pencai 盆菜
做给今晚除夕团圆饭的盆菜
it’s chinese new year eve! i made pencai for this evening’s reunion dinner at my brother’s house.
this the first time i made pencai 盆菜 after giving the dish planning some serious thinking..
盆菜was delicious! everyone loved…sil said better than what they had few days back bought from hotel restaurant…as matter of fact, i was using a tunglok claypot which i bought like S$248 6pax pencai 盆菜 from tunglok maybe 6years back also for CNY reunion dinner.
that was a real disappointment! i think my pencai 盆菜 was just so much better!
pencai 盆菜
pencai 盆菜
in a sense pencai 盆菜 doesn’t need much skill or cooking….so it is just the stock or broth for taste, the assembly for presentation, and texture (so different ingredients need differnt timing).
braised pig trotters
i prefer to use braised pig trotters for my gravy/stock base.
it is my usual teochew braised trotters braise mix and recipe.
ingredients
i used 10 ingredients-
- Sea cucumber
- Fish maw
- abalone
- Pig trotters
- Broccoli
- Belly pork
- Chicken
- prawn
- Scallop
- mushroom
fish maw
my deepfried fish maw the average type, 2 packets about S$9. use 1/2 packet enough.
sea cucumber
sea cucumber very expensive, especially now CNY.
bought the cheaper ones from sheng shiong still S$36/kg. i got 2 pieces like S$9. next time i will buy frozen ones <1/2price.
these will disintegrate and disappear if i cook too long so i decided just to just poach in the boiled gravy. turned out perfectly.
chinese dry mushrooms
i bought dry flower mushrroms from teh ghim moh shop, 300g no stalks for S$12. good enough!
tiger king 10 small braised abalones
and tiger king 10 small braised abalones, really tiny abalones, but the braise was good. i added the braise to my own trotter braise.
pencai 盆菜
not too difficult, just need good (very tasty) braise which i have from my braised trotters (if don’t like trotters then just use the tiger king abalones braise), and plan the ingredients so cook them to the right texture and timing, then assemble.
this was absolutely delicious!
c.h.e.f andy
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Recipe
I used pig trotters as a base stock because it gives a natural gelatinous gravy..and very tasty!
If you don’t like trotters then just use the brine from a braised small abalones
I bought this tiger king brand S$18.80 from ghim moh shop 10 small abalones
My 10 ingredients-
- Sea cucumber
- Fish maw
- abalone
- Pig trotters
- Broccoli
- Belly pork
- Chicken
- prawn
- Scallop
- mushroom
first make trotters & belly pork
my own braise-it is good!
- 3tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tbsp dark sauce
- 3 tbsp huatiaojiu chinese wine
- 1 bulb peeled garlic cloves
brown garlic in a little oil
add cleaned trotters & belly pork
high fire brown a bit both sides
add sauce mix
add 1 cup water
boil then cover low/medium fire 1/2 hr add little water if required
this part is to infuse the sauce so not so much liquids
then add water to cover
add mushrooms softened in hot water first & the mushroom water
add fish maw softened in water first
boil cover low fire 1 hr while reducing liquids test texture taste of fish maw, remove & set aside
continue boiling mushroom, trotters & belly pork for 1/2hr so total 2 hrs
remove belly pork cool & chill in fridge for easy cutting
add deboned chicken thigh 4mins simmer 6 mins poached
remove chicken & put in ice
this the 白斩鸡poached method
add sea cucumber to the boiled gravy off fire & poached
prepare claypot lined bottom with chinese cabbage & broccoli stems
add brine of braised small abalones
add cut broccoli & prawns
cover & boil the low fire 3mins
add scallops off fire
now assemble all the ingredients-trotters, belly, chicken, scallops, abalones, broccoli, prawns, fish maw, mushrooms
c.h.e.f 