made 8pax zi char dishes + 1 vegetarian for my RI makan group friends this evening on 25.7.2018. ^^

we had a lovely 11pax dinner at loong hua zi char recently on 26.6.2018 organised by pete when he was back singapore visiting.

so i decided to cook zi char dishes & NCL dubbed it “impressions loong hua” dinner! 🙂

i had in total 10 dishes this evening. ^^

Menu

(loong hua/zai shun/zi char dishes)

1 black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头
2 nonya sauce steamed patin 巴丁鱼
3 crystalline (white slow braised) belly pork
4 jelly pig skin 猪皮冻
5 dry wok large prawns
6 claypot liver
7 salted fish steamed minced pork
8 salted egg bittergourd
9 braised pork ribs with yellow pepper
10 fried tofu with red pepper & shitake for suresh

Thanks 🙏 all my dear friends for a fun wonderful evening together…

spicy black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头 the usual nice dish.

i made some larpok crispy lard. it went well with the 2 steamed fish.

this evening because i had to steam both patin & song fish head simultaneously (at first i intended to do one in the steam oven, then the next), i had to place it in a smaller round dish to steam over the hob. there is a slight difference as there is less condensation so sauce is drier & thicker.

also this evening it has to compete with the nonya sauce patin. haha! but still good la! 🙂

gimson nonya sauce steamed patin was a favourite dish, more than the song fish head.

patin is my favourite fish, very smooth especially the oily belly, few bones, a really tasty fish.

and the tangy gimson nonya sauce wa just so good. every dish tastes good when when add this sauce la…lol! 🙂

& this patin was about 700g & just

the jelly pig skin 猪皮冻 can be said to be a by product.

i planned it of course! 🙂

when i slow braise belly pork there is very tasty gelatine. also i had lots of pig skin from previous belly pork dishes where i had to remove the skin. so just 2 and 2!

just put the marinade from braised belly pork in a small rectangular dish. cut & added the belly pork (which was slow braised 4hrs in 130degC oven together with the belly pork). placed in fridge & chilled for few hours. 🙂

this really excellent jelly pig skin 猪皮冻 in my opinion. my belly pork marinade is so tasty & it also contained the belly pork taste & gelatine.

the crystalline (white braised) belly is my own created recipe.

belly pork is slow braised in 130degC oven for 4hrs. this made it slight overcooked & very tender but will fall apart if you try to cut it or if heated up & boiled.

but when it is chilled, it holds together & cut easily, & the texture is very tender.

my marinade (tbsp flat sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1tbsp white vinegar, 4-5tbsp shaoxing wine) made a very, very tasty braise (and of course excellent jelly for the jelly pig skin dish). 🙂

salted fish steamed minced pork 咸鱼饼 is a common zi char dish & everyone’s favourite.

nicely minced salted fish mixed evenly with the minced pork with 1 tbsp corn flour, 1tbsp of oil from the bottle, 1tbsp olive oil..& steamed. 🙂

simple, perfect homely dish. 🙂

i seldom take liver. maybe very occasionally if taking pig innard soup.

we had very nice claypot liver dish at loong hua on 26.6.2018.

so i decided to make it, and i did that couple times recently. excellent dish! 🙂

it was easy to make. just a good stock (i use the leftover braise from the crystalline belly pork).

fried cut chilli, cut red onions, cut spring onions, sliced ginger in 1tbsp oil. then i added 2 stalks coriander & 2tsp chopped garlic.

added stock & 2 tbsp shaoxing wine, and reduced.

when serving, heat up the stock, added liver (cut cross-grain, washed with salt & drained dry), stir with chopstick for even cooking, cover & serve.

i have not done this dish dry wok large prawns (recipe here) for maybe >3 years?

we had a nice 虾录at loong hua recently, and i decided to do this today. 🙂

high fire, oil, slice & cut ginger, then added the prawns & chopped garlic. turnover & fry the prawns thoroughly for even cooking, do not add water (water will result in steaming whereas this method burnt the shells giving bbq flavours and the prawns is insulated & baked within the shells).

then added lots of fish sauce while still on high fire, feel the wonderful fish sauce aroma. after reduce to medium low. make sure the prawns are cooked.

it was excellent, colours were beautiful, great bbq flavours, and nice sweet succulent prawns.

i made also spicy bean sauce pork softbones with yellow & red peppers.

the usual zi char preparation uses bitter gourd. since i already doing a bittergourd dish i replaced this with sweet yellow & red pepper.

the pork ribs were slow braised 6-7hrs in 130degC oven (requires longer time than belly pork), so very tender & my braise (same as belly pork) is super tasty la!

very nice dish. aunty bes used to do this a lot w/o the veg & very simply just panfried & pan braised. a dish i used to eat a lot & like a lot. 🙂

the zai shun_s salted egg bittergourd 👍👍👍 was very good too.

HK commented a few times & later repeated on FB “My favourite: bitter gourd egg omelette. Give me another round I can finish it all by myself!…

but of course zai shun’s is much better.

easy dish to make, just minced a cooked salted egg (vaccum packed from heng shiong, just open the cooked egg & minced it).

fry chopped garlic in oil, add bittergourd (washed with corn flour & the salt, brined in salt & sugar overnight, washed & drained by) & minced salted egg & fry. crack 2 eggs to one side of pan with heated oil, let the egg white & egg yoke set. then flip egg over the bittergourd & fry together.

when serving just cover pan, heat up & plate it.

our friend S is lactarian (lacto vegetarian), so can take dairy but not eggs.

i prepared a vegetarian dish for him, fried tofu as the mains & red pepper & shitake mushroom as sides.

i pan-grilled & caramelised a little the red pepper & shitake with little oil & sprinled some sea salt.

then i shallow-fried the tofu on all sides, added back the veg, and added 1tbsp of light soy sauce & 1 tbsp flat of vegetarian oyster sauce.

also added a bit of cornflour dissolved in a little water.

when serving just heat up over the stove, and serve.

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we had a really enjoyable, fun dinner. all the dishes were pretty good, especially the bittergourd, salted fish minced pork, claypot liver & nonya steamed patin. other dishes sama good.

thanks HK for the durians & mangosteens & just being here.

thanks CL as always for the nice photos & cherries.