Stewed Pork Ribs with Bittergourds

Mum taught me how to cook this dish beginning of this year. I love to eat this dish, but hubby doesn't really like coz he doesn't like stewed pork ribs. Anyway, whocares? I love it!!

Ingredients
•1 medium-size bittergourd
•300g pork ribs, chopped into 4cm-5cm lengths
•3-4 tbsp preserved bean paste (tau cheong)
•1/2 tsp sugar
•Dark soy sauce
•Soya Sauce
•Water
•Fishmaw (optional)

Method
1. Cut bittergourd lengthwise into quarters. Remove the seeds and cut at an angle into 2cm-thick pieces.

2. Boil the ribs with water. Pour away the oily/cloudy water.

3. Reboil the ribs with water and tau cheong, soya sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar.

4. Add bittergourd and fish maw (optional). Mix well.

5. Allow to simmer over a gentle low heat until ribs turn tender. Serve dish hot with plain rice.

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Yong Tau Foo Soup Base

Hubby tried his first time making Yong Tau Foo Soup and it turned up very very successful. We realised how easy it is to make the soup . Felt quite cheated by the hawkers outside .. haha ..

Oh ya, and we love this dish !! Coz Yong Tau Foo 酿豆腐 originated from the Chinese Ethic group, Hakka !!







Method
Brew 150 g Soya Bean 黄豆 with 70g Ikan Bilis 江鱼仔 for 2 hours or till the Ikan Bilis turn opaque (you can adjust the quantity accordingly). Sieve it and the broth is ready to be used. Add in whatever ingredient/sauces you think that will make the soup tasty.

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Steamed Pomfret

A friend who loves fish was not feeling well. So hubby and I thought of cooking a healthy and favourful fish dish for him to eat. It turned up quite well ... except that I put on too much sweet. The recipe was from Kuali, Malaysia.

Ingredients

- 1 medium-sized white pomfret

- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp finely chopped old ginger
- 2 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked and sliced thinly
- 1 tbsp kei chi, washed and drained
- 2 stalks spring onion, cut into 3cm
- Dash of pepper

(A) Sauce ingredients: (you can adjust the quantity according to what you prefer. Not fixed)

1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1½ tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1–2 tbsp water

Method
1. Clean fish and make two slits on either side of the body. Rub fish inside and out with salt and ginger and set aside for 10–15 minutes.

2. Combine ingredients (A) in a small bowl. Place fish on a heatproof dish, then pour contents of bowl over it.

3. Arrange sliced mushrooms and spring onion around the fish and sprinkle with the kei chi. Add a dash of pepper.

4. Place steaming rack in a wok and place the fish on rack. Cover the wok and steam the fish for 10–15 minutes. Serve fish immediately.

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Sliced Fish Soup - Singapore style

Ingredients:
- 250 g of grouper fish fillet slices (or any fish you like)
- 1 cube of fish stock (or chicken stock)
- 100-150 ml of evaporate milk (as you like)
- 4 slices old ginger
- 2 tbsp of XO brandy
- 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
- 2 tsp of sesame oil
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp of fried shallot slices
- Seasoning with pepper
- vegetable oil for frying fish slices

Method
1. Fry ginger slices, ikan billis, chopped garlic and fry over medium heat until fragrant.
2. Add 1 tbsp of XO brandy.
3. Add fish/chicken stock to a pot of water and bring it to boil.
4. Add in the fried ingredients + tomato.
5. Add the sliced fish in (U can add bitter gourd in before that)
5. Add evaporate milk
6. Add another 1 tbsp of XO brandy, followed by sesame oil and pinch of salt then bring into boil again over medium high heat.

*Tips: If U like bitter gourd or egg, can add in .

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Gong Bao Frog (Kung Pao Tin Kai)

I modified the following recipe slightly to cook those Geylang claypot frog legs style ...

Ingredients
3 Cleaned Frog's (Tin Kai), cut into pieces
1 Onion,cubed
1 Stalk Spring Onion,cut into 3cm length
5 Slices Ginger
5 Dried Chillies, cut into pieces
20gm Toasted Cashew Nuts

Marinade
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Cornflour
Dash of Pepper




Sauce
2 tbsp Black Vinegar - 1 tbsp should be more than enough , else u will have to add alot of sugar
1 tbsp Dark Soya Sauce - Can add more if u like it darker
1 tbsp Oyster sauce
1 tsp Hoisin Sauce
2 tbsp Sugar - Can add more if u like it sweeter
1/2 tsp Salt
100ml water
5 Tbsp Oil

Method
Marinade frogs for 20 minutes.
Deep fry in hot oil.Dish and drain.
Heat up 2 tbsp oil,saute onion, ginger and dried chillies.
Then add the frog and sauce, cook for a minute.
Add spring onion and cashewnuts mixed together then serve on the plate

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Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Duck Egg

I was just searching online for Chinese steamed egg recipe, when i stumbled upon this recipe. What got me excited was that this was a Hakka dish , famous in Malaysia. It should be something that my grandparents, dad, uncles and aunties ate when they were much younger??

Note: This dish will not have a silky smooth texture.

Ingredients
250g minced pork
1 salted duck egg (get rid of the yolk if preferred)
2 cloves garlic chopped (optional)
2 fresh chicken eggs
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp white pepper
1 spring onion stalk (chopped)
Sesame oil
Soy Sauce

Method
1. Mix minced pork, garlic, salted duck egg white (mashed), white pepper, cornstarch together until well combined. Use a shallow dish, spread the mince over the dish to an even thickness. Use fingers and poke into the mince randomly to create craters.

2. Whisk the eggs with water, then pour over the pork mince and let the mixture sip through all the craters into the mince. If there is still a thick layer of egg mixture on top of the mince, use a fork to loosen the mince up a little and let the egg mixture to fill up all the nooks.

3. Steam the dish in a wok on medium-high heat over simmering water for 20-30minutes or until it is cooked.

4. Drizzle with sesame oil, and a splash of soy sauce, sprinkle with chopped spring onions and a smidgen of white pepper.

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Cream Puffs

I combined the recipes from Florence's Kitchen and Cooks.com . Pastry is from Florence's Kitchen and custard is from Cooks.com . But I don't really like the custard :P

Choux Pastry

Ingredients: (8 puffs)
85ml water
50g butter
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
50g bread flour
20g cake flour
2 eggs (lightly beaten)

Method:
1. Cook water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan till bubbling hot. Turn the heat to low.
2. Add in the flour mixture in one go and mix with a wooden spoon till a dough is formed.
3. Still on low heat, cook the dough for 1 - 2 minutes till a thin white film is formed at the bottom of the saucepan.
4. Transfer dough to a mixing bowl and beat till it is lukewarm.
5. Add in egg by thirds and mix till well blended and smooth.
6. Place batter into piping bag and pipe it onto a lined pan in rounds of about 5cm in diameter. Spray some water on it.
7. Bake at 200C for 25 minutes then 180C for 8 - 10 minutes or till dry and golden brown in color. Turn off the oven and let it cool in the oven for 30 minutes.

Vanilla Custard Filling

Ingredients:
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
3 egg yolks, beaten
3 cups of milk

Method:
Mix in saucepan sugar, salt, cornstarch, and flour. Stir in gradually 3 cups milk. Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Remove from heat. Slowly add 1/3 of the mixture and blend into the egg yolks. Then add back to rest of mixture. Cook 1 more minute over heat. Remove and add vanilla. Refrigerate after cooling down. This can now be spooned into Cream Puffs.

** Tips: If you do not want to put custard cream, try putting ice cream, cold durian , chocolates . You will be surprised with the effect and the taste !!

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Paper Wrapped Spongecake

Found this recipe on Baking Mum blog. Quite easy to do and I love the taste !!

Ingredients:
4 eggs
100 gm cake flour
100 gm castor sugar
12 gm spongecake stabliser
25 gm milk
90 gm melted butter

Method:
Put all the ingredients except the melted butter into a mixing bowl.

Beat everything on high for at least 7 mins until ribbon stage. This means that if you use your whisk with batter to write an "8" on the batter won't sink in but will appear visible for a while. This will be the right constitency for your batter. Add in melted butter at this stage and mix in thoroughly.

Line some waxed papercups with baking paper. Pour batter into the lined cups abt 3/4 full and bake it in a preheated oven at 190C for about 20 mins. When done, remove the cake from the cup immediately and leave it on wire rack to cool.

Tips: You can add coffee/pandan flavouring to the mixture too! Just make sure u do it before u add the melted butter!

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Restaurant-style Chinese Steamed Fish

Took the recipe from Rasa.Malaysia.com

Ingredients:
1 live fish (about 1.5 lb or less)
2 inches ginger (peeled and cut into thin strips)
1 stalk scallion (cut into 2-inch length, and then cut into thin silken threads)
Some cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 tablespoon shaoxing wine or rice wine

Steamed Fish Soy Sauce Mixture:4 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons shaoxing wine or rice wine
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
3 dashes white pepper powder
2 tablespoons rock sugar (grind into powder form) or to taste

Method:
Clean the fish properly (remove scales, guts, gills, etc.) and pat dry. Blend the soy sauce mixture in a small bowl and set aside.

Lay the fish on a plate and drizzle 1 tablespoon shaoxing (or rice) wine on top of the fish. Top the fish with 1/2 of the cut ginger strips.

Heat up a wok with enough water for steaming. Wait for the water to boil. As soon as it boils, place your fish inside the wok, propped up with a small inverted bowl or a couple of wooden blocks (meant for steaming). Cover your wok tightly and set your kitchen alarm for 8 minutes.

As soon as the fish is done steaming, transfer it out from the wok. Discard the fish water and ginger strips. Lay the remaining ginger strips on top of the fish.

Heat up a pan over high heat and add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, swirl around until it’s hot. Pour the hot oil over the steamed fish. Put the pan back onto the stove, add the soy sauce mixture and stir well. As soon as the sauce bubbles up and boils, pour the soy sauce over the fish. Topped with scallions and cilantro leaves and serve the steamed fish immediately with white rice.

:: Secret Techniques for Restaurant-style Chinese Steamed Fish ::

1.Fresh fish; preferably alive and swimming in a tank.
2.8-10 minutes steaming time. 8 minutes for a smaller fish or 10 minutes for a bigger fish. Use your best judgment, and don’t forget to set your kitchen alarm.
3.Discard the fishy and cloudy fish “water” after steaming. Contrary to common belief, it doesn’t add flavors to a steamed fish dish. If any, it will leave a bitter–from the fish guts if the fish was not cleaned properly–and fishy taste.
4.Rock sugar. Wonder why the soy sauce is so good that you can just eat plain steamed rice with the soy sauce mixture? Rock sugar is the secret.
5.Use oil. Heat up some oil in your wok and pour it over the fish before adding the soy sauce. It gives your steamed fish that perfect sheen before you top it with the soy sauce mixture.

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