A Treasured Terengganu dish - Kay Hong

When I first come across this dish, it was at Mr W(then my boyfriend)'s sister's place. This is one of Mr W 's favourite Terengganu Nyonya dish. The name of this dish when I first got to know was "Hong". After 5 years, I got to learn that the name of this dish is Kay Hong. This is a very popular dish for the Nyonya to serve for prayers or Chinese New Year. It keeps well and needs no refrigeration. The more you reheat it, the better the dish becomes.

I am not crazy over this dish but I won't mind eating it. As for Mr W, I can say he is crazy over this dish. He can go for round two when I cook this. He loves having the sauce over his rice and the hard boiled eggs. One thing I have to admit is that this savoury sweet sauce tends to be pretty addictive.

By the way, Mr W said no one except his mom cooks the best dishes, even his sister can't replicate them. My mom-in-law ever told me that she would love to teach me all the dishes she used to cook and all the kueh kueh she used to prepare. But at her age of 94, she doesn't enter the kitchen anymore. Despite her age, she is still very alert and healthy. She will tell me the ingredients for the dish but the rest is all dependent on me. *Stress*

Yesterday was my first trial to cook this dish and I was very pressurized. I need to cook this dish to suit the very picky Mr W's taste. Before I prepare all the ingredients, I gave my mom-in-law a call to confirm the ingredients.

Now let's start with the Ingredients
4 chicken thighs
200g of pork belly
4 hardboiled eggs, peeled
1 pieces of gula melaka, to taste
2-3 tbsp preserved bean paste aka tau cheo
70g shallots
30g garlic
2 cups of water
1 tbsp dark soy sauce, depends on your colour preference
3 tbsp of kicap manis

Method
1. Pound the shallots and garlic. Set aside.
2. Parboil the whole piece of pork belly and chicken thighs. Remove the meat pieces and discard the water.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok. Fry the pounded shallots and garlic until fragrant.
4. Add in the gula melaka and tau cheo and stir fry for a few minutes.

5. Add the pork belly and chicken pieces and stir fry.

6. Pour in 2 cups of water and allow it to simmer.

7. Add the dark soy sauce and kicap manis, give it a stir. Put the hardboiled eggs in and let it simmer until the pork and chicken are cooked.
8. Dish up the pork belly and slice them into 1 cm thick. Put them back into the wok or you can dish up the chicken and egg with the delicious sauce and serve with a plate of steam white rice. Enjoy!

Do note that the sweetness of this sauce tends to overpower the saltiness, hence there is a need to balance both. Can't be too sweet, can't be too salty. Adjust the proportion to your taste. 

Spinach in Superior Broth with 3 types eggs

Since I have century eggs left after making the steamed tofu with braised sauce, topped with century eggs, I decided to buy a bunch of spinach. While I remember the spinach, I forgot about the salted eggs. Never mind, I will make do with the spinach, century eggs and eggs. I love spinach, who doesn't. Well I know Popeye may prefer this cooking method for spinach. :) Who knows. Hehe. 

Ingredients
A bunch of spinach
1 egg
1 century egg
1 salted egg
1 cup of chicken broth
1 tbsp of wolfberries
2 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Method
1. Wash the spinach individually and remove the fibrous layer from the stalk. Bend to break the stalk at around 2 to 3 inches. You will be able to see the fibrous layer, pull it backwards to remove them.
2. Separate the stalks and the leaves. Set aside.
3. Peel and dice the century egg and set aside.
4. Remove the black husk of the salted egg and wash it clean before boiling it.  Once the salted egg is hard boiled, peel and dice it. Set aside.
5. Wash the wolfberries and set aside.
6. Heat at the wok with a tsp of oil. Stir fry the garlic to fragrant.
7. Add in the stalks and fry for a few minutes, add in the leaves. Toss it for a while and pour in the chicken broth. Stir the spinach in the broth and allow it to simmer.
8. Once it is almost boiling, add in the century egg, salted egg and wolfberries. Give it a stir.
9. Lightly beat the egg and pour it over the spinach. Allow it to simmer for a few minutes and turn of the heat. Dish up and serve.

This is a simple dish and its so tasty. Although I miss out the salted egg, it is still delicious and most of all healthy.

For those who has high cholesterol, you may wish to use half of a century egg and salted egg.

Cheers!!!

Cold Dish - Steamed ToFu with braised sauce topped with Century Egg & Pork Floss

*Updated - 16 Jan 2016.
Everytime I steamed the tofu and chill it, the texture is different. So this time round, I use the tofu out of the box. Just rinse it with water and go straight to Method point 2.

I was told by an auntie at the supermarket that the tofu can be eaten out of the box. By steaming it and chilling again will cause the texture of the tofu to alter.

Hmm...so now I know. This is an update. Skip the steaming part and go straight to the prepping of sauce. *

Mr W has always like this dish but I have never try making it till today. It is pretty easy to prepare. Looks good & taste good!

Ingredients
1 box of silken tofu
1 century egg
1 tbsp crispy pork floss
1 chopped spring onion

Sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp soya sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1-2 drops of dark soya sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
100ml chicken stock

For thickening
½ tsp cornflour with water

Method
1. Steam the silken tofu for 3 minutes. Set aside to cool. Pour away the excess water from steaming.
2. Prepare the sauce by combining all the ingredients under sauce in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil.
3. Stir in the cornflour mixture. Once it thickens, Remove from heat and allow it to cool.
4. Dice the century egg and arrange them on top of the tofu.
5. Once the sauce is cooled, scoop a tbsp of sauce at a time and pour it over the tofu. *The amount to scoop will be based on personal preference.
6. Chill in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes.
7. Before serving it, top it with the chopped spring onion and crispy pork floss

A.T.M aka Apple Tuna Mayonnaise

Years ago, I stumbled across this way to prepare my A.T.M aka Apple Tuna Mayonnaise. Mr W was taken by surprise when he first ate this and he likes it. Since then I have been preparing tuna mayo the A.T.M way.

This method to prepare tuna mayo adds a crunch to it. The crisp, juicy sweetness of the apples add another dimension to this plain tuna mayo. I personally prefer to use tuna in brie water or olive oil. This way I can control the amount of mayonnaise to be added.

Ingredients
1 can of tuna in olive oil
¼ red apple
¼ green apple
1 tbsp mayonnaise
Ground black pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Dice the apple into smaller pieces. Soak them in salt water for a few minutes.
2. Scoop the tuna out from the can. Remember to remove excess oil.
3. Drain the diced apples and add them to your liking; more red than green or vice versa.
4. Add the mayonnaise in and mix well.
5. Add ground black pepper to taste.

Mr W prefers more mayonnaise. So I usually prepare it with 1 tbsp mayonnaise. He will add more mayonnaise and black pepper when he takes his A.T.M breakfast. If your family prefers more mayo, just add it in. This is a simple recipe where you can adjust the amount of ingredients to use to your preference.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooked Beef Stew

A hearty stew to fill the tummy and it's easy to prepare.

This time round I am using the slow cooker and let it do its job. By the time we get home, dinner is ready. Actually it's not true, cos Mr W will want either rice or bread to go with his stew, especially beef stew.

This stew can be prepared the night before. This will save you the hassle of a rush morning. 

Updated: Slow Cooked Beef Stew

Ingredients

700g beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes

¼ cup flour

½ tsp of salt

½ tsp of ground black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder *updated on 24 Oct

3 garlic cloves

1-2 bay leaves

1 tsp of paprika

1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 cups beef broth *updated on 24 Oct

6 potatoes, diced

4 carrots, coarsely chopped
White button mushroom, sliced *updated 14 Apr 18

3 stalk of celery, chopped 1 inch long *updated 14 Apr 18

Method

1. In a small bowl mix the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Coat the meat with this flour mixture. Place them in the slow cooker. Pour the remaining mixture into the slow cooker, if any.
2. Pour in the beef broth and stir in the garlic, bay leaves, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, potatoes, carrots and celery.

3. Cover and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High for 4 to 6 hours.

And there you have it, a plate of hot flavourful beef stew. Serve it with baguette or over steam rice. 

Oh I just love stew! They are true comfort food.

Note: 

If you prefer more sauce, increase the amount of broth - which I did. My original recipe called for 1½ cup but I up it to 2 cups. *updated on 24 Oct

If you prefer more vegetables, add them in.

If you have fresh brown or white mushrooms, slice and add them to the slow cooker.