light braised big & small intestines 

so i made a very good teochew light braised pork trotters on 5.3.2017 at the first attempt.

& i was making it again for a 8pax OPS buddies dinner on 7.3.2017. so i decided might as well do the big & small intestines as well.

i made braised big intestines once a 10pax RI buddies lueh chap lunch on 17.4.2014 (wow! time flies – that’s almost 3 years liao!), but NOT small intestines, so this the first time.

washed & soaked big & small intestines 

problem with doing intestines is the smell, or stench?? haha…

so i started the cleaning/washing one day before…it’s like rubbed with cornflour, inside, outside, washed, rubbed with salt, washed….

for big intestines i turned it inside-out so no problem to wash both sides.

for small intestines i ran water through, cut like 4in/6in lengths so easier to wash inside…

very troublesome la….

boiling to remove strong flavours 

still worried about smell, so boiled water then put in the intestines.

boiling to remove strong flavours 

maybe 5 mins. i think it very effective to remove the smell.

light braised big & small intestines

after that it is the same light braising sauce recipe as for my pork trotters.

so here it is again –

braising sauce recipe
650g pork trotters

3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sugar

=together about 100ml

fry-
3 star anise
1 cinnamon bark
2 clove
2 bay leaves
========
1 bulb garlic cloves
2cm cut ginger
1/2 medium red onion

light braised big & small intestines 

braise for 1.5hrs – 2hrs. for the 1st 1/2, add just 1/2 – 1 cup water, topping up & turning the trotters. that is to keep the marinade thick & intense to infuse the flavours. after that fill with water to cover the trotters & let it braise & slowly reduce to a thicker sauce, adding water as required.

light braised big & small intestines 

the result was quite excellent,texture was tender, no smell, great “pang” braise flavours.

braised items @ 振记粥面店, cheung chau market stall with big & small intestines

quite similar to the excellent teochew braises at 振记粥面店, a cheung chau island market stall recently.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

• 1 big intestines
• 1 small intestines
• 3 star anise
• 1 cinnamon bark
• 2 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 bulb garlic cloves
• 2cm cut ginger
• 1/2 medium red onion

braising sauce-

• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar

=together about 100ml

Directions:

1. fry star anise, cinnamon bark, cloves, bay leaves, garlic cloves, cut ginger, red onion till fragrant.
2. rub with cornflour, inside, outside, wash, rubbed with salt, wash….for big intestines turn it inside-out so no problem to wash both sides. for small intestines run water through, cut like 4in/6in lengths so easier to wash inside…
3. to remove smell, instead of just scalding, boil water then put in the intestines, boil for few minutes…
4. add braising sauce. braise for 1.5hrs – 2hrs. for the 1st 1/2, add just 1/2 – 1 cup water, topping up. that is to keep the marinade thick & intense to infuse the flavours.
5. fill with water to cover the intestines & let it braise & slowly reduce to a thicker sauce, adding water as required.

light braised pork trotters 7.3.2017

i have done very good braises including ter kar (pig trotters), pig head (猪头肉) & ears, even large intestines.

among the best was several homecooked kueh chap meals, including a 10pax RI buddies lueh chap lunch on 17.4.2014 (wow! time flies – that’s almost 3 years liao!)

Tai Hua chicken marinate (大华鲁鸡汁)

i have been using the ready bottled tai hua braising sauce, as it saves time & effort, and experimentation.

braised items @ 振记粥面店, cheung chau market stall

braised items @ 振记粥面店, cheung chau market stall

recently we had excellent teochew braises at 振记粥面店, a cheung chau island market stall

the braise was very “pang” – fragrant, very tasty. this the typically teochew lighter colour braise.

so i wanted to give it a try myself, to make my own light “pang” braises.

light braised pork trotters 5.3.2017

i managed to do this the very first try on 5.3.32017, and recorded on facebook rightaway the recipe i used-

braising sauce recipe
650g pork trotters

3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sugar

=together about 100ml

fry-
3 star anise
1 cinnamon bark
2 clove
2 bay leaves
========
1 bulb garlic cloves
2cm cut ginger
1/2 medium red onion

braise for 1.5hrs – 2hrs. for the 1st 1/2, add just 1/2 – 1 cup water, topping up & turning the trotters. that is to keep the marinade thick & intense to infuse the flavours. after that fill with water to cover the trotters & let it braise & slowly reduce to a thicker sauce, adding water as required.

light braised pork trotters 5.3.2017

test for the texture you like.

i like it gelatinous with some bite, and this method of 1/2 infusing, 1/2 steaming ensoures the trotters are moist & tender & gelatinous, not dry & sinewy.

light braised pork trotters 5.3.2017

light braised pork trotters 5.3.2017

a true beauty to behold!

light braised pork trotters 5.3.2017

i am planning to do the korean jogbal using this braising method. 족발jogbal uses the upper hock not the lower trotters.

this colour is just right for족발jogbal, which preferred texture is firmer so cook for shorter time & is served dry not with sauce.

light braised pork trotters 7.3.2017

i did this light braised pork trotters & also the large & small intestines for 8pax OPS buddies dinner on 7.3.2017. i addd some pig skin also to make best use of my braising sauce.

all my friends enjoyed this.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

• 650g pork trotters
• 3 star anise
• 1 cinnamon bark
• 2 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 bulb garlic cloves
• 2cm cut ginger
• 1/2 medium red onion

braising sauce-

• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp heap sugar (2tbsp)

=together about 100ml

Directions:

1. fry star anise, cinnamon bark, cloves, bay leaves, garlic cloves, cut ginger, red onion till fragrant.
2. clean trotter (& pig skin) with salt, scald to remove scum, and add to wokpanand fry for few minutes.
3. add braising sauce. braise for 1.5hrs – 2hrs. for the 1st 1/2, add just 1/2 – 1 cup water, topping up & turning the trotters. that is to keep the marinade thick & intense to infuse the flavours.
4. fill with water to cover the trotters & let it braise & slowly reduce to a thicker sauce, adding water as required.

hand tear chicken手撕鸡7mar2017

one quite unique dish we had during our recent really fun 4pax OPS primary school buddies hong kong eat & hike trip 20-24.2.2017 was hand tear chicken手撕鸡.

手撕鸡 had tear chicken @ minsheng daipaidong 民声冰室

手撕鸡 had tear chicken @ minsheng daipaidong 民声冰室  was very impressive. chicken was sweet, tender yet not soft & had good bite, a bit stringy yet not sinewy or chewy. very good i think.

hand tear chicken手撕鸡7mar2017

i googled the recipe & made a 手撕鸡 hand tear chicken myself at home after my return. it was not bad as a first attempt. i had the texture but not yet the taste, my marinade needed some improvements/adjustments.

hand tear chicken手撕鸡7mar2017

i repeated it for a 8pax OPS friends dinner on 7.3.2017.

this time the marinade was good, & my friends all liked it. 🙂

hand tear chicken – poached chicken

my preparation/recipe is similar to that for poached chicken 白斩鸡.

i used 1/2 chicken. made chicken stock using bones of 1 chicken & 1 cut large carrot. added 1 bulb garlic cloves, 1 medium red onions quartered, few stalks of spring onions, 2cm cut ginger. boiled chicken (immersed) for 12 mins, off fire & poached for 25mins.

hand tear chicken – poached chicken

then quenched in ice water to stop cooking.

hand tear chicken – poached chicken

hand tear chicken – poached chicken

& put in the fridge to dry.

for this hand tear chicken手撕鸡, i feel that the dry should be more taut & dry & stringy, so i left it in the fridge for longer, about 5hrs.

roasted sesame

i pan-roasted 3tbsp sesame seeds.

hand tear chicken手撕鸡2mar2017

then separated the skin, cut/tear in rectangular pieces, & tore the chicken flesh in strips.

 

hand tear chicken手撕鸡2mar2017

& then mixed in first the condiments, then the roasted sesame seeds.

for the condiments – i used 2tsp fish sauce, 1tbsp light soy sauce, 1tsp oyster sauce, 2tsp sesame oil, 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp goma sauce.

hand tear chicken手撕鸡2mar2017

then covered with the skin & added some more roasted sesame

 

hand tear chicken手撕鸡2mar2017

and 当当 voila, the hand tear chicken手撕鸡.

the flesh is moist & tender & nicely/lightly flavoured with the concdiments & roasted sesame, quite flavourful.

for me, it was an interesting dish, a change certainly, may not be my most favoured style for chicken preparation,

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

• 1/2 chicken
• 1litre chicken stock (using bones of 1 chicken & 1 cut large carrot)
• 1 bulb garlic cloves
• 1 medium red onions quartered
• few stalks of spring onions
• 2cm cut ginger

for condiments mix-

• 2tsp fish sauce
• 1tbsp light soy sauce
• 1tsp oyster sauce
• 2tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp goma sauce.

Directions:

1. make 1 litre chicken stock using bones of 1 chicken & 1 cut large carrot.
2. add 1 bulb garlic cloves, red onions, spring onions, cut ginger to 1litre chicken stock in a deep ducth oven & bring to boil
3. cover & boil chicken for 12 mins, off fire & poach for another 25mins
4. quench in ice water to stop cooking
5. put in the fridge to dry for 5hrs
6. separate the skin, cut/tear in rectangular pieces, & tear the chicken flesh in strips
7. mix in first the condiments, then the roasted sesame seeds.
8. plate the dish, cover with skin, & add some roasted sesame

steamed pork ribs 2mar2017

my FB post on 2.3.2017-

• now my steamed pork ribs about perfect=about 250g ribs…2tsp fish sauce 1 tsp light soy sauce 1tsp sesame oil 1 tsp oyster sauce 1 tsp corn flour steamed 1hr

returning from our recent really fun 4pax OPS primary school buddies hong kong eat & hike trip 20-24.2.2017, i made the HK claypot rice 腊味饭 a few times with the duck liver sausages i bought in hong kong.

steamed pork ribs 25feb2017

i thought it might be quite plain with just sausage, so i steamed some pork ribs and added to the claypot rice.

steamed pork ribs 25feb2017

i had wanted to make the dimsum restaurant styled steamed pork ribs anyway.

steamed pork ribs 7.3.2017

it was easy to make. as my FB post said, just-

1. wash with salt & scald 250g pork ribs (i used pork soft bones which is the ones served at dimsum
2. add 2tsp fish sauce, 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp corn flour & mix well
3. put in a small receptacle & steam for 1hr (i did not want the condensed steam to dilute the sauce.

& that is the perfect pork ribs (or pork soft bones). the steaming makes the pork ribs very tender & moist.

this not quite the dimsum restaurant pork ribs as i did not have & did not use black beans.

but it is just as good anyway la!

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

• 250g pork soft bones
• 2tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp corn flour

Directions:

1. wash with salt & scald 250g pork ribs (i used pork soft bones which is the ones served at dimsum
2. add 2tsp fish sauce, 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp corn flour & mix well
3. put in a small receptacle & steam for 1hr (i did not want the condensed steam to dilute the sauce.

HK claypot rice 腊味饭 25.2.2017

during our recent really fun 4pax OPS primary school buddies hong kong eat & hike trip 20-24.2.2017,

we bought some pork sausage & liver sausage (both duck liver & pig liver, & so we were all very keen to try these out at home) at-

1. fa yuen street market 花园街街市; and also at
2. shau kei wan wet street market.

腊味饭 claypot rice @ chuen mun kee 銓满记

that also prompted a friend to suggest dinner at a hong kong claypot restaurant.

so we found & enjoyed a delicious dinner with claypot rice at chuen moon kee 銓满记 at mongkok, which is near to our metropark hotel.

HK claypot rice 腊味饭5 25.2.2017

i did my HK claypot rice 腊味饭 on 25.2.2017, the next day after returning from hong kong on 24.2.2017. haha! ^^

it was easy to do…

HK claypot rice 腊味饭5 25.2.2017

i thought it might be quite plain with just sausage, so i steamed some pork ribs (and these were dimsum restaurant standard), and add to the claypot rice.

HK claypot rice 腊味饭5 25.2.2017

the HK claypot rice 腊味饭 was very good indeed, very “pang”, flavourful la!

HK claypot rice 腊味饭 7.3.2017

i did the claypot rice again on 2.3.2017 for a 3pax dinner with my sis & b-i-l, and again for a 8pax dinner for my OPS friends.

these hong kong liver sausages are just phenomenal, so “pang” – flavourful! the duck liver sausage is quite fantastic. the pork liver is good not as fantastic.

HK claypot rice 腊味饭 7.3.2017

everyone just loved the dish.

HK claypot rice 腊味饭 2.3.2017

the preparation/recipe is quite simple-

1. fry cut ginger with chicken fat (or 1tbsp oil) in claypot, add chopped garlic.
2. add a slice of salted fish, off fire, feel the aroma, remove whole slice of salted fish & set aside.
3. wash 1.5 cups rice (3pax) & fry in the claypot
4. (earlier) pour boiling water over 5 small chinese dry mushrooms in a large bowl, cover & leave for 4hours. now cut each mushroom in 5 strips (with or w/o stalk) and add to rice. fry a short while & feel the aroma.
5. add 1.5cups stock (i used chicken stock, can use mushroom water too) to rice & let it rest till you want to start cooking.
6. add whole pork & liver sausage (or cut into 2 or 3 large pieces like chuen moon kee 銓满记 (photo further up), and cook for 12mins.
7. add back the salted fish slice, & garnish with few stalks of coriander.

HK claypot rice 腊味饭 2.3.2017

& voila! so nice, so flavourful, so tasty la!

HK claypot rice 腊味饭 2.3.2017

for the 2.3.2017 preparation, i added 1.3 cups of water to 1.5cups of rice. (remember the washed rice has some wetness & the cut mushrooms also).

drizzling sauce for HK claypot rice 腊味饭 2.3.2017

& because i feel that this preparation is quite plain (having just sausage), i prepare the simple ubiquitous drizzling sauce (which is used to drizzle steamed rice 一口饭 & fun cheung 粉肠 at dimsum restaurants).

 

HK claypot rice 腊味饭 2.3.2017

HK claypot rice 腊味饭 2.3.2017  (with drizzling sauce)

this very easy to do, and very nice too, so just do it la-

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp (flat) sugar
• 1 tsp darh soy sauce
• 6 tbsp water

believe me, this is the sauce you want to make…a perfect condiment to your rice. & if rice is tasty enough, no need to use also.

HK claypot rice 腊味饭 2.3.2017

emptied each & every time la! ^^

HK claypot rice 腊味饭 25.2.2017

a friend asked on facebook whether to cut of not to cut sausage when steaming.

i don’t know also, but i think the sausage is tastier if you don’t cut it.

so for me, for this HK claypot rice 腊味饭 where the sausages are the centrepiece, i put the better quality sausage whole & cut afterwards.

for my usual chicken rice, where sausage is secondary just to complement the chicken, i use the cheaper sausage & cut the sausage to make the rice tastier.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups rice (for 3pax)
• 1.5 cups water
• 1.5cm cut ginger
• 2 tsp chopped garlic
• chicken fat (or 1tbsp oil)
• 1 slice salted fish (bottled in brine)
• 2 duck liver sausage (or 1 large pork liver sausage)
• 2 pork sausage (or 1 large one)
• few stalks coriander

for drizzling sauce-

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp (flat) sugar
• 1 tsp darh soy sauce
• 6 tbsp water

for steamed pork ribs – see separate post

Directions:

1. for steamed pork ribs – see separate post
2. fry cut ginger with chicken fat (or 1tbsp oil) in claypot, add chopped garlic.
3. add a slice of salted fish, off fire, feel the aroma, remove whole slice of salted fish & set aside.
4. wash 1.5 cups rice (3pax) & fry in the claypot
5. (earlier) pour boiling water over 5 small chinese dry mushrooms in a large bowl, cover & leave for 4hours. now cut each mushroom in 5 strips (with or w/o stalk) and add to rice. fry a short while & feel the aroma.
6. add 1.5cups stock (i used chicken stock, can use mushroom water too) to rice & let it rest till you want to start cooking.
7. add whole pork & liver sausage (or cut into 2 or 3 large pieces like chuen moon kee 銓满记 (photo further up), and cook for 12mins.
8. add back the salted fish slice, & garnish with few stalks of coriander.

steamed minced pork in light soy sauce 7mar2017

so we had a most wonderful time together in hong kong 20-24.2.2017, 4 of us OPS primary school buddies.

& one meal that we enjoyed most was at minsheng daipaidong 民声冰室 on 23.2.2017.

one among several great dishes was a very simple (& simply delicious) salted egg steamed minced pork 咸蛋蒸肉饼 (the 2 photos above).

so that is one dish i want to make when i am back home.

steamed minced pork in light soy sauce 7mar2017

the key to this simple to prepare dish are (1) the light soy sauce (2) the minced pork.

i have very good light soy sauce, very “pang” fragrant like minsheng daipaidong 民声冰室.

for the minced pork, i chopped a frozen belly pork on 2.3.2017 & used a fresh ready packet minced pork on 7.3.2017.

the preparation/recipe was simple-

1. chop chilli, scallions (& some yellow onions – optional, i didn’t add) & mixed with 300g minced pork. i put the scallion on one side as one friend does not eat scallions.
2. add 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp olive oil & 1tbsp corn flour to minced pork & mix well
3. make a depression on the minced pork(as in photo above) to hold the egg yolk. my opinion is the salted egg contribute little to the dish. so i replaced with fresh egg which is healthier but also contributed little to the dish except a nice volcano presentation, and i always like the silky egg yolk, no effort so no harm to have it.
4. add 1 to 1.5 tbsp (to taste) light soy sauce & 1 tbsp olive oil & steam minced pork for about 12mins.
5. 1 min before completion, crack one egg, drop the egg white in the plate by the side of the minced pork, and the egg yoke on the depression to receive the egg yoke.
6. garnish with coriander.

steamed minced pork in light soy sauce 7mar2017

my friends commented during a 8pax dinner on 7.3.2017 that the dish was almost the standard of minsheng daipaidong 民声冰室.

i think the light soy sauce was almost as good, the ready minced pork not as good texture, & even taste???

steamed minced pork in light soy sauce 2mar2017

earlier i experimented the dish. there was no minced pork in the fridge, so i hand-chopped a defrosted belly pork. i think the hand-chopped frozen pork was better actually.

steamed minced pork in light soy sauce 2mar2017

hand-chopped has a rougher, uneven texture which i like better, and somehow even though it was a frozen meat, it actually went very well with the marinade.

steamed minced pork in light soy sauce 2mar2017

anyhow this was really easy to do, and a true comfort food that is most endearing & yet so easy to prepare.

steamed minced pork in light soy sauce 2mar2017

we all enjoyed all the dinner dishes including this minced pork dish at our 8pax dinner on 7.3.2017. ^^

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

• 300g minced pork
• 2-2.5 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. chop chilli, scallions (& some yellow onions – optional) & mix with 300g minced pork.
2. add 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp olive oil & 1tbsp corn flour to minced pork & mix well.
3. make a depression on the minced pork to hold the egg yolk.
4. add 1 to 1.5 tbsp (to taste) light soy sauce & 1 tbsp olive oil & steam mince pork for about 12mins.
5. 1 min before completion, crack one egg, drop the egg white in the plate by the side of the minced pork, and the egg yoke on the depression to receive the egg yoke.
6. garnish with coriander.

족발jogbal 元蹄

my first experiment on 족발jogbal 元蹄 today on 8.2.2017. ^^

족발jogbal 元蹄

i had intense chicken stock leftover in the fridge from the wondeful chicken rice dinner 2 days back.

so i made it to good use.

족발jogbal 元蹄

the same braised & steamed method, using the intense stock to braise & infuse flavours to the 족발jogbal 元蹄. and cover the wokpan to let steam cook the hock.

i googled & realised that actually trotters refers to 蹄 hoofs & hock refers to the lower leg 元蹄

족발jogbal 元蹄

the hock was very tasty from the intense chicken stock. lagi best la! ^^

족발jogbal 元蹄

i cooked it a bit longer = 1.5hrs.

taking from the experience of the chicken rice dinner where the pig skin was very tender when i served the dish at 6.45pm but quite tough when i took it around 7.45pm, and only on reheat the texture changed completely again to very tender. i attribute it to the pig skin drying out but it should not be really, so maybe it was not cooked long enough for texture to retain after airdrying.

족발jogbal 元蹄

as this is the first time, and 2 family members eating, i served it with the sauce.

it was excellent excellent in taste very well infused with flavours, and texture was perfect too! very gelatinous, still good bite not overdone…

족발jogbal 元蹄

a friend who was in jeju last year & enjoyed the 족발jogbal 元蹄 dish saw the photos & commented “but it does not look like 족발jogbal 元蹄 leh”.

족발jogbal 元蹄

Korea style Schweinshaxe ‘jogbal’

indeed korean jogbal are mostly braised with dark sauce. i like both dark or white sauce & look so that i am ok.

& also most are served dry (like the poached & quenched chicken rice chicken method?? taut skin & hang up to air dry???)

i will serve my 족발jogbal 元蹄 dry next time. maybe will try both the braised & steamed method here, and also the poached & quenched method.

c.h.e.f andy

braised & steamed chicken

recently an old RI friend, who usually resides in bangkok, invited us to try out his legendary chicken rice on 16.1.2017. ^^

i have seen his posting on FB & all the comments by FB friends.

and, his chicken rice was really good la! ^^

as we approached the flat, we could smell the wonderful chicken rice from the common corridor. chicken was excellent, breast meat was moist, tender & sweet. the rice was flavourful & the chilli was great. so low carbs me ate a second helping la!

he also made char siew, by a very simple method he described, using just a packet marinade & the tabletop oven. it was good too, meat was tender, if not quite the char siews in good restaurants.

poached chicken白斩鸡 20.3.2015

i made a very good 白斩鸡 (i called chicken rice chicken) myself.

poached chicken 白斩鸡 (poached method) 9.3.2015

it was the usual method – poached then immersed in cold water – to produce a very smooth skin 滑鸡, and i have produced wonderful chicken using this poached method (see the very moist, tender breast in above 2 photos).

a “weakness”, if there is one to speak of, in the poached chicken method is that chicken is boiled in water, & then quenched in ice/cold water, so skin is very smooth, but it is just water so taste is limited even if brined the chicken first or add garlic, ginger, spring onions etc to a potful of water.

braised & steamed chicken

recently i used the lor arh 鲁鸭 braised duck method to braise+steam chicken for teban gardens friday community breakfast on 13.1.2017 & that produced a very tender, sweet, tasty soy sauce chicken 豆油鸡 (“see yao guy”)

braised & steamed chicken

so i decided to use the same braise & steam method, but replace tai hwa braising sauce by an intense chicken stock.

when you braise using an intense chicken stock (or sauce for soy sauce chicken 豆油鸡), the taste infuse well to the chicken.

& when you cover the wokpan, the steam from the lightly boiling stock steams the chicken while the braise or intense stock infuse flavour to the chicken.

as the liquid level is low (for chicken stock to be intense), rotate chicken every 5 mins & add stock or water so won’t dry out

to make chicken stock..boil bones of one chicken with 1 cut carrot 1 whole bulb garlic 2-3cm cut gingers, 1 tsp salt…

i also stuff spring onions, celery, onion into chicken cavity

i braise/steam chicken for 35mins, then off fire leave chicken in covered wokpan 1/2hr.

for this preparation i did not immerse in ice/cold water.

braised & steamed chicken

braised & steamed chicken

braised & steamed chicken

the chicken (& the breast) was very moist (from steaming), tender & i feel tastier than by the poached method, though the poached method also produces very good & smooth 滑鸡. see the 2 earlier poached chicken photos.

chilli

i made chicken rice & chilli only once before, so this the second time.

first i try to avoid taking rice, especially the oily, flavourful chicken rice, & second, it is additional effort – leh chay la (inconvenient) to do.

for chilli, i blended 6 red chilli, 3cm chopped ginger, 5 tsp chopped garlic, 1tsp salt, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1/3 cup (80ml) intense chicken stock.

chicken rice

anyhow this time i go for the full paraphenalia.

i fried chicken fat & ginger, then added chopped garlic, then added 2 cups of rice. fry & feel the fragrance la.

chicken rice

then i added 2 cups of the intense stock, plus check the rice cooker mark.

then cook the rice.

(i added a bit of tumeric in the stock as i like my chicken yellow, but i am thinking to do one w/o the tumeric)

chicken rice & fried kang kong

i had some fried kang kong to go along.

braised & steamed chicken

it was a wonderful, most satisfying meal.

very sweet, tasty chicken, fragrant rice (albeit unhealthy with chicken fat), and chilli was excellent too, though it can be spicier, maybe i will add 2 chilli padi.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

• one whole chicken (massaged/rubbed with salt & washed clean inside & outside)
• bones of one chicken
• 1 large carrot (cut)
• 1 whole bulb garlic
• 3 stock spring onions
• 1/2 large yellow onion (opitonal)
• 2 stock celery (cut) (optional)
• 2l water
• 1 tsp salt

chilli sauce

• 6 red chilli
• 2 chilli padi (i plan to add)
• 5 tsp chopped garlic
• 3cm chopped ginger
• 1 tbsp suhar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3cup chicken stock

chicken rice

• 2cm cut ginger
• 2tsp chopped garlic
• chicken fat
• 2 cup rice

Directions:

1. make chicken stock – boil chicken bones (after scalding to remove scum), carrot, garlic in 2l water for 4hrs. reduce to about 600ml.
2. make chilli – blend 6 red chilli, 3cm chopped ginger, 5 tsp chopped garlic, 1tsp salt, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1/3 cup (80ml) intense chicken stock.
3. cook chicken – stuff spring onions, celery, onion into chicken cavity. place in wokpan with 500ml intense chicken stock. cover wokpan & braise/steam chicken for between 30mins and 35mins. rotate chicken every 5 mins & add stock or water so won’t dry out. off fire leave chicken in covered wokpan 1/2hr.
4. cook rice – fry chicken fat & ginger, then add chopped garlic, then add 2 cups of rice. fry & feel the fragrance. add 2 cups of the intense stock left after braising chicken, plus check the rice cooker mark. cook the rice.

pan-fried pork steak with gochujang 

after coming back from our memorable seoul eat & hike 10-13nov2016,

& having had excellent korean bbq almost every night, twice at newmaul sikdang,

i tried my hands at couple of gochujang pork dishes. ^^

i first did the korean grilled belly pork with gochujang for teban gardens community breakfast on 18.11.2016. 🙂

that was a big serving for like 100 people. i did with 1.5kg belly pork. pork was very tender but not breaking, good bite & quite excellent korean gochujang flavour & sweet tasty pork.

the community service centre folks & the volunteers all loved it.

pan-fried pork steak with gochujang 

for this evening, i made pan-fried pork steak with gochujang. panfried in hot pan.

it was really nice. very juicy, tender, tasty with gochujang. an excellent dish!

i am going to serve this to my family & friends la… 🙂

defrosted scalded pork steak from sheng shiong  

i had some frozen pork rib steaks from sheng shiong, like 500g pack for S$5 or thereabout. they looked very good so i bought them.

after defrosting & washing with salt, i scalded with boiling water & cleaned the steaks.

gochujang 

my old gochujang bottle finished, so i went to sheng shing earlier to get a small tub, 170g for about S$2.40.

seasoned with gochujang, chopped garlic & ginger 

gave a good seasoning rub, about 1 tbsp heap for 2 steaks about 250g. & 3 chopped garlic cloves & 2cm chopped ginger.

seasoned with gochujang, chopped garlic & ginger

gave a thorough rub & stand for 30mins (or 2hrs la…). 🙂

pan-fried pork steak with gochujang 

then its a very hot pan.

with a bit of butter.

pinch of salt = 1/6 tsp ?? agak-logy to taste la…

move the steaks around the pan for even heating. then turned fire to medium.

i covered the pan a bit, to make sure pork steak fully cooked. can also reduce to low fire & cook longer w/o cover la…lagi best!

pan-fried pork steak with gochujang 

it was a really tasty, flavourful, juicy steak, with good amount of fat. the slightly charred garlic & ginger also very tasty.

i really like!

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

• 2 pork rib steaks (250g)
• 1 tbsp heap gochujang
• pinch of salt (1/6 tsp??)
• 3 chopped garlic cloves
• 2cm chopped ginger

Directions:

1. wash pork steaks with salt & scald with boiling water to remove scum. clean & dry with kitchen towels.
2. seasoned with 1 tbsp gochujang, chopped garlic & ginger. stand about 30mins (or 2hrs la…).
3. a bit of butter. a pinch of lat. & very hot pan. chargrill the steaks. lower fire & cook the steaks. voila!

kaya

just made a 10mins kaya (coconut jam)-

200ml coconut milk
3 tbsp white sugar (45g)
3 tbsp palm sugar (45g)
4 pandan leaves
4 egg yolks

kaya

same kaya (coconut jam) recipe as before.

i made my first 10mins kaya 2+yrs back in 0ct2014…

this my 3rd time, & after a long while…simple recipe so won’t make mistakes…

i got some spare pandan leaves in chiller anyway so might as well use it…

kaya bread & butter

a pretty good standard kaya. 🙂

fragrant, flavourful from the coconut milk & palm sugar & pandan leaves, very smooth and thick/intense enough.

kaya always go great with butter, on bread or toast.

it is sweet enough, i am ok with the sweetness (like normal kaya), but can also make less sweet if desired.

maybe not the best kaya i had, but as good as most in coffeeshop outside (must say i hardly eat bread or toast outside though).

kaya

& it was so easy to make.

truly just 10mins.

kaya

just boiling 200ml coconut milk with white sugar & palm sugar in pandan leaves.

kaya

pour 1/2 to 4 egg yolks (beaten).

then pour back into pot with the remaining coconut milk mixture & boil (constantly stirring) till it thickens to the right viscous texture.

kaya bread & butter

quite enjoyed it.

kaya bread & butter

just like the real thing at coffeshops.

kaya

when cooled, removed the pandan leaves & put in a glass container. can keep up to 2weeks in the fridge.

should finish before then la. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

steamed soon hock – 30.7.2016

i find HK steamed 港蒸to be one of the best methods to cook a very fresh fish. ^^

if you use a top grade light soy sauce (i use 广祥泰陈年生抽王), the flavour is so uplifting, so “pang”.

i also use mirin & olive oil for steaming.

although there are many ways to steam a fish including the teochew way with salted vegetable & sour plum OR (say) for garlic oil steamed razor clams etc, HK steamed 港蒸 remains a favorite preparation for me.

equally important, it is so easy to do.

just 2 to 3 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin, 2 tbsp olive oil; and some chopped scallions, chilli & it’s a home run.

steamed soon hock – 30.7.2016

because of the ease & simplicity, HK steam is also my choice for the “Cooking Demo – HK steamed red garoupa 示范港蒸红斑 on 29Apr2016”

& i have used it for various dishes-

1. HK steamed sutchi fillet 
2. HK steamed song fish head港蒸松鱼头

steamed soon hock – 23.6.2016

the soon hock i get sometimes from chinatown market. it is not so common like red garoupa & only a few stalls sell it.

anyway the fishes in chinatown market always very fresh even if they are not live fishes.

steamed soon hock – 23.6.2016

i made this steamed soon hock quite a few times when i happen to buy the fish-

1. my OPS 12pax primary school classmates homecooked dinner on 23.6.2016.
2. daughter’s friends 7pax homecooked lunch on 30.7.2016.
3. wife’s 8pax homecooked dinner on 28.7.2016.

everyone loved the steamed soon hock – so fresh, so sweet, so fine texture, the best.

steamed soon hock

for sure it does not have the presentation & beauty of ah yat’s steamed soon hock, & of course the profession photography by my good RI friend. ^^

steamed soon hock – 23.6.2016

but taste & texture wise, it is almost as good la!

& repeat so easy to make –

• just 2 to 3 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin, 2 tbsp olive oil; and some chopped scallions, chilli; steamed for 10mins for 600g fish; & it’s a home run. ^^

c.h.e.f andy

spicy black bean sauce song fish head松鱼头 1.8.2016

i made spicy black bean sauce 2 times recently, the best was for a 6pax lunch for my OPS primary school classmates on 1.8.2016. ^^

spicy black bean paste fish head @ hk street sum kee alexandra village

5 of us went for a walk along southern ridge park connector from hortpark to mt faber on 13.7.2016.

after that we enjoyed a nice dinner for 5 at hk street sum kee alexandra village, including an excellent spicy black bean sauce song fish head. 🙂

this one of the best song fish head松鱼头 around.

i do like the hk street chun kee at commonwealth crescent food centre equally though. 🙂 this a less common dry steam style but the paste is really super!

spicy black bean sauce song fish head松鱼头 – 8.7.2016

i thought i could approximate that those 2 excellent fish head dishes somewhat.

obviously the sauce would be different, but manly it is to produce the right mix of mild sweet, tangy, mild salty sauce on a very fresh song fish head.

the first time i made was for another 6pax lunch for my OPS primary school classmates on 8.7.2016. ^^

i thought the fish head was quite good good.

i made the sauce myself mixing lemon juice, olive oil, mirin, light soy sauce, corn flour, sugar & lee kum kee spicy black bean sauce. i like the sauce myself.

spicy black bean sauce song fish head松鱼头 – 8.7.2016

for me its better than the fish head we had at sik bao sin on 5.7.2016.

one thing to correct was there was too much condensation in the steam oven so the sauce became a bit diluted. & there was no time for me to reduce the sauce in a pan to make it right.

on my second attempt on 1.8.2016 (top photo) i did it just right, by all my friends.

for me, it was very good too though i can also do with a bit more of the sauce. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

• 1/2 song fish head松鱼头

spicy black bean sauce mix

• 1 heap tbsp lee kum kee spicy black bean sauce
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• 2 tbsp mirin (optional)
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp corn flour

Directions:

1. wash the fish head with salt then drain (lazy way la – i steam the fish with the sauce rather than separately)
2. add the spicy bean sauce mix
3. steam in steam oven or steamer for 13mins (make sure fish is fully cooked)

chinese wine braised chicken 黄焖鸡

a friend bought dinner at 重庆烤鱼 on 18.7.2016.

one of the dishes was chinese wine braised chicken 黄焖鸡. the sauce was good but the chicken was dry & tough.

so i decided to make my own.

steamed chicken

i marinated 1/2 chicken in chinese wine 花雕酒, sesame oil, fish sauce, oyster sauce, corn flour & some good light soy sauce. then steamed in a steam oven for 30mins.

this preparation is similar to my very nice claypot rice. the chicken was very tender & smooth.

ginger, onions, scallions, leek

i then fried ginger, chilli padi, onions, scallions, leek & added the marinade from the steamed chicken & cooked the vegetables.

chinese wine braised chicken 黄焖鸡

so i had a very tasty sauce & vegetables & a tender, sweet chicken.

chinese wine braised chicken 黄焖鸡

anyway i think the steaming may not be necessary. important thing just to marinade the chicken well then cook the vegetables with the marinade & add the chicken & cook for about 8mins (for debone chicken in my case), wings & wingstick a bit longer.

chinese wine braised chicken 黄焖鸡

the 花雕酒 & sesame oil flavours were excellent, and the leeks especially nice having infused all the flavours. i found that in the dish at 重庆烤鱼. that’s why i added leek to scallions, yellow onions & also some cut ginger & chilli padi.

i did this dish for a family dinner on 20.7.2016.

a very enjoyable dinner indeed!

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cut chicken (i used 1.4kg large chicken from sheng shiong or giant)
• 2cm sliced ginger
• 2 tsp chopped garlic
• 2 stalk scallions
• 1 leek
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 cut chilli padi

marinade:

• 2 tbsp chinese wine 花雕酒
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1tbsp corn flour

Directions:

1. marinate 1/2 chicken for 2 hrs in chinese wine 花雕酒, sesame oil, fish sauce, oyster sauce, corn flour & good light soy sauce.
2. fry ginger, chilli padi, garlic till fragrant. add onions, scallions, leek. add marinade from the chicken & cooked the vegetables.
3. add cut chicken & cook for about 12mins (about 6mins for debone chicken in my case), wings & wingstick a bit longer. anyway make sure chicken is cooked. add little water as required.
4. the 花雕酒 & sesame oil flavours were excellent, and the leeks especially nice having infused all the flavours.