Savoury Glutinous Rice Dumpling (Zhong Zi)

Zhong Zi (26 June 2012)

I believe that every Chinese household has their own special 'zhong'. Mine is a reflection of the wonder times my mum and Grandma used to spend together, bustling around in the kitchen with the dumplings brimming in hot boiling pots and the floor spotted with specks of rice and beans...

There's nothing like homemade dumplings and my family's recipe is a very traditional one with pork filling, Chinese mushrooms and salted eggs. Over the years, we have only added mung beans and chestnuts to enhance the taste. I like to keep it this way for the moment, I like to be reminded of the women in my home...

Truly, there's no need for me to make other types of dumplings as family and friends tend to exchange their goodies during the festive season. I've had quite a fair bit this year with the Hokkien, Teochew, Nyonya and Hong Kong versions! By the way, all your lovely zhongs were excellent this year!!

Savoury Glutinous Rice Dumpling Recipe (Makes 35-40)

Ingredients:
1 kg glutinous rice (soaked for at least 4 hours)
160gm bamboo leaves (boiled till soft and clean)
45gm hemp/rattan strings/cooking strings. (hemp and rattan strings have to be boiled till soft)

Filling:
1 kg pork belly / streaky pork (cut into bite sizes)
300gm split yellow lentil beans (soaked)
100gm dried chestnuts (soaked and split into halves)
60gm dried Chinese mushrooms (soaked and marinade with 1 tsp 5-spice & 1 tsp pepper the day before)
20 salted egg yolks, halved (more if you like)
100gm dried shrimp (soaked, drained and minced) (optional)

Seasoning for glutinious rice:-
5 tbsp light soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce (for colouring)
1 tbsp 5-spice powder
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt

Pork Marinade: (A day before)
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp 5-spice powder
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
3 tsp sugar

Method:

1. Day before: marinade pork and mushrooms. Night before: soak glutinious rice in water.
2. Preparation on the day: Boil bamboo leaves and strings. It should only take you about 15 minutes in a large pot covered with lid. Wash bamboo leaves and drain in a sieve. 
3. Soak lentil beans and chestnuts in water. When softened, drain and add 1/2 tsp 5-spice powder each and mix well.
4. Prepare seasoning for rice in a bowl. Heat up 5 tbsp of oil in wok and fry glutinious rice with seasoning until fragrant. Dish out and set aside. (Optional: You could fry the dried shrimps first before adding the rice)
5. All your ingredients should be within arm's reach now. 
6. Hang a bunch of strings where it is convenient for you to wrap and tie your dumpling.
7. Take 2 bamboo leaves and fold it into a cone shape. Place 1 tbsp of rice, add a little of each filling then top with another tbsp of rice. 
8. Fold the top of the cone over to cover the dumpling firmly before tying the dumpling with a string.
9. Boil two 1/2 pots of water. Once your dumplings are all ready, place them gently into the water. Make sure that every single dumpling is submerged in water. Boil dumplings for 3-4 hours.
10. Be sure to keep a hawk eye on your pots. Once the water in the pot has reduces, you will have to replenish it with boiling water.    
11. Once ready, remove dumplings and leave to drain and cool. 

Fried Long Bean Omelette

Fried Long Bean Omelette

I love having a simple fried long bean omelette with rice or plain porridge since I was a child. When Mum can't think of anything to cook or is rushing for time, eggs are always the best solution to feed a hungry bunch!

Fried Long Bean Omelette Recipe

Ingredients:

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup of thinly sliced long bean (more if you like)

1 1/2 tsp light soy sauce

Pepper

Method:

1. Heat 1 tsp of oil in pan. Fry long bean with sauce & pepper till it turns slightly darker green. Remove from pan.
2. Heat up 1/2 tbsp oil in the same pan. Pour egg mixture in and sprinkle the cooked long bean evenly on the egg. Leave on medium heat for 1/2 minute before flipping the egg over. Cook for another minute.
3. Ready to serve!

Chicken Chop with Mushroom Sauce

Malaysians have a thing for Chicken Chop. It's basically a crumbed coated chicken maryland (deboned thigh & drumstick), deep fried till golden brown and served with the sauce of your choice. Here the all-time favourites are black pepper sauce and mushroom sauce. The Classic Chicken Chop recipe takes on a rather Asian flavour but for this recipe, I've mixed it up quite a bit, using thyme and sake. 

I suppose my Chicken Chop was well received, judging by the way my Hubby devoured it in less than 5 minutes. I did not prepare any side dishes as it was just a tea break for us before heading out for our late dinner appointment. Yes, this is a tea break!

Chicken Chop with Mushroom Sauce Recipe 


Ingredients: (2 servings)

Chicken Chop Marinade
2 pieces of chicken maryland (deboned leg & thigh, skin on)
1 tbsp light soy sauce (Asian take) or 1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dried thyme (optional)
1/2 tbsp sake / white wine (optional)
1/2 tsp crushed black pepper

For Frying
Enough oil to cover the chicken only
1 egg, beaten
Plain Flour, for coating
1 cup of breadcrumbs 
Salt & pepper

Mushroom Sauce
50gm fresh mushrooms (I used white mushrooms this time. I've used swiss brown / portebello,etc... use whatever you fancy or made available)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp garlic mince
2 cup of chicken/beef stock
1/2 tbsp plain flour or 1 tbsp cornstarch (thickener)
White wine
Salt & Pepper 

Method:

1. You don't really need to tenderise the chicken unless you are using chicken breast meat. But in this case, I used a mallet to pound the marylands lightly to get the same thickness for even cooking.
2. Marinade the chicken pieces for at least 2 hours with all the ingredients
3. Prepare in separate dipping containers, i) plain flour mixed with a salt & pepper, ii) the egg, iii) breadcrumb. 
4. Heat up oil in a deep pan enough to cover the chicken. Place chicken in flour container, turn it over to coat the other side. Shake the excess flour off the chicken  Dip the chicken piece into the egg, lift to remove excess egg mixture, then place flat into the breadcrumb container. Press firmly to ensure the whole surface is coated before doing the same for the other size. 
5. Gently place the coated chicken into the hot oil and fry for 5 minutes each side or until it is cooked.
6. The mushroom sauce can be prepared ahead but I like to cook it just after frying the chicken as it only takes less than 5 minutes.
7. First heat up olive oil in a pan. On low heat, saute the garlic mince. Add mushrooms and fry till softened slightly. Add stock and bring to boil. 
8. Season the sauce with salt & pepper and add a dash of white wine. 
9. Lower heat and stir in flour / cornstarch to thicken sauce.
10. Ready to serve!  

 

Chicken Parmigiana with Cajun Spiced Wedges

Chicken Parmigiana with Cajun Spiced Wedges

Chicken Parmigiana is Darren, my eldest boy's favourite everything in one meal ~ Fried Chicken, Italian Sauce and Cheese! It started off with a simple Chicken Schnitzel which he first tried in Australia a couple of years back. Then he discovered the magic of toppings! 

So it was only wise for me to make this at home as it costs RM15-30 to eat out! My Chicken Parmigiana was so huge that I could see Darren struggling with the last few bites. He managed to finish every last morsel but had to reluctantly forgo his other favourite, the cajun wedges!

Chicken Parmigiana with Cajun Spiced Wedges Recipe
(2 servings)
 

Chicken2 portions of chicken breasts (butterflied)/ chicken marylands (deboned, skin on)


1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tbsp white wine (optional)
1/2 tsp crushed black pepper

For Frying
Enough oil to cover the chicken only
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp milk 
Plain Flour, for coating
1 cup of breadcrumbs 
Salt & pepper

Topping
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic mince
1/2 cup of tomato paste
1/2 cup diced fresh tomato
A spring of basil (chopped finely) / 1 tsp dry basil
1 tsp sugar
Salt & pepper to taste
Mixture of parmesan, mozzarella and cheddar cheese topping

Cajun Spiced Wedges
8 small potatoes, cut into wedges

3 tbsps olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp hot paprika

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp chili powder

Method:

1. Marinade chicken with salt, wine and black pepper for at least a hour before frying. I know the traditional Chicken Parmigiana uses chicken breast but I tend to serve mine with marylands. I find breast meat too dry for my liking.
2. Cook the tomato sauce topping ahead to save time. Heat up olive oil and add garlic mince. Saute till fragrant then add diced tomato and paste. Saute for 3 minutes before adding the sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Leave to cool before storing.
3. Prepare in separate dipping containers, i) plain flour mixed with a salt & pepper, ii) the egg mixed with milk, iii) breadcrumb. 
4. Heat up oil in a deep pan enough to cover the chicken. Place chicken in flour container, turn it over to coat the other side. Shake the excess flour off the chicken  Dip the chicken piece into the egg, lift to remove excess egg mixture, then place flat into the breadcrumb container. Press firmly to ensure the whole surface is coated before doing the same for the other size. 
5. Gently place the coated chicken into the hot oil and fry for 5 minutes each side or until it is cooked and golden brown.
6. Preheat oven at 200 deg Celcius. Place fried chicken on a baking tray. Spread a generous helping of sauce to cover the top of the chicken pieces, followed by the combined cheese topping. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. As for the wedges, whisk all the spices with the olive oil and mix it well with the cut wedges. Place the wedges into the oven at the same time as the chicken and bake for 20 minutes.

Stirfried Butternut Pumpkin with Pork

Stirfried Butternut Pumpkin with Pork

I imagine that I'll fail horrendously at photo taking class... Look at this picture, this is the most decent one of the lot! LOL, I think my son takes better pictures than me!

Anyway, I made this dish in Perth for my little ones. My princess has had one too many pizza slices and her brothers were not having the healthiest burgers too! We were a large group of 11 (half were kids under 10!) so you could just imagine the nightmare we went through at the restaurant.... which led to a lot of home cooking from day 1 of our holidays!

I made a lot of dishes but unfortunately with 10 other hungry mouths to feed, I lost track and forgot to take most of dishes. I managed to capture this lovely dish only because all the males had not returned from their fishing trip!

Stirfried Butternut Pumpkin with Pork Recipe

Ingredients:
200gm lean pork, sliced thinly
1/2 a butternut pumpkin (butternuts are generally quite smaller and much lighter than their common cousins)
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp tau cheong / salted soy bean paste
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp cornstarch
Pepper to taste

Pork Marinade: (marinade for 15 minutes before cooking)
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Chinese cooking wine
A dash of pepper
1/2 tsp cornflour

Method:

1. First, marinade the pork and put aside. Then, prepare the butternut by removing its rind and seeds. Cut the pumpkin into bite-sized chunks.
2. Heat up the work. Add 1 tbsp of cooking oil. Saute the garlic mince.
3. When fragrant, add the pork with the tau cheong & soy sauce. Sprinkle some water to prevent pork from sticking.
4. Add the pumpkin and water. Sitrfry to mix pork with pumpkin. Pour in the rest of water. Bring down to medium heat, cover with lid for 3 minutes. Continue to braise further if you like your pumpkin really soft.
5. When ready, add pepper and sugar to taste. Then add cornstarch to thicken the sauce. 
6. Ready to serve!

Braised Pork Belly with Whole Garlic

Braised Pork Belly with Whole Garlic

If you are looking for a simple braised pork recipe without fussing with spices, then this is your dinner tonight! Unlike the Hokkien style "Hong Bak" which may call for a variety of spices such as the star anise and cinnamon stick, my Grandma's version simply depends on the freshness of the pork and loads of garlic.

Braised Pork Belly with Whole Garlic Recipe

Ingredients:

1 strip of pork belly, skin off (choose the more meaty  part)

3 whole garlic with skin intact, washed
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
2-3 gm rock sugar, roughly the size of a small pebble
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup of water

Method:

1. Cut the pork belly into 1" thick pieces.Marinade pork with 1/2 tbsp of dark soy sauce first.
2. Heat up a 1 tsp of cooking oil in wok (Using less oil because of the fat on pork belly). Add in marinaded pork and stir fry for a few minutes or until the pork is no longer pink.
3. Add the whole garlic and soy sauce. Ffry for another minute.
4. You can now transfer the pork to a claypot or continue to braise in your wok.
5. Add the balance dark soy sauce, rock sugar and cooking wine to the pork. Pour enough water to cover half the pork only. 
6. Turn the heat down and simmer with lid on for at least 1/2 hour or until the pork has softened to your liking. Add water little by little in case the pork dries out.
7. Salt & pepper the pork to taste if required.
8. Serve hot with a steaming bowl of fragrant rice!

Popcorn Chicken

Homemade Popcorn Chicken

What is it about popcorn chicken sold at KFC? Yes, you get that KFC distinct flavour but it's also hard, dry and cold by the time you eat it! My kids are not big fans of Kentucky but they do like fried chicken. This little recipe was more for my toddler princess who can't get enough of big brothers' yummy meat dishes! I wanted to create a healthier boneless version of the popcorn chicken that my princess can indulge once and awhile.

Instead of deepfrying, I've utilised my Philip Airfryer. This time, it turned out pretty good, tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside! Yummy :)

Popcorn Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

1 chicken leg with thigh (deboned and skin off)

Breadcrumbs

1 egg, beaten

Plain Flour, to sprinkle

Salt & black pepper

Chicken Marinade:

1 tsp soy sauce (for more Asian version) / cajun or chicken powder seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ginger juice

1 tbsp cornflour

A pinch of sugar

Method:

1. First, cut the chicken meat into small cubes. The size of the cubes will determine how long you need to fry and how much crunchy bits you have on your popcorns. The smaller the crunchier!
2. Marinade the chicken for at least 1 hour before frying.
3. Just before frying, place 2 plates next to your fryer. One with plain flour and the other with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle some salt and black pepper onto the breadcrumbs.
4. Place the beaten eggs in between the two plates. Your sequence of coating the chicken pieces should be 1) flour, 2) egg and 3) crumbs. This will seal the chicken and ensure that the crumbs won't fall off. The flour is to retain the juices in the chicken bites and keep it tender.
5. If you are deepfrying the conventional method, just drop the chicken pieces into hot oil and fry till golden brown.
6. If you are using the Airfryer, put one layer of chicken pieces in for 10-12 minutes at 160deg Celsius to cook the chicken, then for 3 minutes at 200 deg Celsius to brown it.

Chinese Beef Stew

Chinese Beef Stew

I like sharing basic recipes that you can add your own flavours and make it something out of this world. A basic Chinese beef stew is one of those recipes that you are able to magically transform from a simpleton bowl of wholesome goodness to a 5 star restaurant gourmet dish.  

I used carrots to accompany my beef for this stew as I find the flavour of white radish rather overpowering sometimes. You could use a combination of both if you like. You could also add dried beancurd sticks which will add texture to the dish or flavour the beef with cinnamon bark and star anise if you like spices.

As for me, the plain ol' beef stew is good enough!

Chinese Beef Stew Recipe

Ingredients:

1 kg stewing beef

3 carrots

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 shallot, minced

1 tsp peppercorn (optional)

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp superior soy sauce

1 tsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp of brown sugar

Water, enough to cover half the beef in pot

Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. Before you cut the beef into chunks, blanch in hot water to get rid of any impurities. Then cut the beef into large chunks. Skin and cut the carrots into 1" pieces.
2. Heat up a tbsp of cooking oil. Saute garlic and shallot mince. Add beef and stirfry for 1 minute or until you see juices flowing out of the beef. Add carrots, sauces and brown sugar.
3. Add enough water to cover half the beef and lower heat to simmer. Stew for minimum 1 1/2 hour or until beef has softened to your liking.
4. Add salt & pepper to taste when ready. Beef stew taste best overnight so do keep the leftover for later!

Stirfried Black Pepper Beef Cubes

Stirfried Black Pepper Beef Cubes

Vietnamese Cold Rice Noodle Salad

Vietnamese Cold Rice Noodle

I love Vietnamese food especially the Cold Rice Noodle Salad or Bun as they call it in Vietnam. If there's an excuse for me to eat this noodle everyday I would. I love the freshness of the raw vegetables and herbs topped with this heavenly sauce that's sweet, salty, sour and spicy at the same time. However, I'm told I have a 'cool' body and cannot consume too much cold or uncooked food... so there goes my dream of having bun and gui cuon everyday!

I usually have a vegetarian Bun only but if you are familiar with this noodle dish (or you might wish to google it now :p), it comes with a variety of toppings! There's the all time favourite Grilled Lemongrass Pork/Beef, Sugarcane Prawn, Fried Vietnamese Springroll (Check out my Vietnamese Spring Roll post here!), Vietnamese Meatballs, etc... You could also add your own leftover meat from last night's dinner!

Vietnamese Cold Rice Noodle Salad

Ingredients

Basic Bowl of Noodle:

120gm Vietnamese rice noodle (this would even be enough for two person when you add all that salad in)

Lettuce

Carrot

Cucumber

Beansprout

Mint leaves

Crushed roasted peanuts

Nuoc Cham Sauce:

(I've posted this recipe with my Gui Cuon post before)

3 tbsp fish sauce

2 tsp sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bird's eye chili (cili padi), chopped finely

Lime Juice

!/2 bowl of warm water

 

Method:

1. Soak the rice noodle in hot water until it softens. In the event that you are using rice noodle from other sources, please follow the instructions to cook the noodle.
2. Using a grater, grate the carrots and cucumber into thin strips. I grated about half a cup each.
3. Cut the lettuce into strips. 
4. Prepare the sauce ahead. Place all the ingredients in a bowl. Using the back of your spoon, press on the garlic and chili to release the flavours. Then add the warm water. 
5. Place all the ingredients in a serving bowl. Pour sauce over the noodle only when serving.

Beancurd Roll with Fish Paste (Fu Chuk Roll)

Fu Chuk Roll

Beancurd roll with fish paste has become quite popular in small Chinese eateries serving fried noodles and rice. However, don't expect it to be filled with fish paste like the homemade ones though! If you've mastered making fish paste, do prepare the rolls and keep extras in the freezer. You'll never know when your drinking buddies or visiting relatives are dropping by! 

To prepare your own fish paste, you could try out my homemade fish paste recipe or purchase some from the Asian supermarkets.

Beancurd Roll with Fish Paste Recipe

Ingredients:
300gm fish paste
A packet of dried beancurd sheets
Oil for frying


Method:
1. First, soak the beancurd sheets in water until it has softened. I used 3 sheets of 10"x12" large sheets.

2. Then, carefully place the sheets flat on your working table. Pat the sheets dry with kitchen towel. If it's wet, the fish paste will not stick well.

3. Using a butter knife, spread a thin layer of fish paste from the bottom end of the beancurd sheet.

4. From the bottom end, roll the sheet upwards until the roll is about 3cm in diameter. The size of the roll depends on how thick you like it to be. I like it bite size.

5. There are two ways of cooking the rolls. If you plan to keep them for later use, steam the rolls for 10 minutes. Then let the rolls cool down before keeping them in the freezer.


6. Otherwise, fry them raw in oil until the skin is golden brown

Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard Green (Mui Choy Kou Rou)

Mui Choy Kao Yoke

Do you know that there are 2 kinds of preserved mustard greens, one sweet and one salty. For me, I like my braised belly with 1 part sweet and 2 part salty mui choy. I find that with the combination, I do not need to add as much sugar as how some recipe would call for to balance the rather salty dish.

The traditional way of preparing this dish is time consuming as you'd need to deep fry your pork separately, tend to the mui choy, then braise and steam the dish. I know that most of you would have stop here but don't be afraid to try this dish as I have also included a much simpler version for a quick dinner fix as well. 

Stirfried Pork with Lemongrass

Vietnamese Style Stirfried Pork with Lemongrass

I was making Vietnamese Cold Rice Noodle (Bun) but didn't have enough time to prepare the lovely BBQ pork or shredded beef to go with it. So instead, I took out a piece of lean pork and made this appetizing stirfry which I must say, goes quite well with the noodle. It is slightly sweet and very fragrant from the bruised lemongrass that I added.

Stirfried Pork with Lemongrass Recipe ( 2 servings)

Ingredients:

250gm lean pork, sliced thinly

1 stalk of lemongrass, bruised and sliced very finely (only take the white part)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp cornstarch

A dash of salt & black pepper

1 tsp fish sauce

1 tsp brown sugar/ palm sugar

1/2 bird's eye chilli (optional)

Cilantro for garnishing

Method:

1. Marinade pork with cornstarch, salt & black pepper.
2. Mix the fish sauce and sugar well.
3. Heat a tbsp of cooking oil in wok. Saute garlic then add lemongrass, constantly stirring.
4. When fragrant, add pork and fry for 30 seconds before adding sauce.
5. Coat the pork well and fry for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle some water if required. Add chili just before plating.
6. Garnish with cilantro before serving. I like to squeeze a bit of lime on top too!