Chef Demonstration of Sang Choy Bao

I had the privilege to witness the cooking from a hotel masterchef who is trained in international, western and asian cuisines during a recent social event I helped to organise.

Pronounced Sang Choy Bao in Cantonese, shen cai bao in hanyu pinyin and written 生菜包. It means lettuce wraps.

The main ingredients are : waterchestnut, button mushroom, meat (diced chicken or minced pork),

Seasoning sauces : a little of dark soy sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce and sugar, adjusted to taste.

Of course, most run-of-the mill restaurants give you lots of chopped brown onions and carrots as these are cheap ingredients. It's up to you how much goodies you would like to add to whip up this healthy and delicious all time favourite.

Stir fry the ingredients in a medium high pan or wok quickly. Then stir through the sauces.

Prepare lettuce cups by washing lettuce and cutting them into bite size. Scoop the savoury filling into the lettuce cups and serve promptly.

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Ways to Cook Pork

There's a little secret in each of the METHODS for cooking pork :

Roast : marinate with either vinegar or lime juice to create a crispy crackling and reduce the grease.

Stew : sear the fatty outer layer before adding sauces and liquids to slow cook.

Pan fried : ensure the heat is put on at high so that liquid does not ooze out of the meat when

Stir fried : wine is essential in the marinade to get rid of possible unpleasant smell in some cuts and to enhance the taste when it's fried.

Steamed : mix the ingredients well just before steaming so that the meat does not stick together in uneven clusters.

SAUCES AND CHUTNEY

Worchestershire sauce, soy sauce, sweet and sour sauce, oyster sauce.

Apple, fennel, mint leaves, cranberry.

* It is important to cook pork well preferably at high temperatures, above 140 degrees Centigrade.

My friend grilled this roast pork crackling - succulent and juicy.

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Delicious Celeraic - don't be deceived by appearances

Not appealing? Don't be deceived.

Celeraic is a yummy winter vegetable.

Ways to cook celeraic :

- puree and cook into a thick sauce

- as roast vegetable in a salad dish

- an ingredient in mixed vegetable soup

Korean Seafood Pancake - Haemul Pajeon - crispy outside, tender inside

Many of us who love Korean cuisine would probably name seafood shallot pancake as one of the favourites.

If you like have a quick fix at your home kitchen to satisfy your sudden craving for seafood pancake during the cold months, here are some tips :

Korean cooks would add some baking powder, rice flour, mung bean flour to all purpose or self raising flour, egg and cold water to make the batter.

Add beaten egg. Season with salt and pepper.

Ensure that the flour is well combined, but not too fluid.  Neither should it be dry and hard as a dough.

Pour a thin layer of mixture on a  non-stick or well greased frying pan.  Cast iron hot plate conducts heat very well and makes the pancake crispy. However, using Korean magic stone frying pan requires less oil and is a healthier option.

Add seafood. Then pour the rest of the batter.

You'll need medium high heat to sizzle the egg pancake till it's crispy on the outside but remains soft and juicy within. Flip over and cook briefly for2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pancake rest for another 2 minutes.

To prepare dipping sauce : soy sauce, vinegar, spring onion, sliced green and red chillies.

It's easy to cook, no fuss, no mess.

Seafood - secret of balancing and enhancing taste

How do you replicate delicious restaurant cooking at home? Cooking seafood may not be as difficult as it seems if you balance the right ingredients. Going by the yin-yang theory, one needs to balance the coolness of food from the water with heaty ingredients such as ginger and/or pepper. A dash of wine as marinade or added with seasoning sauces would do wonders to a simple seafood dish. This not only helps to harmonize the food as well as get rid of any hint of fishiness.


The harder green vegetables go better with frying meat and vegetables. Celery, brocoli, asparagus are good choices.


Superior soy, oyster, abalone and XO sauces are premium seasoning for seafood. However, when using fresh water seafood, try to avoid using sauces with too much salt as it will emphasize rathern than mask the muddy flavours.


For garnishing, spring onion, garlic crisps and shallot exude a strong aroma that brings out the tastes of seafood.



The fresh clean taste of stir fry fish fillet with blanched carrot, mushroom and brocoli, ginger, garlic, chives in white potato starch sauce.




Scallop on the shell without roe lightly steamed with spring onion, coriander leaves and ginger in sesame and soy sauce.

Mud crab is always the grand finale in any meal. Unlike blue swimmer and flower crabs, this dish must be prepared from live crabs. This version is ginger and shallot. Other favourite sauces are chilli sambal, thom yum, golden curry, XO or herbal. All the ingredients have to be fried separately and then combined for a quick stir in the wok before serving.

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