盆菜 II

My second 盆菜 for this 2015. I have changed the sequence of some layers and it turned out prettier and more appetizing. Though I did not use a claypot, I was cooking this for only 3 pax, so erm...I used a normal cooking pot. But it turns out good too except it isn't like claypot in keeping it warm. 

Again, the Step By Step Ingredients and Instruction;

Base Layer

Ingredients
4 pieces of skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
Seasoning A
5 slices of Ginger, shredded (I pounded the ginger)
1 tbsp of Dark Soy Sauce
5 tbsp of Chinese Wine (hua diao or shaoxing)
1 tbsp of Sesame Oil
1 tbsp of Sugar
A dash of Ground White Pepper
Sauce
3 to 4 slices of Ginger, shredded
4 Garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 stalks of Spring Onion, cut into 2 inches length
2 Chinese Coriander with roots, sliced
5 tbsp of Chinese Wine (hua diao or shaoxing)
500g Chicken Stock
2 tbsp of Cornstarch with water

Preparation

1. Marinate the chicken with the seasoning A. Set aside for 15 minutes.
2. Heat some oil in the wok. Stir fry the garlic, ginger, spring onion and Chinese coriander till fragrant. 
3. Add in the marinated chicken. Give it a few toss. Add the stock, chinese wine and cornstarch with water and bring it to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes and stir occasionally. Set aside. 

Second Layer

Ingredients
2 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
1 Nappa cabbage, roughly cut
1 palm sized Carrot, sliced
Seasoning
1 bowl of chicken broth

Preparation

1. Heat a little oil in the wok. Add in the garlic and stir fry till fragrant.
2. Add in all the vegetables and stir fry for a minute
3. Pour in the broth and stir for another minute. Set aside.

Third Layer

Ingredients

4 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped

3 thinly sliced of Ginger,

5 Shiitake Mushrooms, I quartered my mushroom cos they are huge. Remember to soak them in advance.

1 can of Golden Chef baby abalone (I will increase mine to 2 cans)

6 Sea Cucumbers, Cook in water for 10 minutes. Drain and coarsely sliced

10 Conpoy (dried scallops), Soak in water for 15 minutes 

Seasoning

2 tbsp of Oyster Sauce

1 tbsp of Sugar

2 tbsp of Chinese Wine (hua diao or shaoxing)

1 soup bowl of chicken broth & the water from soaking the conpoy

1/2 tbsp of cornstarch

Preparation

1. Combine the seasoning in a bowl. Mix well. Set aside
2. Heat a little oil in the wok. Add in the garlic and ginger and stir fry till fragrant.
3. Add the mushrooms and stir fry for 2 minutes. 
4. Add in the abalones,sea cucumbers and conpoy in. Stir well. 
5. Pour the bowl of seasoning and bring to a boil. 
6. Pick the abalones in a separate bowl and set aside.

Top Layer

Ingredients

1 Broccoli, cut into flowerets

10 Fresh Scallops

14 Fresh Prawns (I peel off the shells except the heads & tails for easy eating)

Seasoning

Chinese Wine (hua diao or shaoxing)

Preparation

1. Blanch the broccoli and set aside. 
2. Blanch the prawns in a pot of hot water. Once both side of the prawn turn orange, remove them from the pot and set aside. 
3. Place the Base Layer at the bottom of the claypot.
4. Arrange the Second Layer on top of the stewed chicken (Base layer), pour the sauce on it.
5. Pour the Third Layer on top of the vegetable (Second layer).  
6. Arrange the blanched broccoli and prawns, the abalones and the uncooked scallops on top. Pour Chinese Wine over it. *I have been pretty generous with the wine. 
7. Cover the pot with the lid and bring it to a boil. 
8. Turn off the heat. Serve hot. 

There you go! This way the broccoli, prawns, scallops and those vegetables at the second layers will not be overcooked. 

Sze Chuan Ma Po Tofu - 四川麻婆豆腐

This is my second time cooking this. My brothers prefer my cooking over my mom, so whenever I go back to my parents', I will be the cook for the day. hahaa...it pissed my mom sometimes. Oops. 

Anyway my 麻婆豆腐 recipe is here to share:

四川麻婆豆腐 

Ingredients

2 box of chinese tofu

200g minced pork

2 tsp szechuan peppercones, ground *

5 dried dry chilies, coarsely chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 slices of a inch ginger, finely chopped

1 tsp fermented black beans, mashed

1 tbsp chili bean paste

Corn flour mixture - 2 tsp corn starch with 2 tbsp room temp water, set aside

1 stalk spring onions, chopped

* For a more fragrant peppercorns, toast them in a oven before grounding. Sieve the ground peppercorns before adding them into the wok. 

Seasonings

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

A pinch of salt, or to taste

Marinate for pork

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground white pepper

2 tsp hua tiao wine

1/2 tsp corn flour

1/2 tsp cooking oil

Preparation

1. Marinate minced pork and set aside for 15 minutes. 
2. Cut tofu to your desired size. Bring water and a tsp salt to a boil, add in the diced tofu.
3. Once the water boils again, simmer over low heat. Drain tofu.
4. Over medium flame, heat oil in wok. Toss in the finely chopped garlic and ginger, fry a few minutes. 
5. Add in the mashed fermented black beans, dried chilies and chili bean paste. Saute till fragrant.
6. Toss in the marinated pork; mash any big meat lumps while stir frying. When the pork is semi-cooked, gently add in the drained tofu. 
7. Lower the flame and carefully stir the tofu into the sauce.
8. Add in the ground szechuan peppercorns and seasonings. Gently mix them well.
9. Thicken with the corn flour mixutre. 
10. Add in half a handful of chopped spring onion and stir. 
11. Dish up and garnish with the remaining chopped spring onion. 

Note: 

1. Add more dried chilies and chili padi if you like it spicy.

XO Scallops

Many times I have cooked prawns with XO Sauce. So I decided to change it to scallops! 

Well mainly because I have to clear my freezer for some space. So all the small scallops be gone! 

Stir Fry Scallops in XO Sauce

Ingredients

18 pieces of scallops 

1 green onion

3 cloves of garlic 

2 tbsp XO sauce

Sauce

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

1 tbsp shaoxing hua tiao wine

1 tsp sesame oil

Thickening mixture
2 tsp of corn flour
2 tbsp room temperature water

Method

1. Chopped the garlic into small pieces. Slice the green onion.
2. Mix the ingredients under the Sauce and set aside. 
3. Heat up the frying pan with 1 tsp of cooking oil, add in to the chopped garlic & onion. Stir fry for a few seconds. 
4. Add in the scallops &  XO sauce. Stir fry for 1 minute. 
5. Pour in the mixture that was prepared earlier. Stir and coat the scallops evenly. 
6. Pour in the thickening mixture. 
7. Cover with lid for a few minutes and dish them. 

Garnish with spring onions and enjoy!

Note: You can add asparagus in this dish. As I don't have any on hand, I have to make do with it. 

The No. 1 Thai dish in my household - Massaman Curry Kae

People are curious about this dish. Why? Because its a Thai dish that can hardly be found at any Thai restaurant, well...not even in Bangkok.

Surprise surprise...this curry is not spicy but savory with a little sweetness.

Mr W's Thai friend, Mr L first brought us to the Rose Garden Riverside restaurant for lunch and that was where we first had Massaman curry. Subsequent time, Mr L drove us to this hidden gem - Baan Pee Lek which is nested among the private estate which is so ulu and a little eerie. Below is a photo of the restaurant's entrance and see what is situated opposite this restaurant.

The well lighted entrance of the restaurant

The haunted looking house that is opposite the restaurant

See what I mean by haunted looking.

Alright back to the delicious dishes this restaurant serves.

One of which happens to be Mr W's current favourite - Massaman Curry Kae (Massaman Curry Chicken).

For my Massaman Curry, I used Chicken thigh, bone in. You can use shrimps, beef, lamb and even pork ribs! So you can choose one of your favourite to make this curry.

Even with the Massaman Curry paste I bought while I was in Bangkok. The taste is still not right. I have to add my own spices in and make it authentic.

Here is the recipe.

Massaman Curry

Ingredients

140g Massaman Curry paste
800ml coconut cream

4 cloves of  garlic

4 silver ginger 

3 coriander roots with stems

1 tsp of ground cinnamon

1 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of cardamom seeds

1 bay leaf
4 shallots
3 tbsp palm sugar/brown sugar
3 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp tamarind juice
Roasted Peanuts
1 cup of evaporated milk

Preparations

Coarsely pound the garlic, ginger and coriander roots and stems together like below and set aside.

Spices - I was lazy, so I bought the ground cinnamon and cumin. I can't find any ground cardamom. So I pound them and set them aside.

Directions

1.  Peel the potatoes and half them. Pour 400ml of coconut milk into a pot and simmer the potatoes in it on low heat.
2. While the potatoes are cooking in the pot of coconut milk. Fry the chicken thighs 5 minutes on each side. *I removed the skin before frying them. 
3. Once the chicken is sealed, add them into the pot of coconut milk.
4. In a pan, stir fry the massaman curry paste. Adding coconut milk scoop by scoop. 
5. Simmer the paste till the oil separates.
6. Add in the pounded ginger, coriander and garlic into the pan and mix them.
7. Pour the paste mixture into the pot of coconut milk with chicken and potatoes.
8. Add in the spices, shallots, palm sugar, fish sauce and tamarind juice into the pot. Stir well.
9. Let it simmer for 30 minutes.
10. While it simmers, roast the peanuts in the oven or on the pan. *It is easier to remove the skin once the peanuts are roasted.
11. Add in the roasted peanuts.
12. Before turning off the stove, add in the evaporated milk and stir. 

There you have it, one of the world's best dish - Massaman Curry Kae. Well it tastes so good with toasted butter croissant. 

*Note: If you prefer pork ribs, shrimps, beef or mutton, just choose one and make your Massasman Curry with it. 

Oven baked Garlic Shrimps

Being a working wife, we need to think of simple and easy way to settle a meal and this dish turns out to be one of them. Toss them with garlic, chili padi and olive oil. Bake it in the oven and voila one dish up and ready.

I got this inspiration a year ago when we organised a BBQ at our place. Being lazy bums, we catered all the BBQ dishes. And the shrimps turn out to be a hit. It was just plain shrimps with some seasoning. So I decided to trial and error. It turns out good. So it is one dish that can be done in less than 30 minutes. Of course, I bought frozen shrimps that have be deshelled. So I just need to remove the shell on the tail and devein them. Haha...one chore less. 

All you need for this is just the shrimps, cloves of garlic, olive oil and of course, I love spicy food - so I added chili padi.

More garlic the more fragrant it is. So I like mine with loads of garlic.

Directions

Wash and devein the shrimps and pat them dry. Add some olive oil. T

oss in the a tablespoon full of garlic and chili padis into the bowl of shrimps. Mix and set aside. 

Lay the rest of the finely chopped garlic on the aluminium foil. Pour the shrimp and garlic mixture on top of it. 

Drizzle more olive oil on top.. 

And in they go to the oven. 

I baked mine in 150 degrees celsius. I will open the oven and stir them alittle to check because I worried if I have too many shrimps, some won't get cook. 

Once the shrimps turn orange and curl, remove them from the oven.

Garnish with coriander. But I usually don't have that in my fridge. haha...maybe I should grow some. 

Pineapple Tarts 黄梨挞

新年一到又要忙了。

This year I baked and baked and baked till my husband raised his arms and surrender. Haha...bake for my family, my in laws, my relatives and a handful of friends/colleagues. Ain't they cute. 

I used to bake a lot when I was still staying with my parents. After getting married, I don't bake any more. But this year, I managed to persuade my husband to let me bake. Ha...so we bought the oven. I love my Rowenta oven. Easy to use and pretty big as well. 

I have baked pineapple tarts for the past few years at my parents'. I have tried many different brands of butters on different recipes and I found the ONE recipe I will keep. My way of baking is a little tedious. But looking at the finished product - its satisfaction. 

People who ate my pineapple tarts love the buttery taste and have requested me to sell my pineapple tarts. I never thought of selling any this year. Since there are requests, I will just bake...with my husband's help. 

I cheated. I didn't make my own pineapple fillings. I bought them from bakery stores or supermarkets. This will save alot of time. 

Well...now for my recipe - 

Pineapple Tarts 黄梨挞 .

Pastry
Ingredients
906 g of plain flour
20 oz cold butter, cut into cubes
12 tbsp icing sugar
6 eggs yolks
1/2 tsp salt

For glaze, 3 egg yolks + 3 tsp water

1. Sift the flour. Add in the icing sugar and salt. Mix well.
2. Using the rub in method, rub the butter into the flour using a fork until fine bread crumbs are obtained.
3. Beat the egg yolks and add it into the butter flour mixture. Lightly combine them using fingertips. 
4. Chill the dough with a cling wrap for approximately 30 minutes.
5. While waiting for the dough to chill, roll the pineapple fillings into balls. 
6. Preheat oven to 160°C.  Line parchment paper on the baking trays.
7. Flour the roller and dough. Roll out the dough to 0.5 to 0.7cm thick. Cut the dough with the pineapple tart cutter. 
8. Arrange on the tray. 
9. Bake in preheat oven for 10 minutes; remove from oven. 
10. Glaze the half baked pastry and press the pineapple fillings on the pastry and bake for another 10 minutes. 
11. Keep them in air tight containers when completely cool. 

Updated 23 January 2015:
*Those who does not have confectionery/icing sugar, you may use caster sugar. Always half the required. My recipe calls for 12 tbsp of icing sugar, this is equivalent to 6 tbsp caster sugar. 

*Some may find it hard to handle the dough, chill it slightly longer and flour your roller, tart cutter and the table top. This will help. 
Mr W dipped the entire tart cutter into the flour. Hahaa just remember to dust excess flour away.

盆菜 I

I used to wonder why 盆菜 is such an popular dish during Chinese New Year and it is expensive!!! During Chinese New Year, we will need to spend a great deal on gifts, ang baos and CNY goodies. So why spend so much. I told myself to make this dish this year. And I DID!!!

This year I did my utmost best to bake and cook!!! Which I have never done it before.

I have my pineapple tarts and kueh bangkit baked. I have my mom-in-law's Khnaut Khnaut fried. So I decided to make the claypot of goodness - 盆菜. Layer by layer have them prepared and assembled.

I apologise for my amateur cooking since its my first time. Remember to use a claypot as it retains the heat.

This is my Step By Step Ingredients and Instruction;

Base Layer

Ingredients
4 pieces of skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
Seasoning A
5 slices of Ginger, shredded (I pounded the ginger)
1 tbsp of Dark Soy Sauce
5 tbsp of Chinese Wine (hua diao or shaoxing)
1 tbsp of Sesame Oil
1 tbsp of Sugar
A dash of Ground White Pepper
Sauce
3 to 4 slices of Ginger, shredded
4 Garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 stalks of Spring Onion, cut into 2 inches length
2 Chinese Coriander with roots, sliced
5 tbsp of Chinese Wine (hua diao or shaoxing)
500g Chicken Stock
2 tbsp of Cornstarch with water

Preparation

1. Marinate the chicken with the seasoning A. Set aside for 15 minutes.
2. Heat some oil in the wok. Stir fry the garlic, ginger, spring onion and Chinese coriander till fragrant. 
3. Add in the marinated chicken. Give it a few toss. Add the stock, chinese wine and cornstarch with water and bring it to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes and stir occasionally. Set aside. 

Second Layer

Ingredients
2 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
1 Nappa cabbage, roughly cut
1 Broccoli, cut into flowerets
4 inches length Lotus Roots, sliced
1 palm sized Carrot, sliced
Seasoning
1 tbsp Fermented Red Bean curd
1 tsp of Sugar

Preparation

1. Mash the Fermented Red Bean curd and mix with the sugar. Set aside.
2. Heat a little oil in the wok. Add in the garlic and stir fry till fragrant.
3. Add in all the vegetables and stir fry for a minute
4. Add in the fermented red bean mixture and stir for another minute. Ensure the seasoning is well mixed with the vegetables. Set aside.

Third Layer

Ingredients
4 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
3 thinly sliced of Ginger,
6 Shiitake Mushrooms, I quartered my mushroom cos they are huge. Remember to soak them in advance.
1 can of Golden Chef baby abalone (I will increase mine to 2 cans)
6 Sea Cucumbers, Cook in water for 10 minutes. Drain and coarsely sliced
10 Conpoy (dried scallops), Soak in water for 15 minutes 
A handful of Fatt Choy (发菜), Soak in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside
Seasoning
2 tbsp of Oyster Sauce
1 tbsp of Sugar
2 tbsp of Chinese Wine (hua diao or shaoxing)
1 soup bowl of abalone broth & the water from soaking the conpoy (from the can of abalones)
1/2 tbsp of cornstarch

Preparation

1. Combine the seasoning in a bowl. Mix well. Set aside
2. Heat a little oil in the wok. Add in the garlic and ginger and stir fry till fragrant.
3. Add the mushrooms and stir fry for 2 minutes. 
4. Add in the abalones, sea cucumbers, conpoy and fatt choy in. Remember not to let the fatt choy be in a lump, so stir well. 
5. Pour the bowl of seasoning and bring to a boil. Set aside.

Top Layer

Ingredients
10 Fresh Scallops
16 Fresh Prawns
Seasoning
Chinese Wine (hua diao or shaoxing)
Garnish
Chinese Coriander

Preparation

1. Place the Base Layer at the bottom of the claypot.
2. Arrange the Second Layer on top of the stewed chicken (Base layer), pour the sauce on it.
3. Pour the Third Layer on top of the vegetable (Second layer).  
4. Arrange the prawns and scallops on top. Pour Chinese Wine over it. *I have been pretty generous with the wine. 
5. Cover the pot with the lid and bring it to a boil. 
6. Turn off the heat. Add the garnish and serve hot. 

Here's my 盆菜 . It's satisfying after seeing this piping hot claypot of goodness!

Finally...all gathered together

Each individual layer taste so good that there is no need to assemble them into a claypot. The broth in this 盆菜 is so sweet. It goes well with a bowl of steamed rice.

This is my first time cooking 盆菜, I will have to fine tune it.

2 more weeks to Chinese New Year and I am so tired. I'm still considering whether to make lapis cake. Hmm...

Mom in Law's Kueh Bangkit

In my earlier post, I mentioned about the CNY goodies known as Khnuat Khnuat.

Now its time for me to type down step by step directions for the Kueh Bangkit that is so popular with many and they don't mind buying from my in laws. But well, this was the past...maybe more than 20 years ago.

So now I am learning from my mom-in-law. Again, she uses agar agar...so I have to perfect the proportion which is very difficult in her recipe. So I hope you guys understand what I will be writing down.

The typical Nyonya Kueh Bangkit calls for purely tapioca flour and remember no pandan leaves are to be added into the traditional recipe.

Mom in law's Kueh Bangkit

Ingredients
1 kg Tapioca Flour
2 grated coconuts
Caster sugar
*Note: 1 bowl of coconut milk = 1 bowl of sugar
6 eggs yolks

1. Fry the flour till its light. You can fry it on high or low heat. But remember if you are using high heat, your hands must keep frying. Don't stop or it will char. When you first fry the flour, you can feel the weight of the flour. The more you fry it, the lighter it will become. The flour will literally fly and that's the time to turn off the heat and scoop them out to cool down. This flour needs to be completely cool. Thus I will advise to fry the flour a few days in advance and also fry more. Because this flour can be kept in air tight containers and be used again.
2. Roll the grated coconuts into a ball and squeeze it using a muslin cloth. Let the coconut milk be contained in a bowl (any bowl in the household).
3. Important: if you obtain a bowl of coconut milk, you have to use exactly a bowl of sugar. For those who doesn't like sweet stuff, you can reduce it to 3/4 bowl of sugar.
4. Combine the coconut milk and sugar in a pot and boil it till the sugar has melted. Make sure to keep stirring. Once the sugar is melted, off the heat and set aside to cool. 
5. Beat the eggs.
6. Once the coconut sugar mixture is cool, pour in the eggs and combine them using your hand. 
7. Now add in the flour (I used a ladle). Scoop by scoop...and knead it. There is no hard and fast rule on the flour to use. So add the flour and knead till the dough is pliable.
8. Once done, cover it and let it "rest" for 20 minutes or so.
9. Flour the table or baking mat. Scoop a small dough and add some flour to it and knead. 
10. Roll the dough out to 0.5cm thickness and use the kueh bangkit cutter or cookie cutter to cut the dough. 
11. As this will not expand, you can lay them pretty close to each other. As I lined all my baking trays with baking sheets. There is no need to sprinkle flour on to the tray. 
12. Preheat oven at 160 Degrees Celsius. 
13. Bake the trays of dough in the oven for 20 minutes or until the sides of the bangkit is cream in colour.  Take them out. 
14. Leave the kueh bangkit to cool and keep them in air tight containers. 

A Traitional CNY Snack in my Husband's Family - Khnaut Khnaut

It is the time of the year when everyone gets busy baking all the Chinese New Year goodies & I can't escape it either. I love to cook and bake, so this year I took on the task to bake Pineapple Tarts, Kueh Bangkit & Khnaut Khnaut.

Well the last CNY goodie - Khnaut Khnaut is an unknown snack in Singapore. It is a snack the old folks back in Terengganu made for Chinese New Year.

A little background, my in laws are Nyonya from Terengganu. Thus they have cooked dishes that are unknown or hardly found in Singapore. I am starting to learn one by one from her.

My in laws have migrated to Singapore for more than 5 decades and now my mom in law is in her 90s. So she cannot show me how to prepare the dishes, she can only tell me what ingredients to put and do this and that. But never the proportion of the ingredient *sobsob*, so I have to trial and error to have the taste right. Plus I don't quite understand her dialect, sometimes I need my husband to translate certain words she used.

Back in the old days, people in Terengganu were not exposed to much external influence and thus the Nyonya created this snack. No one truly know the origins. Maybe I should ask my mom in law this weekend.

This CNY goodie is harder and crispy in nature and has an acquired taste which not many appreciate.
So don't worry when yours turn out to be harder than biscuits cos it is meant to be hard and crispy to chew!

So now for the mysterious Khnaut Khnaut,

Ingredients

• 800g Flour
• 200g Glutinous Rice Flour
• 10 eggs
• 6 to 8 Tbsp of Icing Sugar (depends on your sweetness level)
• 1 tsp of salt

Directions

1. Sieve the flour and glutinous rice four together. Mix well. Set aside.
2. Add the icing sugar into the eggs and beat well.
3. Combine the egg mixture into the flour mixture. Knead.
4. Knead till the dough doesn't stick to the hands. 
5. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
6. Roll out the dough till as thin as possible. *We rolled the dough to a thickness of 0.01mm. 
7. Flour the dough and cut the rolled out dough into irregular shapes using a knife. *My husband & I used kueh bangkit mould to cut. 

8. Deep fry them in a wok of oil. Once they turn gold, sieve them out and leave them on the grease paper.
9. Once cool, store them in air tight containers. 

Notes:

1. We used self raising flour instead of flour and we had a hard time knead the dough. So we advise all to use normal flour.
2. Back in those days, they cooked a sugar syrup to coat the Khnaut Khnaut.