, to do the noodle justice, you've got to prepare a good beef broth / stock. I don't like quickies so I prepare the broth from scratch which takes a minimum of 4-5 hours. However, if you are pressed for time, just purchase beef stock in powder or liquid form. You will still have to add the spices to the stock to get that Thai flavour.

I am lucky to have a authentic Thai grocer in Section 17, Petaling Jaya, which means I could actually get fresh beefball and real Thai rice vermicelli from Thailand instead of the ones sold at the markets. 

Thai Beef Noodle Soup (4 Servings)

1 kg beef bone, blanch in hot water

300gm beef shank

3 litre water

1 brown onion, sliced

3 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

 1 packet of dry rice vermicelli

 24-30 beefballs

Seasoning:

1 tsp Thai sweet dark sauce

1 tbsp Thai fish sauce

Salt to taste

Garnishing:

50g beansprout

A few sprigs of Thai basil

Deep fried garlic mince

Lime

Method:

1. To prepare the broth, blanch the beef bones in boiling water for 3 minutes. Place beef bone and beef shank in a stock pot. Add water, onion, star anise and cinnamon stick. Bring stock to boil then allow to simmer for a few hours. If you are using ready stock, one hour will do.
2. When broth is ready, blanch the rice noodle and place it in individual serving bowls. 
3. Bring the heat back up for the broth , add the seasoning and let it boil for 15 minutes . Put in the beefballs. When the beefballs are floating on top, place the beef ball and some beef shank into your serving bowl with noodles and pour a ladle of soup on top. 
4. Garnish with beansprouts, basil leaves. Pour a little more soup on top of the garnishing, to cook the beansprout slightly. Squeeze some lime juice and serve!

Claypot Brinjal with Minced Meat

Claypot Brinjal with Minced Meat (18 Mar 2012)

Another one of my favourite vegetable is brinjal or eggplant. I like all variations of it simply because of its rich complex flavour after cooking. Brinjals can be steamed, deepfried, curried, grilled, braised, etc. Brinjals are also a good source of folic acid and potassium. So ladies, if you are planning to conceive, I recommend heaps of brinjals!

Every restaurant has a different version of this yummy claypot dish. Some prepares it spicy ala Sze Chuan style while others add salted fish to enhance the flavours of the dish. My version was created at the very last minute, about 1/2 hour before lunch to be exact! 

There were three things I took note of :-

1. I didn't want it spicy, to suite my toddler's palate

2. I didn't have Mui Heong salted fish (the top notch one of the kind salted fish...it's Mui Heong or nothing).

3. My hubby doesn't take dried shrimps. (unless it's so little that he doesn't notice it!)

With all that thought in mind, I had to improvise. To compensate the saltiness, I used some whole salted turnip (Choy Bou) which I minced and deepfried. Without dried shrimps, I used small red onions instead to give the dish a distinct taste.

Claypot Brinjal with Minced Meat Recipe

Ingredients:

2 brinjal (should give you a large soup bowl full once cut into thick chunky strips)

200gm minced pork

1 small red onion,chopped finely

1 clove of garlic,chopped finely

1 piece of Choy Bou, minced

Pork Marinade: (marinade pork 15 minutes before cooking)

1 tbsp of cornflour

1 tsp of soy sauce

A dash of pepper

Seasoning:

1 tbsp of Tau Cheong (fermented salted beans)

1 tsp of dark soy sauce

1 tsp of oyster sauce

1 tbsp Shao Hsing wine

1/2 tsp of sugar

1/2 tsp of chili oil (optional)

Method:

1. First, deep fry the brinjal strips for 3 minutes or until slightly brown on the outside. Remember to fry on high heat so that the brinjals are not oily. Drain and pat with kitchen towel if necessary.
2. Deep fry the minced Choy Bou until crispy. Take care not to burnt it. I suggest you transfer some oil from deep fryer to small pan. It's easier to control the heat.
3. Heat up claypot and put 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. (You could fry in pan or wok)
4. Saute garlic & small onion. Add pork and stir fry for a few minutes until almost cooked.
5. Add brinjal and all seasoning. Add 2 tablespoons of water (more if too dry)
6. Cover claypot for 1 minute.Garnish with Choy Bou and some chopped shallot. Ready to serve!

Another version which I prepare with dried shrimps & chili, the way it is served at a restaurant. (21 Mar 2012)

Steamed Pork Belly with Yam

This is my mum's recipe. I've been trying to avoid making this dish because it really is very tedious... but it taste sooooo GOOD! I suggest that you make it a couple of days earlier before serving. It keeps very well in the freezer so do make a few portions and steam it anytime you have guests over. This is a traditional Chinese dish that's sure to impress!

It's hard to visualise the whole process and I'm not the best storyteller so I've included a picture tutorial to guide you through the recipe!


Steamed Pork Belly with Yam Recipe

Ingredients:
1 kg pork belly with skin on
1 large yam
1 garlic
4 small red onions
8 red dates
6 pieces of fermented red beancurd
2 tbsp of Shao Hsing wine
2 tbsp water
1 tsp of sugar (optional)

Seasoning (Mixed well)
2 tbsp 5-spice powder
1 tsp of dark soy sauce
1 tbsp pepper

Method:
1. Cut pork belly into squares roughly about 10x10cm. Skin yam and cut into 1cm thick slices

2. Blanch pork in hot water for 5 min. Remove and drain. Poke some holes on the pork skin with a fork.

3. Mix the seasoning together & rub all over the pork pieces. Rub leftover seasoning on yam slices

4. Deep fry pork pieces skin side down first for 1 minute. Turn over for another minute.

5.Remove pork from oil & let it rest.

6. Meanwhile, deep fry yam slices for 1 minute. Remove and put aside for later use.

7. Put the fried pork pieces into cold water. Leave it in water for 3 hours.

8. Meanwhile, blend the garlic, small red onion and red dates.

9. Mash the fermented beancurd and add the blended paste together. Add in the water, sugar and wine as well

10. After 3 hours, remove the pork from water. Slice the pork into 1 cm thick. As you can see, the inside should still be raw.

11. Find a suitable soup bowl that is about 15-20cm

12. Dip a slice of yam into the beancurd paste. Place it on one side of the bowl. Dip a slice of pork and place it next to the yam, skin side down. Keep alternating until your bowl is full. You should have a tight fit so that when you flip the bowl around later, the shape will retain.

13. Cover the bowl with aluminium foil and steam for 4 hours. Make sure you add hot water to your steamer in between because you are steaming on high heat.

14. When ready, take the bowl out and let it rest for 15 minutes or so. This will allow the dish to firm up so that it doesn't fall apart when you flip it over onto a serving plate.

15. Place serving plate on top of bowl and flip the bowl over quickly while holding on to the plate. Ready to serve!

Salt Baked Chicken (Yim Kuk Kai)

Salt Baked Chicken (18th Mar 2012)

If you've been to Ipoh, about 2 hours drive north of Kuala Lumpur, you'll be sure to stop by a shop called Aun Kheng Lim to buy this wonderfully fragrant salt baked chicken. I'm not going to blog about it as there are already hundreds who have. Do google the place and if you have the time, take a food trip to Ipoh as there are plenty of really good food there!

I've always been interested in the salt baking method but I was told that the course salt would ruin my wok. So it was sheer luck that I found myself a Japanese Volcanic Stone Pot. 'Sigh'... I get suckered into buying kitchen stuff all the time but this really big pot seemed like a good buy! And it comes with a mini pot free! Hahaha....

Anyway, with my new sturdy pot, I had an even stronger urge to try and replicate the famous Ipoh salt baked chicken! I always love a good challenge :)

Verdict:            The flavour is spot on! The chicken meat just falls off the bone. 

Improvement:  I've really got to know how to choose my kampung chicken. As you can see from the above picture, this one has fat thighs... which means it may not be a genuine one, just a really tiny chicken!

This one turned out really tasty and it is a kampung chicken! (14 Apr 2012)

Salt Baked Chicken Recipe

Fry the coarse salt

Wrap chicken in parchment paper

Place chicken onto 1/2 the salt before covering with the other 1/2

Cut the top part of the paper so that the juices do not flow out

Ingredients:

1 kg or less Kampung Chicken (Free Range Chicken)

1 tbsp Fine Salt for rubbing

3 slices of ginger

5-10 pieces of Dong Kwai, Chinese angelica root 

2 tbsp of Shao Hsing Wine

2 kg of Coarse Salt

Tools:

1 old wok /really big old pot

Ice pick, to chip of salt

Parchment/Baking Paper

Method:

1. Clean and pat dry the chicken. 
2. Rub salt and wine all over the chicken and in its cavity.
3. Place the ginger and Dong Kwai into the chicken cavity and leave to marinade for at least 2 hours.
4. Heat up the wok and pour all the course salt in. Fry the salt until hot.
5. Remove half the salt from the wok and make a well in the centre but make sure the bottom of the wok is still lined with salt.
6. Wrap the chicken with parchment paper like a parcel. Place chicken in the middle of well.
7. Pour the rest of the salt on top of the chicken.
8. Bake for 1 hour on low heat. 
9. Chip away the top layer of salt with your ice pick. Turn the chicken around and cover the chicken again. Bake for another hour.
10. When serving, cut the top of the parchment paper instead of peeling of the paper so that the juices are retained.

Chicken Karaage

Chicken Karaage (16 Mar 2012)

Chicken Karaage is more like a snack, dangerously addictive and almost always gone before it hits the dining table. This explains my blurry picture... I was trying to smack away the little fingers before all the chicken pieces were gone!

I've gone through a number of recipes & while all the marinades are similar, the key to a good deep fry is always making sure you get a crunch that last on the outside. So for this recipe, I have used the traditional potato starch but I believe any kind of flour would do nicely ie. plain, corn or even a combo.

Chicken Karaage Recipe

~ Marinade, Strain dry, Flour ~

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken thigh with skin, cut into nugget size

Marinade:

2 tbsp ginger juice (reduce if you don't like ginger)

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp mirin or Chinese sweet rice wine (the white kind)

Potato starch for dusting

Method:

1. I kept the chicken skin on but if you could remove if you don't want any fat. Cut the meat into nugget size as the meat will shrink into bitesize after deep frying.
2. Marinade the chicken for at least 1 hour. I marinaded it in the morning and left it in the fridge before leaving for work and fried it in the evening.
3. Heat up oil. Strain the chicken pieces before dusting it with potato starch.
4. Deep fry until golden brown. Ready to serve!

Pork Katsudon

Katsudon Dinner (14 March 2012)

Since we met, Katsudon has been, by far, my hubby's favourite Japanese dish, and it still is todate :) 

So why haven't I thought of recreating this dish earlier on? To tell you the truth, I was a little afraid. My hubby has this thing about rating his katsudons. How do you serve a katsudon expert when you come from a non-Japanese cooking background?

Luckily, as I started studying, Katsudon turned out to be a novice Japanese dish, which every homey housewife must know how to prepare! Plenty of recipes and tutorials online! I just needed to pop by Jusco to grab a few essential Japanese condiments & I was set to go on my Nippon adventure!

Katsudon (Sorry about the warm lighting!)

I have earlier provided the recipe for Tonkatsu which is the base of your Katsudon. So please do visit the post before you attempt the sauce!

Katsudon Recipe (For 1 bowl of rice)

Ingredient:

1 tonkatsu

1 egg, beaten

1/4 brown onions, sliced thinly

1 1/2 tsp mirin

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp dashi stock / paste

1 cup of water

Sliced Japanese parsley / shallot for garnishing

1 bowl of steaming hot cooked rice

Method: 

1. Heat up a frying pan. Add the water and dashi stock. Stir well to dissolve dashi.
2. Add onions, soy sauce and mirin. Bring stock to boil.
3. Pour in beaten egg around the stock. Switch off heat and cover with pan with lid for a few minutes.This will allow the egg to cook slightly. 
4. Meanwhile, arrange your cut tonkatsu onto a bowl of steaming bowl of rice.
5. Take the lid of your pan and stir the egg sauce slightly before pouring it over the tonkatsu. 
6. Serve your katsudon while it's hot!
   

Tonkatsu (Japanese Deep Fried Pork Cutlet)

Tonkatsu (14 Mar 2012)

It's pretty neat to learn how to make a simple tonkatsu. Tonkatsu basically means breaded deep fried pork cutlet. Tonkatsu can be served plain with white rice and some Japanese dipping sauce or mayonnaise. Tonkatsu is also the basis of some favourite Japanese rice bowl dishes like Katsudon and Katsu Curry. 

I know I'm suppose to use Panko (Japanese bread crumbs) but how could I resist not using my Philip airfryer to make some of my own & it only took me 10 minutes to fry & crumble 2 cups of breadcrumbs. The conventional recipe also called for deep frying, but I just couldn't resist popping one of my cutlets into the airfryer to compare the texture. Verdict: If you have really lean cutlets, do deep fry them in oil. You'd need a pork chop with rather fatty tissues to cook in an airfryer. Otherwise the pork wiill turn out pretty dry. Great for Katsudon, which is saucy but not good on its own!

Deep fried (Left) vs. Airfried (Right)

Oh, by the way, feel free to use deboned chicken thigh for the same recipe. Most of the restaurants in Malaysia are non-pork, so Chicken Katsu is pretty common here!

Tonkatsu Recipe (Serving 2)

Ingredients:
2 pcs of pork chop
Salt & pepper
Cornflour / plain flour
1 egg, beaten
1 cup of Panko (breadcrumbs)

Method:

1. First, pound the pork chops on both sides to tenderise meat
2. Lightly  sprinkle salt & pepper on both sides of meat, put aside for 1/2 hour
3. When ready to fry, lightly flour the pork chops. Then dip it into the egg. 
4. Press the pork chop firmly on each side into a plate of Panko. Shake of any excess before dipping into the oil
5. The frying oil should be kept at medium heat to allow the meat to cook. When almost golden brown, bring heat up to crisp up the skin. This will ensure that your tonkatsu will stay nice & crunchy for awhile
6. Cut into pieces and serve!

Stirfried Pork Strips with Preserved Szechuan Vegetables

I don't like using preserved vegetables at home. With so many fresh ingredients to choose from the local markets, it's hardly ever my first choice to add preserved food into my dishes. So, I'll usually only have preserved vegetables at the local Teochew porridge stall or at La Mien shops. Preserved szechuan vegetable is really quite appetizing especially when served with plain rice porridge or noodles. 

I got the pre-cut szechuan vegetable strips sold in packs this time. You could always get the whole mustard and divide it into portions for later use. Try using it for soup. It gives a mild saltiness to the soup, very appetizing.

Preserved vegetable soaked in water

Stirfried Pork Strips with Preserved Szechuan Vegetables Recipe

Ingredients:

200gm lean pork, cut into strips 
80gm Szechuan preserved vegetable
5 thin slices of ginger
1tbsp corn flour
2 tbsp of water
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp of Shao Hsing wine
 A dash of salt & pepper

Method:

1. First cut pork into strips and mix well with cornflour, and a dash of salt & pepper
2. Soak  & wash preserved vegetable thoroughly for at least 2 times before using. It is salty even after my 3rd wash.
3. Heat up a tbsp of oil in wok. Saute ginger slices before adding the pork strips. Strifry for 2 minutes on high heat.
4. Add preserved vegetables & water to wok and fry for another 1 minute. Add soy sauce and water.
5. Just before serving, add the wine and give a good toss! Ready to serve.

Braised Pork with Long Beans

Braised Pork with Long Bean (11 March 2012)

I can easily finish a bowl of rice with a generous helping of this dish and a big spoonful of that yummy bean sauce. Being a big fan of long beans or snake bean in some countries, I'll seize any opportunity to sneak my favourite legume into the curry, fried omelette or my sambal. Long beans may be eaten raw or overcooked and will absorb just about any flavour you add to them.

Braised Pork with Long Beans Recipe

Ingredient:

300gm lean pork

5-6 strings of long beans

2 tbsp garlic, minced

2 tbsp Tau Cheong (Salted Bean Paste)

1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 cup of water (I like it saucy)

Pork Marinate:

1 tbsp corn flour

1 tsp Shao Hsing wine

A dash of salt & pepper

Method:

1. First, slice the pork thinly and marinate. Leave for 15 minutes
2. Wash & cut the long beans into 1 1/2 inch long.
3. Put the 2 tablespoons of Tau Cheong into a small bowl and try to mash the beans into a paste.
4. Heat up wok. Add 1 tbsp of oil. Saute the minced garlic for 1 minute before adding the bean paste.
5. Put pork & long beans into the wok and stir fry for 3 minutes.
6. Add water, dark sauce & sugar to the wok. Let it boil, then turn down heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Once the long beans have softened, the dish is ready to serve.

Steamed Lady's Fingers

Steamed Lady's fingers (11 Mar 2012)

Lady's finger or okra, may not be on the top of your favourite vegetable list, but it sure packs a whole lot of goodness! Consuming lady's fingers may help stabilize your blood sugar & cholesterol level. It also helps you slim down... hah, caught your attention, eh?  All that goo & slime in its pods helps with your digestion, thus helping you detox your system. 

In Malaysia, lady's finger is frequently used in dishes that are strong in flavour. Indians uses it to soak up the flavours of its fish curry,  whereas the Chinese stirfry it with belachan (shrimp paste) or stuff it with fish paste. Today, I've decided to do cook lady's fingers my Mummy's way! The best thing is it only takes 15 minutes to prepare & serve.

Steamed Lady's Fingers  (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

8 pieces of lady's fingers, cut of the top

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp of cooking oil

1 tbsp of soy sauce

Method:

1. Get a steamer ready. Steam lady's finger for 10 minutes on high fire.
2. While waiting, heat up cooking oil and saute garlic mince until golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside
3. Remove lady's fingers from steamer onto a plate. Pour away any excess liquid.
4. Sprinkle the soy sauce on the lady's fingers. Then add the fried garlic mince and a tbsp of the cooked oil. Ready to serve!

Steamed Yam Cake ( Wu Tao Kow)

Yam Cake (Vegetarian Version)

As you can see, I've been fascinated with yam or taro recently. Since the yam rice and yam ring recipes, I've been exploring other ways of using this tuber in my cooking. I shall be making the very popular, Steamed Pork Belly with Yam (Wu Tao Kao Yuk), Claypot Pork Ribs with Yam (Nga Po Wu Tao Pai Kuat), and complete my yam fascination with the Teochew Yam Pudding (Oh-Nee).

Some people like their yam cake chunky and some like it smooth. Whichever way you choose to have it, yam cake or "Wu Tao Kow", is a favourite snack amongst the Malaysian Chinese community & it is very easy to make! It doesn't matter what portion you make, you just have to remember your 1 part rice flour to 2 part water ratio. To make it taste better, you should try to get the "Pan Long" Yam (Can anyone tell me what this is in English?). You could try other types of yam which may give the cake a flourish texture.

Yam Cake with Dried Shrimps & Chinese Sausage

 Steamed Yam Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

1 yam (either 1 cm cubed or shredded) into 1 1/2 rice bowl full

1 rice bowl of rice flour
2 rice bowls of water
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp of dried shrimps (soaked & chopped finely) - omit for vegetarians
1 Chinese sausage (chopped finely) - optional

Seasoning: (mixed together)
1 1/2 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Garnishing:
Sliced red chilli
Finely sliced scallions
Dried shrimps, pan fried & minced - omit for vegetarians & replace with deep fried minced "choy bo", pickled daikon

Method:

1. Prepare the rice flour batter by mixing the flour and water. Stir well to ensure no lumps in batter
2. Heat up 3 tablespoon of oil in wok. Saute garlic, dried shrimps and sausages. Add yam and 1/2 of seasoning and fry for 5 minutes.
3. Prepare a steaming pan by oiling the sides very lightly. Pour the batter into the pan and mix in the balance seasoning.
4.  Add the fried yam into the pan. Stir well to ensure no clumps.  
5. Steam the cake for 1 hour on high heat. 
6. Let it cool down before garnishing. 

Hokkien Fried Mee Hoon

Hokkien Fried Mee Hoon (Nov 2011)

This is the culprit that made me gain those extra weight during my teens! I had this really bad habit of having a late night snack before sleeping and the fact that a wonderful "tai chao" (literally means big fry, otherwise means a Chinese food stall that sells everything!) was located within walking distance from my house in SS2. 

The Hokkien version is more moist than your average fried meehoon. The noodle is braised in its own sauce until every strand of noodle and every morsel of meat is coated with this absolutely amazing flavour! Lard & crispy bits of pork fat are the secret ingredients to a perfect dish...which is why the home cooked version will never taste the same as the stalls!

And still I attempted to replicate the dish less lard and pork fat. The healthier version turned out pretty ok if I may say so. The only thing missing was the gleaming lustre on the surface of the noodle. That, my dear friends, is the work of lard....

Hokkien Fried Mee Hoon Recipe (2 Serving)

Ingredients:
2 cloves of garlic
250g mee hoon, soaked in water (thin rice vermicelli)
50g lean pork, sliced
6 small prawns, shelled & devein
Choy sum, cut 1/12 inch long
Fish cake slices (optional)
Squid, ringed (optional)

Seasoning:
1 tsp chicken stock, mixed with half a bowl of water
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
A dash of pepper

Method:

1. Remove the meehoon from water and drain. Make sure it's soft to use.
2. Marinade the pork with a little cornflour, rice wine and soy sauce.
3. Heat up wok. Add 2 tablespoon of oil (using more oil because mee hoon sticks to the wok easily)
4. Saute garlic, then add pork. Stirfry for a minute before adding the rest of the seafood. 
5. Pour seasoning into the wok and add the meehoon. Turn the heat low. At this point, I suggest that you equip one hand with your spatula and the other with a pair of chopsticks or a large cooking fork.
6. You will need to toss and stir the noodle until it is evenly coloured and the tiny meat morsels are imbedded in every part of your noodle.
7. Add the choy sum and a little water if required.Then cover the wok with a lid and turn up the heat for 1 minute. You are braising the noodle so that it will have a soft sticky texture.
8. Serve the noodle with sambal belachan.