Sweet Peppery Meat (胡椒肉）

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INTRODUCTION

Dear readers, this is a transition period for relocating my blog from Http:kwgls.wordpress.com to my new Humble blog http://www.guaishushu1.com.;

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As such all the new recipes will be posted here..Therefore, for this recipe, I hope that you can go to my new blog by clicking HERE. or click on individual pictures  to read the recipe. I also hope that you can subscribe blogs from  http://www.guaishushu.com. Presently there are still many teething problems there which I hope to sort out as soon as possible.

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Thank you and have a nice day.

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Shredded Ginger Sesame Oil Chicken (姜丝麻油鸡）

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INTRODUCTION

My kids called this dish Zombie Chicken and I said her late grandmother surely will scold them if she had the chance to hear this .. This is because the Chinese words shredded ginger (姜丝） has the same pronunciation as zombie (僵尸）。

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This is another dish that I need no reference to other recipes. it is such a common dish in our household. My late mum always cooked this dish when I was young, at times 2-3 days a week, be it chicken or pork.. So to me this dish is a dish that brought fond memories and I have never get tired of this dish until today ..

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I blogged this recipe in honour of my late mum and as a record of my meat recipes. This is a common household dish that need no further elaboration and I believed every granny will have her very own recipe for the comfort dish. Of course what I am sharing is my mum’s version and it is a quick and fast recipe.

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Cooking this dish is not difficult. The only point to highlight is there must be adequate ginger and the shredded ginger should be sautéed until aromatic. All the procedures that follow are as simple as ABC and nothing much to shout about.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 4-5 adults

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  • 10 drumsticks ,de-skinned and cut into big chunks
  • 5 cm long ginger, de-skinned
  • 2 tablespoons of dark soya sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of Chinese cooking wine
  • 1 tablespoons of sesame oil
  • Sugar to taste
  • Pinches of salt

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • De-skinned the chicken if preferred. Keep the skin.

  • In a hot pan, pan fry the skin until all the chicken fats are excreted, throw away the skin and use the chicken fats and the sesame oil to sauté the ginger under medium heat until aromatic. If you do not like to reuse the  chicken skin or you do not have the habit of de-skinned the chicken , use a tablespoon of cooking oil and sesame oil  to sauté the ginger.

  • Add the chicken chunks, pan fried until the chickens exterior turn beige. Add the dark soya sauce and stir fry until well combined. Add some water adequate to cover 1/2 the height of the chicken and bring to boil. Once it boils, lower the heat to medium and let it simmer until the chickens are soft. If the water dries up too fast, add more water. Once the chickens are soft, add the seasonings (sugar to taste and pinches of salt) and the cooking wine. Stir until well combined, off the heat and best served with some steaming white rice.

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CONCLUSION

This recipe will be captured under simple household dishes series. If you do not have a chance to learn from your family elders , you may want to give this recipe a try..  Lastly, if you are looking for those mixed vegetable style of ginger chicken, they have added starches to thicken the sauce. You can easily preparing that by mixing 1 tablespoon of corn starch mixed with 3 tablespoon of water.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 13 March 2015)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts. Also follow me at INSTAGRAM or TSU, a new social network for some more personal sharing other than recipes.

food bloggers[4]

Food paradize[8]

You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP and FOOD PARADISE 美食天堂 to see more recipes. I am posting my daily home cooked food in the above Facebook Group daily. I would be more than happy if you can  post in the Group for the recipes that you tried from my blog.

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If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

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Sisig Chicken? Philippines Mayonnaise Chicken (菲律宾美乃滋鸡）

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INTRODUCTION

My neighbour gave us some capsicum and I am grumbling that I do not really know how to cook capsicum.. My wife immediately thought of this mayonnaise chicken that we have eaten in one of the Filipino restaurants in Singapore..

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Well, I do not think the original recipe of this Filipino dish have capsicum but what we have tried did have these capsicums. The name of the dish is Sisig chicken but I do not called it as such as my recipe is not very authentic and I do not want to be bombarded by the Filipinos for providing wrong recipe of their well liked dish..Therefore, I have decided to call it mayonnaise chicken.

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Both my wife and my kids all remembered this dish is because it is a sinful yet delicious dish… It is tasty and one looked at the ingredients will know that this dish will be delicious. It has mayonnaise and butter and eggs that smoothen the meat dish.. It is very addictive and once you start, it is hard for you to stop eating this dish and it goes well with hot steaming rice.

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Traditional;y, Philippine’s Sisig dish is pork based. It was prepared using pig head meat, pig ear, pig liver and instead of mayonnaise, pig brain was used to smoothen the dish. Chicken sisig is a sub category and I was told that chicken liver is one of the most critical ingredients in the chicken version. However, due to current consumption style, all these exotic cuts were left out and what is used is just chicken meat and mayonnaise which is easier to be accepted by current foodies.

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This dish was supposed to be served using a sizzling hot plate and as my home does not have one which I believed most family  does not have, I have use a pan for the picture taking. If you have one, this is one of the dish that you can use your sizzling hot plate.

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As per Wikipedia:

“Sisig also refers to Sizzling sisig, a Filipino dish made from parts of pig’s head and liver, usually seasoned with calamansi and chili peppers. Lucia Cunanan of Angeles City has been credited with inventing sisig The Philippine Department of Tourism has acknowledged that her “Aling Lucing’s” restaurant had established Angeles City as the “Sisig Capital of the Philippines” in 1974. Cunanan’s trademark sisig was developed in mid-1974 when she served a concoction of boiled and chopped pig ears and cheeks seasoned with vinegar,calamansi juice, chopped onions and chicken liver and served in hot plates. Today, varieties include sisig ala pizzailo, pork combination, green mussels or tahong, mixed seafood, ostrich sisig, crocodile sisig(URBAN CAFE), spicy python, frog sisig and tokwa’t baboy, among others” (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisig)

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As mentioned above, this is not an authentic recipe but a recipe that is tailored to suit Singaporean and Malaysian taste buds. I have prepared twice, once is one week after my first try and the second time is for today’s dinner. The difference between the two is one I have cooked with raw meat using chicken cubes whereas for today, I have pre-cook the meat, use a blender to blend until fine before stir frying. Another difference is adding mayonnaise in the cooking whereas the first version is just served with mayonnaise.  Both version uses capsicum and in my humble opinion is delicious.

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WHAT IS REQURIED

Servings: 3-4 adults

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  • 2  chicken drumsticks or breast, deboned
  • 1 green capsicum, diced
  • 1 red capsicum, diced
  • 1 onion , diced
  • 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
  • Pinches of salt
  • 1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce
  • Sugar to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon of white or black pepper
  • Some butter for greasing hot plate
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon of cooking oil

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • In a pot, put the diced onions, sauté until fragrant. Add the dice chicken cubes, stir fry until the chicken exterior turn beige. add the diced capsicums. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes, add about 1/4 cup of water to the chicken and simmer until the chicken is soft.

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  • Add the seasons (black or white pepper, pinches of salt, sugar to taste, black soya sauce) and stir fry until well mixed. Push the chicken aside, crack the eggs and cook until the york is set. Transfer the dish to your serving plate and drizzle sparingly with mayonnaise. Best served hot with white rice and garnish with slice of calamansi plus green chilli .

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Method 2

  • Boil or pan fry the meat until cooked. Use a blender to blend until fine.

  • In a pot, sauté the onion with some cooking oil until fragrant. Add the capsicum and stir fry until the capsicum is soft. Add the minced meat followed by the seasonings (salt, black pepper, white sugar and black soya sauce).

  • Before off the heat, put two tablespoons of mayonnaise, Stir fry until well mix.

  • Heat up your hot seasoning plate, melt some butter and transfer to stir fry meat earlier to sizzling plate. Crack 2 eggs on top and let it simmer until the eggs are cooked to your desired consistency. Best served hot with white rice and garnish with slice of calamansi plus green chilli .

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CONCLUSION

Whether this is Sisig chicken or not is not important. What I can tell readers is that this is a delicious dish that family members are looking forward. I hope my picture will be able to convince you that this is a yummy dish.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 13 March 2015)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts. Also follow me at INSTAGRAM or TSU, a new social network for some more personal sharing other than recipes.

food bloggers[4]

Food paradize[8]

You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP and FOOD PARADISE 美食天堂 to see more recipes. I am posting my daily home cooked food in the above Facebook Group daily. I would be more than happy if you can  post in the Group for the recipes that you tried from my blog.

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If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

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Chinese Rolled Meat Appetizer (水晶扎蹄）

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INTRODUCTION

When I worked in the corporate world, i travelled and entertained a lot..I remembered this is such a common cold dish served in the restaurant but I really cannot recall in which region.. Possibly in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Malaysia or Singapore.

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I have tried to trace the origin of this dish and apparently all major Chinese dishes category (Sichuan, Cantonese, Teochew, Shanghainese ) have this dish listed in their cuisines.

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Well, whatever it is, i can assure reader that this is a nice dish a bit like ham. It was usually slice thinly and served with various type of sauces and what i am sharing today is a simple dipping sauce well liked by Teochew.

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I hope readers can recognise this dish and give this recipe a try. I have nothing much to say about this except it suits my taste bud. Preparation is very easy but you will need to pay a much higher price if you ordered from the restaurant. When you are hosting dinner like Chinese New Year eve, you can always prepare this dish to impress your guest.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 4-5 adult servings

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  • 1 medium size deboned pig trotter
  • 2 slices of ginger
  • 2-3 bay leaves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 liquorice
  • 2 cloves
  • 2 star anise
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt

For dipping sauce

  • 1/2 red chilli, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • pinches of salt
  • sugar to taste
  • 2 tablespoon of dark or white vinegar

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • Clean the pork trotter, drained, add salt, sugar and Chinese cooking wine. Rub thoroughly and let it marinate for at least 15 minutes.

  • Wrap the pork trotter using a piece of clean cloth AS TIGHT AS POSSIBLE. You have to ensure that it is not loose, otherwise, the final meat slices will have lots of holes.

  • Put all other ingredients (ginger, star anise, cloves, liquorice, cinnamon and bay leaves) in a pressure cooker, place the meat and add water until the water cover the meat. Pressure cook the meat for about 30 minutes. If you do not have a pressure cooker, you can boil the pork trotter over the stoves for about 1 hour.

  • Drain the pork trotter, cut open the strings and the cloth and let it cool completely before cutting. For best result, chilled in the fridge overnight before cutting.

  • To prepare the dipping sauce, put all the dipping ingredients together and stir until well combined.

  • Best served chilled with the dipping sauce as an appetizer in a typical banquet setting.

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Note:

  • When you buy the pork trotter in the wet market, you can request the store owner to debone for you. Otherwise, you will have to cook the whole pork trotter for a while until you can cut the meat and debone. From here you will proceed from the recipe here.

  • You can also have an additional step to smoke the rolled trotter and it will give you a smoky taste. You can refer to this post:  Zhao An (Chawan) Smoked Chicken (诏安熏鸡). Another variants you can use the braising sauce from braising duck etc. so that you have a dark soya sauce rolled meat.

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CONCLUSION

I am sorry I can’t tell you much about this dish.. My memory all mixed up throughout the year but I honestly believed it is very common in Teochew restaurant. Last, I am very surprise that Finnish does have a rather similar dish called RullaSyltty / Mausterulla and if you like you may want to Google the recipe though they are using pork belly meat instead.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 13 March 2015)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts. Also follow me at INSTAGRAM or TSU, a new social network for some more personal sharing other than recipes.

food bloggers[4]

Food paradize[8]

You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP and FOOD PARADISE 美食天堂 to see more recipes. I am posting my daily home cooked food in the above Facebook Group daily. I would be more than happy if you can  post in the Group for the recipes that you tried from my blog.

pinterest[4]

If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

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Beer Shredded Chicken （啤酒手丝鸡）

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INTRODUCTION

If your spouse is drunk and he or she insisted that he or she did not drink any alcohol, I think you will not believe him or her because there are some alcoholic smell in the shirts or body… The alcoholic smell can be rather strong and it is the same when you use alcohol to cook a dish.. This beer chicken is flavoured by alcohol instead of the normal spices that we used.

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Do not worry, the flavour is there but the alcohol will be evaporated in the process of cooking. I get this extremely simple recipe from one Taiwanese Facebook Group… About a month ago, the Group’s timeline were flooded with the same type of beer braising posts.

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The original recipe appeared to use beer to braise the duck, subsequently, more and more variants come out from pork belly to lamb to chicken to beef… The picture did caught my attention as it looks glossy and juicy and I also believed that it will be a nice dish.

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I have decided to try and braise the chicken using beer too… Since I have kids, I decided to shred my chicken and prepare another dish, shredded chicken cold dish.This is optional as the chicken can be served like poached chicken after it was braised. The dish was well liked by family members as expected as it is sweet and aromatic.

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I have used pressure cooker to prepare the dish which took me only 15 minutes to cook and another 15 minutes for the submersion in the braise sauce. If you do not have the pressure cooker, you can braise over the stove but you have watch over the heat…

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 5-6 adult servings

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  • 1 medium size chicken
  • 1 can of beer (about 330 ml)
  • 1/3- 1/2 cup of golden syrup or maltose or brown sugar (depends on personal preferences)
  • 1/2 cup of dark soya sauce
  • 1 cup of water

* The measurement are very flexible and very much depend on the size of your chicken and the size of the pot. You may need to adjust the water level subsequently to at least cover 3/4 of your chicken.

Shredded Chicken Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons of light soya sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons of dark vinegar
  • 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of chilli oil (optional)
  • Some sesame seed
  • Some shredded cucumber
  • Some shredded carrots

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • Use part of dark soya sauce to marinate the chicken for at least 15 minutes. This will help to have a darker colour .

  • Transfer the marinated chicken to the pressure cooker pot, add the beer , remaining dark soya sauce, brown sugar or maltose. Add the water and adjust the water to at least 3/4 height of the chicken. Pressure cook the chicken for 15 minutes. Once it is done, turn the chicken around and let the other side submerge in the braising liquid. Let it rest in the pot for at least 30 minutes for colour consistency.

  • For the braising sauce, if it is too watery, transfer it to a pot and boil the sauce over the stove until the sauce thickens. Timing depends on the quantity of your braising liquid.

  • Shred the chicken if preferred and set aside. In a bowl, mix sesame oil, dark vinegar, chilli oil, sugar and light soya sauce. Stir until well combined. In a plate, place the shredded chicken, cucumbers and carrots. Drizzle the sauce and dust sparingly with toasted sesame seeds. Toss well and best served chilled as an appetizer. Alternatively, the shredded chicken can be drizzle with the braising sauce.

Note:

  • If you do not have a pressure cooker, you can always braise the chicken using a wok or pot over the stove. However, you will need to monitor the timing. An estimated timing will be about 30-45 minutes.

  • If you preferred, garlics and ginger or even spices like cinnamon can be added. However, it will not have the original beer smell as the smell was masked by the spices.

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CONCLUSION

This is a flexible recipe and again, it very much depends on your personal liking, your pot size and your chicken size. You have to exercise judgement and do some adjustment to suit your family members’ taste buds. The left over sauce can be thickened or it can be used as broth for cooking noodles and etc.  Lastly, you can also braised with pork belly, pig maw , pork knuckles , duck and etc..

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 13 March 2015)  here and you can follow me at 

PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts. Also follow me at INSTAGRAM or TSU, a new social network for some more personal sharing other than recipes.

food bloggers[4]

Food paradize[8]

pinterest[4]

  • If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

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Shanghai Braised Meat (上海本帮菜红烧肉）

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INTRODUCTION

When I told readers that I will be on vegetarian diets for 45 days, one of the readers was worried that I will not issue any meaty recipe… Don’t worry, I still have some meat recipes with me and I will gradually issue over this period. My vegetarian diet is temporary and is my yearly ritual..

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Some readers may know that I have stayed in Shanghai for a few years as I have said it a few times in other post. While in Shanghai, I have a helper and one of the most common household dishes besides braising fish as in this post: Braised Ribbon Fish (红烧带鱼）is braising pork belly meat.

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She cooked this pork belly dish at least once a week and I have never get tired of it. This is not a very difficult recipe and every household’s granny will have its own version. 

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I missed this dish and I have located a few recipes and finally decided to try one recipe . I am very happy that the taste is rather close to what I had in Shanghai. The meat for this dish are supposed to be glossy and it should be braised until it melt in the mouth. It is on a sweet side as compared to other savoury style of braised meat.

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However, there is one important ingredient that is missing in this household dish, the quail eggs. I searched high and low from a few supermarkets and I can’t get hold of the quail eggs. Therefore, I have decided to omit it in this illustration.

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Members of Facebook group are asking me if Dong Bo Rou is the same as Hong Shao Rou as in this post. I am sorry that I am technically incompetent to give the answer. I believed that there are many similarities with minute differences.

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One of the main differences is the size of the meat and the different method of preparation but I do not rule out that they are all originating from the same source. If you are interested , you can refer to this post: A Cuisine With A Long Chinese History– Dongpo Meat (东波肉）

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As per Wikipedia:

“Hong shao rou (also “Red Braised Pork”; Chinese: 红烧肉) is a classic pork dish from mainland China, cooked using pork belly and a combination of ginger, garlic, aromatic spices, chilli peppers, sugar, light and dark soy, and rice wine. The pork belly is cooked until the fat and skin are gelatinous and melt easily in the mouth, while the sauce is usually thick, sweet and fairly sticky. As the English name suggests, the melt in the mouth texture is formed as a result of a long braising process, using relatively little liquid.” (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hongshao_rou)

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Recipe adapted from: 【外婆红烧肉】浓油赤酱别具上海特色的红烧肉

Servings: 4-6 adult servings

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  • 500 grams of pork belly (cut into about 1 inch x 1 inch x 2 inch size)
  • 15-20 quail eggs (cooked, shelled and deep fried)
  • 400 ml or grams of Chinese cooking wine like Hua Tiao
  • 80 grams of rock sugar
  • 25 ml or grams of dark soya sauce
  • 5 slices of ginger
  • 2-3 sprigs of spring onion, cut into big pieces
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 star anises
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Pinches of salt

STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • Boil a pot of hot water and blanch the pork belly until the external is set and there is no blood water. Drain and while it is hot, add the dark soya sauce and let it marinate for 5-10 minutes. This will help to colour the meat.

  • In a pressure cooker pot, layer the bottom with spring onion, bay leaves, ginger, star anises and cinnamon stick, On top of the herbs, add rock sugar and the blanched pork belly meat.

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  • Add the wine and adequate water such that the water cover about 1/2 of the meat. Pressure cook the meat in accordance to the pressure cooker instruction. I have used the “meat function” in the pressure cooker and it pressure cooks for about 30 minutes. After the pressure cooking, release the gas and you will see there are lot of meat juices remain in the pressure cooker. (Note that you can also cook over the stove)

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  • If you are adding quail eggs, boil the quail eggs, shelled and deep fried the quail eggs until golden brown. Set aside for later use.

  • Transfer the meat and juices from the pressure cooker to another pan over the stove. Add the quail eggs, bring to boil. Once it  boils, let it simmer at high to medium heat until the sauce thicken, glossy and coated the meat.  Sprinkle with chopped spring onion and great to serve with steaming white rice. The timing will depend of the quantity of sauces. I found it rather fast with high heat but I did keep an eye on the process.

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CONCLUSION

I am happy with the recipe and I hoped that readers will give it a try. The use of pressure cooker is to expedite the preparation. If you do not have  pressure cooker, you can always boil the meat over the stove though the time may be considerably longer like 45-50 minutes to reach your desired texture and you will have to keep an eye on the water level . Add additional water if necessary.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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food bloggers[4]

Food paradize[8]

 

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  • If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.
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Braised Nam Yu Pork Trotters With Lotus Roots and Peanuts (南乳花生莲藕猪手）

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INTRODUCTION

I always heard of this famous dish but I have never tried before. Therefore, I have decided to take a plunge to prepare this dish such that readers have more choices of pork trotter recipes besides the normal black vinegar and braised pork trotter recipes.

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I am unsure and did not have a chance to check the origin of this dish but I believed it is of a Cantonese or Hakka influence. However, I  am unable to confirm..

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I found that my pork trotters are not “sexy” enough.. Not sexy in the sense that it is not that glossy and there are very little lard being excreted after my cooking.. Well, the pork in Singapore are always very lean and I am not surprise that this is the case. In fact this will  suit most of our taste buds  requesting for lean meat rather than fatty meat.. 

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I am happy with this first trial. In fact the whole family like this.. It is essentially flavoured by ginger and the fermented bean curd mentioned below. For my girl who do not like pork, I have added lotus roots and peanuts which are also quite standard in this dish even though it is considered as optional. I used the braised sauce for my blanched vegetable and a meal is done.

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The main ingredient besides pork hock is as what is mentioned in the name of this dish – fermented bean curd or Hu Ru or Fu Ru (腐乳） or Nam Yue (in Cantonese) or nan ru (南乳）。 This ingredient is totally not new to me.. I have been eating exactly the same type of fermented bean curd since young. We usually served with white porridge or cooked in dishes.. In fact, my late aunt’s daily breakfast when she is alive is just a bowl of white porridge with a square piece of this bean curd..

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Per Wikipedia:

“Fermented tofu also called fermented bean curd, sufu, tofu cheese, or preserved tofu is a form of processed, preserved tofu used in East Asian cuisine as a condiment made from soybeans. The ingredients typically are soybeans, salt, rice wine and sesame oil or vinegar, and are sold in jars containing blocks 2- to 4-cm square by 1 to 2 cm thick soaked in brine with select flavourings. Fermented tofu is commonly used as a condiment and is consumed at breakfast to flavour rice, porridge, gruel or congee.Red fermented bean curd (Chinese: 紅腐乳/南乳; pinyin: hóngfǔrǔ/nánrǔ; Wade–Giles: hung2-fu3-ju3/nan2-ju3), incorporates red yeast rice (cultivated with Monascus purpureus) with the brining liquor for a deep-red colour and distinctively thickened flavour and aroma.” (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermented_bean_curd)

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 4-6 adults

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  • One pig trotter or front hock of about 1.5 kg
  • 10 slices of ginger
  • 2 tablespoons of rock sugar
  • 6 pieces of fermented bean curd
  • 3 tablespoons of fermented bean curd red sauce (in the bottle)
  • 3 tablespoons of dark soya sauce
  • 2 tubes of lotus roots
  • 50 grams of peanuts
  • 1/2 cup of Chinese cooking wine
  • Pinches of salt

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • Bring a big pot of water to boil. Add the pork trotters and blanch for about 5 minutes until the exterior is cooked. Drained and set aside.

  • In another big frying pan, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil or lard, pan fried the ginger until fragrant . Add the pork trotter. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes.

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  • Add the lotus roots, peanuts, dark soya sauce, fermented bean curd and its sauce, stir fry for another 2-3 minutes until the flavour are incorporated and the colour are consistent.

  • Transfer the stir fry pork trotters to the pressure cooker pot, Add the Chinese cooking wine water to at least of the height of the meat. Pressure cook for 15-20 minutes or until your desired texture. If the gravy is too much, you can transfer the gravy to another pan after draining off the meat, cook until your desired quantity and add some starch solution to thicken it.

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NOTES

  • If you do not have a pressure cooker, you can always braised the pork trotter over the stove. Timing required should be about45 minutes.

  • Do not add too much water to the meat as when cooked, meat juices will be secreted.

  • If prefer, you can add 1-2 star anises and cloves to enhance the dish flavour. Garlic cloves can be added too.

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CONCLUSION

A rather straight forward recipe and I have quite a lot of sauces left. I shall use these sauces to cook a delicious bowl of noodles for tomorrow’s lunch.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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food bloggers[4]

Food paradize[8]

pinterest[4]

  • If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

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Three Cups Chicken or Sanbeiji (三杯鸡）

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INTRODUCTION

“Sanbeiji (simplified Chinese: 三杯鸡; traditional Chinese: 三杯雞; pinyin: sān bēi jī; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sam-poe-ke; literally: “three-cup chicken”) is a popular chicken dish in Chinese cuisine. The dish originates from the Jiangxi province of southern China, is a specialty of Ningdu, and has become especially popular in Taiwan. The dish derives its name from the three cups of sauces required. For each chicken, a cup each of soy sauce, rice wine (usually mijiu although it may be mixed with Shaoxing jiu), and sesame oil are added. Lin Shangquan, a famous chef in Taiwan, believes that the traditional recipe called for a cup each of soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar, with added ginger, garlic, and basil. The chicken, together with the sauces, is cooked in an earthenware pot on high heat for ten minutes, then on low heat to allow the sauces to be absorbed by the meat. The dish is usually served in its cooking pot when the sauce has 80-90% reduced. Sanbeiji is served with no sauce; the dish is cooked until all the sauce evaporates and is absorbed by the chicken”. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanbeiji)

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This is a famous Taiwanese dish that I flopped a few times… I was always mislead by the belief that it is one chicken will need one cup of soya sauce , one cup of wine and one cup of sesame oil. It is my fault and was interpreted based on my wild imagination. Based on these literal interpretation, what I got is an extremely dark， salty and oily chicken… Not only unappetizing, the meat is overly soft by the time all the sauces thicken…

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I have therefore decided to locate a recipe . I subsequently learnt that though the name suggested to be in that ratio, it does not work that way  due to current health trends. In addition, as every brand of soya sauce will taste and look differently,  some form of chef judgement is therefore needed.

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I stumbled across a Taiwanese recipe which convinced me that I shall try his or her recipe.. At least what he or she presented capture my attention and the meat looked tender, glossy, tasty and beautiful.. I  decided to give a try after I saw some Thai basil leaves being sold in the market.

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Thai basil leaves is the main ingredient that differentiate this dish with other similar dishes. Without these prime ingredient, the dish will not qualify to be called three cups chicken. It will be just normal sesame oil chicken. Per Wikipedia:

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“Thai basil (Thai: โหระพา, rtgs: horapha, ISO: h̄oraphā, pronounced [hǒː.rá(ʔ).pʰāː]; Vietnamese: húng quế) is a type of basil native to Southeast Asia that has been cultivated to provide distinctive traits. Widely used throughout Southeast Asia, its flavor, described asanise– and licorice-like and slightly spicy, is more stable under high or extended cooking temperatures than that of sweet basil. Thai basil has small, narrow leaves, purple stems, and pink-purple flowers.”

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Recipe adapted from: [零失敗食譜] 三杯雞作法!!!

Servings: About 3-4 adults

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  • 500 grams of chicken meat (cut into small pieces)*
  • 4 stalks of Thai basil
  • 8 cloves of garlics
  • 8 slices of ginger
  • 1 tablespoon of rock sugar or maltose
  • 3 tablespoons of dark soya sauce
  • 3 tablespoons of Chinese rice wine
  • 2 tablespoons of sesame oil

Note:

  • I have used about 8 chicken mid wings and 2 deboned chicken drumsticks. Chicken meat are supposed to cut into small chunks of about 3cm x 3 cm
  • Maltose can be used to enhance the colour and flavour

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • In a non stick pan, pan fried the chicken under medium heat until the exterior are golden brown. There is no need to cook the chicken and the main purpose of this step is to preserve the outlook of the chicken after cooking. Dish up and set aside.

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  • In the same frying pan and using high heat, add the sesame oil follow by the garlic and ginger. Sauté until fragrance. Add in the maltose or rock sugar, stir fry until sugar melts. Add the pan fried chicken, stir fry 1-2 minutes until flavour incorporated, add the rice wine and dark soya sauce. Bring to boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat to medium. Let it simmer until the sauce thickens.  Give a quick stir once in a while. Before dishing up for serving, add the Thai basil leaves , stir until well mixed. Best served hot with a plate of steaming white rice or white porridge.

Note:

  • Traditionally, this dish is braised in clay pot but for convenience sake, I have used non stick pan for the preparation.

  • For rock sugar, you may need to pound the sugar into powder if it is too large piece.such that it is easier to melt. If you have maltose, it will be a better choice to provide colour and sweetness.

  • Generally, the dish shall not have too much gravy or sauces left. It is supposed to be rather dry. However, if you prefer, you can add more rice wine or water to have gravy to go with the rice.  If you find that the dish is too salty, just dilute with some more rice wine.

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CONCLUSION

Hmmm, though the dish is said to be originated in Jiangxi, China, why is Thai basil being used? Is it really because of the Taiwanese chef that introduce the herbs to the dish? Whatever the reasons, it is really a nice dish that both children and adult will like. Please do not make the same mistake as me , the literal interpretation of the cuisine name will not be able to produce this tasty dish, it will be overly oily and salty for current taste buds.. Lastly, you can always used the same recipes for other meat like pork belly .

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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food bloggers[4]

Food paradize[8]

pinterest[4]

  • If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

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Chicken Satay (Sate Ayam or 鸡肉沙爹）

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INTRODUCTION

I seriously doubt any Malaysians, Singaporeans and Indonesians do not know satay, never try satay or if tried, do not like satay. Satay is a childhood dish and it is such a very famous international dish. A Google of satay recipes will lead you to international major food websites such as Food Network, BBC Food and etc. Even Nigella Nelson also have a recipe..Of course, I will use the more authentic local recipes that uses local herbs and spices.

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“Satay (/ˈsæteɪ/, /ˈsɑːteɪ/ sah-tay), modern Indonesian and Malay spelling of sate, is a dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce.[1] Satay may consist of diced or sliced chicken, goat, mutton, beef, pork, fish, other meats, or tofu; the more authentic version uses skewers from the midrib of the coconut palm frond, although bamboo skewers are often used. These are grilled or barbecued over a wood or charcoal fire, then served with various spicy seasonings. Satay originated in Java, Indonesia.It is available almost anywhere in Indonesia, where it has become a national dish.It is also popular in many other Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, the Philippines, as well as in Suriname and the Netherlands, as Indonesia and Suriname are former Dutch colonies. Satay may be served with a spicy peanut sauce dip, or peanut gravy, slivers of onions, cucumbers, and ketupat (rice cakes). Mutton satay is usually served with kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) instead of peanut sauce. Pork satay can be served in a pineapple-based satay sauce or cucumber relish. An Indonesian version uses a soy sauce-based dip. “(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satay)

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Since this is such a famous dish, there will be thousands recipes.. Even within Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, there are many variants to satay. It can be beef, chicken parts, pork and etc… Satay is usually served with the peanut gravy and every stalls appeared to have their unique concoction of herbs in the preparation of satay gravy and that differentiate one store from the others.

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The most important ingredients of preparing satay in my humble opinion are turmeric and lemon grasses. These two potent herbs are responsible to make the meat very aromatic and give a distinctive flavour. Preparation is not difficult but need a bit of patience. In order to have a flavourful stick of meat, marinating the meat for at least a night is required.

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Satay usually comes with some burnt flavour in the meat. Traditionally, it was grilled over charcoal pit resembling the current barbecue pit. Living in the high rise apartment of Singapore, this method is not really applicable and I have resorted to the use of oven.  As an advise, if there is a way to grill the meat in open space, the taste will definitely  be  different as compare to oven grilled..

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For my international readers, satay are usually served with cucumber wedges, compressed rice cake called lontong or ketupat, big onion and some places have freshly sliced pineapple to go with the dish.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings : about 20 sticks of chicken satay

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Chicken marinating

  • 500 grams of boneless chicken drumsticks, cut into small pieces
  • 5 shallots
  • 6 cloves of garlics
  • 3 stalks of lemon grass
  • 4 small size fresh turmeric
  • 3 cm long galangal
  • 1.5 tablespoons of cumin powder
  • 1.5 tablespoons of coriander powder
  • 6 tablespoons of castor sugar
  • 4 tablespoons of peanut oil
  • 1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce
  • Pinches of salt

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  • 250 grams of peanut powder
  • 50 ml or grams of coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon of tamarind paste (Add 1/2 cup of water and extract juices)
  • 2 lemon grasses (white portion only)
  • 3 big red colour onion.
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 5 candlenuts or buah keras (soaked until soft)
  • 1 tablespoon of chilli powder
  • 1 tablespoon of shrimp paste
  • 5 tablespoons of castor sugar or palm sugar
  • 5 tablespoons of peanut oil

Others

  • 1 medium size cucumber- cut into wedges
  • 1 big red colour onion, cut into small pieces
  • 300 grams of lontong or ketupat
  • About 20 satay sticks

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • Cut the meat in the size of about 2cm x 4 cm x 1cm. It is unavoidable that some are big and some are small and it is acceptable as it will not be obvious after cooking.

  • Put all the chicken marinating ingredients (except chicken) in a blender. Add a small quantity of water to facilitate blending. Blend until as fine as possible. Transfer the paste to the chicken stripes. Marinate the chicken for at least overnight  in the fridge for flavour to develop. In this step, you can see if the colour is what is you prefer. If you prefer more yellowish, add a bit more turmeric powder. If you prefer darker version, add more dark soya sauce.

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  • Pre-heat the oven to 220 degree Celsius on the grill mode.

  • Thread the chicken meat on the satay sticks and line properly in the baking tray. Grill the chicken for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes , turn over and grill for another 10 minutes. Chicken can get cook rather fast. By 5-10 minutes, your chicken shall be cooked. What you are doing now is to grill for colour and “burnt” taste like over the charcoal stove.  You will need to keep and eye and decide on the colour tone  and the type of texture you required. The longer it is grilled, the drier will be the meat.

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  • Blend the lemon grass, onion, candlenuts, shrimp paste and garlic until fine. Add some water to facilitate blending if required.

  • Extract the assam or tamarind juices and set aside.

  • In a pan, add the peanut oil, sauté the spice paste in the blender until fragrant and oil starts to seep out from the rempah. In this process, you will witness oil starts to separate from the herbs and the colour of the rempah starts to darken. Add the tamarind or assam juices, coconut milk, sugar and salt to taste. Bring to boil. Add the grounded peanuts, stir until well combined and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. If the sauce are too thick, add a bit of hot water.

  • A standard way of serving is to have the cut onion, cucumber wedges and cut ketupat or lontong place at the side of the chicken satay. Put next to it is a bowl of satay sauce for the diner to dip the satay.

Note:

  • You can easily prepare homemade peanut powder by baking the raw skinless peanuts in the oven at 150 degree Celsius for about 5-10 minutes. Keep an eye as peanut can get burnt easily.  Thereafter transfer to a food processor for blending.

  • I like my peanut sauce a bit sweet. It is advisable that you gradually add the sugar during the cooking.

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CONCLUSION

This is my last dish to celebrate 2015 Hari Raya. Every satay stores have different unique satay sauce and its grilled chicken. I hope this recipe will provide reader a starting point to try prepare some home made satay and subsequently adjust to suit your family’s taste buds. Using oven is the last resort and I would advise this be prepared for your next barbecue outing.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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Kung Pao Chicken aka Gong Bao Ji Ding (宫保鸡丁）

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INTRODUCTION

Gongbaojiding or Kung Pao Chicken (宫保鸡丁 或 宫爆鸡丁） is another famous Szechuan dish that is commonly served in China or Overseas’ restaurants. It is a very well known dish that was well liked by most Asians and also westerners.  Unlike lazijiding (辣子鸡丁），the dish are less spicy and it was served together with the nuts. 

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Being in China many years, this dish is not uncommon to me  and it is another one of my must order dishes when I frequented Szechuan cuisine restaurant.. The reason is simple, I like the nuts being served.

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In China, the nuts used are usually peanuts which is more economical. However, In overseas, most restaurants served the dish with cashew nuts possibly because it is more classy and in fact, with cashew nuts, the dish was charged at a much higher price premium.

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Hmmm, it is very interesting to read about the background of this famous cuisine written in Wikipedia and I never know that there is such a history or politica associated with this famous dish. As per Wikipedia:

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“Kung Pao chicken, (Chinese: 宫保鸡丁), also transcribed as Gong Bao or Kung Po, is a spicy stir-fry dish made with chicken,peanuts, vegetables, and chili peppers. The classic dish in Szechuan cuisine originated in the Sichuan Province of south-westernChina and includes Sichuan peppercorns. Although the dish is found throughout China, there are regional variations that are typically less spicy than the Sichuan serving. Kung Pao chicken is also a staple of westernized Chinese cuisine. The dish is believed to be named after Ding Baozhen (1820–1886), a late Qing Dynasty official, and governor of Sichuan Province. His title was Gongbao (Kung-pao; Chinese: 宫保; pinyin: Gōngbǎo; Wade–Giles: Kung1-pao; literally: “Palace Guardian”).[1] The name “Kung Pao” chicken is derived from this title. During the Cultural Revolution, the dish’s name became politically incorrect because of its association with Ding. The dish was renamed “Fast-fried chicken cubes” (Hongbao Jiding) or “chicken cubes with seared chiles” (Hula Jiding) until its political rehabilitation in the 1980s under Deng Xiaoping’s reforms” (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Pao_chicken)

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 4-5 adult servings

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  • 300 grams of chicken drumstick , cut into cubes
  • 100 grams of roasted cashew nuts or peanuts
  • 2 Chinese leeks or 3 spring onions cut into small pieces
  • 10 dried chilli , cut into small pieces
  • 2 cm of ginger, sliced into small pieces
  • 3 cloves of garlics, cut into small pieces
  • 1 tablespoon of Sichuan pepper corn

Chicken marinating ingredients/sauce ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine
  • 1 tablespoon of corn starch
  • 1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce
  • 1 teaspoon of white pepper

Sauce ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine
  • 1 tablespoon of corn starch
  • 1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of white pepper
  • 1 tablespoon of black vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of water

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • Cut the chicken drumsticks into cubes and marinate with the above marinating ingredients (Chinese cooking wine, corn starch, dark soya sauce, and white pepper) for at least 1/2 hour.

  • In a bowl, put all the sauce ingredients, stir until well mixed. Set aside for later use.

  • Heat a wok with 4-5 tablespoons of oil under high heat.

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  • Stir fry the marinated chicken cubes until it turn beige in colour or when the exterior is cooked. This will took about 3-4 minutes. Drain and keep 1-2 tablespoons of hot oil in the wok, sauté the garlic, Chinese leek or spring onion, ginger, dried chilli , sichuan pepper corn until fragrant. Add in the stir fried chicken, followed by sauce ingredients. Give it a quick stir for 2-3 minutes. Prior to dishing up, add in the cashew nuts or peanut. Stir until well mixed and best served hot with a bowl of steaming white rice.

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CONCLUSION

Definitely not a difficult recipe to prepare and my kids love  the dish. Well, for kid’s purposes, I have reduced the usage of chilli and Szechuan peppercorn significantly, and they love the tangy, sweet and aromatic taste of the chicken. As for me, I loved the nut that was served in the dish.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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