Kangkong / Water Spinach / Ong Choy Stir Fry with Sambal Belachan (Malay spicy shrimp paste)



Kangkong has long been considered a humble food for the poor because it can be found growing wild in water logged swampy areas and does not need much attention.

However, if you try to plant this in your garden with the base stems, you must take care to water it everyday. They only grow in summer and withers away during the cold months.

Nowadays, the status of kangkong has been raised to an exotic and popular dish on the menus of many Asian restaurants.

If you can get young and tender water spinach, not much work is needed. Just a rinse. However, if the vegetable is quick big and leafy, cut off the thicker base stems.

To stir fry, one must ensure that the washed vegetables are drained. Water will slow down cooking and hinders the vegetable from getting a fresh sheen from quick frying.

- You could fry a clove of garlic in heated oil to start off.

- Add toasted belachan and pounded fresh chilli followed by the vegetable quickly.

As belachan is salty, do not add salt or soy sauce until you have tasted it.

Five spice crispy soy beancurd meat roll : ngoh hiang, loh bak, meat spring rolls

Some modern chefs used this recipe and call it a special spring roll. 

It is not entirely incorrect to call it a spring roll. However, if this dish has been in existent for centuries and already has a name for it, why do some celebrities want to rename or simplify it, to make it sound or appear more exotic and innovative than the remaker deserves?

Outline:
Part 1: Soy bean skin (salty top layer of soy milk dried into a crepe sheet)
Part 2 : Filling
Part 3 : Chilli sauce and sweet soy sauce
Assemble, steam, panfry

(1) Wipe away salt from soy bean sheet with a clean damp dish cloth. Cut into smaller rectangulars of at least 3x5 cm or wider if you prefer a larger roll.

(2) Prepare filling of 300 g minced pork, 150g cut shrimp meat, 10 waterchestnut, 1 chopped onion, 1 sprint onion sliced, julienned carrot

(3) Season the meat with salt, soy sauce, oyster sauce and pepper.

(4) Fill in the centre of the soy crepe and roll as you would with a spring roll, folding the shorter ends first and then roll from one length to the other end.

(5) Put on a greaseproof paper lined plate and steam for 15 minutes under medium low heat. Alternatively, cover and microwave on medium high for 2 minutes on each side (turn around).

(6) Cool the rolls and pan fry with a little oil till crispy.

(7) You may keep the remainder in the fridge for another meal. It can be kept in the fridge for 3 days and freezer for a month but be sure to heat it up very well before consuming.

(8) Chilli sauce is a mixture of ground fresh red chilli, garlic, sugar, fish sauce, vinegar and lime juice. Mix well.

Teriyaki Chicken - the original Japanese soy sauce pan-fried chicken

Only the Japanese can lay claim on being the best cooks of teriyaki chicken.  Others are faux or pseudo or copycats. Nothing beats the original Japanese recipe.

This is one of my family's all-time favourite. Even when I am away from home or no longer be able to cook for them, they still have this recipe.

I have consolidated ideas from two masterchefs - a hotel/fine dining true blue Japanese chef, and another is an international acclaimed culinary instructor.

Ingredients
Chicken fillet - preferably thigh (400 - 500 g)
Pepper (2 tsp)
Mirin (1 TBS)
Soy Sauce  (2 -3 TBS)
Brown Sugar - 2 TBS

Steps :
1. Take chicken out from the fridge 20 minutes prior to preparation for cooking.
2.  Remove fat, skin and sinews. Hammer and butterfly meat.
3.  Marinate chicken with light soy sauce and mirin for 20 minutes or more.
4.  Heat up skillet, preferably non-stick. Nowadays, I use Korean stone coated frying pan which cooks the meat using its own juices, i.e., oil-free cooking.
5. When hot (but before it smokes), put in chicken meat about 2 pieces at a time.
6. Fry each side for 5 minutes or till well cooked.  Note : chicken must be thoroughly cooked and is not safe to be eaten semi-cooked, unlike beef.
7. Turn down the heat and cook a little longer if it looks like the meat is browning too quickly.
8. Remove from heat the first batch of cooking.
9. Cook the rest of the meat in the same way.
10. Rest the meat for at least 3 minutes.
11. Glaze the sauce on the pan with a little mirin, water and sugar mixture. Bring to a light boil.
12. Slice cooked chicken into bite size.
13. Pour the sauce over the chicken.
14. Serve with cucumber and tomato.

Reference - Adobo chicken :
http://homecooksecrets.blogspot.com.au/2009/12/philippine-adobo-chicken-and-pork.html

Versatile Verjuice - versatile traditional French ingredient given a new breath of life in modern western cuisines

I have recently discovered the uses and versatility of verjuice. Despite the initial inertia and apprehension of trying something out of my comfort zone, I managed to gain confidence after following some recipes successfully.


What is verjuice? Verjuice is the juice extracted from large unripened grapes which is unfermented (unlike wine) and popularly used in classic French cooking. Some Mediterranean cuisines also use verjuice, owing to the abundance of grapes grown in these regions.

To sum up, verjuice has the lemony taste without the tartness and acidity of vinegar and citrus fruits. Verjuice is also a good substitute for wine for those with dietary restrictions.

MARINADE
- roast pork marinade for crispy skin
- fish and other seafood

SAUCES
- vinaigrette salad dressing by mixing with herbs
- salad cream : whip with egg yolk, seasoning and vegetable oil
- toss in pasta with olive oil
- pickled vegetables

COOKING
- deglaze meat in stir fry
- moisten halfway through cooking meat or root vegetables
- add to vegetables or seafood soup
- paella or fried rice
- fried noodle

DESSERT
- syrup for cakes
- poach pear or quince
- apple pie
- sorbet
- jelly
- soak dried or fresh fruits

Verjuice has made a swift comeback in recent times. Maggie Beer popularised when she ventured into and successfully bottled it commercially, as well as recommending various uses for verjuice.

Verjuice novice cooks may want to experiment with less expensive verjuice available in some larger supermarkets in the beginning, so that making a few failed attempts would be quite affordable.

Tribute to a wonderful chef without advertising the product :
http://www.maggiebeer.com.au/products/details/?Item=PrdctsVerjuice62

More recipes to try out :
http://www.welshmansreef.com/welshmansreef8.html

Shanxi Vinegar Stew Meat - healthy and aromatic

This dish is very similar to Philippine Adobo chicken which had Chinese origins. (Please refer to : http://homecooksecrets.blogspot.com/2009/12/philippine-adobo-chicken-and-pork.html for ingredients and preparation.)

The main tip is adding a tablespoon of Shanxi dark and sweet matured vinegar during cooking (not as marinade). Shanxi vinegar is tart and pungent when taken straight from the bottle. However, added to a stew, it is heavenly, and healthy. Try it if you don't believe me.

This cooking style is suitable for different types of meat especially :

(1) chicken drumstick or fillet or

(2) pork knuckles or loin.

Firstly, marinate meat with soy sauce, pepper, shaoxing wine.

Saute garlic and onions in a heavy pan with a little oil for about 2 minutes under medium low heat.

Sizzle meat till outer layer changes colour and fragrant.

Add a vinegar by using a spoon to distribute evenly on all the meat.

Throw in vegetables as desired : carrot, potato, tomato, chilli peppers.

Cover the pan with an airtight lid. Lower the heat to low and simmer for at least 20 minutes.

Easy, convenient, delicious and nutritious.

Kaohsiung Food Show - preview of Taiwanese food

The Kaoshiung Food Show is coming to Sydney in early November!

Taiwan is a matured industrialised economy which has built a reputation for quality control of its products. It has captured many exotic tastes from southern Chinese provincial foods in convenient packaging. Many are available in grocery stores all over the world for seasoned foodies and the adventurous.

Here's a sneak preview of some interesting foods from their website which look tasty and titillating. You may want to check out the Kaoshiung food fair when it comes to Sydney and tour of the world. Very handy for home cooks which love to replicate traditional dishes at home with minimal preparation and fuss.

http://www.foodkh.com.tw/en_US/index.html

Aloe Vera paste for vegetables.
XO scallop sauce.
Spicy sauce for noodles.
BBQ / Teppanyaki marinade.
Golden sesame paste.

Red Soy sauce.

Black bean sauce.

Tea leaves.

Taiwanese companies also have product line of sauces for European cuisines. Many Taiwanese have either studied or worked in other countries.

E.g., Italian pasta sauce, peanut butter, garlic mince for bread.

Yummy ...

Registration is required for entry. You may have to show trade or professional credentials. For more information contact : sydney@taitra.org.tw

My favourite ready to cook exotic Asian spicy sauces and curry

Exotic Asian cooking sauces in a convenient pack - have you tried and tested them all? They are Godsend to aspiring, busy, modern cooks who like to replicate traditional dishes without the fuss.

Prima Taste saves lots of time and the hard work of preparing classic Singapore/ Malaysian cuisines from scratch, yet upholds consistent quality and authenticity. The best in the range are Chicken Rice and Nonya Laksa (coconut and mint without curry powder). Other sauces that are outstanding are Chilli Crab, Sayur Lodeh, Hokkien Mee and Mee Siam.

For spicy foods, Brahims is a well established brand for the fastidous and cost conscious. The best in this line are assam pedas (sour curry for seafood) and rendang (dry meat curry).

Teans (masterchef Tian in Chinese) is well known for its Curry Chicken. It is concentrated and aromatic but in general, the sauces produced under this line tend to be too spicy for the liking of some foreign palates.

For basic curry paste, Mae Ploy red curry is a versatile base for cooking a wide variety of spicy Southeast Asian dishes. You only need 100 g or less for a pot of curry, so chill the remainder for future use.

Panthai Norasing is a reputable brand name known for high quality products in the Thai culinary scene. However, some of the sauces are rather pricey. My favourites are the salty yellow beans and roast chilli paste in soya oil.

Gimson nonya curry chilli paste is very useful for whipping up many northern Malaysian dishes such as tangy fish laksa, seafood and rojak (salad). It contains torch ginger and Vietnamese mint which are difficult to obtain outside tropical Asian countries but are essential ingredients to impart a uniquely Penang taste. Gimson has ventured into other product lines but they are not to my liking.

As Asian cuisine gains greater popularity in all parts of the world, many pseudo sauces have emerged to tap the growing market. Many brands who claim to be "nonya" do not do justice to the original dishes as they fail to capture the sophisticated and subtle flavours.

Let me know if you have more recommendations to add to this list.

Chee Cheong Fun sauce - rice rolls with spicy XO sauce

The best way to eat chee cheong fun is with homemade XO sauce and combining the various traditions to get the best of different worlds.

There are various types of sauces for Chee Cheong Fun. Using dark soy sauce, sesame oil, hoi sin sauce, oyster sauce, fried onion crisp, cut shallot, dried shrimp and scallop XO sauce, fresh shrimp, minced meat, mushroom, sesame seed, peanut.

Fry the onion, garlic, dried shrimp, soaked scallop, ground dried and fresh chilli to make the XO sauce.

To prepare sweet sauce, mix the soy sauce, hoi sin in a saucepan. Mix corn starch and water and pour over the sauces before it starts to boil. Lower heat till liquid is reduced.

Add pickled green chillies and garlic red chilli sauce for more flavour and garlic crisp, shallot crisp, sesame seeds, fresh spring onion, coriander leaves as garnishing and toppings.

Types of common chee cheong fun sauces :

- Hongkong sweet sauce

- Penang prawn paste chilli sauce

- Ipoh Style sweet, hot and sour meat sauce

- Vietnamese black fungus meat and shallot sauce

* Permission to publish on this blog.