8 indian food dinner dishes

did a 10pax indian food homecooked dinner for my friends this evening…

started with V organising a RI friends dinner at chat masala which was very good 👍

the same friends were game to be my food guinea pigs…we got PL, D, S & SK(LS’s husband) to join dinner..

LS’s flowers & D’s wine

D brought red & white wine for the occasion.

& LS added the woman’s touch – white carnations…

8 indian dinner dishes

I did 7 dishes –

1. chicken briyani
2. veg briyani
3. butter chicken
4. fish curry masala
5. prawn curry masala
6. mutton curry masala
7. bharta (grilled egg plant) &
8. V did the garlic & plain naans

I used house brand ready gravy for briyani & masala & dancing chef for butter chicken..so not too difficult..

LS’s homebaked gourmet bread

LS’s homebaked gourmet bread

LS brought 2 loaves of homebaked bread, just like cedele’s, both the look & also the taste. excellent bread!

V’s naan

V was a great help, brought ghee & naans (garlic & plain naan) during lunch time & came early at 5pm-ish…

V’s naan in oven

V’s garlic & plain naans

& made the naans in my oven for the dinner…

AG papadum

AG achar

AG brought papadum, and achar…really shiok!

vegetarian briyani

mutton & veg briyani were the 2 most popular dishes this evening. ^^

vegetarian briyani

my friends found the vegetarian briyani very flavourful, and just the right texture.

chicken briyani

D said chicken briyani was tasty too, only that the texture was just slightly over.

it was the same house brand ready gravy & same amount (1.5cups) of bismati rice as the vegetarian briyani. chicken briyani had additional 1/2 deboned chicken, so perhaps it was less intense flavour-wise & a bit more liquids to cook in the rice cooker..

for my very nice first attempt i used 1/4 chicken & 1 cup rice, & that came out perfectly.

mutton masala

the mutton masala was hands down the best dishes by my friends!

a strange turn of events! when V brought ghee & naans during lunch hour, i was deciding whether to replace the mutton by pork….

i had wanted to use the slow braising technique to produce a tender mutton. the theory is 90degC is the optimal temperature to break down collagen (tough connective tissues) to gelatine, making it both tender as well as flavourful at the same time.

i had done that before for lamb shoulders successfully in 90degC oven for 6hrs. i was a bit uncertain this time so reduced to 4hrs. but the mutton was tough. i did another 4hrs to no much effect (i think a continuous 6hrs would be the correct preparation).

one way to tenderise was to put in the steam oven for 1.5hrs.  i was not confident i could rescue the mutton, so thought of replacing with pork.

everyone was glad i did not! AG & LS told me it sounded like a horror story when i suggested that.

mutton masala

anyhow the mutton turned out beautifully. i had said in the whatsapp chat that i was confident of the taste, as it was just the reliable house brand ready gravy. only uncertainty was the texture.

but it turned out perfectly. the connective tissues were tender & tasty, and in fact CL said he specially liked that part.

mutton masala

so the potential failure became the best dish!

butter chicken 

butter chicken i guess was ok, but evidently the least “lakku” dish!

LS said that i had too much chicken (i used 1/2 chicken for this evening when in my very successful first attempt here i used 1/4 chicken), so the gravy was kind of diluted & not as intense. probably so!

fish masala

the fish masala was my first attempt.

i was not entirely sure which fish to use. i had angkorli & seabass as back up but decided to go to chinatown complex this morning, and i managed to get a good cut of batang fish (ikan tenggiri or spanish mackerel).

fish masala

i fried the fish in oil to brown it & made it firmer in the masala.

i fried chopped onions in ghee, then added the house brand ready gravy & intense chicken stock & reduced. (very important to reduce correctly to make a tasty gravy, not diluted flavorus).

then i added the fish, covered & cooked for short while.

fish masala

the texture was firm, fish was fresh & tasty, & the gravy was excellent!

this another dish many of my friends liked a lot.. 🙂

prawn masala

likewise the prawn masala.

the key is to ensure the prawns not overcooked, is plump, bouncy-texture, tasty & fresh.

bharta

bharta

bharta was another unrehearsed first attempt for me. literally watching & rewatching the “Baingan Bartha – By Vahchef @ Vahrehvah.com” video & reproducing it.

like i told my friends – didn’t know what it was before cooking & didn’t know what it was after cooking.

anyhow the amazing thing is that for the most part these tries turn out quite perfectly, and it did this evening.

the bharta was a favourite dish & S who is vegetarian and arrive later nearer 9pm (we kept the vegetarian briyani & lots of bharta for him) liked it a lot too.

grapes

magnum

my friends of course brought their wonderful company👍

&

they also brought all the naans, ghee, bread, achar, papadum, wine;

and for dessert, the grapes, magnum, lanka…

S’s eggless blackforest

S’s eggless blackforest

& S brought the  eggless blackforest cake from chinese swimming club..

D entertained us with his many daring escapades…. of the helicopter kind…

we had very fun enjoyable jolly good evening together 👍😎

c.h.e.f andy

8 dishes

our RI friend WCM is in town, visiting from london. he & his wife are now residing in london.

CL, CM & I met him for roast duck dinner at goldmines in bayswater london during our wales trip  in apr-may2017.

when i was in london with my wife & children, 2 of us met for lunch at flat iron covent gardens. WCM invited my family for his legendary paella dinner but we couldn’t make it..

this evening, i organised a homecooked dinner at my place. we have 11pax RI buddies on 8.9.2017. ^^

8 dinner dishes

i made 8 dishes-

1. claypot chicken rice
2. claypot tanhoon prawns
3. char siew
4. steamed salted fish minced pork
5. braised ter kar (hock & trotters)
6. spicy black bean sauce angkorli (sea bream) fish head
7. taujeon lime sauce (zai shun style) angkorli fillet
8. cuttlefish kang kong with gimson nonya sauce

CL brought sparkling wine, GCG brought red & white wine, CW brought red & white wine, YF brought excellent grapes, LCM brought cheng chow dessert (i had 4 cups only matched by CL)..doc brought nice XO sauce…

a wonderful evening of camaraderie..just missing DP….🙂

claypot chicken rice

claypot chicken rice 

my claypot rice always good & a crowd favourite.

quite easy to make. recipe here!

fried chicken fat, cut ginger, then add salted fish slice & 1tbsp chopped garlic. fry short while & off fire.

wash rice, drain & add to claypot & fry. add cut mushrooms (earlier soften by boiling water). add mushroom water to claypot. i made 3.5cups rice & added 2cups water (usually 1 or 1.2cups to 1 but chicken has marinade and also lots of liquids). let it soak for 2 hrs.

then add marinated whole deboned chicken (2tbsp fish sauce, 2tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tbsp corn flour, 2 tbsp sesame oil, 1/2tbsp dark sauce), cut pork & liver sausages, high fire to boil, then low fire, total about 45mins. stir the chicken pieces & use chopsticks to test chicken is cooked.

voila! fantastic smoky claypot rice aroma! rice not wet. and chicken pieces were so smooth & tender.

char siew

char siew i made an improved recipe after trying the delicious char siew at meng meng roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭.

i just marinate 600g belly pork (cut out skin) for 6hrs.

1tsp each brown suga,hone,light soy sauce,char siew sauce,hoi sin sauce,oysters sauce,five-spice powder,ginger sauce (i lazy just used chopped ginger),fermented beancurd (fu yu)AND 1/2 tsp salt.

then roast in 250deg oven for 25mins.

recipe here!

char siew

char siew

char siew was tender & tasty.

CCG especially like the charred bits, very unhealthy. lol! ^^

steamed salted fish minced pork 

steamed salted fish minced pork LCM favourite, nice comfort food.

everyone liked the dish. very easy to make-here i had 500g minced pork, 2 slices salted fish chopped, 1 heap tbsp corn flour mixed together, topped with lots of sliced ginger. and steamed about 10mins+…

recipe here!

steamed salted fish minced pork 

the salted fish aroma was great!

and the minced pork was smooth with cornflour. 🙂

braised whole hock 元蹄 & cut trotters

the braised whole hock 元蹄 & cut trotters i used a lazyman method.

just fry 1-2 cinnamon stick 4 star anise, 3 cloves, 3 bay leaves, 1 whole bulb peeled garlic cloves, and 1 tbsp flat five-spice powder, braise in 1/2 cup (120ml) tai wah braising sauce for 2.5hrs to 3hrs. cover the wok so trotters are steamed while they braised. add water & turn the trotters.

taste for gelatinous skin & still moist tasty lean meat…do not over braise.

braised whole hock 元蹄 & cut trotters

braised whole hock 元蹄 & cut trotters

the whole hock 元蹄 & cut trotters were delicious, very gelatinous & lean meat was moist, not old & dry.

GCM commented that dish very good but pig skin could be softer. the pig skin pieces were the skin from char siew. i still have not found the method, but the standalone pig skin pieces dried up through the course of dinner & slightly toughened, whereas the hock skin was ok.

claypot tanhoon prawns 

claypot tanhoon prawns very good, very tasty today.

recipe here!

GCM noticed it was flavoured with “cilantro” (atas word for coriander?), black pepper & sliced belly pork.

i also used chicken fat & lots of chopped garlic & cut ginger pieces.

claypot tanhoon prawns 

the key was the intense chicken stock, very very tasty.

so i added the stock to the belly pork, ginger, chopped garlic, coriander & black pepper, brought to boil, added 1 tbsp oyster sauce, added 20 medium prawns (seasoned with fish sauce & white pepper for 1hr), covered & off fire. prawns about 40% – 50% cooked.

when serving, i boiled the stock, added 3 rolls of tanhoon (earlier soften in water for 1hr), tossed, off fire & let the tanhoon infuse the stock taste & the prawns cooked. this way prawns not overcooked, very fresh, bouncy & sweet, and the tanhoon was well infused with stock, so very tasty! 🙂

really beautiful dish…

taujeon lime sauce angkorli fillet

i bought a large angkorli (seabream) from sheng shiong, got them to cut 1/2 with head, and fillet the 1/2fish tail to do 2 flavours for my friends.

taujeon lime sauce angkorli fillet

for the tail fillet, i pound 4 tbsp taujeon, and squeezed 1/2 large lime to give the tangy taste, added 1 tbsp light soy sauce for the flavour & 1 tbsp mirin.

i garnished with slice ginger, chopped spring onions, 2 tbsp garlic & cut chilli padi.

taujeon lime sauce angkorli fillet

this was intended to be zai shun steamed sharks cartilage preparation.

of course no comparison with zai shun, which was very good & consistent.

spicy bean sauce angkorli fish head

for the angkorli fish head, i did the usual spicy black bean sauce i do for my song fish head 松鱼头！

spicy bean sauce angkorli fish head

angkorli is sweet & lesser “mud” taste, but song fish head 松鱼头 is i think uniquely suited to this preparation.

spicy bean sauce angkorli fish head

my own preference, and most friends’, were for song fish head 松鱼头.

YF preferred the angkorli fish head. he basically took apart & ate up the entire fish head.

fried cuttlefish kang kong with gimson nonya sauce

i made a cuttlefish kang kong dish using gimson nonya sauce.

this an easy dish to do, quite substantial & save me having to fry to seperate vegetable dishes.

fried cuttlefish kang kong with gimson nonya sauce

i basically used 2 bunches of kang kong, added 1 whole cut cuttlefish.

the usual method – fry cut chili & lots of garlic in oil, add kang kong stems & oyster sauce, then add the leaves & cuttlefish at the same time. add 3tbsp gimson nonya sauce. do not add water. fry couple mins & it’s ready to serve.

cheng chow dessert

LCM brought a nice cheng chow dessert, with lychee & nate de coco. very refreshing dessert, i took 4 bowls haha! not shy la!

crunchy, sweet grapes

& YF brought nice crunchy sweet grapes from cold storage. tasted very good this evening.

of course we had sparkling wine, white & red wine during the course of dinner.

GCG suggested we should go round & sample the different hawker foods in singapore, so he formally name the chat group makan makan, and we actually had a makan tour the following friday on 15.9.2017 organised by KY, only that the initiator last minute could not attend.

we had a good time, company & food this evening. camaraderie come easily for old friends with many connections in school 40 yrs ago.

till the next makan toegther….

c.h.e.f andy

chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡

chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡

did a 7pax homecooked dinner for my OPS buddies on 23.8.2017-

1. chicken rice, 白斩鸡, chili, ginger sauce, tauyou
2. steamed salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼
3. char siew 叉烧
4. steamed taujeon lime sauce song fish head 松鱼头(zai shun style sauce)
5. 东坡肉(zai shun) – my furst attempt
6. egg bittergourd with salted egg (zai shun)

6 dishes for 7pax

FM said i did not invite her for long time (actually invited her, she eaten & forgot la…haha!). & so i did! ^^

6 dishes for 7pax

i prepared 6 dishes for 7pax- 🙂

char siu 叉烧 

made 400g char siu 叉烧 using my recent new method, 25mins in 250degC oven

char siu 叉烧

char siu 叉烧

bought 400g fresh indonesia pork belly from sheng shion at S$15.90/kg.

marinated for 5 to 6hrs.

char siu 叉烧

char siu 叉烧 colour a bit anaemic, but taste was excellent! very flavourful!

dongporou 东坡肉

first time i attempted dongporou 东坡肉.

bascially trying to replicate the dongporou 东坡肉 at zai shun where WT bought 4pax lunch recently on 17.8.2017. 🙂

dongporou 东坡肉

i found & followed one web recipe here.

tying the string for 9 cuts of belly pork kind of tedious.

i layered the claypot first with cabbage (my own improvisation), then spring onions, then sliced ginger. i had some leftover pig skin (from char siu 叉烧) i inserted to help hold up the pork belly pieces.

dongporou 东坡肉

then i added 2tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1tbsp brown sugar, 4tbsp shaoxing wine, and 1/2 cup water. added the belly pork, skin down.

then cooked low fire for 1.5hrs. added water as required, and turned over belly pork at 1hr.

then took out belly pork & placed in a small holder & steamed for 1.5hrs, so in total 3hrs.

dongporou 东坡肉

so dongporou 东坡肉 was quite good standard. the gelatinous parts were excellent. flavour was pretty ok…

i think can have more wine taste, so i am going to increase to 6tbsp shaoxing wine. the pigskin & cabbage were excellent – collateral goodness, haha! ^^

FM rated it second after the egg bittergourd with salted egg. some lean parts still not tender enough after 3hrs lor…

not quite sure why need to cut the pork (& having to tie pork to hold it together) in the first place? to let the sauce & the steam reach the individual pieces?

i think i will instead experiment using low temperature braising to render the whole 400g pork belly tender, then open steaming to add moisture & further tenderise the pork, then cut into small pieces (currently the steam could not reach the lean parts of the pork in the small holder)…so i intend to experiment/improvise..

steamed salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼 

steamed salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼  the usual, an excellent dish.

if i may say, any times better than what i had at meng meng roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭 with my RI bros recently on 24.7.2017.

taujeon lime sauce song fish head 松鱼头

this taujeong lime sauce style of preparation for song fish head 松鱼头 was my own new creation.

basically i was trying to replicate the excellent dish of taujeon sharks cartilage at zai shun where WT bought 4pax lunch recently on 17.8.2017.

larpok crispy lard

larpok crispy lard

i had some leftover pig fat in teh freezer so i made some larpok crispy lard as topping for the song fish head 松鱼头. very easy to make & very nice too!

taujeon lime sauce song fish head 松鱼头

i chose  song fish head 松鱼头 because it has the most gelatinous texture, if it is possible to approximate the texture of gelatinous sharks cartilage. quite different i guess, haha!

fish head was nice, WT said maybe it was a bit sour. for myself i ok with this level of sourness. WT thought it was equally good c/w blackbean sauce song fish head 松鱼头. for WM & I, we both prefer the black bean sauce.

so black bean sauce song fish head 松鱼头 is what i will do the next time for this group. 🙂

egg bittergourd with salted egg

egg bittergourd with salted egg was also my attempt to replicate the famous dish at zai shun. 

i would think it was pretty good.

FM picked this as her no 1 dish. LCH commented the bittergourd had zero bitter taste (which FM didn’t mind). i agreed. for me also i think some bitter taste would be better. basically i cleaned, soaked in water for 1 day in the fridge, changed water many times. will do less next time.

i felt the salted egg flavours did not come out enough though. maybe the salted egg i used wasn’t a very good one. i did not add any fish sauce because of the salted egg, but after tasting, i added some oyster sauce. maybe i will add more oyster sauce next time.

chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡

& i had my usual chicken rice, now consistently good.

chicken rice chili, ginger sauce & tauyou

chicken rice chili, ginger sauce & tauyou

ginger sauce

with the whole paraphernalia of chicken rice chili, ginger sauce & tauyou.

chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡

chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡

very smooth chicken & sweet with the chili, ginger sauce & tauyou.

& the very fragrant chicken rice. i cooked 3 cups rice for 7pax as WT & I shared 1 bowl, more or less & some may eat less than a bowl. anyhow rice not enough for LCH…lol! ^^

FM’s angkukueh

FM made angkukueh – 6 each of tau sha & peanuts.

FM’s angkukueh

i loved the tau sha, not too sweet. peanuts not my preference.

WT brought mangoes & WM brought 2 melons. LCH brought daifuku mochi from chataraise. KS brought a reisling. we did not drink.

mini cornetto

& i had some mini cornetto.

a very fun dinner.

i started late today as i went jogging with my RI bro, after drannk 100plus, coffee & chatted; & only back 12pm today.

usually i finish cooking by 6pm & relax & wait for my friends to arrive. today i basically prepare the dishes w/o stopping till 7pm… anyway these are close friends & they are very comfortable entertaining themselves while i cook. i was just good ie all done when the last friend arrived, and just perfect timing to start the steam fish (13mins) & fry the egg bittergourd dish.

c.h.e.f andy

4 dishes 

sis stayed for dinner on 21.8.2017.

taujeon lime sauce red tilapia 

we cooked 4 dishes. i made the taujeon lime sauce red tilapia & steamed ikan selar.

& sis fried the 2 vegetables.

taujeon lime sauce red tilapia 

sis wanted to eat tilapia this evening so we bought one from sheng shiong…

tilapia a cheap fish, got muddy taste, flesh is sweet & smooth, so quite ideal for me to experiment my taujeon line sauce for my OPS friend dinner this wednesday…

this taujeon lime sauce is my own creation after trying the excellent steamed taujeon sharks cartilage at zai shun-

• i pounded 3 tbsp taujeon, squeezed 1/2 a large lime, added 2 tbsp olive oil & 1 tbsp mirin, that’s it. for garnishing, i had 2cm sliced ginger, 1 stalk spring onions, 1 chili padi & 2 tsp chopped garlic. sauce not bad 👍

tilapia of course was no sharks cartilage. i don’t know yet where to get sharks cartilage, but this wednesday i am going to use song fish head 松鱼头 which has a lot of gelatinous parts to approx the sharks cartilage! 🙂

steamed ikan selar 

seldom eat ikan selar till recently at 夜来香teochew muay..quite enjoy it… 

so today at sheng shiong i bought 5 selar fish @ S$8.90/kg. i steamed the largest selar.

steamed ikan selar

it was very good taken with taujeon dip.

very sweet fish with firm meat..& quite cheap. i like it very much…

fried spinach

salted fish fried with celery 

sis cooked the 2 veg

her salted fish fried with celery shoots lagi best! 👍👍

c.h.e.f andy

roast duck

did a 10pax dinner for my RI bros on 15.8.2017. ^^

this a recreation of some of the dishes we enjoyed during our recent 2day 1night makan, massage, karaoke trip to sutera mall, skudai in JB 24-25.7.2017. ^^

& one of the key dishes was-

Meng Meng Roast Duck restaurant roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭! 🙂

9 dinner dishes

i cooked 9 dishes + chicken rice for 10pax. 🙂 as in above photos-

1 whole chicken 白斩鸡with chili & ginger sauce
2 roast duck (my first attempt) – sutera mall
3 char siew – sutera mall
4 braised pig trotters (i just used tai hua braising sauce) – sutera mall
5 claypot tanhoon prawns
6 claypot rice
7 wok fried manila clams  – sutera mall
8 fried spinach
9 fried kang kong

2 bros came earlier to help…i got them nicely settled down with nice cup of coffee but they got bored with the movie.

but they did stop me from cooking 2 other dishes we had at sutera mall as we had too mcuh food – steamed salted fish minced pork & nonya sauce steamed red snapper.

9 dinner dishes

all dishes were excellent, except for the flower lala aka manila clams. tell this later.

poached chicken 白斩鸡

my chicken rice & poached chicken 白斩鸡 i think among the best, even with so many good chicken rice hawkers all over.

poached chicken 白斩鸡

poached chicken 白斩鸡 was smooth 滑, tender, moist sweet, & so lovely to see & behold.

poached chicken 白斩鸡

i boiled in a chicken bone stock for 12mins (covered), then poached fire off for 25mins, then quenched in ice water, then fridge.

poached chicken 白斩鸡

and after deboning, added 2 tbsp of fish sauce. so chicken is tasty by its own.

chili, ginger sauce, dark sauce mix

& of course so much better with my chilli, ginger sauce & dark sauce mixture.

chili very “laku”, big bowl totally wiped clean.

simple chili recipe = 6 red chili, 2 chili padi, 1tbsp flat sugar (or if lesser then 2tsp), 5 tsp garlic, 2cm ginger, 1/2cup intense chicken stock ,1/3tsp salt, and blend.

giner sauce i just finely chopped 5cm bentong ginger & added 4tbsp olive oil..didn’t want to blend as i wanted the texture not ginger juice.

chicken rice

the rice of course was a key ingredient for chicken rice. my friend BT absolutely loved it. but he was the singular vote for chicken rice vs claypot rice..all others include myself claypot rice.

rice recipe= fried chicken fat, 2cm ginger, 3 shallots, 1tbsp chopped garlic, & 3 cups rice till fragrant, then add 3 cups (rice cups) intense chicken stock to the rice cooker mark. 🙂

roast duck

so my roast duck was the most exciting thing for me about this dinner…ok la my bros were more exciting.. 🙂

roast duck

this my guinea duck for the guinea pigs, my virgin roast duck, first time ever i making a roast duck.

all because of sutera mall – Meng Meng Roast Duck restaurant roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭! 🙂

roast duck

will blog the recipe later.

but basically i made a marinade for the cavity, then a honey, rock sugar, white vinegar bath & baste the duck (holding vertically by neck) like 20times.

then cooled & in the fridge for 2 days to dry the skin, then 1hr 10mins at 200degC (i am going to do 1hr at 250degC next time).

roast duck

the duck was much better than i dared to expect. (i kept a drumstick portion for my wife & children later)

while i could not produce the same crispy skin, the duck was flavourful & moist & tender. the last 2 i knew when deboning that it was moist & tender.

in fact everyone preferred the duck to the char siew.

char siew

my char siew this evening was not as good as the best one i did on 8.8.2017. 

last time i had 250g-300g. today i had 600g (i kept 1/3 for my wife & children). this time the adjusted marinade less tasty. also i had too much marinade on the pork when roasting so charring not enough & i did 5mins longer 30mins instead 25mins & the meat is more cooked. it is important to keep to 25mins!

char siew 

still i think it was pretty good. still very tasty, & meat texture was ok, though it should be more tender if 25mins.

char siew

anyway for char siew, Meng Meng Roast Duck restaurant roast duck 阿明帝皇鸭 bar is just too high, and i am never going to meet that, so i am quite happy with the char siew i made. 🙂

braised trotters 元蹄

my braised trotters 元蹄 was also pretty good standard.

i would think better than most hawkers in singapore, but not quite in the league of  restaurant standard like Restoran Pekin Sutera 五福北京城. for one thing, their braising brown sauce always better.

braised trotters 元蹄

for me to shortcut & save work, i just used tai hua braising sauce (with star anise, cinnamon bar, cloves, & one whole bulb of peeled garlic cloves), cooked, covered, watched for 2.5hrs. so a easy to do dish.

braised trotters 元蹄

totally gelatinous & my friends who took the lean parts said it was moist, tender & tasty too, not dry & sinewy.

claypot chicken rice 

my claypot rice always good & requires no introduction la. lol! ^^

claypot chicken rice

very tasty & flavourful with nice smokey aroma, of course with 3/4 chicken, 1 wine chicken sausage & 1 liver sausage & 7 mushrooms, and a slice of salted fish to make it such a tasty pot.

claypot tanhoon prawns

& my friends loved the tanhoon prawns…especially YKK & CL…as CL said so infused with flavours.

claypot tanhoon prawns

this really a very easy dish to make. the key is a very tasty stock.

so i fried chicken fat, ginger, cut chili padi, bunch of coriander, last 3tsp chopped garlic & 2-2tsp coarse black pepper (to taste) & added my intense chicken stock & some oyster sauce…a very tasty stock. so just to cook the marinated prawns just right, not overcooked.

claypot tanhoon prawns

when serving boiled the stock, added in 3 rools of tanhoon, off fire, added back the prawns, tossed thoroughly, garnished with coriander & bring to table covered. voila!

fried spinach

fried kang kong

the fried spinach & kang kong was simple as i was chatting with CJ.

just fry chili padi with a bit more oil so vegetable not “siap”, add the stems & garlic, oyster sauce, then add the leaves, and that’s it. don’t add water.

so vegetables would be very tasty, look green & lush & still crunchy.

manila clams

my wok fried manila clams was a huge waste.

cannot get manila clams at my regular sheng shiong at tanglin halt. went chinatown on sunday & bought 1 kg & add water, ice, change water for 2 days in fridge. clams mostly opened up & looked ok. bro YKK thought they were dead.

wok fried manila clams   

wok fried manila clams 

anyway cooked my usual butter, curry leaves, ginger, chili padi, orange peel, oyster sauce. tasted the sauce it was tasty.

but a bit worried about the clams, a few of us tried it.  there was no smell, but somehow the texture was not the fresh, succulent, bouncy texture. psychological? maybe not…anyway better not to eat it.

next time when i buy manila clams will just ask whoever can come over on the day to come for dinner. 🙂

my bros brought prosceco, red wine, cut pineapple (super sweet), cut guava, magnum ice cream, australian crusted almonds, some peanut candy.

c.h.e.f andy

5 dishes for 3pax dinner

sis & bil came for dinner on 6.8.2017. ^^

i made the usual teochew chilled fish, also chilled sotong this time, and fried some vegetables. 🙂

1. chilled mullet 冻乌鱼
2. chilled yellow croaker 冻小黄鱼
3. chilled sotong
4. steamed nonya sauce angkorli fish head
5. fried kang kong
6. fried spinach

mullet & yellow croaker

i bought mullet (2 for about S$9) and yellow croaker (S$5.90 eahc) from sheng shing the day before.

i asked the stall assistant to descale the yellow croaker but not to clean the fishes.

for mullet you need to steam with the scales, so that after chilled, the scale can be removed with the skin exposing the very tasty sweet flesh to eat. without the scales the fish skin will stick to the flesh, quite tough, difficult to tear & manage with chopsticks, very hard to eat..

& for mullet, i don’t ask them to clean as we want to preserve some tasty items in the stomach.

so i prefer to do it myself.

for yellow croaker it’s ok to clean & descale…

mullet & yellow croaker

both were excellent fish, and so very tasty & delicious when taken with taujeon! favoruite for us teochew…yellow croaker is a finer fish, but i prefer mullet though i like both.

nonya steamed angkorli fish head

i had a small leftover angkorli fish head, so steamed with the gimson nonya sauce.

chilled sotong

& i had medium sotong, so the best for this teochew muay style. a large sotong with thick rings would be the right pick, but that;s what i have got….

fried kang kong

fried spinach

i fried the 2 vegetables. excellent & very good wok hae, swet & tasty la..

mullet & yellow croaker

these teochew dishes so easy to cook…

basically just bank on fresh ingredients, and very good fish, though mullet is quite fishy for some, & especially the chilled preparation as there is no garnishes & complements to neutralise the taste. but it was perfect for us.

& vegetables, that’s just the easiest thing…

c.h.e.f andy

3pax homecooked lunch 

sis & bil came for lunch on 4.8.2017. ^^

chilled fish 

didn’t have mullet 乌鱼or yellow croaker 小黄鱼in the freezer, only a fish that maybe a variant of rabbit fish知县鱼.

i steamed that & chilled it, the usual teochew chilled fish preparation. it went very nicely with the taujeon 豆酱.

another fish i had in the freezer is 鲈鱼, lots of tiny bones & need to be careful when eating, do not eat together with rice in a mouthful….

i did the usual HK steam, adding 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp olive oil & 2 tbsp mirin, & garnished with chopped spring onions, chili padi & a lot of minced ginger, like a ginger sauce preparation….it was pretty good though not my favourite fish..

steamed egg with minced pork & light soy sauce 

i steamed 2 eggs with minced pork & my top quality light soy sauce – about 150g minced pork, 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 4 tbsp water, and osme white pepper.

it was very good, very tasty, a simple yet wonderful dish! 🙂

braised leek with taupok 

i only had leeks & leftover taupok, so i braised them like the usaul teochew muay stalls..very good too.

chye sim

spinach 

i didn’t have other vegetables in the fridge.

sis brought her own spinach & chye sim & she & bil fried the 2 vegetables….nice.

seemed like we had a lot of food, but still…no problems finishing it…haha! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

#1 claypot chicken rice  

daughter invited JH’s family over this evening on 16.7.2017. ^^

i cooked 10 dishes + tiramisu for 12pax dinner. 🙂

excellent dinner & great company, everyone enjoyed the good & the evening

i made-

#1 claypot chicken rice

#2 chicken rice, & 1 poached chicken 白斩鸡 + chilli & ginger sauce

#3 1/2 盐水鸭 spiced duck

#4 miso cod

#5 teriyaki salmon belly

#6 tofu prawns

#7 tanhoon prawns

#8 steamed minced pork with light soy sauce topped with egg

#9 nonya steamed golden snapper – ang kueh

#10 cuttlefish + 2 kang kong

#11 tiramisu

#2 chicken rice, chicken 白斩鸡, chili, ginger sauce 

i also made chicken rice, together with chili & ginger sauce.

JH liked it a lot, so did his family…unlike claypot rice which was near my best, this chicken rice though was not quite my best chicken rice, in look, texture, smoothness and taste…still it was pretty good, ok la.. 🙂

#3 1/2 盐水鸭 spiced duck  

they also found the 盐水鸭 spiced duck ok, and the 1/2 duck was all finished.

like the chicken, i erred on the cautious side & cooked both chicken & duck a little longer, so it was not quite the best texture & smoothness…viz a viz my usual 盐水鸭 spiced duck…

#4 nobu miso cod

to mix things up a bit, i planned a couple of western/european/japanese dishes, nobu miso cod & teriyaki salmon belly.

the advantage being also that of the 10 dishes plus tiramisu i made on this day, only the steamed snapper fillet & the cuttlefish kang kong required cooking when guests arrived. the other dishes could be done & ready beforehand, or a few could be heated up & served.

so i was able to bring all the dishes to the serving table in 10, maybe 15mins of guests arrival. pretty good eh?

#4 nobu miso cod

the nobu miso cod was quite excellent.

even though i have not done miso cod for a while, this was very nicely executed, as it has been always la —usually this good…

#5 teriyaki salmon belly 

quite a few, including JH’s sis, liked the teriyaki salmon belly even better.

it was very, very good, the nice flavours of light soy sauce with miso, and the chopped garlic & ginger combined very well with the fatty/marbled salmon belly.

#5 teriyaki salmon belly 

i enjoyed this very much myself too, so i indulged in a couple pieces myself.^^

#6 tofu prawns 

i shallow fried the silken beancurd first. then prepared the gravy, and cooked the prawns nicely, about 5mins & 90% cooked, which imparted shellfish flavours to the stock…& set aside.

when serving, i just combined the items, heated up &  served…

an excellent dish – prawns were fresh, succulent & bouncy & gravy so tasty…^^

#7 tanhoon prawns

i also did tanhoon prawns. JH’s brother & sil especially liked this dish…again fresh, bounxy prawns & tasty stock, and nice peppery aroma…too peppery for wife though…

#8 steamed minced pork

i also had steamed minced pork 蒸肉饼 topped with an egg. quite a nice comfort food.

this a dish i picked up at HK’s daipaidong 大拍档，very easy to make & the flavours of the light soy sauce gave it an added dimension…

#9 nonya steamed red snapper fillet

the steamed red snapper was an excellent dish as well.

so easy to prepare, just use the usual 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp mirin, & most importantly one huge dollop of gimson nonya sauce…

#10 cuttlefish kang kong

the cuttlefish kang kong was another wonderful dish.

the trick was also gimson nonya sauce. & of course doing the cuttlefish doneness & texture just right.

it was a very enjoyable get to know better you dinner chat for all of us…JH’s father said he would do a dinner as well at a later date. ^^

JH’s sis & family brought sake & wine, so we finished off a bottle of sake & 2 red wines during the course of dinner…wow! 🙂

to round off the dinner, i also had my usual tiramisu, a simple to make, delicious dessert that is everyone’s favourite! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

#1 teochew fried crayfish egg onions

i cooked a 7pax early birthday dinner for a very close friend this evenin gon 14.7.2017. ^^

did 5 wonderful, delectable dishes.

5 dishes for homecooked birthday dinner

this one of the best dinner i made, every dish was par excellence –

#1 lobster yeemeen in superior stock 上汤焗

#2 teochew fried crayfish with egg onions

#3 sek bao sin tofu prawns

#4 wine chicken with taupok

#5 kang kong with cuttlefish in nonya sauce

i had red garoupa but decided not to do as a lot of food😜

5 dishes for homecooked birthday dinner

once all friends arrived, the food were ready on the table within 10mins. ^^

#1 teochew fried crayfish egg onions

the teochew fried crayfish egg onions was really “pang”, fragrant with good wok hae.

crayfish from chinatown market

wife said some crayfish weren’t the freshest. i got those from chinatown market, no choice from the stall which i thought was not honest, but no choice, only crayfish that day.

still quite ok la…

#1 teochew fried crayfish egg onions

i did the dish beforehand. fried with chili padi & chopped spring onions & garlic, softened the onions, then added 2 eggs, added some oyster sauce, fried fragrant & set aside.

then i fried the crayfish with cut chili padi, sliced ginger & chopped garlic, a little fish sauce, and set aside.

when serving, i heat up the egg onions, added the crayfish, stir-fried, the served.

#2 tofu prawns

the tofu prawns, i shallow fried the silken tofu earlier.

for the gravy, i fried cut chili padi, chopped spring onions & garlic, then added very tasty, intense chicken stock, one tbsp of cornflour to thicken. then i added one egg in the boiling gravy, waited a while & used chopstick to draw out the egg…

i seasoned the shelled prawns with fish sauce & white pepper, cooked the prawns like 90% in the gravy & removed. when about to serve, i heated up the gravy, added the tofu & the prawns, and voila!

#2 tofu prawns

gravy was very tasty & prawns were just right texture, succulent & bouncy, not overcooked. 🙂

#3 wine chicken

the wine chicken dish was very popular too. my friends took more rice to go with the chicken gravy. 🙂

i deboned 1/2 chicken, & seasoned with 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp shaoxing wine. i fried cut chili padi, chopped spring onions, garlic, then added the chicken, fried, & added the intense chicken stock. i cooked the chicken for about 5-6 mins, just tender not overcooked. then i removed the chicken & cooked cut taupok strips in the gravy.

#3 wine chicken

when my friends arrived, i just heat up the dish & served.

#4 lobster yeemeen in superior broth

the lobster yeemeen this evening was the best i had made, so very tasty, fantastic.

3 smallish frozen lobsters from phoon huat delicatesen

this were smallish frozen lobsters from phoon huat delicatesen, about 350g-375g, so i used 3 pieces, shelled the pincers & cut each lobster tail into 3 pieces.

#4 lobster yeemeen in superior broth

i fried cut chili padi, chopped spring onions & garlic, then added the remaining intense chicken stock. then i cooked the lobster head first, then added the pincers & lobster tail pieces, and removed them about 90% cooked.

when serving i boiled the stock, added the lobster and the yeemeen, off the fire & braised the noodles in the superior broth.

so nice! very shiok!

#5 cuttlefish kang kong

the last dish for the evening was cuttlefish kang kong.

this i cooked on the spot when friends arrived.

just fried the cut stems with chili padi & garlic, added oyster sauce, then added the cuttlefish & the jang kong leaves, & 1 heap tbsp gimson nonya sauce. and stir fried.

#5 cuttlefish kang kong

a really tasty dish, great cuttlefish texture & special flavours of the nonya sauce made the dish quite unique & different. excellent ending to the dinner.

of course dinner was overflowing with wine, jokes, laughter, sharing.

& my god-sis brought a cake for the birthday boy. my youngest daughter was having her birthday couple weeks later. she also joined this dinner so we sang happy birthday for both of them. ^^

c.h.e.f andy

#1 panroasted snapper fillet in green jalapeno chilli veloute

my OPS bro & his friend caught 29 fishes in 7hrs at the pond recently.

he gave me 2 huge fishes=>2kg garoupa & >1.5kg golden snapper..

So we decided to have a homecooked dinner at my place. the friend who gave me the fishes called it 全鱼宴, aka ”everything fishy dinner“. 🙂

Garoupa in 3 ways-

1. Claypot fish head (my first time-actually kind of complicated)
2. Poached garoupa in superior broth (chicken+fishbone)-this one nothing to do.
3. Stirfry garoupa fillet with veg-quite straight forward

Golden snapper in 2 ways-

1. Panroasted fillet in green jalapeno chilli sauce – first time, quite successful
2. Nonya steamed snapper fillet – using Jeanette’s gimson nonya sauce

we had 7pax this evening = my wife & i, 2 OPS bros & their wives, and another OPS bro.

4 of us (these 3 OPS bros & I) had the most wonderful trip together to hong kong recently in feb2017 = hong kong eat & hike 20-24feb2017.

#1 panroasted snapper fillet in green jalapeno chilli veloute

my first course was a panroasted snapper fillet in green jalapeno chilli veloute.

very good i thought. snapper was flavourful & the sauce had body & was just the right texture not too viscous, and just spicy enough.

#2 poached garoupa fillet in superior chicken & fish broth

second course was poached garoupa in superior chicken & fish broth.

the garoupa fillet was excellent=so fresh, perfect texture & sweet. for me it was very good.

poached garoupa fillet in superior chicken & fish broth

the soup was tasty, intense goodness. similar to the fish head thick beehoon soup variety.

for wife it was a bit fishy, i had forgotten to add ginger. usually i cook chicken stock so do not add ginger. since i added fish bones this time, should really have added.

my friend commented that the soup would have been perfect with ginger & whole pepper. i thought so too. for me the soup was very good & smooth (albeit fishy for wife) but of course would have been better with ginger & whole pepper. i will do that next time.

#3 nonya steamed snapper fillet

the first 2 courses i served in individual portion. the planned dining logistic was to reuse the bowl & dish for the first 2 courses for the rice & the next 3 dishes served together.

3rd dish was nonya steamed snapper fillet.

this dish everyone liked, including wife.

it was flavoured by the good quality light soy sauce, and with the tangy, slight sour taste of the nonya sauce, excellent combination.

#4 stirfry garoupa fillet with sweet peas, baby corn, carrot, onions & snow fungus

the 4th dish was garoupa fillet fried with sweet peas, baby corn, carrot, onions & snow fungus.

#4 stirfry garoupa fillet with sweet peas, baby corn, carrot, onions & snow fungus

very tasty dish & good wok hae. i kept the wokpan quite dry, just adding little bit water as required.

#5 claypot fish head

the claypot fish head was my first attempt.

for me it was very good! the vegetables (onions, chinese cabbage, carrots, shitake & shimeji mushrooms) made the base very naturally sweet. & i had deepfried egg tofu, yam, sio bak (roast pork) & of course the deepfried garoupa fish head which was itself very “pang” = flavourful.

the dish was very tasty even standalone w/o adding the fish head la!

#5 claypot fish head

excellent dish really! most delicious/yummy…

i was most happy how it turned out but it was quite a lot of work, especially as this was the first time, so the steps, planning etc were more uncertain & hesitant…still it was fun & the results were rewarding.

my friends brought a soju (烧酒)-a pretty good one; a cake of puer tea (普洱茶)=must take the tea next time we gather, and my fish supplier friend brought very nice small seed lychee (糯米荔枝)which were very very sweet.

i had some red dragon fruit but everyone was too full to eat. haha! 🙂

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

2kg+ garoupa in 3 eats

1.5kg+ golden snapper in 2 eats

as for the preparations & planning, i was able to take out a sizable garoupa fish head.

2 garoupa fillet for (1)poach & (2)stirfry

& still left with good portions of garoupa fillet for 2 dishes (1)poached fillet & (2) stirfry fillet

for claypot fish head, i looked up recipes for claypot fish head & decided on the ingredients & method.

sio bak – airfryer recipe

one ingredient i needed was sio bak = roast pork.

i did the airfryer recipe couple times previously, about 2 years ago。

sio bak – airfryer recipe

this time my sio bak was pretty good, moist, tender & the skin was crackling(still can improve la…).

after scalding & cleaning, i steamed about 300g belly pork for 10mins. this made it easy to stab the skin furiously with a fork. i rubbed the bottom & side with 1 tbsp shaoxing wine. then i covered skin with a layer of salt & left in the fridge overnight. this is to draw out water from the skin so it canbecome crackling!

next morning i put in the airfryer 180degC for 25mins. scrapped away the salt, then 200degC for 20mins. voila!

golden deepfried egg tofu

i also needed to deepfry the egg tofu, yam & fish head.

this the bothersome part, unhealthy (deepfry), and wastage (what with do with the fishy oil??).

anyhow i cut 2 egg tofu into 14 pieces (2each for 7pax). tofu quite easy to deepfry.

deepfried yam

next i did for the yam.

deepfried fish head

& lastly for the fish head. i seasoned with ginger sauce, 1tbsp shaoxing wine & 2tsp light soy sauce, about 2 tsp flour.

deepfry actually made substantial difference. the fish was more “pang”=flavourful, firm, some parts like softer bones crispy

claypot fish head ingredients inc sio bak

after that, it’s frying onion, chilli padi, ginger, then chinese cabbage, carrots, flat beans, covered & boiled for 15mins, then shitake & shimeji mushrooms & lasty sio bak.

i added some corn starch to thicken the sauce a bit, & light soy sauce to taste (1 tbsp should be ok).

& my! the sauce was really delicious = naturally sweet & very tasty!

claypot fish head

then i placed the deepfried fish head in a claypot, and covered it with the sauce & ingredients.

when serving, i cracked 2 eggs, added 2tbsp shaoxing wine, smoothed over. then garnished with cut scallions & coriander.

the dish was quite pretty. but alas i did not manage to take a photo of the nicely presented dish as i was preparing the other dishes.

pan roasted golden snapper

the other dishes were quite easy to do by comparison with claypot fish head.

for the golden snapper, i made 2 preparations – both fillet dishes.

the panroasted snapper fillet was simply seasoned with sea salt & coarse black pepper just before frying skin down in butter in high heat non stick wok to get the crispy skin.

green jalapeno chilli sauce

the veloute was done by frying the onions, jalapeno chilli & green pepper(capsicum), adding intense chicken/fish stock, then blending 1/2 of it with 2 tbsp olive oil & 1tbsp light soy sauce & 1tbsp mirin.

i had done this previously with spinach. jalapeno chilli is much better. taste was sweet, spicy & natural. a key step is frying before blending, otherwise it can be “siap” or astringent.

nonya steamed snapper fillet

and the nonya steamed snapper fillet

it was very easy to do, just the usual hong kong steamed 港蒸 ie light soy sauce plus olive oil (or veg oil).

nonya steamed snapper fillet

as i am adding the gimson nonya sauce, i reduced light soy sauce from 2.5tbsp to 1tbsp+1tsp and steamed in the steam oven for 11mins..

the combination was just perfect. very easy to do, and so delicious!

we had a really fun enjoyable evening, good friends spending an evening together sharing delicious food, soju, lychees (& some puer tea to be taken next time).

c.h.e.f andy

lobster in superior broth 龙虾上汤焗

originally i proposed to cook a mother’s day family dinner at home on 14.5.2017.

while i was away in london & wales, wife decided to have brunch at pimpam by foc on mother’s day.

the 2 daughters now not available for dinner, so we decided to do homecooked family dinner another day.

claypot chicken rice

son had earlier joined my homecooked dinner 8pax for my friends on 24apr before i left for london & wales trip on 27.4.2017.

he liked the claypot rice & wanted to take claypot rice again this evening..

So did wife! so i cooked a 3pax dinner instead.

though i did not garnish & take a great photo this evening, the claypot rice (above photo) was very good, as good as i did other times. ^^

lobster in superior broth 龙虾上汤焗

i decided that though last minute, i should do something more than just claypot rice since it was mother’s day.

so i went to sheng shiong & got a 680g live lobster for S$41+.

i made lobster in superior broth 龙虾上汤焗 this evening. this the second time i made this dish & this time it was excellent.

will do a separate recipe post on lobster in superior broth 龙虾上汤焗

kai garden’s braised 2x main lobsters in superior sauce – one FREE second S$48

perhaps not comparable with kai gardens (above photo).

but still very good c/w with many others la…

lobster in superior broth 龙虾上汤焗

of course live lobster & done correctly & right texture not old or overcooked always very sweet, bouncy & tasty.

but also the superior broth 上汤 is the key!

i had chicken stock (chicken bones boiled with carrots), then added the lobster shells & reduced to very intense broth, very tasty & flavourful.

stir-fried romaine lettuce

& my usual stir-fried vegetable dish.

this evening, i made romaine lettuce, my wife’s favourite!

like i told my son, best flavours dry water don’t add water (there’s water in the veg) just add some oyster sauce. of course one school said to sprinkle just a little water when 起锅, to create the wok hae…yet to try that though…

cheese board

after dinner we had some cheese.

very nice cheese especially with the truffle honey dip. excellent!

chroizos son bought from porto

son brought back a few type of chorizo from porto.

we started with the cheaper lot. but this lot really not too good. will open the better ones when when have more pax.

white port son brought back from porto

and the cheese & chorizo were perfect with the white port (which has the whiskey fermentation stopper added). this really excellent port!

white port son brought back from porto

we had that during our holiday in porto, and we all love it, so son brought back a bottle from porto for my wife.

a simple 3pax dinner put together for mother’s day, and a very good & enjoyable one!

c.h.e.f andy

8pax homeooked dinner dishes

made 8 homecooked dishes for my friends, a 8pax dinner on 25.4.2017. ^^

not met up with these friend for a while.

wife joined dinner, & son is back from London, so he joined dinner also this evening. 🙂

it’s the same HK daipaidong dishes (and indeed JB & singapore zi char dishes) i made for my RI buddies 10pax dinner recently on 13.3.2017. ^^

(my friends brought nice shuu dessert puffs with 4 flavours-macha, coffe, black sesame, cream;  nonya kueh NOT cakes😜; wine, gimson sauce etc…)

8pax homeooked dinner dishes

the 8 dishes were –

1 Singapore claypot chicken rice
2 HK claypot rice 腊味煲仔饭
3 JB shoon huat claypot wine chicken
4 HK minsheng daipaidong 民声冰室 steamed minced pork in light soy sauce
5 steamed angkorli (seabream) fillet with Jeanette’s gimson sauce
6 steamed pork soft bones
7 zai shun’s egg bittegourd with minced salted egg
8 fried leek with onions

claypot chicken rice

today’s claypot rice was still as good.

wife, son, all the friends liked it.

though as i told them i made a mistake & emptied the marinated wine chicken into the claypot by mistake & had to rescue a bit. haha! :-p

claypot chicken rice

still very tasty, smokey, flavourful la!

HK claypot rice 腊味煲仔饭

the HK claypot rice 腊味煲仔饭 was also good. this time my friends thought the Singapore claypot rice was more flavourful, so 2 against one now, with my RI buddies going for the Singapore claypot rice & my OPS buddies the HK claypot rice.

HK minsheng daipaidong 民声冰室 steamed minced pork in light soy sauce

the steamed minced pork in light soy sauce was again very good.

though i used more fatty minced pork, it was very smooth & very “pang” with top quality light soy sauce.

my friend who brought me again the gimson nonya sauce from JB, liked it especially.

JB shoon huat claypot wine chicken

the claypot wine chicken i overcooked a bit this evening, so the chicken breast was not perfect like last time. the thighs etc were still very tender & tasty. my friends liked this dish too.

JB shoon huat claypot wine chicken 

certainly more tender than Shoon Huat’s & most other such dishes in restaurants which tended to be “old” & more tough.

nonya steamed angkorli (sea bream) fillet with gimson sauce

the nonya steamed angkorli (sea bream) fillet  i used the gimson sauce my friend bought me.

nonya steamed angkorli (sea bream) fillet with gimson sauce (before steaming)

it was more unique than the usual hong kong steamed preparation with the nonya flavour giving it a tangy, distinct flavour.

steamed pork soft bones

today though the pork soft bones were very far from perfect.

perfect last time as the meat was very tender from 1 hr 20mins steaming like the steamed pork ribs in any dimsum restaurants.

today though the pork soft bones were “soh”, has a very porky smell. friends said tasted like beef.

steamed pork soft bones

these were frozen ribs from QB Food, had always been good previously, and just taken out of the freezer.

the only step i missed was washing, cleaning with salt as my helper blanched it & i didn’t tell her to do this step before blanching.

zai shun’s egg bittegourd with minced salted egg

today my minced salted egg with the egg bittergourd was almost perfect though.

the ast time i did for my brother i added 1/2 egg, and the flabour did not come out.

this time i added the whole salted egg, and the flavour was very good indeed.

zai shun’s egg bittegourd with minced salted egg

this the second time i did this dish, so almost got it right now.

fried leeks & onions

fried leek & onions were ok, the usual, but this dish usually not so popular.

fried leeks & onions

leek something that teochew like my sis & me like, but my wife doesn;t like it & many people do not fancy it much.

nice shuu dessert puffs

nice shuu dessert puffs

nice shuu dessert puffs

nice shuu dessert puffs

a friend borught very nice shuu cream puffs.

there were  flavours – macha, black sesame, coffee & vanilla.

i liked the macha & coffee best…these were light puffs, quite pleasant.

nonya kueh

another friend who last minute could not joined dinner, brought some nonya cake & came after dinner. i missed the lapis sagu, but took couple of the others.

very fun dinner with this group of friends which i don’t meet often.

will do another dinner, a western dinner later when i back from my travel…

c.h.e.f andy

yong tau foo

my eldest daughter like yong tau foo. in recent times we get to eat more of this dish. wife buys yong tau foo from the first stall at the basement next to the lift at chinatown market, so we strated cooking ytf at home.

the ytf items are fresher & have more generous, plump fish meat filling, and generally are much better than most at ytf hawker stalls.

my helper uses yellow beans & ikan bilis to prepare the soup. so the soup standard also comparable with ytf hawker stalls outside.

minced pork noodle

my helper also does an awesome minced pork noodles.

this minced pork is done with some prawns & sliced mushrooms & oyster sauce, and she also has tau gay to add to the stringy hong kong noodles.

this minced pork is quite excellent taken on its own, and about perfect with the tasty ytf. ^^

yong tau foo

wife went to chinatown the day before, so we had quite a lot of yong tau foo for dinner this evening on 19.4.2017. ^^

yong tau foo 

they were all nice.

there was one we like with with pig skin covering the fish meat filling, and all the usual with tau pok & bean curd skin,

the fishballs though were not the best.

yong tau foo 

the piece at the bottom (above photo) had cabbage wrapped inside. quite interesting too ya. 🙂

minced pork noodle, with mushrooms, prawns 

the minced pork topping was very good.

uhakka’s minced pork noodles yong tau foo釀豆腐 

there are a few ytf stalls that do minced pork noodles.

so  far the best ytf  i had was at u hakka ytf at circuit road food centre, which a good friend brought us a year back on 24.2.2016. time flies!

that’s a stall i would like to go back.

noodles, with a dash of oyster sauce 

my helper’s noodles were quite perfect, totally qq & stringy, al dente.

minced pork noodle 

& the toppings were generous.

minced pork noodle 

i took a bit less noodles. with lots of tau gay….

minced pork noodle

& the combination made a very good noodle dish all by its own.

wok fried manila clams on 19.4.2017

this evening i also bought some manila clams from sheng shiong earlier, so i made wok fried manila clams. lagi shiok la!

c.h.e.f andy

8 teochew muay dishes

today is an important day!

brother arranged to meet at 光明山 at 7am，to 扫墓祭祖 for 清明.

i actually not keen on the date, as i thought it being good friday & PH (public holiday) it would be jammed pack. every year we came during this period & it was always jammed pack. our cars had to be illegally parked very far away (the police smart enough not to book your car on such occasions). so i had come with my sis during the actual anniversary dates, at around 3pm+ (they open 7am to 4pm during non-peak normal days).

i plan to do that next year onwards ie come like 2-3weeks before actual day.

i didn’t check this year, but actual day for 清明 was 4apr2017, but you can come within 2 weeks of that date.

sis & bil were earliest. they came by mrt & bus, left their home before 6am.

wife & i reached there just before 7am….surprise surprise, no jam, no traffic at all! brother, sil & their son arrived shortly…

there was no hassle to lay out the fruits, light up the candles & joss sticks, then proceed to level 5 where the rows of urns are kept & to worship/pay our respects.

teochew chilled mullet & chilled yellow croaker

we arranged to have breakfast at my place after 清明.

so i got up at 5.30am. i needed 1 hr to prepare the 7 dishes, leaving the spinach to fry when we are back for breakfast. i left the house at 6.35am.

first thing i did was to steam the mullet & yellow croaker. these i cleaned with salt & washed the evening before & kept in the fridge.

one thing unique about chilled mullet is it has to be steamed with the scales, so that can be removed together with the skin later easily. and also we need to keep the innards, so i do not ask the fishmongers (at sheng shiong) to clean, but clean the mullet myself.

steaming took 13minutes. after that left to cool before putting in fridge to chill.

both the fish were excellent, just like eating outside.

fried cabbage with tanhoon, taupok & ikan bilis

while fish steaming, i did the other dishes.

first the wonderful fried cabbage, as this took longest.

so fried ikan bilis (washed & dried in fridge evening before), cut chilli padi. then added cabbage & chopped garlic, oyster sauce, high fire. then added taupok (i cut 6 pieces, 4 strips per piece). added 1/2 cup water, covered to cook. about 10mins, added water as required, but small amount. added tanhoon (soaked & cut) last when about ready. set aside.

steamed minced pork with light soy sauce 

while cooking the cabbage, i added 1 tbsp corn flour & 1 tbsp light soy sauce & cut scallions to about 350g minced pork, and arranged it in a metal tray for steaming. i added 1 more tbsp light sauce & 2 tbsp olive oil, then steamed for 12 mins. that easy.

the egg i added when reheating when we were back for breakfast – egg yolk in the cleft & egg whites with the sauce.

this dish everyone liked, very “pang” & the texture very tender, moist & malleable. though minced pork was a bit fat for my brother (but i chose the fatty ones st sheng shiong which i prefer)

fried leeks & onions with smoked sausage 

next the delicious leek dish.

fried 1 cut red onions, cut chilli padi. added leeks (3 stalks) and 2 sausages, oyster sauce. covered for short period. no water.

fried egg plant 

next the egg plant.

nothing much to do here. just fried cut chilli & chopped garlic, added egg plants & oyster sauce. very little water, covered for short period.

zai shun’s incredible fried bittergourd egg with salted egg white

my last dish to cook was the bittergourd egg.

i tried to emulate the famous zai shun dish, so added the salted egg.

salted eggs

i boiled the salted egg evening before. & chopped 1/2 egg – all of egg white & yolk.

bittergourd fried egg with salted egg

i fried cut chilli padi, chopped garlic, bittergourd (which i poached in boiling water & cleaned with salt & soaked in water overnight), & the 1/2 salted egg, then added 2 eggs & fried.

this dish was ok, ordinary & nothing like the excellent dish at zai shun. my 1/2 salted egg not enough , will add whole salted egg next time. my preparation of the bittergourd has to change too…very thin slices…

fried spinach with ikan bilis

& of course i cooked the teochew porridge the evening before, just 1 cup for 7pax. i added one chicken leg (no skin) & some salt.

they all like the porridge.

so when we were back before 8am, my sis & brother prepare the taujeon & removed the scales & skin of the chilled mullet, while i just heat up the dishes. & fried the last dish, spinach with ikan bilis on the spot. no water.

a simple & most wonderful breakfast.  everyone enjoyed!

sis & bil stayed back to watch chinese tv drama = 亲爱的翻译官..i really enjoyed this tv drama, and the lead actress 杨幂!

i cooked a simple lunch for them – nonya steamed sea bass & olive veg fried rice…^^

c.h.e.f andy