Miso Braised Saba (味增鲭鱼）

INTRODUCTION

I have been cooking my fish using miso paste for at least a few years..

There is once when I am running out of Chinese fermented soya beans or tau cheo in my kitchen, it suddenly cropped out from my mind to substitute these tau cheo with miso paste.. Yes, the taste blends very well with what I am cooking. In fact, I found that it is an extremely good substitute for miso since miso is in a paste form whereas we need to break the fermented soya beans for the flavour to develop in our cooking.

Taste is slightly different from tau cheo but delicious. Out of my curiosity , I goggled “ Miso Saba” and apparently, Japan does have such a dish. After reading a few recipes, I have designed my own recipes which is much simpler but deliciousness will not be compromised.

Preparation is as easy as ABC with very simple ingredients and some can be omitted if desired. Since Miso is already a full flavour agent, there is not much seasonings you need to add.. What I have added is a small quantity of sugar to negate the slight saltiness.

This dish is great to go with rice and the sauce is especially tasty. Family members finished the dish in seconds.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings : 4-6 adult servings

• 2-3 Saba fillets
• 1-1.5 tablespoon of miso paste
• 1 tablespoon of Japanese rice wine , mirin (optional)
• 1/2 tablespoon of white sugar (optional)
• 3 cm of ginger, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlics
• About 2 cups of water
• 2 stalks of spring onion

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• This step is optional if you can eat fish with bones . Turn the fish fillet with the flesh facing you. Pluck out the bones at the middle of the fish fillets.

• Put the miso paste with about  2 cups of water , stir until well combined. The volume will depends on the size of your frying pan. if your pan is big, you may need a bit more. The water should at least cover the fish .

• In a pan, put one tablespoon of oil, pan fried the fish for 1-2 minutes until the fish meat has turned beige. Add in the ginger slices and garlic cloves, sauté for 1 more minute. Add the miso solution and bring to boil. Once it boils, turn the heat to medium and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes. Before off the heat, add the sugar and stir until the sugar dissolved. Off the heat and sprinkle with chopped spring onion before serving.

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CONCLUSION

The last 2 posts on Assam Fish and Stew Halibut received quite a favourable response. Members of Facebook Group are trying out the recipes. I have therefore decided to share this recipe too. I will not insist to use Saba in this recipe, but I would recommend the use of a deep sea fish where there are more omega fatty acids and smoother meat texture. Salmon is definitely a good choice and of course good fish like threadfin fillets can always be used.

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.

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.

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.

Stewed Halibut With Fermented Soya Beans (豆瓣酱半煎煮比目鱼）

INTRODUCTION

I have to be frank when I was young, there are not many cooking methods for fishes in my house. Beside pan frying, braised fish with soya sauce, assam fish, fish steaming and another one is this old classic of braising fish with fermented soya beans.

Well, I do not know how to properly translate the term for this cooking and in Chawan dialect and Mandarin, it was called “半煎煮“ or “pua jian zhu”. Basically it means that the fish is pan fried first until the exterior is hardened. It is then braised in a gravy of ginger and fermented soya beans.

It is a comfort dish that goes well with rice or porridge and most Chinese granny should be able to prepare this dish.. The gravy is especially nice to eat with the rice and like my wife, she likes the shredded ginger very much ..

For today’s illustration, i have used halibut fillet. i bought a piece from the supermarket and the first thing that come to my mind is to cook it this way. I am unsure if halibut is the same as the sole fish that I ate when I was young. i know that they both  came from the same flatfish family but the one i knew is a whole fish and apparently is much smaller and unable to get such a big piece of fillet. This fish has a fishy smell, and one of the best ways of cooking the fish is braising in this strong aromatic soup to get rid of the fishy smell.

Unsure what are the reasons behind, we always used this type of cooking for fish fillets and not really whole fish. Better fishes such as threadfin can also be used but we never used in smaller fish with lots of bones like ikan selar or ikan kembong..

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings : 3-4 adult

• One piece of fish fillet (about 500 grams)
• 1 tablespoon of fermented soya beans (tau cheo)
• 5 cm long ginger , shredded
• 2 cloves of garlic, small slices (optional)
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• Dashes of white pepper (optional)

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Shred the ginger and cut the garlic into small pieces.

• Pat dry the fish and coat the fish with some corn flour . However, the coating is optional.

• In a pan, put 1-2 tablespoons of oil, pan fried the fish until both sides are golden brown. Push the fish to one side of the pan, sauté the ginger and garlic using the cooking oil until aromatic, add the fermented soya beans. Stir fry for additional 1-2 minutes. Add adequate water to cover the fish and reduce the heat to medium. Let it simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Before off the heat, add the sugar and dashes of white pepper . If preferred, starches can be added by mixing 1 tablespoon of corn starch with 3 tablespoons of plain water.

Note:

• When pan frying fishes, do not turn the fish for the first 3-4 minutes, otherwise, the skin will break.

• No salt shall be added to dishes cooked with fermented soya beans as it is already very salty . In the event if it is too salty, add more sugar to neutralize the saltiness.

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CONCLUSION

I have been sharing this type of simple home cooked dishes as I was rather shocked that a lot of new house chefs do not know how to cook this type of simple dishes. They knew the dish, they missed it, they did not have a chance to learn from their mother and I hope my sharing will benefit this group of readers. Having said that, if you still have people to refer to , I would encourage reader to learn from them these simple dishes from them  as you know it definitely will suit your taste bud.

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.

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.

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.

Assam Fish (阿叁鱼）

INTRODUCTION

This is a recipe that I need no reference from other website. It is a common household dish that was cooked by my late mum since we are very young.

When I started blogging, I have rejected sharing this type of simple home cooked dishes for fear that readers will not accept such recipes. Apparently, lots of blogger are blogging the dish and since i am cooking today, I will also share this recipe too.

This is a recipe that can be as elaborate as you want in terms of herbs used. It can also be as simple liked what is cooked by my late mum. Being hailed from Sarawak where practically there are very few Peranakan community, most Chinese households also knew how to cook this dish . What is different from the West Malaysian version is the use of herbs that are not common in Sarawak such as Bunga kentan or daun kesom etc.. Whether these herbs add to the deliciousness of the dish in my humble opinion is a personal reference. I have a hard time to get use to these two herbs when I stayed in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore but are able to accept it now.

Another reasons that I have excluded these herbs in today’s recipe because I found that a recipe that is overloaded with ingredients will deter readers from trying. Buying a pack of bunga kentan or laksa leaves and using only 10% of it obviously is wasting money .. But if readers insist that this is compulsory in the recipe, you can always add it to suit your taste buds.

The picture in this post may not be as attractive as it should be . The main reasons is the fish used. In this illustration, ikan selar was used and that is what my mum used to cook ..Usually fish selection will based on fish that are fishy in nature after cooking and the concoction of herbs were used to musk such fishiness. Another common fish that we used to cook is ikan bawal hitam or black pomfret.

Better fish such as threadfin, garoupa, batang or tenggiri all can be used but to me it is a waste to use these type of fishes to cook this dish. These better fishes can be steamed or grilled or pan fried to enjoy its freshness and sweetness without the need to use lots of herbs. Well, in my opinion, any fishes can be used and I will leave it for readers to decide.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: About 3-4 adult servings

• 4 ikan kembong or ikan selar
• 2 tablespoons of tamarind paste or assam mixed with 6 tablespoons of water and extract juices
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• Pinches of salt

Rempah or spice mix ingredients

• 2 small onions
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of chilli powder (or 3-4 fresh chilli)
• 1 tablespoon of belachan or shrimp paste
• 1 stalk of lemon grass
• 2 small turmeric roots (or 1 tablespoon of turmeric powder)
• 2 small tomatoes (optional)

Optional ingredients – blended to rempah above

• 1/2 bunga ketan or laksa flower
• Some laksa leaves or daum kesom

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Put all the rempah or spice mix ingredients in a blender (except powder form), add adequate water just to cover 1/2 the height of the ingredients, blend until as fine as possible. Alternatively, you can pound these ingredients using traditional mortal and pastel.

• In a wok, put about 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil, sauté the rempah or spice mix under medium heat until fragrant and until oil starts to separate out from the ingredients.  In this process, you will witness the colour of the rempah darkens and getting drier and drier. It took me about 15 minutes to get what I wanted.

• Mix 2 tablespoons of tamarind paste with 6 tablespoons of water and extract juices. Pour the assam juices into the rempah, stir until well combined. Add the fish and follow by the sugar, bring to boil and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Off the heat and let the fish rest in the assam gravy for at least 1/2 hour before serving. Timing will depend on type and size of fish, in general 5-10 minutes of simmering should be adequate. It is advisable to prepare this dish in the early afternoon and served for dinner to let the flavour develops for a few hours.

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CONCLUSION

I am unsure if this assam fish of mine do appeal to you but I have to clarify that this type of thick gravy assam fish will not have any vegetables. There is another type of assam fish which is more soupy and with lots of vegetable. That is very sour but this recipe is supposed to be sour and sweet  and it is an enjoyment to have white rice served with this delicious gravy.

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.

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.

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 Prawn Omelette (滑蛋虾仁）

INTRODUCTION

Some home cooked dishes looks easy but I can never get it right if there are no pointers.. One of the dish is this Chinese prawn omelette..

We cooked based on what our mothers used to cook .. We cooked based on our experiences dealing with the heat and the gadgets that we have in our kitchen… But the output that comes out is always different from what we saw from those posted in the internet or social media.. House chefs always bound by the various experiences accumulated throughout the years.. Some may not be correct..

What is so great about prawn omelette? Essentially it is prawn cooked together with eggs. When I cooked, the prawns always looked rather dry and the eggs are hard.. What is in the social media look juicy for both prawns and the omelette.. I therefore Google the recipe and I found out a few mistakes that I have.

One of the them is over cooking and the cooking time for both prawns and omelette were much shorter than I thought. I did not add starches to the solution and hence the egg coagulates very fast… Since there are water in the egg solution, the water moisturizes the harden eggs..

Well, i learned together with every one of my readers .. I learned and I share with new house chefs who may be interested to know how to better prepare the dish.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 3-4 adult servings

• 250 grams of shrimps
• 4 eggs
• 3 sprigs of spring onion
• 1 tablespoon of corn starch mixed with 3 tablespoons of water

Prawn marinating ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of corn starch
• 1 teaspoon of Chinese cooking wine
• Pinches of salt
• Dashes of white pepper
• 1 egg white

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Sprinkle some salt in the prawns and let it marinate for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, wash away the salt under running water, drained and pat dry using a kitchen towel. Add the marinating ingredients for 15 minutes. The main purpose of this steps is to draw out the moisture form the prawns and the prawns will be crunchier.

• Meanwhile, get ready the starch solution and chopped the spring onion.

• Heat up a pot of water. When it boils, add in the marinating prawns, blanch the prawns until 70% cooked (about 30-45 seconds) , drained and set aside.

• Crack and lightly beat the eggs. Add the blanched prawns, chopped spring onion and the starch solution.

• In a pot, add about 2 big tablespoons of oil under high heat. Once ready, add the egg solution and let the sides coagulates slightly. Once the side is set, use a ladle to do  a few quick stirs  until all the remaining eggs are set. The whole process will took only 1-2 minutes depending on your heat and the dish is ready to be served.

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CONCLUSION

This dish will be classified as simple home cooked food series aimed to help new house chefs. Experienced house chefs, I am sure you can cook better than me and I would appreciate that you can share some tips and pointer with me and the readers. Remember that the effective cooking time of this dish is very short and that will help to ensure a moist and creamy prawn omelette.

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.

• 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.

• 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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Grilled Teriyaki Saba (日式照烧烤鲭鱼，焼き照り焼きサバ）

INTRODUCTION

During dinner, wife was asking me, what is  the brand of the grilled Saba that was served in the dining table? I kept quiet and she asked again,  was it me who prepared the grilled saba? I nodded  my head and tell her yes.. She said now there is no need to buy the frozen pack from the supermarket as the taste was very closed.

She did not know that I have shared before this recipe with a magazine about a year ago and since I saw some reasonably priced frozen saba fish, I have decided to prepare it again and share with readers. It is a very simple fuss free recipe that replicates what we have purchased in Singapore supermarket and you can even do it in an oven toaster.. I did not use the ready made teriyaki sauce, instead, I have prepared my own teriyaki sauce for the baking..

You may be interested in this post (Teriyaki Chicken (照り焼きチキン,日式照烧鸡肉)) where I share home made teriyaki sauce for chicken and many readers have tested the recipe and like it very much..

Kids love this dish as it is a fatty deep sea fish that comes with aromatic sweet teriyaki sauce.. Saba is actually  a type of mackerel fish which is high in omega III fatty acids. Besides saba, another good alternative is salmon or other deep sea fish from the colder weather. Cod is excellent but using cod is a waste since there are many better way of cooking the fish.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

• 4 standard pieces of Saba fish fillet (about 200 grams)
• Half a lemon
• 2 tablespoons of Japanese light soya sauce
• 2 tablespoons of Japanese cooking wine or Mirin
• 1 tablespoon of Chinese dark soya sauce (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of cooking oil (optional)

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Mix Mirin, Japanese light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, cooking oil and sugar in a bowl. Stir until sugar dissolved.

• Wash the fish, drain and place in a zip lock bag. Add the marinating sauce prepared above. Push all the air out of the zip lock bag, zip and marinate the fish for at least 1 hour in the fridge.

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.

• Line the marinating fish in a light greased baking tray or aluminium foil. Keep all the marinating sauce.

• Grill the fish for 5 minutes, take out and brush the fish with the marinating sauce. Send back to the oven and grill for another 5 minutes. take out, brush the liquid. Pour all the marinating sauce into the baking tray and bake for another 5 minutes or until the sauce have thickened. Best serve with slice of lemon or lemon juice drizzle on the grilled fish.

Note:

• If you do not have any oven at home, you can try to pan fry over stoves with 1 tablespoon of oil on a non stick pan. 5 minutes on each side and add the sauce and pan fry until  sauce thickened.

 

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CONCLUSION

Remember that toaster oven can be use. Fish can cook rather fast and you have to monitor the timing. If you do not have Japanese mirin or light soya sauce, you can substitute with Chinese cooking wine and light soya sauce. Taste will be very similar.

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.

 

• 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.

• 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.

Otak Is Not The Name, It Must Be Otak-Otak (鱼肉乌达）

INTRODUCTION

Otak otak or spiced fish cake is not a common item in Sarawak when I was young and therefore, I am not very familiar with this fish cake. After settling down in Singapore,  I have more exposure of this as it was commonly sold in nasi lemak stores, served during parties or barbecue..

I have to be frank that I have never like the the outside version as I found that some are overly creamy, or with too much spices that I do not like. As per friends‘ request, I have decided to try preparing my own and share  the recipe with them..

I have purposely choose a no frill simple recipe that do not require lots of herbs and spices .. I just want a basic simple recipe and I think I have found one that is easy enough and suit my family’s taste buds. What surprised me is my kid who have only tried otak otak for the first time have wanted more for their lunch and dinner.. I think possibly I have adjusted the spices to suit their taste buds. It is not extremely spicy, slightly sweet and a humble down to earth simple flavour mostly comprises of curry powder.

What I am sharing is the basic recipe and if readers wanted to make it a more elaborate version, you can add in as much herbs and spices as you want (as suggested in the conclusion).. Therefore, this recipe targets at those who need an easy and fast recipe. The otak otak may appear to be a bit on the dry side as I have over baked them by almost 5 minutes.. If you follow precisely the timing, the texture will be just right.

As per Wikipedia:

“Otak-otak is a grilled fish cake made of ground fish meat mixed with tapioca starch and spices.It is widely known across Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, where it is traditionally served fresh, wrapped inside a banana leaf, as well as in many Asian stores internationally — being sold as frozen food. It can be eaten solely as a snack or with steamed rice as part of a meal. Otak means “brains” in Indonesian and Malay, and the name of the dish is derived from the idea that the dish somewhat resembles brains, being whitish grey, soft and almost squishy.^[2] Nevertheless, it was only otak-otak from Indonesia that has whitish color, while the otak-otak from Malaysia and Singapore has reddish-orange or brown coloring acquired from chili, turmeric and curry powder.”

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Recipe adapted from: Muar Otak-otak 麻坡鱼肉乌挞

Servings: 8-10 depending on sizes (6” x 1.5 “)

• 400 grams of fish meat (mackerel or batang fish preferred)
• 200 grams or ml of thick coconut milk

Spices and seasonings

• 1.5 tablespoons of fish curry powder
• 1.5 tablespoons of chilli powder
• 1 tablespoon of white sugar
• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon of minced lemon grass
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
• Pinches of salt

Others

• 10 pieces of banana leaves cut into 5 inches x 10 inches

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Put the fish meat and all the spices in a food processor and blend until fine. Add in the coconut milk and continue to blend until it resemble a thick paste.

• Pre-heat the oven to 200 degree Celsius.

• Take a piece of banana leaves, take two spoons of the fish paste in the centre of the banana leaf, wrap the fish paste in a rectangular shape, staple both sides and baked in the pre-heated oven of 200 degree Celsius for 10 minutes. Best served hot as a snack or side dish of a meal.

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CONCLUSION

This is a very basic recipe and the spices and herbs suggested are on the low side .. As this is a savoury dish, feel free to increase the quantities of the suggested spices. Other herbs that can be considered are laksa flower, laksa leaves, curry leaves, galangal and etc.. If you do not have an oven, just steamed it for about 10 minutes, you can easily create the effect of burning by placing on top of a hot pan over the stove, pan fry the leaves for a few minutes to let it appears to be burnt.

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.

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP  to see more recipes. Currently there are about 21,500 members sharing various food photos . 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.

• 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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Deep Fried Prawn Balls (干炸虾枣）

INTRODUCTION

This is my childhood dish and my late mum used to prepare this occasionally.  During bigger festivals, ngoh hiang or meat rolls were prepared but for smaller praying ceremony, these were prepared instead.

The differences between the two are meat rolls was wrapped in tofu skin whereas prawn balls were not wrapped. Instead, it was squeezed out from the hand in a ball form and deep fried. Another difference is prawn balls generally have more prawns than minced meat.

Obviously, this is a very common delicacy in the Chaozhou and Shantou area of which Chawan (Zhaoan) dialect’s cuisines were greatly influenced by Teochew cuisines. It was also served in  traditional Teochew restaurants. But at times, it was wrapped with bean curd skin and cut into small pieces before the serving.

What I am sharing is our household recipe. Nothing difficult. Then it was more laborious as there are no food processor. All the chopping and mincing have to be done manually. I remember my mum will use the knife to smash and chopped the prawns. All other ingredients were done by hand including chopping of onion, minced meat etc.

For those who understand Mandarin, as per Baike, it was written :

“ 干炸虾枣是广东省传统的汉族名菜，属于粤菜系潮州菜。此菜虾肉鲜甜，外皮酥香，荸荠爽脆可口。用虾仁泥为主料，配以面粉等辅料，油炸成大枣形而成的。它与炸虾丸近似，但辅料有八种之多，为一般虾丸所不及；此菜因形似枣，故名。四季皆宜。”(Source: http://baike.baidu.com/view/149176.htm)

 

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: About 30-40 small prawn balls of about 2 cm in diameter

• 800 grams of shrimps
• 200 grams of minced meat
• 1 medium size big onion
• 8 water chestnuts
• 2 cm long carrot , sliced
• 1 egg
• Few sprigs of coriander or Chinese celery stalks or spring onion
• 2 tablespoons of plain flour or corn flour (For springy texture, use corn flour)

Seasonings

• 1 teaspoon of white pepper
• 1 teaspoon of fish sauce
• Pinches of salt (remember fish sauce is salty)
• 1-2 tablespoons of sugar

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STEP OF PREPARATION

• Blend big onion, water chestnuts, coriander and carrots in a food processor in coarse form. Coarse form means that it is overly fine such that you are able to feel the crunchiness of the chestnuts in the prawn balls. Transfer out to a big mixing bowl. Set aside.

• Put the prawns and minced meat into the food processor and blend until fine.  Transfer out to the big mixing bowl with the blended water chestnuts and others.

• Add all the seasoning to the big bowl, crack eggs, add flour and use a chopstick to stir in one direction until well mixed. Set aside.

• Heat up a pot of hot oil and use the chopstick to test the readiness of the heat. If a wooden chopstick is placed in the hot oil and bubble emitted, the oil is consider as ready.

• Turn the oil to medium. Take a handful of the batter, use hand to squeeze it out like in the picture, use a tablespoon to scoop out the prawn ball and drop the prawn ball into the hot oil. Deep fry using medium heat until the prawn balls floated upwards and turn light golden brown colour. Turn the heat to high and let it deep fry for another half minute. Dish up and drain. Suggested to serve the prawn balls with Teochew style Golden Orange Oil (金桔油）.

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CONCLUSION

If you find the name xia zao or hae chou familiar but the look is different from those served in restaurant, it is essentially the same thing. The restaurant wrapped the prawn batter in a piece of bean curd skin , steam, cut into big chunks and deep fried it again before serving. It will save the restaurant a lot of time. However, as a respect of traditional cuisine and to honour what my mum had did, I have decided to stick to this shape. Taste is the exactly the same except the preparation is lightly messier as you have to deep fry the balls directly.

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.

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP  to see more recipes. Currently there are about 21,500 members sharing various food photos . 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.

• 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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Butter Prawns With Egg Floss (蛋丝牛油虾）

INTRODUCTION

My mind is very “blank” when I am writing this post.. I  do not what to write about the dish except the recipe..

This is a recipe that I stumbled across when I searched for prawn recipe.. I can’t recall if I have tasted it before. Probably no because though it looked delicious with the egg floss, I do not think i have ever eaten unshelled prawns cooked in butter. The one that I have tasted is without shell and without egg floss.

I studied a few recipes and come out with this simple recipe of mine, The adventure did not disappoint me at all, it is creamy and tasty .. I especially loved the mixture of curry and buttery aroma and smooth texture of the prawns.

However, I do regret of not using fresh curry leaves since I am running out. Instead, I have to use the dried curry leaves stock up for emergency purposes. No difference in flavours except the colour is not as appealing as using the fresh type.

Preparation is rather easy. Some recipes call for deep frying the prawns for 1-2 minutes but I shelved the idea as it will be too troublesome for house chef just to prepare a whole pot of oil for deep frying 1-2 minutes. Instead, I opted for another easier version of stir frying the prawns until cooked. I do not believe the taste will be compromised a lot but I think it is slightly healthier and much faster way to prepare the dish, not to mention less kitchen utensils to wash…

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: About 4-6 adult servings

Egg floss

• 2-3 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 2 tablespoons of cooking oil

Stir frying

• 1/2 kilograms of prawns
• 2 cloves of garlic cut into big pieces
• 20 grams or ml of evaporated milk or fresh milk
• Some cut chillies or bird eye chillies
• 1 sprig of curry leaves (preferably fresh curry leaves)
• Pinches of salt
• Dashes of white pepper
• Sugar to taste

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• In a wok or frying pan, heat up 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of cooking oil under high heat. Drizzle the beaten egg yolk onto the hot oil, stir fry or deep fry the egg yolk until golden brown. Dish up and drain  Use a tablespoon to press the oil back to the wok or frying pan. Place the deep fried egg floss in a piece of kitchen towel. Set aside for cooling.

• Use the same oil in the wok to pan fry the prawns for 1-2 minutes, add the chilli, garlic and curry leaves. Stir fry for one minute. Add the evaporated milk and continue to stir fry until it starts to dry. Add dashes of white pepper, salt and sugar to taste. Have a quick stir and dish up. Sprinkle with egg floss prepared earlier and best serve hot as a side dish of a standard Chinese meal.

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CONCLUSION

I have decided to simplify the steps to suit the needs of new house chefs. Trust me, taste will not be of that much difference…Just remember to stir fry all this using high heat and remember to put the cooking oil as it will make the oil hotter and hence your egg floss will be crispier…

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.

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP  to see more recipes. Currently there are about 21,500 members sharing various food photos . 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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Braised Ribbon Fish (红烧带鱼）

INTRODUCTION

I have the intention to start a new series that will share simple and common household dishes. My aim is to provide inspirations to new house chefs who have not have a chance to learn simple household cooking. These recipes are simple, down to earth and suitable for daily cooking. Experience house chefs, bear with me the simple recipes and I hope we can also share how these dishes can be further improved..

This is a dish that I have been eating when I stationed in Shanghai. My helper and my ex-company’s cook  in Shanghai cooked this dish at least once a week..Therefore I am rather familiar with this dish and I do missed this dish when I stationed in Singapore. In fact it is also a very common dish in mid level Chinese restaurants..

My wife love ribbon fish. I love ribbon fish too.. But we usually pan fried the ribbon fish and dip in special sauces such as chilli, lime and dark soya sauce. At time, minced garlic were added too… This is one of our favourite fishes because it is economically priced, not fishy, meaty and with very little small bones. It is sweet and the meat is tender.

In general, ribbon fish is defined as “any of a number of long slender fishes that typically have a dorsal fin running the length of the body, in particular.” . I am also rather confused as some said it is called a hair tail fish or belt fish. I am unsure whether or not all these three are the same, but what I am referring is the fish as in the picture below. (Picture courtesy from: http://noeyeddeer.com/fish/species/trichiurus-lepturus.html). When you buy the fish, it is advisable to purchase the whole fish, ask the store owner to cut into your desired sizes and I usually throw away the fins, head and tail.

I am happy that my kids loved this braised ribbon fish dish. They especially like to gravy to go with the rice.. In this illustration, starch is added but that is totally optional and I will let the readers to decide on this.. For those who like it a bit  spicy hot, you can also add chilli to flavour the dish. Whether the dish should be slightly sweet or savoury is also up to reader. In this illustration, it is more on a sweet side. If you like savoury, just omit the sugar..

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 4-5 adult servings

• 1 medium size ribbon fish cut into big pieces
• 2 cm ginger – sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic – sliced thinly
• 3 sprigs of spring onion – cut into big pieces
• 1-2 red chilli (optional)
• 2 tablespoons of dark soya sauce
• 1 tablespoon of dark vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of rice flour
• 1/2 tablespoon corn flour (optional)
• Dashes of white pepper
• Pinches of salt
• Sugar to taste

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Wash the fish, drain and pat dry with kitchen towel. Add in pinches of salt and white pepper. Let it marinate in the fridge for at least 1/2 hour without any cover.

• Coat the fish with the rice flour as evenly as possible. In a frying pan, heat up some cooking oil under high heat.  (You have the option of either pan fry your fish or deep fry your fish).  Add the fish , and reduce the heat to medium, deep fry or pan fry the fish until the exterior is golden brown. Drain and Set aside.

• In  a bowl, put dark soya sauce, dark vinegar, sugar, white pepper and corn starch. Add about 1/2 cup of water, stir until it become a starchy solution. Set aside. (Note that starch is optional)

• In a frying pan, have 1 tablespoon of oil, sauté the ginger and garlic until fragrant and lightly brown. Add the fish, chilli (if any) and spring onion, stir fry for one minute until the flavour are well incorporated. Add the starchy solution above, let it simmer until your desired texture or until the gravy thickens. If the gravy thickens too fast, just add in more water and simmer until your desired texture of the fish and consistency of your gravy.

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CONCLUSON

This is a simple household recipe for braising fishes. Do not be constrained by ribbon fish alone, in fact most fishes can be used. Some of the suggested species are milk fish, sole fish and many more..

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 26 November 2014)  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.

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP  to see more recipes. Currently there are about 21,500 members sharing various food photos . 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.

• 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.

Simple Prawns Fritters (酥脆炸虾）

INTRODUCTION

This is a rather simple household recipe which I am rather reluctant to issue the recipe initially.. The reason is that it is very simple and most granny or house chefs will know how to prepare this …

On second thought, I think a lot of new house chefs may have problems of deep frying prawns fritters that are fluffy and stay crispy even when it is cold. I did not learn all this from my late mum, I have many trials and errors before I came out with this recipe that I have used it for almost all types of fritters be it fish, banana, nian gao and other fritters.

On this ground, I believed a lot of new house chef may face the same problem as me. Of course, you can always buy ready packed deep frying powder from the supermarket to do the job. However, is it not good if we can easily do it at home when the craving arises? In addition, this can be prepared at a fraction of cost and you can adjust the seasoning to suit your taste buds.

There is nothing much to write about this recipe. It is just a common household dish for smaller prawns that is well liked by most families. For this illustration, I have added some white pepper salt (椒盐） – a standard combination of seasonings for some deep fried items in Chinese recipes. Therefore, the batter is rather tasteless because salt and white pepper will be sprinkled on top of the deep fried fritters. On the same logic, if you do not have such ready  made seasoning, you can always add salt or white pepper or other seasonings to your batter.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 3-4 adult servings

• 400 grams of prawns (de-shelled but with tail on)
• 100 grams of plain flour
• 100 grams of rice flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 120-140 grams (ml) of water
• 1 egg or 50 grams of egg white
• Dashes of pepper
• Pinches of salt
• Adequate oil for deep frying

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Add pinches of salt and dashes of white pepper to the prawns. Season the prawns for at least half an hour in the fridge without cover. After half an hour, your prawns shall be rather dry and ready for deep frying. If you are running short of time, pat dry the prawns with some kitchen towel and add pinches of salt and dashes of white pepper.

• In a bowl, sift in the rice flour, baking powder and plain flour. Crack the eggs and add in seasonings of your choice (optional), dashes of white pepper and pinches of salt. Gradually add in the water and whisk until well mixed. The batter shall be rather thick such that it can stick to the prawns. In the even it become too watery, you have to add some more plain flour.

• Heat up a pot of hot oil. The oil is considered as ready when a pair of wooden chopsticks inserts into the hot oil, bubbles starts to emit. Take a piece of prawn and put in the hot oil. Reduce the heat to medium heat. Perform the same for all the prawns. Deep fried the prawns fritter until golden brown and just before taking out from the hot oil, increase the heat to high. Take out the prawns fritters, drained and sprinkle of salt pepper seasoning (optional). Cool completely before serving.

Note:

• In the process of deep frying, you will witness changes from lots of big bubbles into minimal small bubbles. When there are almost no bubbles, the fritter is ready. However, you have to watch out the colour tone also. Therefore, you have to keep an eye during the whole process of deep frying.

• The prawns will have to be dry such that the batter will stick to the prawns.

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CONCLUSION

This prawn fritters are rather crispy even when cold. Remember that the prawns need to be dry and adding rice flour will help to maintain the shape. It is my sincere wish that this recipe will benefit new house chefs who are struggling to get the best batter for deep frying . Remember that you can use this recipe for deep frying fish, chickens, vegetables etc. but the timing will have to be adjusted accordingly.

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 26 November 2014)  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.

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP  to see more recipes. Currently there are about 21,500 members sharing various food photos . 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.

• 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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