Chinese Eats at Home (Part 1)

[Domestic Goddess]

Here's a package of miswa. It cost about P5 or about 5 cents (US).

A close-up of the noodles...

[Dejah]

Supper last night:

Foo Joak ho see tong ( Dried tofu stick, gingko nuts, and oyster soup - per daughter's request. I've got two Ziplock containers to send into the city for her. She's into final exams for this block and needs comfort food! Other soups I am sending in are dong gwa tong (wintermelon), fresh bok choi/carrot/celery and chicken tong, and congee with chicken and ginger.

Here's the foo joak tong:

Kung Po Shrimp a la Soo's: jumbo shrimp, red bell peppers, baby corn, onion, and fresh red chili peppers.

I keep trying Szechuan peppercorns, but I just don't like them! I chopped some of the fresh chilis and the heat was just right without the 50 dried ones usually used in restaurants. We ate all the whole ones too.

Shrimp plated with rice and garlic stir-fried ong choi.

I'm going to attempt Habeas's braised garlicky stewed ribs for tonight.

[sheetz]

Here's the foo joak tong:

This is my favorite! My mom makes it like you do, but she also puts some pork stomach in. YUM!

[Dejah]

Here's the foo joak tong:

This is my favorite! My mom makes it like you do, but she also puts some pork stomach in. YUM!

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I love pork stomach in this soup as well, but the source was 2.5 hours away - where my daughter is going to school.

[Tepee]

Supper last night:

Foo Joak ho see tong ( Dried tofu stick, gingko nuts, and oyster soup - per daughter's request. I've got two Ziplock containers to send into the city for her. She's into final exams for this block and needs comfort food! Other soups I am sending in are dong gwa tong (wintermelon), fresh bok choi/carrot/celery and chicken tong, and congee with chicken and ginger.

[...snip...]

I'm going to attempt Habeas's braised garlicky stewed ribs for tonight.

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I'm sure your children feel they have the best mom in the world! Yes, those stewed ribs sound very good. Must try it soon. Would love something different from what I always do.

Yesterday, I bought a duck for the first time in my life! Will be making Teochew Lor Arp. If it turns out well, I'll do it for CNY reunion dinner at MIL's....lotsa teochew nungs (people) there.

[Dejah]

Made stewed fermented black bean spareribs per Barbara Tropp via Habeas's blog. It was every bite and lick as good as Habeas said it would be. Unfortunately, my camera setting was left on "infinity" from a previous work order, so the picture is blurred.

I make black bean garlic ribs a little differently, but also braised for acouple of hours. The above ribs were braised in my sandpot in the oven for 2 hours, then stovetop for another hour. I put in a little more than a cup of water because I had more ribs than the recipe called for. Next time, I won't add the extra 1/3 cup as I had to thicken last night's with a touch of cornstarch slurry. The main difference in taste was the touch of sweetness in contrast to the saltiness. I'd make it again.

Along with the ribs, we had wintermelon soup with pork breast bones, rice, and bok choi with garlic and ginger. This picture was taken earlier in the day when I was packaging the soup for daughter's care package. The setting was "macro", so it turned out clearer. My daughter's new camera has a "cuisine" setting. I'll have to try that when she comes home next time.

I used to use pork neck bones for stock all the time, but I tried pork breast bones and found them very flavourful, meaty, and I like the "cartilage bones."

Edited January 21, 2007 by Dejah (log)

[Ben Hong]

I used to use pork neck bones for stock all the time, but I tried pork breast bones and found them very flavourful, meaty, and I like the "cartilage bones."

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And it's cheaper than dirt. They are my favourite stock "bones".

[Habeas Brulee]

Made stewed fermented black bean spareribs per Barbara Tropp via Habeas's blog. It was every bite and lick as good as Habeas said it would be. Unfortunately, my camera setting was left on "infinity" from a previous work order, so the picture is blurred.

I make black bean garlic ribs a little differently, but also braised for acouple of hours. The above ribs were braised in my sandpot in the oven for 2 hours, then stovetop for another hour. I put in a little more than a cup of water because I had more ribs than the recipe called for. Next time, I won't add the extra 1/3 cup as I had to thicken last night's with a touch of cornstarch slurry. The main difference in taste was the touch of sweetness in contrast to the saltiness. I'd make it again.

Oh, fantastic! I'm glad you enjoyed them. Even blurry, they look like they came out great.

[Tepee]

Since I mentioned the duck I was going to make, here are the pix from tonight's dinner. Quite happy with the results, but I don't think I'll be making it at MIL's...don't want to steal her thunder. I reduced the braising liquid to 30% and it made a very delicious sauce.

I made my own version of herbal rice with 50:50 black:white rice, daun kadok, kaffir lime leaves, bunga kantan/ginger buds, italian parsley*, pandan leaves (only used while steaming rice), toasted shredded coconut, fried heh bee/ha mai/dried shrimps and fried giam hoo/ham yue/salted fish finely chopped. Family felt the rice came off dry but I explained it was because of the coconut as the rice before mixing anything in was very moist. Hubby suggested adding pomelo....voila!...dinner was saved and savoured.

* supposed to be cilantro, but the ones I encountered were half dead. Besides, hubby prefers italian parsley.

Picture shown before adding sauce.

Had rose apples from our trusty tree which produces very sweet and juicy fruit every 3, 4 months. However, it has been very wet for the past 2 months, and a lot of the fruit cracked.

Edited January 22, 2007 by Tepee (log)

[XiaoLing]

Wow Tepee!

That looks delicious!!

Any chance of persuading you to share your special recipe?

[Tepee]

Gosh, thanks, XiaoLing. I posted the recipe link upthread...except I didn't completely follow the recipe. I also added 2 star anise, and used palm sugar instead of regular sugar. My mother told me to remove 2 vital things at the rear to minimise the pungency of the duck. And eldest daughter helped to skim off a bowl of oil during braising. The biggest secret to a successful chiuchow ngap is galangal....ginger won't do.

[Dejah]

Gosh, thanks, XiaoLing. I posted the recipe link upthread...except I didn't completely follow the recipe. I also added 2 star anise, and used palm sugar instead of regular sugar. My mother told me to remove 2 vital things at the rear to minimise the pungency of the duck. And eldest daughter helped to skim off a bowl of oil during braising. The biggest secret to a successful chiuchow ngap is galangal....ginger won't do.

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Tepee: Both the duck and herbal rice look wonderful. Guess I'll have to try your recipes, especially the duck. It will be a nice change from BBQ duck. I even have galangal and palm sugar in my supplies.

I saw black rice at my little Asian store and have been wanting to try it. Now I know what to make with it. The only ingredients I wouldn't have for that are daun kadok and bunga kantan/ginger buds. Can I leave these out, or are there substitues?

I'm hungry, and I'm still at work!

[Dejah]

Tepee,

Can you explain more about cooking the black rice and your herbal rice? Is black rice cooked the same way as white? You cooked the rice, then stir-fried it with the other ingredients?

I have been so sheltered: just white rice.

I REALLY want that duck!

[XiaoLing]

Thanks Tepee....I guess I will have to stick with BBQ duck since galangal is hard to find in my neighborhood.

[Ben Hong]

Isn't galangal similar in taste to young ginger root?

[Dejah]

Thanks Tepee....I guess I will have to stick with BBQ duck since galangal is hard to find in my neighborhood. 

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XiaoLing,

Check the freezer section of your Asian store for galangal. That's how I buy them most often, except in a specific Thai grocery. You can also buy them in the dried form.

Galangal is of the ginger family, but the texture and flavour is quite different.

[XiaoLing]

Thanks for the tip Dejah!

Tepee, if I do find frozen or dried galangal, should I use more or less?

And as per Ben, what does it taste like?

[C. sapidus]

Thanks for the tip Dejah!

Tepee, if I do find frozen or dried galangal, should I use more or less?

And as per Ben, what does it taste like? 

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I’m not very good at describing flavors, but galangal seems to have more of a woody or muddy flavor compared with the clean, sharp flavor of ginger. If you find frozen galangal, thaw it and use it like fresh galangal. I have heard that dried galangal loses a lot of flavor.

You can mail order fresh galangal from Temple of Thai (click) in New York. Until I found a local source, I frequently substituted ginger for galangal in Thai curries. The taste is different, but the end result can still be very good. YMMV, especially if galangal is dominant flavor in the dish.

[Tepee]

Sorry...went to bed right after I posted. Glad others filled in.

I really wouldn't know how much to use for dried or frozen galangal, never done that. Yes, you could use young ginger...but the taste is definitely different. You will get the taste of geong nga ngap (ginger duck) instead.

Dai Gah Jeh, no need to give special treatment to the black rice. We get ours from Kuching (in East Msia)...very fragrant, smells like black glutinous rice but without the stickiness. Wash and steam/cook the 2 rice together (with the knot of pandan leaves). Fluff up the rice, then add herbs. Use any you like. A shame you don't have ginger buds...but lemon grass is a decent substitute. Slice everything very finely.

I'll be making choy geok with the leftover duck today. Add dai gai choy (big mustard leaves), tamarind peel, mushrooms...hmm..will think of other things to add to the stew. I'll have to leave out dried chillies...kids can't take it.

Edited January 23, 2007 by Tepee (log)

[hzrt8w]

.... My mother told me to remove 2 vital things at the rear to minimise the pungency of the duck. ....

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Err.... would you elaborate on what you meant by that?

[Dejah]

Dai Gah Jeh, no need to give special treatment to the black rice. We get ours from Kuching (in East Msia)...very fragrant, smells like black glutinous rice but without the stickiness. Wash and steam/cook the 2 rice together (with the knot of pandan leaves). Fluff up the rice, then add herbs. Use any you like. A shame you don't have ginger buds...but lemon grass is a decent substitute. Slice everything very finely.

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Thanks, Tepee Mui Mui. Looks like a project for this weekend!

[hzrt8w]

TP: I thought that the Teochew speciality duck is "chan pei ngap". When I read that recipe you linked to, I was surprised to find that no "chan pei" is used at all.

Also, it said heat up some oil and add on sugar. The sugar would most likely caramelizes into dark brown bubbles. Is that how you made it?

[Tepee]

Ah Leung Gaw, I provided the recipe link but didn't really look more than twice at it. I didn't do the caramelisation step. Nor did I give the duck a pre-braise fry. Not necessary unless you want a reddish tint. And I chopped the duck into half so that I didn't have to turn it to coat evenly. Instead of 45 mins, my duck had an 1-1/2 hour hot bath...still a lot of bite left in it.

Why didn't you tell me about chan pei earlier??? I would have added the peel...love the aroma. But, nope...they don't really add that to teochew ducks here.

Edited January 23, 2007 by Tepee (log)

[sheetz]

This is a Chinese inspired Salt and Pepper catfish.

[Tepee]

Continuation of The Duck. It has evolved into this vegetable stew with the addition of mushrooms, mustard leaves, tomatoes and tamarind peel. This stew is usually a welcomed dish during Chinese New Year, because with everyone bloated with rich food, the sourish taste of this works as a neutralizer.

We eat very light during the weekday. Made lor bak go with mushrooms, liver sausage, dried shrimps and coriander inside, garnished with garlic, shallots, sausages and spring onion. The cake is cut into small pieces to be fried because everyone wants a crispy side!

LOL, it's good that we relieve each other at posting in this thread, filling in when others are busy Peony must be busy with CNY goodies.

Edited January 23, 2007 by Tepee (log)