Cream Crackers Pork Chop 苏打饼干猪排

I came to know about cream crackers coating through its use in Hainanese Chicken Chop. This chop is a perfect epitome of fusion Hainanese-Western food. I wanted to try out the cream crackers coating. I am using pork chop as I just happened to have some that I would like to marinade. You can also replace it with chicken chop. 

Home-style Gong Bao Chicken/ Kung Po Chicken 宫保鸡丁

Gong Bao Chicken is undoubtedly a popular Chinese dish. I had a hard time deciding which term to use for this recipe. In case you are wondering, Kung Po Chicken is the Cantonese dialect for this dish, while Gong Bao Chicken is the Mandarin pronunciation. Both are legit and refers to the same thing. Gong Bao is a style of cooking, not unlike your sweet sour chicken. You can use this style of cooking on other proteins too, such as prawns or even frog!

Wat tan hor 滑蛋河 Cantonese Fried Kuey Teow

 

First and foremost, let me do a little introduction on the term Wat Tan Hor. Wat Tan basically means smooth egg and Hor basically means kuey teow or flat rice noodle. It is a well-known dish in Malaysia and its neighbouring country, Singapore. 

Nam Yue Pork Belly / Red Fermented Beancurd Pork Belly 南乳炸肉

 

This is my family's favourite for the longest time. Then again, anything crispy is my family's favourite.  It is fragrant, crispy and full of flavour. It is amazing what some little pieces of red fermented beancurd can uplift a normal dish so much.

Easy Recipe - Minced Meat Tofu 肉酱豆腐

Hi, again!

Today I will be introducing a Chinese Style Minced Meat Tofu. There are many variations to Minced Meat Tofu, some like to fry the tofu, some like to cut the tofu into small pieces and some like to use sliced Japanese tofu. In line with my easy recipe theme, I am using steamed whole tofu. No cutting, no frying. It is also my personal preference as I like soft tofu.

Easy Recipe - Chinese Stir-fry Pumpkin 炒南瓜

In view of the extended Movement Restriction order, I believe most of you have ran out of ideas of what to cook for your family. Hence, I would take this opportunity to introduce a series of easy-to-cook recipes that are both nutritious and delicious. Hope these recipes would be able to give you an idea in this trying time.

Simple Roast Chicken 简单烤鸡

I was a bit shy to present this recipe as it is really a basic no-frills roast chicken. I decided to pen this anyway. It is for my own future reference as I simply love the original flavours that is this dish. As the title suggests, it is a simple recipe with simple seasonings which are commonly available in the market. I was a bit surprised how tasty were the natural flavours of the chicken and vegetables. The vegetables I chose each has their own natural sweetness or tanginess which comes together perfectly in the dish. You can also replace with, or add other vegetables of your choice. You just have to make sure that the vegetables you chose do not have too much water content or the tray will be filled with juice after your bake. Choose something like potatoes or carrots.

Three Cup Chicken 三杯鸡

Today I tried the famous Taiwanese San Bei Ji which directly translates to Three Cup Chicken. What prompted me to try this Three Cup Chicken is the simplicity of the recipe. It was originally designed to use only three cups of ingredients comprising soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine. However, what the recipe doesn't tell you is that even in the three ingredients itself it has vast difference. For example, some soy sauce are darker and thicker whereas some are more salty. I would advise you to be careful with the soy sauce as we do not want the dish to be overly salty.

Pineapple Prawn Curry (Udang Masak Lemak Nenas) 香辣黄梨虾

The Peranakans* have a rich culture in food and cooking. This dish is no stranger to the Peranakans. It has that distinct sweet-sourish spicy taste that is so synonymous with Peranakan dishes. I am not of a Peranakan descendant but I do appreciate their dishes well.

Four Heavenly Kings (Stir-Fried Mixed Vegetables) 四大天王

It took me quite some time to find the name for this dish. This rather popular dish is no stranger in Malaysia. In fact, it is authentically Malaysian. As to why it was named Four Heavenly Kings, I believe it is the use of four types of vegetables usually brinjal, okra, long beans, and stink beans. The vegetables are interchangeable with others such as winged beans or snake beans. Plainly put, it is just stir-fried mixed vegetables. In true Malaysian style, this dish is usually served spicy with the use of chilli paste or sambal and dried shrimp. It has this unique pungent smell of the dried shrimp and the sting of the sambal. A truly flavour-filled dish indeed.

Black Pepper Beef 黑椒牛肉

What was meant to be a post on doughnuts became a typical Chinese stir-fried. Yes, I screwed up again. My doughnuts looked like biscuit, unworthy of mention. But all for the better because this black pepper beef is so good I ate a good portion of it.

Many Chinese dishes are stir-fried and mostly in high temperature to get it fragrant. The Chinese call this "wok hei" or breath of wok, very important in Chinese cooking. The high heat fittingly brings out that peppery fragrant with a slight sting to the tongue. Do be careful though as this dish is very "heaty" in nature. So make sure you drink a lot of water or herbal tea or you might just risk getting ulcer or falling sick (the Chinese believe that too much of the "yang" element would upset the balance in the body and hence, making you sick) .

Thai Green Curry Chicken 泰式绿咖喱鸡

I had my first taste of Thai green curry many years ago, not in South East Asia but in London. I was a student then and one kind friend brought this Thai takeaway and shared it with me on a cold winter's night. Needless to say, I was hooked from that fateful day. There is something about the blend of aroma from the herbs and spices with that creamy coconut milk that makes this so aromatic. It is not as intense a dish as its other curry counterparts, yet it holds its unique taste that is utterly addictive.

Canned Tuna Fish Cakes 罐头金枪鱼肉饼

Today I was looking for a quickie, a shortcut for my dinner dish. Suddenly, I had an aha moment to use canned tuna. I know the thought of canned food is not appealing at all. Therefore, least I could do was to repackage it and give those poor tuna a facelift. And this facelift took just minutes.

Stir-fried Beef with Ginger and Spring Onion 姜葱牛肉

I love this dish. Not so much of the ginger and spring onion per say, but I love the tender, springy beef slices. The ginger and spring onion compliment the dish well. It remove that beefy odour and at the same time, lend an aromatic sharp scent to the dish. It is really a match made in heaven. Best of all, this is a very easy dish. Everything happens in less than 5 minutes.

Having said that, it is essential not to overcook the beef or else it would become tough and chewy, spoiling the whole dish in the process. A very high heat is essential to bring out the flavour (the Chinese call it "wok hei"). The beef must not be cooked for too long in the wok. Therefore, do prepare everything beforehand. In order to make the beef more tender and springy, you could treat the beef with a little baking soda and then wash it off.

Pork Belly with Taro (Yam) / Wu Tau Kau Yoke 芋頭扣肉

This comfort food has its origins from the Hakkas from China. It has that trademark upside-down presentation that is popular in Hakka dishes. By braising the dish in an upside-down manner for hours, the gravy and flavour are soaked completely by the meat and yam giving you that most scrumptious bite. It is no wonder why it is such a popular household dish.

Honestly speaking, this dish is not much of a looker. Any established chefs would have been appalled at its blackened mashed-up appearance. I would rather call this rustic. But once you have tasted these succulent layers of melt-in-your-mouth proteins, the mere uninspiring appearance would be enough make you salivating. I am not kidding.

Roti Jala/Lacy Pancakes 网煎饼

Mention Roti Jala to any fellow Malaysian and immediately you would see this glee on his/her face in recognition of this delicacy. It is nothing really, just some crepe, all in its lacy appearance. But when paired with some good dish of curry, oh wow, it is just amazing. The crepe itself is savoury, infused with coconut milk to make it fragrant, creamy and rich. The essence of a good Roti Jala is in its fluffiness and richness. This is one pancake that you would want to go back for more and more. No wonder it is a popular festive food. You would most certainly find it on occasions like Hari Raya and Malay weddings.

Crunchy Prawn Wonton Soup 虾云吞汤

Wonton is a smaller version of sui kow or dumplings, often with a thinner and and smaller skin. Just like its cousin, you can put almost any proteins to be wrapped in that silken skin. Prawn is a very popular ingredient for wonton. Unfortunately, we seldom find places selling good prawn wonton soup in Malaysia. I suspect fresh prawn is pretty costly, hence, making the business of selling prawn wonton soup unattractive.

Recipe for Chinese Bbq Pork/Char Siu 叉燒

Ok, I have done it.

It seems like every Chinese blogger that I could put my finger to has a recipe for Chinese bbq pork or more fondly known as char siu. Together with siu yuk (crispy pork belly), these two are perhaps the two most blogged about dishes among the Chinese community. And it doesn't surprise me one bit as these two dishes are vastly popular, not only among the Chinese, but also in Western countries. This char siu, it is almost like an icon for Chinese cuisines. You could find its charred bit of succulent, juicy, tender, sweetish savoury portion hanging in the windows of practically every Chinese restaurants around the world.

Chicken pot pie 杯式鸡肉派

Chicken pot pie has become my favourite ever since I had that fateful first bite some 20 odd years ago. At that time, I couldn't comprehend why was it called a pie when it was just a bowl of thicken chicken soup with a puff-up crust on top. I still couldn't.

Chinese New Year Dinner: Yam Basket/Fatt Putt 佛钵 （盘满钵满）

Today my family is in for a treat. Because I am doing this post for Chinese New Year dinner, my family gets to enjoy this crispy melt-in-the-mouth yam basket pre-Chinese New Year dinner. Like any other food served during Chinese New Year, it has an auspicious meaning. The yam basket/fatt putt is filled to the brim signify an overflowing of fortune (phoon woon put woon 盘满钵满 in Cantonese).

The yam basket derives its name from the Buddhist alms bowl (fatt putt). It is no wonder the yam basket bears resemblance to this said bowl. This dish is originally created as a vegetarian dish with ingredients such as carrots, mushrooms, bell peppers, bamboo shoots and cashew nuts. Nowadays you could practically fill anything that you fancy inside.

A good yam basket is crispy on the outside at the same time fluffy inside. It must showcase the beautiful fluffy strands that encased the ring. Not an easy feat since fire control is essential here. If you have a thermometer, the temperature should be around 150C. But like most home cooks, we cook by feel. Here's the pointer to see if the oil temperature is right: drop a piece of the yam into the oil. If it disintegrates, the the oil is not hot enough. If it does not spread at all, the oil is too hot. Another challenge is to fry the yam basket whole. While the Chinese restaurants uses bamboo mat to hold the yam ring when putting in, we home cooks have to be creative. I used aluminium foil with cut holes.

I normally create my own recipes but for this scrumptious yam basket, I phoned my faraway hubby. He makes the perfect yam basket. Of course, the recipe comes in large quantity and I have to painstakingly reduce it and omit the msg for home cooking. I was pretty satisfied with the results and proceeded to take photographs. Upon showing my hubby the pictures, he said that the heat was too high when frying resulting in lesser fluffy strands. So I fried another mini yam ring to show all of you it is supposed to look. Gong Xi Fa Chai!

Chinese New Year Dinner: Yam Basket/Fatt Putt 佛钵 （盘满钵满 ）

Makes 2 medium yam basket

Ingredients

360 g yam, diced and steamed
180 g wheat starch (tang mein)
180 g chicken stock (original uses water)
90 g lard (pork oil) (click here to find out how to make your own lard)
90 g shortening
1/8 tsp five spice powder
1/4 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
pepper

oil to fry
aluminium foil
stir-fry dish of your choice to be put inside the ring
meehoon (rice vermicelli)

Cooking Instruction

1. Steam yam for about 10 minutes until cooked. Meanwhile, boil chicken stock. Add chicken stock to wheat starch and stir with a fork until combined.

2. Mash steamed yam and add into wheat starch mixture while it is still hot. Combine well with fork. Be careful as the mixture is still hot.

3. Add in all the other ingredients and seasoning and work the mixture into a dough with your hands. The dough is ready when it doesn't stick to your hands. Make holes on the dough (apparently for it to cool faster) and put in the chiller for it to cool.

4. Remove dough and use the dough to make your desired ring on a piece of aluminium foil. Make some holes on the aluminium foil so that oil could circulate.

Not enough oil initially. I have to add until the whole ring is submerged

5. Heat oil. Test the oil with a piece of yam dough. If you see beautiful strands forming, the oil is ready. Gently put ring into the oil. The oil should totally immerse the ring. Deep-fry ring until golden and crispy. Increase heat when about to remove. Remove and drain.

6. Add meehoon into the hot oil. The meehoon should expand beautifully. Quickly remove from the hot oil and drain well.

7. Put meehoon on a plate and the fried yam basket on top. Then fill it up with your choice of stir-fry until the brim symbolising an overflowing of goods.


Notes:
1. Oil control is very important when frying this yam basket. Use clean oil for nicer looking yam basket.
2. The oil must totally immerse the yam ring, hence, a lot of oil is necessary. Find your desired pot/wok that is not too wide to save on oil, but at the same time allows you to remove the yam basket easily when cooked.
3. The basket and fried meehoon absorb a lot of liquid. Do prepare more gravy for your stir-fry if it is intended to be put into the basket.   





Would you like a wonderful desert to go with this dish for your Chinese New Year dinner?

Molten Lava Black Sesame Tang yuan

Pumpkin Tang Yuan