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.