My first attempt at some Chinese dishes

My 两菜一汤 wasn't that bad for the first attempt =) I have my 姜丝鸡肉 with egg, blanched spinach with oyster sauce and my preserved vegetable soup with tofu.

The best was the 姜丝鸡肉 with egg, which is my all-time favourite coz my mum cooks this sooo well...I think I needed to marinade my chicken longer and after adding abit more dark and light soya sauce, the taste was almost there! My most satisfied dish in a long time...My soup was almost spoiled as I didn't know that I needed to soak the preserved veg in water to remove the saltiness. I ended up with a super salty soup and I had to change the water so many times to get it right...

Overall, can be improved!

Noodles: Hor Fun Wet and Dry

My mum told me that she was going to cook Wat Tan Hor 滑蛋河 (Hor Fun swimming in smooth egg gravy) for dinner that day and she bought 2 packets of thick rice noodles. Suddenly an idea struck me!

Jess thinking to herself: "AHA! Maybe I can do something with one of the packets of rice noodles. Since I have been craving for **Swa Garden's fried Chye Poh Kway Teow, I shall try to recreate my version of that. "

So I went ahead to fry my version of the Chye Poh Kway Teow without any experience in frying Kway Teow and some advice from mum here and there.

End result----> It definitely didn't look any bit similar to the Swa Garden's version except that I added Chye Poh (Preserved radish) and I fried it over high heat to make it dry. The colour was totally different as I added dark soya sauce and I didn't have kailan to bring out the flavour of the dish. I also added alot of other ingredients as you see later.

So it was a marriage between Swa Garden's Chye Poh Kway Teow and Dry Hor Fun and Char Kway Teow. Although 3 is a crowd, my version didn't taste as disastrous as I thought it would be. It actually tasted not bad!

But dad, upon hearing me say that I was recreating Swa Garden's Chai Poh Kway Teow, had an impression that my fried hor fun will taste like Swa Garden's. So his first remark was "都不象!" （It didn't even taste the same!）ZZZzzz...

**Swa Garden is a Teochew Restaurant at MacPherson Rd. I'll try to give a review on it soon! Can't wait to eat their Chye Poh Kway Teow

Wat Tan Hor 滑蛋河 (Hor Fun swimming in smooth egg gravy)

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Ingredients:
1 packet thick rice noodles
Cooking oil
Light and dark soya sauce
Fish sauce (Optional)
Garlic, minced
Prawns
Pork slices (Mum didn't added pork)
Water (Depending on how much gravy you want)
Cornstarch mixed with a little water (For thickening the gravy)
2 Eggs, beaten
Bean sprouts
Fish cake, pan fried and sliced
Spring onions, chopped as per below

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Method:

Hor Fun
1) Heat wok at high heat and add cooking oil.
2) When oil is heated up, add rice noodles to fry.
3) Add light soya sauce (to taste) and dark soya sauce (for the colour) to the rice noodles. (We realised that the hor fun tastes better with more dark sauce)
4) Stir fry to mix the sauce and let the rice noodles sit for a while before flipping them. (Do the sitting and flipping a few times. It enhances the taste.)
5) Dish up the rice noodles and set aside.

Egg gravy and other ingredients
1) Fry the garlic till fragrant (Just a little brown)
2) Add prawns and pork immediately to stir fry.
3) Pour approximately a cup of water into the wok for the gravy. (Depending on how much gravy you prefer)
4) Add fish sauce (Alternatively, light soya sauce) to taste and some dark soya sauce if you like some colour in your gravy.
5) Pour some cornstarch water in to thicken the gravy.
6) Add beaten eggs slowly as you stir gently.
7) Finally, add hor fun first, then the bean sprouts and spring onions. Stir a little and you can serve now.

Jess' version of Fried Chai Poh Hor Fun

Ingredients:
Cooking oil
Garlic, minced
4 tbsp Chye Poh (soaked in water for a while to remove saltiness then empty the water)
Spring onions, chopped
1 packet thick rice noodles
Light and dark soya sauce
Bean sprouts
1 Egg, beaten (Optional)
Prawns, stir fried with garlic beforehand
Fish cake, pan fried and sliced

Method:
1) Heat wok at high heat and add cooking oil.
2) When oil is heated up, add chye poh and fry for ard 2 minutes till colour turns paler and it looks crisp.
3) Add garlic and spring onions to the chye poh and fry till fragrant. (Just a little brown)
4) Add rice noodles to the garlic and chye poh to stir fry for a minute.
5) Add light soya sauce (to taste) and dark soya sauce (for the colour) to the rice noodles. (Add more dark sauce)
6) Stir fry to mix the sauce and let the rice noodles sit for a while before flipping them. (Do the sitting and flipping a few times. It enhances the taste and makes it drier.)
7) Next, add bean sprouts and stir fry for a minute.
8)Then add beaten eggs over the rice noodles. Let it sit for a while before frying.
9) Lastly, add the cooked prawns and fish cake. Stir them around a little.
10) Serve.

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鸳鸯河
Consists of wet hor fun and dry hor fun.
Proudly brought to you by Mum and I.

Rice: Chicken and peanut congee with conpoy

Marky and I were having congee cravings the other day so I invited him over my house yesterday for a congee dinner. It was not just any normal congee because of the additional conpoy. (Yum yum) Conpoy is great with congee as it add a tinge of sweetness to the congee.

As Marky is a self-proclaimed carnivore, I had to add in generous servings of meat to satisfy him. Chicken thigh meat was choosen as that's my favourite part of the chicken too =)

As my mum was at home, she can't resist not helping me with the preparations and cooking (Typical mum - Can't leave her usual tasks to others. Must get her hands on everything.) And so, both of us prepared dinner together. (With lots of nagging here and there.) However, it was good that she helped out as there was quite a bit of preparatory work to be done.

A tip from my mum
Adding some oil and salt into your rice when cooking will ensure that your congee will have a good consistency.

The end results ----> Thick, sweet and tasty congee which blends well with the ingredients. Great for days when you feel like having something light. CCC

Chicken and peanut congee (Serves 5-6)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of rice
Chicken stock (Instructions below)
2 chicken thighs, shredded
1 can of braised peanuts
A small handful of dried bee hoon, deep fried
1 stalk of spring onion, chopped
Dough fritters (you tiao)
Egg (1 per person)

Method:
1) Season the chicken thighs and bones with salt and leave them for around 1/2 hr before washing off the salt.

2) Cook the chicken stock by boiling chicken bones, chicken thighs, conpoy, 1 carrot and 1/2 a chicken stock cube together.

3) Boil for at least 1 1/2 hrs.

4) Take the chicken thighs out and season with sesame oil (Sprinkle light soy sauce if the meat is still bland.)

5) Place washed rice in a pot and pour chicken stock to cover the rice. Add in the conpoy and some carrots to increase the sweetness of the congee.

6) Cook the rice over small fire and stir occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking.

7) When the congee reached the last stage of cooking (3rd picture), stir continuously to make the rice grains break up further to give a thick consistency.

8) Ensure that the congee is boiling before pouring into a bowl and crack an egg directly into the congee.

9) Add the ingredients and garnishing.

From far left (clockwise): Dough fritter, deep fried bee hoon, shredded chicken thigh meat, braised peanuts, spring onions, egg

Meat :Paper-wrapped chicken 纸包鸡

I have been wanting to try this recipe as I'm quite fascinated by how we can fry chicken that is wrapped with a paper...And coincidentally, I found this recipe from the Food & Travel magazine which I bought last year. It is a pretty easy recipe, just that the frying process was a hell lot of splurting oil. *OUCH*
But it turned out not too bad for my 1st attempt. =) Lots of beginner's luck...

SO here goes the recipe...

Paper-Wrapped Chicken
(Serves 4)

Ingredients
1 chicken (1.2 to 1.5kg) *I only experimented with 1 big drumstick*
100g ginger
2 tbsp Chinese wine (I use Shao Xing wine, can replace with Meigui Lu 玫瑰露 or cooking sherry)
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tbsp pure maple syrup (or honey)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 bunch coriander leaves
2 red chillies, sliced diagonally (I used chilli padi & forgot to slice diagonally)
12 pieces of parchment paper (15 cm square)
Oil for deep frying

Method
1. Cut chicken into serving sizes, removing visible fats.

2. Pound ginger to a pulp with mortar and pestle. Then add chinese wine.

3. Squeeze ginger juice over chicken pieces and add the rest of the seasoning. (It will not matter if some ginger pieces dropped in, it will add to the rustic feel of the dish.)

4. Marinate chicken pieces for at least 6 hours, or overnight would be better.

5. Place a sprig of coriander and a few slices of chillies on a square of parchment.

6. Place chicken pieces on coriander and wrap up into a packet. (DO make sure that your chicken is fairly dry and not with alot of marinating juice. Also wrap your chicken properly to prevent the liquid from spilling into the oil.)

7. Deep fry chicken packets in hot oil to brown. Then place in 250 deg C oven for another 10-15 minutes to finish off.
(I used the extra sauce that is still inside the paper packages to thicken into a sauce to pour over the chicken) Serve hot with white rice or plain fried rice noodles.

That's all folkS!

Veggies :Fried Kai Lan

I'm sure many people has eaten stir fried Kai Lan but what about Deep Fried Kai Lan? I came across this recipe in the same cookbook as mentioned in previous post and decided to give it a shot! The verdict? Me and mum felt that it tasted like "cai poh" (Chinese pickled radish).. So weird.. Haha.. But I think it taste goooood.. A good substitute to "cai poh". But the down side is that it also has to be eaten the moment it is cooked as it will lose the crispness pretty fast. But overall an interesting dish to try.

Fried Kai Lan

Ingredients A:
500g kai lan
A small portion of carrot, diced

oil for deep-frying

1/2 tbsp shredded ginger

1/2 tbsp chopped garlic

Ingredients B:
1 tsp caster sugar

1 tbsp shredded dried cuttlefish (I ommitted this)

1 tbsp small ikan bilis, fried until crispy

Seasoning:
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce
a little shaoxing wine
a little corn flour water for thickening

Method:

1. Separate kai lan into leaves and stems. Cut leaves into fine shreds and cut the stems into slices. (I diced my stems)
2. Heat up oil for deep frying, deep fry kai lan leaves until crispy. Dish and drain. (I suggest adding all the leaves to deep fry at the same time so that it doesn't burn that easily. Oil shouldn't be too hot and only fry the leaves for approx.1 min)

3. Leave 1 tbsp of oil in wok to saute ginger and garlic until fragrant.

4. Add in kai lan stems & carrots to stir fry for 1 minute.
5. Add seasoning and stir fry till cooked.
6. Thicken with corn flour water and dish up.











7. Put fried kai lan leaves on top of stems, sprinkle Ingredients B over it and serve.

*Fry your stems and carrots first and deep fry leaves last to ensure crispness*

Meat : Veggies :Deep fried onion chicken in special sauce

Found this recipe inside one of the cookbooks called Hawkers' Fair Simplified. The taste turned out pretty good except that the onions turned soft and not crispy after a while if not taken hot. The chicken wasn't very crispy after a while too. I think its the corn flour that was used.. I should experiment on what flour is best for frying one of these days when I'm more free...

Anyway, I made some changes to the recipe as you will see later.

Deep Fried Onion Chicken in Special Sauce (Best eaten hot!)

Ingredients:
2 chicken thighs, removed bones
1 onion, cut into think rings

Corn flour for coating chicken

Marinade:

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp curry powder (Couldn't find this at home, so I used the Curry instant noodles seasoning instead and cut back on the salt.)

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 egg

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp corn flour
1 tbsp sesame oil (Not in the recipe)

Coating for Onion Rings (Mixed):
1/2 egg
1/2 tsp salt

Sauce:
2 tbsp tomato sauce

1 tbsp chilli sauce
1tsp worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp light soya sauce
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp sesame oil (Not in the recipe)
A dash of Shaoxing wine (Not in the recipe)
A dash of pepper (Not in the recipe)

Method:
1. Combine chicken thighs with marinade and season for 30 minutes. (I left for around 3 hrs)
2. Then coat with corn flour and deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Dish up and leave to cool before cutting into serving pieces.

3. Dip onion rings in egg and salt mixture, the coat with corn flour and deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Dish up and arrange on top of chicken.

4. Leave 1 tbsp of oil in wok, pour in sauce ingredients and cook until thick. Pour over onion rings and chicken. Serve hot. (I feel that the sauce should be left aside as a dipping sauce)

Veggies : Noodles :Tofu Galoreeeee

Tofu aka 'Cheese of Asia' is really a wonderful invention and I can't live without it. It is full of benefits and we should all eat more of this insignificant but nutritious food. I've just cooked thes 1st recipe yesterday for my family and it was great! I also used the remaining marinated minced meat to cook the 2nd dish today.
Just to share with you 2 simple yet delicious tofu recipes that you can try at home...Cheers!

Steamed Prawns on Tofu with Minced Meat
(Adapted from FOOD & travel Volume II Issue 10)

Ingredients:
300g of fresh prawns, shelled and deveined
1 box of silky tofu
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Salt & pepper to taste
100g of pre-marinated minced meat (Salt, pepper, sugar, light soy sauce, sesame oil)
A splash of Shaoxing cooking wine

Oyster sauce to taste
1 bunch of spring onions, chopped
1 bunch of parsley, chopped
1 red chilli, chopped

Method:
1) Chop prawns into small pieces
2) Place tofu in a bowl with beaten egg white and seasoning. Mash into a rough paste
3) Add chopped prawns and lightly mix
4) Steam over high heat for 10mins

5) Add minced meat to the cooked tofu

6) Garnish with spring onions, parsley and red chilli

Minced Meat

1) Fry minced meat on high heat until almost cooked
2) Add Shaoxing cooking wine

3) Next, add oyster sauce to taste and a little water to make the sauce

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Golden Tofu with Minced Meat Sauce on Rice Noodles

Ingredients:

1 portion of rice noodles
A dash of sesame oil
1 tube of egg tofu, cut into thick slices
3 crab sticks (Optional), cut into small pieces

100g of pre-marinated minced meat (Salt, pepper, sugar, light soy sauce, sesame oil)
A splash of Shaoxing cooking wine

Oyster sauce to taste

Method:
1) Boil rice noodles until al dente

2) Put rice noodles under cold water and drain the water

3) Add a dash of sesame oil to rice noodles to prevent sticking together
1) Dry tofu properly with kitchen towel
2) Fry tofu until golden brown
1) Fry minced meat and pieces of crab sticks on high heat until almost cooked
2) Add Shaoxing cooking wine
3) Next, add oyster sauce to taste and a little water to make the sauce
1) Pour the minced meat sauce onto your rice noodles
2) Add tofu and garnishes if needed