Steamed Three Eggs

I say, never judge an egg by its looks. This simple dish doesn't look much of a deal but if cooked properly, it can be a delicious addition to your dining table. As the name of the dish suggests, this dish makes use of three different kinds of eggs: fresh chicken eggs, salted duck egg and century egg. When steaming the egg mixture, do note to keep the heat low in order not to create any bubbles on the egg surface or worse, oversteamed it. When steamed slowly on an extremely low heat, the result is often a silky and smooth finish.

Ingredients:

2                         chicken eggs
1                         salted duck egg
1                         century egg, diced
1/2 tablespoon    light soy sauce
1/2 cup                water

Method:

Beat the chicken eggs with the egg whites of the salted duck egg, set aside.

Chop the century egg and salted duck egg yolk into small pieces.

In a shallow bowl, mix in all ingredients with 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 tablespoon of light soy sauce.

Bring the water in the steamer to a boil. Switch on the lowest heat available and place in the egg mixture. Cover the steamer with its lid, intentionally leaving a small gap at the side. Steamed for approximately 15 - 20 minutes, or until the egg mixture has set.

Kung Pao Stir Fry Chicken

The mayhem is finally over at work and I can start pushing myself to blog about the long-due recipes. Don't get me wrong, I have been religiously cooking, just not blogging about it. Today's recipe is a simple kung pao stir fry, something that I managed to create with barely any ingredients left in the fridge. The key to the dish is to use a little black vinegar, to create that hint of tanginess in the dish.

Serves 2
Ingredients:

2                         boneless chicken thigh or chicken fillet, cubed
8                         dried chilli, washed and deseed
2 stalks               scallion, cut into 2 inch length
2 slices                old ginger
1 clove                garlic, minced
2 tablespoons      cashew nuts, roasted
1 tablespoon       cooking oil

Marinade for the chicken:

1 tablespoon      cornstarch
1 tablespoon      light soy sauce
1 tablespoon      chinese wine
1 teaspoon         cooking oil

Ingredients for the sauce mixture:

1 tablespoon     light soy sauce
1 teaspoon        dark soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon  sugar
1 teaspoon        cornstarch   
1/2 teaspoon     black vinegar
3 tablespoons   water

Method:

Marinate the cubed chicken with the sauce marinade and set aside for at least 30 minutes.

Heat a pan with 1 tablespoons of cooking oil. Add in the sliced ginger, minced garlic and fry till fragrant. Add in the dried chilli and fry until it smells spicy before adding the chicken.

Stir fry the chicken till 70% cooked and add in the cashewnuts and the sauce mixture. Continue frying until the sauce reduces and thickens. Turn off the heat and mix in the scallions before dishing out.

Wasabi Mayo Prawn

 

Did I not mention that I have about 10kg of prawns in the refrigerator? After our yearly BBQ steamboat affair on New Year's Eve and the cereal prawn, I'm still left with more than a dozen numbers of giant-sized red legged prawns. And so, after several requests from my brother, I finally whipped up his favourite dish - Wasabi Mayo Prawns. I was taught the recipe by my Chinese chef back in the hotel years ago and I am pretty glad that my memory still serves me well.

 

Ingredients:

 

8                              large sized prawn, shelled and deveined

3 tablespoons          cornflour

1 tablespoon            wasabi

1 tablespoon            sweetened condensed milk

3 tablespoons          Japanese mayonnaise

1 tablespoon            lemon juice

 

Method:

 

Dry the cleaned prawns with a paper towel. Coat the prawns with cornflour and deep fry until cooked. Set aside.

 

Mix the remaining ingredients together and toss with the fried prawns.

 

 

 



Cereal Prawn

 





Prawns are one of the many auspicious food that are served during the Lunar New Year. Its Cantonese pronounciation - Har, sounds like laughter and it symbolises a year of happiness and joy ahead.

 

I believe that my dearest Mum would like the family to experience more happiness during the year of the snake. That's probably the reason why she bought a good 10kg worth of prawns back from the fishing port. There are only five of us at home by the way. Needless to say, I was given the task to create some different prawn dishes over the next few days. Here's one.

 

Serves 5

Ingredients:

 

10 large                   prawns, washed and trimmed slightly

2 stalk                     curry leaves, plucked from the stem and washed

4                              chill padi, sliced thinly (reduced to 2 stalks if you can't take too spicy)

2 tablespoons          butter

2 packets                 instant cereal with milk powder and sugar

                                ground white pepper

                                salt

 

Method:

Deep fry the prawn with the shell intact, till 80% cooked. Set aside.

 

Heat butter in a frying pan on medium-high heat. Add in the curry leaves and chopped chilli padi. Fry till fragrant.

 

Add in the instant cereal, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.

 

Add in the fried prawns and stir fry for another minute.

Serve immediately.

 

 

 

Mum's Famed Ngoh Hiang

Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone! The Chinese Lunar New Year is the only time of the year where my fridge will be overstocked with so much food that it could probably last us for an entire month. No, I am not kidding. This is especially so with my Mother who will always insist on having an abundance of food at home, signifying abundance for the year ahead.

Today's recipe is a well-kept recipe that has been passed down from my maternal grandmother. Friends and relatives who have tried this have swore that this may just be the best Ngoh Hiang they have ever tasted. It is supposed to be a family recipe but then again, good things are meant to be shared. Especially when it comes to such good food.

Makes about 5 to 8 pieces depending on the size of the beancurd skin
Ingredients:

400g                   minced pork (choose those contains more fat)
10                       medium shrimp, flatten into a paste using the back of a knife
3 stalks               spring onion, chopped
5                         water chestnut, skinned and chopped
1/2                      large yellow onion, minced
2 cloves              garlic, minced
1 piece                small salted fish (2 inches long), fried and crushed into a powder form
3 tablespoons     fish paste
3 tablespoons     cornflour
1/2 teaspoon       salt
dash                    ground white pepper
1 tablespoon       light soy sauce
1 packet              dried beancurd skin, cut into 10cm long

Method:

Mix all the ingredients except the beancurd skin together by hand. Form the mixture into a ball and hold it up with your hand. Toss it back into the bowl. Repeat for another 3 to 4 times.

Lay the beancurd skin onto a dry surface. Spoon the prepare mixture onto the beancurd skin and wrap gently, using the same technique likewise to wrapping a maki roll.

Steam the prepared ngoh hiang for 8 minutes and leave aside to cool.

The ngoh hiang can now be kept in the freezer for future consumption. Deep fry and slice before serving.