1. Soak the dried chilies in hot water for 30 minutes. Once they're soft, remove the seeds.
2. Thinly slice the lemongrass.
3. Finely chop the kaffir lime leaves.
4. Discard the soaking water for the chilies, and add to a food processor with the shallots, galangal, garlic, lemongrass, candlenuts, belacan and turmeric. Blitz to a paste.
5. In a wok or a pan, heat the oil and fry the paste till it becomes fragrant.
6. Add in the ground coriander, sugar and salt. Fry till the oil separates from the paste. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
7. Cut the fish into large chunks and add to the food processor along with the peeled prawns. Blitz to a paste.
8. Add the eggs, coconut milk, spice paste and lime leaves. Blend.
9. Brush the dull side of the banana leaves with oil. Add about 2 heaped tablespoons of the mixture and fold in the two sides. Secure both ends with toothpicks.
10. Grill on the BBQ about 5 minutes on each side.
Chicken stock
2 Chicken Carcasses
5-6 chicken feet
2 tablespoons dried soya beans
1 handful dried anchovies (Ikan Bilis), washed
1 white Onion, cut into wedges
5 - 6 garlic cloves, smashed
3 slices old ginger
Half a carrot, cut into chunks
About 1.5 litres water or enough to just cover all ingredients
(Optional: 2 teaspoons chicken powder)
2 large, fresh Sri Lankan crabs or 3-4 small to medium sized (or a combination!)
300g dried bee hoon vermicelli
2 tablespoons peanut oil
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 slices old ginger
2 tablespoons of tsao tsing cooking wine
Chicken stock (above)
1 - 2 tablespoons dried Sole fish powder (made from 3 - 4 pieces of dried Sole)
2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
1/4 to 1/2 cup Carnation full fat evaporated milk
1/2 - 1 tablespoon fish sauce or soy sauce
1 handful of chye sim, cut into 3 inch pieces
Finely ground white pepper
1. Make the chicken stock by adding all the stock ingredients to a large pot. Skim as much scum as possible. Bring to a boil and then cover and lower to a simmer for 2 hours. Strain and discard the ingredients.
2. Cut the pieces of dried Sole fish and fry in some oil till golden brown - do not fry till it's too dark brown! Remove and set on some paper towels to drain the oil. Pound in a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder till a powder. There will be excess so you can keep this in an air tight container.
3. Soak the dried bee hoon in tap water for 10 minutes and strain.
4. You should dispatch the crab just before cooking, or no more than an hour kept in the fridge on ice.
Cut the crabs into pieces.
5. In a large wok, heat the oil and add the crab pieces. Toss a few times and add the ginger and garlic. Keep tossing for about 5 minutes. Less than 5 minutes if you're using small crabs.
6. Add in the stock, Sole fish powder, melted butter and evaporated milk. Start off with 1/4 cup first. You can add more later if you prefer it milky.
7. Bring to a boil and add the fish or soy sauce, and white pepper to taste.
8. Add the strained noodles and chye sim to a large claypot and transfer the crab and stock to it. Cover and cook on for another 5 minutes.
9. Give the stock a final taste. If you like it more milky, add more evaporated milk.
10. Turn off the fire and serve in the claypot. Garnish with coriander leaves if desired and serve with dipping sauce of sliced chilies in soy sauce.
About 320g Thai yam/taro
1 medium red shallots, sliced
2 chinese sausages
4 small dried chinese mushrooms, soaked in hot water, and marinade with a dash of soy sauce and a punch of sugar
2 dried scallops, soaked in hot water
20g dried shrimp, washed
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
* Do not discard the soaking liquid!
Seasoning:
150 ml of water that the scallops and mushrooms was soaked in
1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon chicken powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
Dash of finely ground white pepper
Other ingredients
150 ml water
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Garnish:
Spring onions
Toasted sesame seeds
Sliced red chillies
1. Soak the mushrooms and scallops in hot water for at least 20 minutes. Do not discard the soaking liquid.
2. Cut away the skin of the yam and into 2cm cubes. It should weigh about 320g without the skin.
3. Slice the shallots and fry in oil till golden brown. Remove and drain and keep the oil that is in the wok.
4. Immerse the Chinese sausages in boiling water, then take out the skin and cut into small cubes.
5. Squeeze the water out of the mushrooms and cut into small cubes, same size as the sausages. Marinate in a bit of soy sauce and sugar.
6. Squeeze the water out of the dried scallops and shred. Save both soaking water.
7. Rinse the dried prawns and give them a rough chop.
8. In the same wok which you fried the shallots, fry the cubed sausages till it's fragrant. Then add the mushrooms, scallops, prawns and garlic. Fry for about 3-5 minutes, or until the mixture smells really good. Remove from the wok.
9. In a bowl or measuring cup, measure out 150ml of the soaking liquid and add the oyster sauce, chicken powder, sugar, salt, five spice powder and pepper to it. Whisk and mix well.
10. Fry the yam cubes in the same wok until it changes colour. Remove 1/3 of the cubes and set aside.
11. Pour the seasoning mixture into the wok. When it comes to a boil, turn off the fire, cover, and let it sit for 15 minutes.
12. While waiting, sift the rice flour and wheat starch and pour in 150ml of water. Whisk well.
13. Prepare the tin. Line a 8.5 inch round steel shallow plate with baking paper and brush with sesame oil.
14. After 15 minutes, start the fire again and pour in the sausage/mushroom/scallops/prawns/garlic mixture. Add in the saved 1/3 cubes of yam and another 150ml of water. Bring to a boil.
15. Once it's boiling, turn the fire down to low and pour in the flour mixture. Remember to give it a whisk first as the flours might have settled to the bottom.
16. Stir the mixture until it becomes quite thick, so that when you lift it up with a spatula it won't fall down easily.
17. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and smooth the top with a spatula. Steam for 1 hour and then allow to cool.
18. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds, spring onions, sliced chilies and the fried onions.
19. Optional, you can slice and fry in a pan after steaming and cooling.
*Note: This feeds about 4-6. If you want you can double the recipe and put it in a 9 inch round cake tin.
This is my own version of yong tau foo. I'm really not sure how other people make it but this is how I do it. Could you buy it ready made? Yes. Is that fun? No! It's just as fast to make it yourself and there's no strange chemicals in it that make it bouncy like the store bought fish balls/yong tau foo. It's not going to be as springy as the factory made fish balls but it sure is healthier!
I've used just 4 green chilies and 2 square pieces of firm tofu here but you can go crazy and use anything you like to stuff the fish paste in! Mushrooms, capsicum, eggplant, tomatoes.
As for the soup base, I used a mixture of fish bones and chicken feet with some garlic and onions. But you can use ANYTHING you want! Best is to boil a load of soya beans for about 2 - 3 hours, throw in a few ikan billis and dried shrimp, and that's really sweet enough. If you're pressed for time, just use a stock cube! Anything goes really.
For 2 people:
About 200g of white firm flesh fish, with skin in tact (bigger fish works best)
1 egg white
Cornflour
Salt
Finely ground white pepper
Chopped spring onions, chopped (optional)
Chopped red chilies, chopped (optional)
1) Using a teaspoon, scrape the meat from the fish. You'll realise that it turns into mush pretty easily.
2) Discard the skin and any bones.
3) Don't use all the egg white. About 1 teaspoon or less is good enough for 200g.
4) Add a pinch of salt, and finely ground white pepper and about 1/4 teaspoon of cornflour just to bind everything together. Add spring onions and chilies if desired.
5) Mix it all together until you get a sticky paste. You can also grab it and slap it on the mixing bowl a few times.
6) Stuff the paste into your vegetables or tofu. (If using chilies and capsicum you might want to discard the seeds).
7) If using firm tofu, cut each piece diagonally into two triangles. Make a slit into the cut but don't slit all the way through. Start stuffing. Be careful as it's quite delicate and you don't want to stuff too much.
8) Bring your stock to a boil and add in your ingredients. Boil for about 5 - 10 minutes or until your vegetables are cooked to your liking. Firm tofu is already cooked and really only needs 3 - 5 minutes.
9) Serve with cooked noodles of your choice, rice or just on its own!
4 cups chicken or seafood stock (made from prawn shells and wing tips of chicken, or just store bought)
A pinch of saffron threads
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
5 chicken wings, wing tips removed and wings and drumettes seperated
About 8-10 prawns, shells and heads removed
1 small to medium squid, skin peeled and cut into segments
About 12 - 14 fresh mussels, washed and beards removed
1 chorizo sausage, cut into slices or chunks
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
2 small or 1 medium tomato, seeded and cut into small dice
2 cups medium or short grain rice, like Arborio or Calrose (the Spanish use bomba or calasparra but it's difficult to find) Do not wash/rinse it with water first like you do with Chinese steamed rice!!
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper
Garnish:
1 handful spring onions or coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for garnish
Equipment:
38cm paella pan, or any round pan of the same size that you can put in the oven
1. Preheat oven to 200˚C or 180˚C for fan forced oven.
2. Prepare your chicken wings by removing the wing tips (you can save that for the stock), and seperate the wings off the drumettes. Season them with salt, pepper, olive oil and a bit of smoked paprika if you like.
3. Remove the shells of the prawns (you can save the shells and heads for the stock).
4. Clean the squid by removing the skin and beak, and cut into 1 inch pieces.
5. Wash the mussels, and discard any that are dead. Remove the beards.
6. Cut up the chorizo into chunks or thick slices.
7. In a saucepan, heat your stock until it comes to a simmer, then turn the heat off and add a pinch of saffron. Let it infuse.
8. Chop the onions and garlic, and slice up the capsicum. Deseed and chop the tomatoes.
9. Heat the pan over the biggest hob you've got on your stove. Turn on high heat and add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sear the chicken till it's golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes - they don't have to be cooked all the way through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
10. Lower the heat, and add the chorizo. Fry till the red oil from the sausage's spices melt out, and use that oil to fry your onions, and capsicum, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic last as you don't want to burn it. If the sausage isn't oily enough, just add about 1 tablespoon more of olive oil.
11. Add the rice and the paprika and lightly fry the rice till it's coated with the oil, about 2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes.
12. Your stock should still be quite warm before you add it in, warm/heat it up it if it's not. Add the stock to the pan, it will bubble pretty hard. Lower the heat to a medium low and stir a little. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
13. Arrange the chicken into a single layer. Do not stir anymore at this point. Cook until the rice is about al dente, about 15 minutes, and just shake the pan a few times throughout.
14. When it's al dente, stick the mussels into the rice and scatter the prawns and squid. Keep simmering till the mussels slightly open.
15. Stick it in the oven for about 5 minutes or till the prawns and squid are cooked.
16. Remove from the oven and cover with foil and let it rest for another 5 minutes.
17. Sprinkle over with spring onions or coriander, and arrange the lemon wedges around the sides.
18. Serve immediately.
* Traditional paella needs to have a nice crust at the bottom and sides. My paella pan is Tefal and you will totally NOT achieve that with a non-stick pan. That pan is probably best used for other things rather than paella, but it was a gift from my mother so I'm not complaining! If you can find a steel pan, that will work so much better. It may look like a lot of steps, but it's really so easy to make. Best of all, you cook and serve it all in the pan and saves washing up! I adapted my recipe from Curtis Stone. You can watch his version here.
1 handful of dried shrimp
1 handful of dried shitake mushrooms (about 5, depending on their size)
1 handful or bunch of dried rice vermicelli (about 100grams)
1 Chinese tablespoon oyster sauce
1 Chinese tablespoon mix of light soy and dark soy sauce
4 - 5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 handful of Chinese greens (I used choy sum or chye sim), cut into 3 inch pieces
2 - 3 tablespoons fried shallot oil
A bit of sesame oil and sugar
Ground white pepper to taste
Garnishes:
Sambal chili
Pickled green chilies
Fried shallots
1. Soak the shrimps in hot water, enough to fully cover them, for about 30 minutes.
2. Soak the mushrooms in hot water, enough to fully cover them, for 30 minutes.
3. Soak the rice vermicelli in tap or room temperature water for 20 minutes, then drain.
4. Drain both the shrimp and mushrooms and reserve the soaking liquid, then add the oyster and soy sauce.
5. Slice the mushrooms, removing the stems and marinade them in a bit of soy, sesame oil and sugar.
6. In a mortar and pestle, pound the shrimps. Or you can chop them finely.
7. Chop your garlic.
8. Heat some shallot oil in a wok, then add the garlic and stir till you can smell the aroma.
9. Add the pounded shrimps and fry, till you can smell that aroma too.
10. Add the mushrooms, and fry them all together till it smells awesome. Then throw in your drained noodles.
11. Toss and add the reserved liquid (you may not have to use all of it). Keep frying and tossing, for about 5 minutes.
12. Add the greens and fry again for about 1 minute. Turn off the heat, and add a bit of extra sesame oil or finely ground white pepper, if you like.
13. Garnish with sambal, green chilies and fried shallots.
* There are so many versions of this dish as most cooks have their own way of preparation. But generally, these are the common ingredients (vegetarians can omit the shrimp and use oyster sauce that's made from mushrooms).
Great version of fried bee hoon can also be seen on YouTube here on mummyicancook.
I love the "bastardised" international versions of this dish too, it makes it so much easier to eat and you don't have to make extra dishes like a chicken curry to go along with it. SortedFood/Body Talk Daily have a really great skinny version.
Although I love the video recipe, I reckon you need to soak the noodles in room temperature water, not hot water. So you can cook the noodles for longer and it will absorb all the other flavours in wok more. It's also more forgiving if you fry it for too long. If you soak it in hot water, not only does the flavours not seep into the noodles, the noodles will become soggy if you fry it for too long.
13 medium - large prawns, shelled
About the same amount of minced pork (it should have a little fat. Lean pork is just not nice!)
1 - 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 inch knob of ginger, finely minced
3-4 stalks of spring onions, chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Splash of tsao tsing wine
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon fried shallot oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cornflour
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
pinch of salt
Wonton skins
Dipping sauce:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, cut into matchsticks
1 inch knob ginger, cut into matchsticks
2 stalks spring onions, chopped
2-3 stalks coriander (including the stems), chopped
2-3 chili padi, chopped
Few drops of sesame oil
Few drops of fried shallot oil
1 teaspoon sugar
3-5 tablespoons water
Equipment:
Dim sum steamer
Wok
1. Chop the prawns coarsely, slightly minced but still maintain their texture.
2. Mix all the rest of the ingredients into a mixing bowl. I usually smell the mixture to see what else it needs (e.g more soy, more sesame etc) but if you really want you can boil a little piece and have a taste to see what it's like.
3. Wrap them in the wonton skins.
4. Line a dim sum steamer with greased baking paper (don't use olive oil to grease!! Please don't ever use olive oil in Chinese cooking). Alternatively if you have some on hand, use a whole big leaf or two of softened/boiled napa cabbage/Chinese cabbage to line your steamer. Both prevents sticking.
5. Place the the siew mai in the steamer, making sure to leave a little space in between them. Fill a wok with boiling water and place the steamer on top, steam on high for about 10 minutes or until each siew mai is slightly firm to touch and the wonton skins have turned soft and almost melted into the meat.
6. Mix everything for your dipping sauce and serve hot.
* I like to serve this dipping sauce because the ingredients are almost the same as what's in the siew mai. But it's just as good with bottle chili sauce! This dinner was inspired by the SortedFood guys. Watch their video for siew mai here.
20 fresh whole prawns (the shells and heads have to be saved)
1 big fish cake, cut into slices
4 cups bean sprouts
4 large handfuls fresh egg noodles For the stock:
About 550g prawn heads and shells
(use the ones from the fresh 20 and ones you've collected in the freezer from previous meals)
Pig's tails or pork ribs (about 600g), chopped into chunks
1 handful ikan billis (dried anchovies), washed and strained
1 handful of dried prawns, washed and strained
1 large carrot, cut into chunks
2 red onion, cut into wedges
8-10 cloves garlic
5 slices ginger
1 pot of boiling water (water should be enough for 4 bowls, plus 2 extra bowls)
* Optional tsao tsing wine
To taste:
4 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Salt & pepper
To garnish:
Spring onions, chopped
Fried garlic ( you can make yourself or buy from a jar)
Chili powder
1. Peel the 20 prawns and reserve the heads and shells. (Works out to about 5 prawns each)
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add in the pig's tails. Boil for about 2 minutes and discard the water and rinse the tails in cold water, removing any dirt.
3. Fry the dried shrimps, ikan billis in some oil till fragrant, then add the garlic, ginger and onions. Stir fry for a while and then dump in the fresh prawn heads and shells, plus the others that you've reserved in the freezer.
4. Take your time to fry the shells, they will take a while before they all turn slightly brown and fragrant. Once it turns slightly brown and the shells have reduced in size, add a splash of tsao tsing wine (optional). Be sure not to burn them because that will leave a really horrible taste in the soup. Note: Open all your windows and turn on the fans while doing this process!
5. Add the boiling water and pig's tails and carrots, and bring to a boil. While boiling, keep removing the scum. Once that subsides, turn the heat down to low on the smallest flame possible and simmer for 1 hour, covered.
6. After 1 hour, drain the stock to another pot through a sieve. Pick out the pigs tails and put them back into that drained stock. Try to squish as much stock out of the prawns as possible through the sieve. Discard the shells.
7. Add in the sugar, soy, salt and pepper to your own taste and simmer on low for another 1 hour, covered.
8. Boil the bean sprouts in water and a bit of salt till it's still crunchy but tender. Drain and set aside.
9. To serve, bring a separate large pot of water to a boil with some salt. Boil the fresh noodles for about 2-3 minutes. Drain and immediately immerse in cold water. Drain again.
10. With a strainer or a kitchen spider, cook the prawns and fish cake in the stock for about 2 minutes. Remove and set on a plate.
11. With a strainer or spider, quickly blanch the noodles in the stock to give it flavour. Drain and divide into 4 bowls.
12. Arrange the prawns, fish cake and bean sprouts on top of the noodles and pour over the hot stock.
13. Garnish with spring onions and fried garlic. Chili powder is optional.You can serve this with a fresh sliced red chilies in soy sauce for dipping the prawns and fish cake into.
14. Also, reserve the pigs tails or pork ribs and serve those up if you like. Some people love to eat the tails (I do!) If you can't stomach them, discard them!
* This is my own recipe. I've made this about 10 times in my life and almost all of them have tasted different, but this time is by far the best. You really do need the pig's tail. In Singapore they can be found in most wet markets, but I'm sure in the west your local butcher will be able to give them to you - maybe even for free!!
1 fillet salmon, cubed and skin removed.
1 fillet white snapper, cubed and skin removed
2 large tomatoes, cubed
1 Thai honey mango, cubed
1/2 a medium bulb red onion, finely chopped
1 small clove garlic, grated
6 stalks spring onions, sliced
1 handful coriander, chopped
2 red chili padi, very finely chopped with seeds
6-8 calamansi, juiced
sliced avocado to garnish (optional)
2 pinches salt
fresh ground black pepper Optional: flour tortillas for the basket.
1. Mix ingredients (except fish skin) together and leave in fridge for 10 mins.
2. Optional: Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper on the skins on both sides and leave on the grill to let the fat drain about 10 -15 minutes snapper skin takes slightly longer.
3. Optional tortilla bowl: Preheat oven to 190 celsius. Invert your muffin tin and nestle one tortilla in between four cups. Bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove and cool. Spoon ceviche in the bowls and serve.
1kg of prawns, with shells, heads and tails all in tact
6 smoked sausages, cut into big chunks (I used the slightly spicy Johnsonville ones)
340 - 350ml (about one big can/bottle) of beer
1 lemon
8 cloves garlic
1 large onion
5 dried chillies
2 tablespoon salt
8-10 small - medium red potatoes, washed with skins on
3 ears of corn
2-3 heap tablespoons of Old Bay seasoning
2 litres of water
Pepper to taste
Chili powder and lemon wedges to serve
1. In a large pot, pour in the water and beer.
2. Slice the lemon in half and squeeze in the juice. Dump the lemon halves in with the water and beer.
3. Add the potatoes, chili, salt, Old Bay, onion and garlic and bring to a boil.
4. Cover and leave for 10 minutes.
5. Add the corn and sausage and cover for another 5 minutes.
6. Place the prawns on top of the pot (make sure you don't stir and let them sink into the stock).
7. Cover and steam for 2 minutes, and then turn off the heat and let it rest for another 10 minutes.
8. Strain and serve on a big tray or plate with lemon wedges and hot chili powder on the side.
9. Eat with your hands!
* This was adapted from Hilah's Texas Kitchen . I didn't call it Shrimp Boil because they're just not referred to as shrimp here! They're prawns. I couldn't find the shrimp boil seasoning that Hilah used so I substituted with Old Bay. I also left the shells on because in Chinese cooking we love to cook with the heads and tails still on because it imparts more flavour. And it's so much more fun to eat and peel them with your fingers.
3 large frogs, cut into pieces
1 onion, sliced
2 - 3 large cloves of garlice, sliced
3-4 stalks spring onion, cut into 3cm length
5 pieces sliced ginger
10 dried chillies, cut into pieces
3 chili padi, chopped
Plain cooking oil to fry the frog legs (preferably one that is very neutral. Peanut oil is best) - enough to fill your frying pan or wok about 1cm of oil.
Marinade:
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cornflour
a dash of finely ground white pepper
Sauce:
1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar for cooking (amount may vary depending on the brand of vinegar)
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp Hoisin sauce
1 tsp tsao tsing wine
2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
100ml water
4 tbsp oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
white pepper
1. Combine ingredients for the sauce. Add vinegar last bit by bit as it tends to get very sour depending on the type of vinegar. Keep tasting.
* You should not have a super sour sauce. If you put more vinegar than you should, you may have to add more sugar and salt and maybe more water to dilute it. If you can't save it, do it again! Having something that's too sour is difficult to fix.
2. Rinse and pat dry the frog meat as much as you can and marinade frog meat for 20 minutes in salt, cornflour and pepper.
3. Heat the oil in a wok and shallow fry for about 2 minutes. Dish out and drain. Retain some of the oil to fry the other ingredients and discard the rest of the oil.
5) Remove from heat and add spring onion and toss.
6) Serve with rice porridge or plain steamed rice.
* This recipe is adapted from a recipe I found in Soshiok.com. The sauce is so good, that this dish can be substituted for chicken, fish, pork or beef.
A. Fish balls:
2 fillets of mackerel, skin removed
¼ tsp salt
1 chili padi, seeded and chopped
3 stalks spring onions, green part, chopped (save the white parts)
½ clove garlic, minced
pinch white pepper
B. Minced pork:
minced pork, palm sized
½ clove garlic, minced
spring onion, white part, chopped
1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce
Splash soy sauce
Few drops sesame oil
Few drops fried shallot oil (you can find them store bought in a jar)
Splash tsao tsing wine
Pinch white pepper
Mushroom sauce:
5 dried shitake mushrooms
5 large fresh oyster mushrooms (you can use fresh shitake too)
2 cloves garlic, minced,
1 slice ginger, minced
1 small red shallot, minced
1/2 teaspoon dark soy
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Splash Tsao tsing wine
peanut oil
cornstarch (1 teaspoon of cornflour mixed with 2 teaspoon of water)
Pinch white pepper
C. Noodle sauce:
1 tablespoon Oyster sauce
Splash Soy sauce
5-10 drops Sesame oil
1 tablespoon Singlong Super Chili sauce
Very small spalsh of black vinegar (be careful of using too much, put a little bit at a time till you get the taste that you want)
white pepper
Fresh noodles, Hong Kong style or any fresh egg noodles, e.g mee pok
Boiling water with a handful of ikan billis and dried shrimp
Spring onions and fried shallots with shallot oil for garnish
1 Marinade mince pork by mixing all of B together.
2. Add all of A together and blitz t in food processor till it clumps. This will take quite a while. You need to be patient - if you don't process it enough you won't get smooth fish balls.
3. Transfer to a mixing bowl and pick up the mixture and then whack the clump of fish against a bowl a few times. ( I don't know why they do this but my mother said it had to be done.)
4. Divide fish mixture into 8. Wet hands and form fish paste into a patty, add a small marble sized minced pork in the middle and cover and roll into ball. Repeat with the rest. Lightly oil your hands and coat each ball so they won't stick. Set aside.
5. Reserve the rest of the minced pork.
6. Boil dried shitake in small saucepan of water till soft. Drain and reserve the liquid.
7. Cut and discard the stems off the boiled shitake and slice. Slice the fresh mushrooms.
8. Add peanut oil to a sauce pan with garlic, shallot, ginger. Saute till soft and add the fresh and dried mushrooms. When slightly brown, add tsao tsing wine.
9. Add enough mushroom liquid to cover. Add the rest of the ingredients, except cornstarch. Boil for 10-15 mins. When taste is right, slowly add the cornstarch to thicken. Set aside on very very very low heat to keep warm.
10. Mix all the ingredients for the noodle sauce C.
11. Boil water in one pot for noodles, and boil water in another pot with ikan billis and dried shrimp.
12. Add the fish balls into the pot with ikan billis & shrimp. Let boil for 5 mins.
13. Boil the noodles for 2-3 mins and drain. Divide into bowls and mix it with the sauce.
14. While fish balls are still boiling, boil the minced pork in the same pot with a strainer/kitchen spider until meat turns opaque. Remove from water and add on top of noodles.
15. Add the mushroom sauce on top of noodles.
16. Remove fish balls and transfer onto noodles.
17. Garnish with fresh spring onions and fried shallots with shallot oil.
18. Spoon some of the ikan billis/shrimp/fishball/pork stock into bowls as side dish.
* This is my own recipe so and I'm not very good at taking down measurements so these are just estimates. I don't even normally follow other people's recipes to the tee either - cooking is all about gut feel!
Fish:
2 fillets of mackerel, patted dry (I leave the skin on but you can remove it if you want)
1/2 - 1 cup of plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 beaten egg with a splash of milk
1 cup panko bread crumbs with a dash of cayenne pepper
Oil for frying
Tartar sauce:
2 heap dessertspoons of mayonnaise
1 tablespoon capers
3 sweet spiced gherkins (you can use the large pickles just reduce the number), finely chopped
1/2 medium white onion, finely chopped
salt & pepper
Bread:
1 full loaf of ciabatta cut in half (or whatever bread you like really!)
1. Mix all ingredients for the tartar sauce.
2. Place flour, egg and bread crumbs in three different shallow plates.
3. Heat some oil so that it covers the base of a shallow frying pan.
4. Coat the fish fillets in flour, egg, and then bread crumbs, and fry till golden brown. 2 - 3 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels.
5. Split the ciabatta in half and spread one heap tablespoon of the sauce on one side of the bread.
6. Place the fillet in between the bread. Serve with chips and salad.
1 pot of boiling water
3 fat garlic cloves, smashed
1 white onion, cut into wedges
1-2 large stalks spring onions, chopped and whites and greens separated
4 bunches coriander, roots and stems chopped, and leaves whole
4-5 slices ginger
3-4 kaffir lime leaves, roughly bruised or torn
1-2 stalks lemongrass, bashed and chopped into large chunks
3 large red chilis (and a few small chili padis, or birds eye chili for those who can take the heat)
1 - 2 tsp sugar
Soy or fish sauce to taste
1 chicken stock cube, or 2 dessert spoons chicken stock concentrate dissolved in some water
Juice of 1 lime or half a big lime
1 bowl of assorted mushrooms - oyster, shitake, enoki, straw etc
Use whatever meat you like, e.g fish, prawns, chicken, mussels, squid, or chicken. (I used prawns and crayfish in the picture above)
1. Bring water to the boil. Add garlic, white onion, stalks & roots of coriander, white parts of spring onions, ginger, lime leaves,lemongrass and red chilis. Boil for 10 mins.
2. Add the chicken stock cubes, sugar, soy/fish sauce, and lime. Taste and make sure there are the 4 Ss - Sweet, Sour, Salty and Spicy.
3. Add the mushrooms.
4. Add the meats that take longer to cook first. E.g chicken or mussels. Prawns and squid only take a minute or two in boiling water.
5. Serve with torn pieces of coriander and chopped green onion.
*Note: If you have clear home made chicken stock, all the better. Replace that with the water and chicken stock cube/concentrate.
