Pan Fry Meat

The dos and don'ts of cooking meat

Searing will help to seal in the juices and flavours of the meat while cooking, without making it overcooked and dry. Ensure the pan is very hot. Once the meat is slightly brown on one side, flip it over and cook the other side. For beef, you might want to turn off the heat once the centre is almost cooked.

Cook meat at room temperature. Do not cook frozen or chilled meat straight from the fridge. Meat that is marinated can sit at the counter for 45 minutes without causing harm to human consumption. Cold meat would bring down the temperature of the pan and cause the meat to give out water and lightly sauteed instead of grilled.

Festive Dish : Crab Fuyong Egg Omelette (furong xie)

This colorful omelette dish can be served by itself as a centrepiece, or part of a cold dish with assorted dishes of roast meat, spring roll, prawn salad and jellyfish. A favourite for all ages and a must for the lunar new year feasting. It's called by various names, the most commonly used in Southeast Asia being "fuyong hai" meaning hibiscus flower crab omelette, a symbol of peace.

Use freshly peeled steamed crab meat or good quality vacuum packed or frozen crab meat (pincer preferable).

Add to beaten eggs (about 3 - 4 eggs depending on the portion of vegetables and serving.)

Julienne carrots, cooked or canned bamboo shoots, chives, soaked and sliced shitake mushroom, shrimp, glass noodle.

Seasoning : soy sauce, oyster sauce, pepper, shaoxing wine, fish sauce.

* Adding soaked and trimmed glass noodle (bean vermicelli) would give this dish a more sophisticated texture and presentation. You don't need to use sharksfin for cooking. Glass noodle or Japanese vegetarian yam sharksfin are good substitutes for preparing traditional delicacies without harming sea creatures and the environment.

Fry the vegetables briefly in oil. It should remain crunchy so take it easy.

The secret to cooking egg fuyong is not to overcook the egg. A quick swirl and stir and the dish is ready to be served.

Garnish with coriander leaves, spring onions and bean sprouts (optional).
A delicious dipping sauce to go with the dish would be lime and garlic chilli sauce.

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