Chinese Eats at Home (Part 3)

[Ce'nedra]

Goodness Teepee, did I ever tell you your food photography are amongst the most glorious I've seen?!

How did you make the yee sang and those crispy looking prawns?

[Tepee]

Thanks, and, you're welcome.

Rona: My SIL's chicken wings were deepfried, but I believe if they were grilled, they should be close to FC's, who grill over a rotisserie and constantly baste them. She marinated the wings in onion juice, pinch of 5-spice powder and oyster sauce. Send my regards to your mom... .

Ce'nedra: Yee Sang is kinda laborious to prepare at home, unless you have enough hands to help out. We've done it before, but, hey, hopping down a car and buying it from a restaurant is much faster and easier. Recipes here and here. Er...my prawns would look better if I were not so cheap, and stinged on egg white. There should be enough to roll the prawns (marinated in ginger juice, paper-dried, then lightly salted) in before you coat them in a cornflour/sesame seeds mix. Deep fry.

Where are your pix?!?

[C. sapidus]

Wow wow wow, what an amazing spread, and what gorgeous photos. How did you ever decide where to start digging in? I would go for one of the gorgeous shrimp dishes first. The difficult question would be what to enjoy next. Hmm, probably yue sang. I have never tried it before, but it looks like a fabulous mix of flavors and textures. Great action photo, too.

Thanks so much for sharing!

[Prawncrackers]

Yay, Tepee is back!! Love the CNY spread, looks wonderful. Here is some more of my duck to welcome you home

[Tepee]

Ooooh my!! What lovely skin...so thin, so crispy, so glossy!! Thank you! Where's your tute? Or you can piggyback Ah Leung Gaw's, I think he did one?

Your prawns are huge! We got the medium sized ones this year. It's annoying how for CNY prices of fish, prawns and vegetables (less so) are whacked up (double or more!). We had to reserve our pomfrets and prawns 3 weeks in advance.

TP, just passing through....

[jo-mel]

Yay, Tepee is back!!  Love the CNY spread, looks wonderful.  Here is some more of my duck to welcome you home 

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Too bad you live across the pond, or I'd be at your doorstep!

What is the prawn dish? Salt/pepper?

And what are the second and third down condiments?

[Dejah]

Gorgeous food, Tepee, Prawn. I want some!

Is that siu gnap? how did you make it?

I still have 2 ducks in the freezer as well as 2 pieces of pork belly. I wanted to make siu yook and siu gnap for CNY, but Mom ended up in hospital and awaiting placement in personal care home, so all our plans for celebration were shelved. In fact, all of my cooking these last 2 months have been quick and easy and comfort food for Mom.

I am so glad I was able to enjoy these feasts vicariously! Thank you!

[Prawncrackers]

Dejah, yes it is Siu Ap (燒 鴨), i posted a recipe on the Roast Duck thread last year. Don't forget to show us the results when you get the chance to cook your duck and pork belly.

Jo-mel, yes those are salt & pepper prawns and a plate of Gai-Lan too. I've been trying to perfect that prawn dish lately, to get the shells as thin and crispy as possible so they stay edible as they cool. This time round I don't think I left the bicarb on for long enough and the shells were getting a little tough about half way through the meal. The two little dishes were little preserved fish and squid that I bought in Hong Kong a few months ago. Though I think they are a Taiwanese product. Here's pic, the little fish are much nicer than the squid which was a bit chewy tough:

Edited February 13, 2009 by Prawncrackers (log)

[bloosquirrel]

what great photos-my mouth is watering! and (of course) i am jealous!

what are the whole fish in the last few pictorials? they looked delicious

and that duck-it looked amazing-i am sure I could never reproduce it at home

thanks again

[jo-mel]

Prawncrackers ----

Whitebait fish!! They were preserved? Salt or how?

The first time I ever had them, I was with a tour group in WuXi, and at lunch was a platter of what we thought were strips of crisp fried onions. They were delicious and and a second platter was ordered. I was looking at a piece closely and noticed an eye and asked the waiter what the dish was, and that was when I found they were actually fish -- not a crisp onion! Come to find out, it is a WuXi specialty.

I've had them since, In China, but never as good as that dish. Yum!

[Prawncrackers]

what great photos-my mouth is watering!  and (of course) i am jealous!

what are the whole fish in the last few pictorials?  they looked delicious

My whole fish last week was a gilt-head bream (aka durade). Not sure what Tepee's was, looks bass-like and very tasty

Prawncrackers ----

Whitebait fish!!  They were preserved? Salt or how?

They're packed in jar in a sweet, salty, black bean type liquor.

I've got a pack of these little fishes simply dried. I've tried steaming them with and without egg. Anyone got any other idea for these?

[hzrt8w]

I've got a pack of these little fishes simply dried.  I've tried steaming them with and without egg.  Anyone got any other idea for these?

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1) Lay on top of some rice while cooking. When the rice is done, drizzle a little bit of oil on top (perhaps soy sauce too). Mix well before serving.

2) Deep-fry them. Sprinkle on top of your favorite fried rice.

[Tepee]

Re: fish. Prawncrackers knows his fish well...yes, it's a seabass, or, siakap as we call it. The best way to eat it is to steam it, to appreciate the tender flavour of its meat. The topping was choy bo and garlic separately fried. And finally, I discovered how to make the sauce taste like that of restaurants....bring to boil 2Tlight soy sauce, 2T fish sauce, 1Tsugar, 2Trice wine and 6Twater.

Re: whitebait (ikan bilis in malay). Salted dry (different sizes) ikan bilis are very common here. It makes very flavourful stock and you can 'ngau' a quick soup, with choy sam thrown in the last minute. Or deep fry and set aside, then fry some big onions and peanuts, fry together with some sliced chillies, throw some sugar in, no need for salt if the whitebait is already salted. In fact, sometimes they are so salty, I give them a quick rinse, then dry and fry them. Or sambal ikan bilis....YUM!

[Prawncrackers]

Tepee, the fish I have are exactly like the ones in my last photo but dried not pickled. Are you sure I can make ikan bilis with them, I thought they are much bigger (relatively) anchovy-like. Because I would love to put together some nasi lemak, yum yum. What do I need?

- coconut rice (nasi lemak) of course, check

- ikan bilis, fried fish with peanuts, check

- I have leftover lamb rendang in the freezer, check

- Boiled eggs, check

- Some kind of salad or crunchy pickle?

- Anything else?

[Tepee]

Prawncracker, looks like you're good to go. The size of ikan bilis used is a matter of personal preference. Yours look A-OK. The ikan bilis can be fried with peanuts and also added into the sambal for more fishy goodness. Traditional nasi lemak just have slices of cucumber for the veg, nothing too fancy. However, pickled veg will definitely go well with your rendang (wow!) and sambal. Eggs hardboiled is traditional but my girls like bullseye in their nasi lemak too. This is going to be great considering your weather now. Enjoy!

TP

Edited February 17, 2009 by Tepee (log)

[Ce'nedra]

Mmm Chinese-Malay food...licking lips...

I feel like a sore loser so I'm going to add what I just posted in 'Dinner'.

This was dinner prepared by an aunt during my trip in the US (which I just returned from).

Claypot Chicken Rice done very differently to how I do it. I suppose her way is Hainan Chicken-inspired. Anyway, it was all very good! Simple, subtle flavours.

She first boiled a chicken in water seasoned with fish sauce/soy sauce for 15 minutes. Turned off the heat, turned over the chicken, placed a lid on and left the chicken for another 15 mins.

Some of the chicken stock was used to cook rice, while much of it was to be served as soup.

In small clay(?)pots, she'd add oil and throw in some shallots.

Then cooked rice (which had some mushrooms and onions) and green onions sprinkled on.

Served!

Gotta love the crispy, golden rice bits at the bottom.

Just for the sake of the chicken.

And I don't recall if the dip was garlic or lemongrass based so I'm going to have to ask mum.

Edited February 21, 2009 by Ce'nedra (log)

[Ce'nedra]

Who knows how to make Koah Pau (刈包)? I think I've asked this before but what the hec...I would like to knowww.

Look at the beauty

http://flickr.com/photos/derra1029/3290629197/

http://flickr.com/photos/elsasung/2376337488/

[Ce'nedra]

Apparently this is the recipe for the pork (in Chinese) -anyone who doesn't mind translating please?

http://zbzs.blogspot.com/2008/11/blog-post_25.html

[AdrianB]

Got my hands on some green rocklobster tails and went Singaporean Chinese style:

> Stir fried several dried chillies until just starting to brown, added crush gloves of garlic (around 6), added slices of rocklobster tail in shell and fried until shells turned slightly red. Added 2 cups water, teaspoon chilli fermented black beans, bit of salt and sprinkling of sugar and a bit of cornstarch slurry to thicken. Stired to coat all evently and covered wok to allow tails to cook until shells bright red (about 4 minutes). Once cooked, added a splash of rice wine vinegar (but I might use Japanese ume-vinegar next time!) to bring out the aromatics. Added sliced green onion and snowpeas for some green and colour. Added egg to make threads through dish.

Seaweed soup, rice and some pickles rounded it out.

[Domestic Goddess]

Hi everyone! I've been looking for a recipe for stuffed tofu blocks since I have a large block of tofu plus minced meat in the fridge right now. I tried to google for the recipe but all I can find are recipes calling for the tofu to be sliced in the middle like a pita sandwich. I want the recipe where the tofu blocks are hollowed out in the middle on TOP. Then it is stuffed with savory minced meat and then coated in corn starch and fried (?). I think there is a sauce that is poured over the dish before serving. Is there a Chinese recipe like this or am I just hallucinating?

[CFT]

Hi everyone! I've been looking for a recipe for stuffed tofu blocks since I have a large block of tofu plus minced meat in the fridge  right now. I tried to google for the recipe but all I can find are recipes calling for the tofu to be sliced in the middle like a pita sandwich. I want the recipe where the tofu blocks are hollowed out in the middle on TOP. Then it is stuffed with savory minced meat and then coated in corn starch and fried (?). I think there is a sauce that is poured over the dish before serving. Is there a Chinese recipe like this or am I just hallucinating?

You don't need to coat the tofu parcels in corn starch before frying but you might want a little in the hollow to make sure the minced meat sticks to the tofu. Otherwise just fry in some oil meat side down to begin with and then other way for the tofu. You could add garlic, ginger, spring onions or whatever herbs you like. Personally I would add some oyster sauce at the end and cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce.

[Domestic Goddess]

Thanks CFT! This will be lunch tomorrow and I will definitely heed your advise and tips. I promise to post pics too.

[snowangel]

Dinner last night was the Slow-Braised Beef with Potatoes from "Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook." Actually, in my case, it was slow-braised Venison. This dish was absolutely outstanding, and the ginger slices soften up enough to actually be edible. I made the basic braise the day before serving, and added the potatoes day of.

Everyone loved this dish, and practically lapped up the sauce leftover on their plates.

Served with jasmine rice and stir-fried broccoli (charred garlic first, then removed so it stays crispy and broc stirfried with that baby poop fermented Thai soy stuff).

[Ce'nedra]

Aha thanks for letting me know snowangel. Now I HAVE to try that recipe. Sounds good and hearty for upcoming autumn. Did you serve it with rice or noodles?

I'm not sure how everybody else serves their congee at home but our family has it with chicken feet in black bean sauce, yau ja gwai (which is common with most people of course) and pickled daikon radish (not essential but nice at times). The congee was pork & century egg style.

Edited March 27, 2009 by Ce'nedra (log)

[Ce'nedra]

Hi everyone! I've been looking for a recipe for stuffed tofu blocks since I have a large block of tofu plus minced meat in the fridge  right now. I tried to google for the recipe but all I can find are recipes calling for the tofu to be sliced in the middle like a pita sandwich. I want the recipe where the tofu blocks are hollowed out in the middle on TOP. Then it is stuffed with savory minced meat and then coated in corn starch and fried (?). I think there is a sauce that is poured over the dish before serving. Is there a Chinese recipe like this or am I just hallucinating?

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My mum makes this! Although it seems she's forgotten or something of that sort since she doesn't make it anymore

I remember it so fondly...sigh.