made meensi (taujeon lime) steamed song fish head酱蒸松鱼头for –

CNY Day2 dinner my brother family and sis bil on 13Feb2021

this a favourite local zichar dish…like at chinatown fc there are ilk 14 stalls selling steamed song fish head蒸松鱼头! lol!

preparation is straightforward.

just make the taujeon lime sauce, apply over the fish head, add sliced ginger, chopped scallions and chilli padi, steam for 15mins, and garnish with cut scallions. add lark aka crispy lard.

& voila!

now I like this style more than the

spicy black bean sauce style – recipe here.

fish was fresh, sweet, and the stronger fish taste masked and balanced by the very tasty and flavourful taujeon sauce.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients-

• 1/2 song fish head蒸松鱼头
• 2tbsp taujeon with sauce
• 1tbsp light soy sauce
• 3tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1tbsp flat sugar
• 2tbsp mirin
• 2cm sliced or julienned ginger
• 1 cut chilli padi.1-2 stalks scallions, cut small…and 2-3cm long
• lark – crispy lard

Directions-

1. wash fish head with salt, clean and dry
2. mix taujeon, lime, sugar, light soy sauce mirin and 1tbsp olive oil in mortar and hand grind
3. add to fish head
4. add small cut scallions, julienned ginger and cut chilli padi
5. add 2tbsp olive oil and 3 tbsp water
6. steam song fish head蒸松鱼头 for 15mins

made CNY dinner for RI brothers on 5.3.2021.^^

one of the dishes was 潮州卤元蹄teochew braised hock and trotters.

also made same dish braised trotters for

CNY day 2 family lunch for my brother, sil, niece & hubby, & nephew, and my sis & bil on 13.2.2021.^^

hock and trotters were delicious, perfect gelatinous texture, with very tasty, flavourful braise.

everyone love the dish.

for this I made my own braise (see recipe below), and braise the trotters for 1hr 45mins.

this time I did w/o the aromatics like star anise, cinnamon etc, so just sauces.

very good indeed!

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients-

• 1 whole hock plus trotters chop through 1/2 in the middle and into 6 small pieces. (blanched in boiling water and cleaned)
• 3tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 5tbsp shaoxing wine
• 1 whole bulb garlic, cut cloves in 1/2

Directions-

1. fry garlic cloves in 1 tbsp oil.
2. add hock and trotters…fry and turn, medium high heat…
3. add light soy sauce, shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, fish sauce, then sugar
4. add 50ml water…cover and fire to low or medium..turn and coat, add water as required.. about 30mins..this to infuse the sauce flavours to the hock & trotters.
5. then add 1l water, cover and keep simmering for another 1 hr 15mins…check doneness by texture and poking chopstick through cleanly.

made 盆菜CNY dinner for RI brothers on 5.3.2021.^^

everyone loved the 盆菜 pencai…the stock was very tasty and gelatinous, and the texture were very good.

in particular, the fish maw was excellent, mushroom as well, both very tasty 入味! abalones, sea cucumber, broccoli all very good.

scallops, belly pork, prawns can be improved.

it is not difficult to make 盆菜 pencai – recipe here 🙂

I like to use teochew braised hock and trotters as the base for the broth. this delivers a gelatinous and very tasty sauce. so braise the pig hock and trotters for 1.5hrs to 1hrs 45mins. remove hock and trotters. these can be served as separate dishes or can cut some hock and add to the 盆菜 pencai.

I braise the belly pork together. remove belly pork about 1 hr 15mins. chill the pork belly so easy to cut/slice when assembling the 盆菜 pencai.

I had earlier boiled the fish maw and mushroom for 1hr. now add them to the 盆菜 pencai. broth and cook about 30mins.

then I add one can of abalones with the brine or braise (braised abalones better tastier), and add broccoli, prawns and scallops and cook for 3mins and remove.

I add sea cucumber last, cook 1 min and cover to poach for another few mins. anyway just watch over to make sure all the items are cook just right.

then assemble.

I add/layer few leaves of Chinese cabbage to the bottom of the claypot dish.

then arrange first the broccoli then the other items.

this time my assembly not as pretty as 2 yrs ago on 2019, the taste and texture just as good.

c.h.e.f andy

I did couple times teochew chilled sotong recently.

one was for family CNY day2 lunch on 13.2.2021.^^

texture was perfect!…everyone loved the chilled sotong with “kek you” 桔油dip…

cooking is straightforward. just that sotong like all other food cannot be overcooked or it will be rubbery, so need to cook just right.

I clean with salt a large sotong (300g), and cut rings w/o cutting through, so whole sotong intact for nice presentation. easiest way to do is to place a knife into the cavity and cut rings with another knife so it will not cut through. then cut the rings a bit more so near the centreline left maybe 1in uncut.

then just steam about 3mins…watch…off fire and leave another 3mins…

I did not really do timing, so watching is key..when the white is opaque and still gleaming that is about right..err a bit on the cook side as cannot eat undercooked.

left place in fridge to chill for 1 hour.

when serving use kitchen sears to cut or over a cutting board, and dip with “kek you” 桔油..

perfecto!

c.h.e.f Andy

been doing 3 egg spinach 三蛋苋菜 quite a few times lately.

like the 6pax RI bros dinner on 23.12.2020.^^

everyone loved the 3 egg spinach! ^^

3 egg spinach always good, very tasty. best thing is it’s quite easy to make.

I just minced salted egg (I use 1/2 egg plus the other 1/2 egg yolk), and chop century egg in larger pieces. and one fresh egg.

use lots of garlic.. I brown 4 cloves large garlic cut into 4 pieces each. add minced salted egg and fry till fragrant. then add 150ml chicken stock and 1tbsp oyster sauce, and reduce. crack one egg into the broth and let it form. then use chopsticks to “draw”out spread a bit.

when serving, add baby spinach stems, cook 2 mins, then add the leaves. and the dish is done. no need to add fish sauce as salty enough…

excellent dish! very tasty broth, superb flavours!

c.h.e.f andy

fried rice maybe commonplace comfort food. difficult to do good restaurant standard BUT easy to destroy it lol! 🙂

I do a good, competent fried rice with good wokhae…not the standard of the best like in imperial treasure, crystal jade etc but pretty good la…

I made fried rice as part of the 4pax home dinner on 15.3.2021.^^

I fried lots of minced garlic, then added 150g minced pork and 1 tbsp oyster sauce, cooked minced pork, then added 1 cup cooked rice and fried high heat. removed fried rice, fried 3 eggs high heat till formed, then added back fried rice, high heat, off fire, added crispy haebeehiam chilli and mixed.

taste & add fish sauce to taste if need.

garnish with chopped spring onions and coriander

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients-

• 1.5 cups cooked rice
• 150g minced pork (can be prawns or belly pork, the latter I cook first 1 hr in water or stock, then place in cold water & cut 1cmx1cm strips)
• 4 cloves ie lots of chopped garlic
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce, to taste
• 2 tbsp crispy prawn chill, to taste
• 1 stalk ie lots of chopped spring onions
• coriander to garnish
• 3 eggs

Directions-

1. fry lots of minced garlic, add minced pork and 1 tbsp oyster sauce, cook minced pork
2. add 1.5 cup cooked rice and fry high heat. mix thoroughly, remove fried rice
3. fry 3 eggs high heat till formed, then add back friend rice, fry high heat, off fire, add crispy haebeehiam chilli and mix
4. garnish with chopped spring onions and coriander

made claypot tanhoon prawns for 4pax home dinner this evening on 15.3.2021. ^^

really easy dish to make.

didn’t have coriander (an important ingredient) this evening. just fried garlic cloves, shallots and spring onions in oil, then added chicken stock and 1 tbsp oyster sauce and reduce, and lots of black pepper feel the aroma. when ready to serve, bring to boil the stock, add prawns seasoned with fish sauce and white pepper, then add tanhoon, cook 1 min, off fire and toss, then cover, cook in residual heat. garnish and serve! 😉

delicious!

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients-

• 2 tbsp oil
• 4-5 cloves large garlic cut 4pieces each
• 2 shallots
• 1tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 stalk spring onions cut 1 in length (kept 1/2 for garnishing)
• 2 stalks coriander plus 3 short lengths for garnishing
• black pepper
• 200ml chicken stock
• 2 bunch tanhoon
• 12-16 medium prawns shelled….can use hoso (head on shell on) & devein too

Directions-

1. fry garlic cloves, shallots and spring onions in oil. add 2 stalks coriander.

2. add chicken stock and 1 tbsp oyster sauce and reduce, and lots of black pepper feel the aroma.

3. when ready to serve, bring to boil the stock, add prawns seasoned with fish sauce and white pepper, then add tanhoon

4. cook 1 min, off fire and toss, then cover, cook in residual heat.

5. garnish & serve.

this dish very easy to make..

I just use dancing chef thai yellow curry paste…works with red curry as well..

i didn’t have vegetables this evening, so just added yellow onions and red chilli. fried with garlic (i cut 3 large garlic cloves into 4 smaller pieces each)…then added dancing chef thai yellow curry paste…then added 200ml chicken stock and reduced.

last, add sotong, cooked for 3 mins, off fire and cover, let dish continue cooking in residual heat.

a pretty, easy to make and delicious dish. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients-

• one large sotong (300g)
• 1 medium yellow onions
• 1 red or yellow pepper
• 6 piece okra and/or 1 eggplant
• 1 large tomato
• 3-4 cloves garlic cut into 4 small pieces each
• 200ml chicken stock
• 1/2 packet dancing chef yellow curry paste (100g)

Directions-

1. add vegetables (onions, red pepper, okra etc), fry with cut garlic
2. add dancing chef yellow curry paste, fry a bit for fragrance
3. add 200ml chicken stock and reduce by close to 1/2
4. add whole sotong and cut tomatoes.
5. cook for 3mins. off fire, cover and let dish cook in residual heat.

c.h.e.f andy