CRISPY CHILLI BEEF

The question is simple. What do you want to eat? The answer not so much. While one can come up with a one word answer such as Mexican, Thai or pizza, someone might go indecisive and complicated. 

KIKIAM (FIVE SPICE PORK ROLLS)

Five spice powder is a mixture of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns and fennel seeds. The aroma and flavour is quite heady and can taste medicinal if too much is used. In tempered amounts, though, it gives an interesting exotic edge to any dish that it is added to.

CHINESE PORK JERKY (BAKWA)

I have a distinct memory of bakwa from too many years ago. As I crossed a busy road in Singapore, I eyed a bakwa peddler squatting on the city pavement. In front of him was a makeshift charcoal grill made out of a biscuit tin topped with chicken wire to warm his bakwa on. I couldn't resist having a slice. As he waved at the embers with a woven palm leaf fan and deftly turned the pork slice, it turned a glossy beetroot red as it warmed up. I didn't mind the waft of hot air that made the already blistering heat worse. As long as I had my pork treat, I was happy. 

GAI LAN WITH OYSTER SAUCE

I was lucky to have a good health visitor when I was bringing up my babies. A health visitor, for those not in the UK, is a health professional who guides Mums on how to take care of their babies.

GOK WAN'S TWICE COOKED MELTING PORK

Roasts bring a sense of occasion comes once it's brought to the table. The mood changes at the mere sight of it. The anticipation of the first mouthful brings excitement. 

HONEY WALNUT SHRIMPS

Chinese food differs from country to country. The Chinese food on one's plate may differ greatly from another one's on the other side of the globe. In fact, the food that we know as Chinese food is different from the traditional food in China.

BAKED SESAME PRAWNS ON TOAST

Do you ever wonder what's in the prawns on toasts in restaurants? It is not a case of 'duh'. There must be something there that made the sesame seeds stick to the bread but I'm not quite sure that it's prawns. One time my son actually asked the waiter, "What's in this?" to which the perfunctory reply was "Chicken". With the way the conversation went, I should have ended both sentences with exclamation marks. So if there was chicken where the prawns should have been, what's in the chicken?

MATCHA AND LIME CUSTARD MOCHI

As the Chinese new year celebration draws to an end, lets focus on the dessert menu. Auspicious food still has to be on the table so I chose something that will keep the family glued together. Sticky food is meant to promote family unity. Round shaped food bring unending prosperity. Nothing fits the bill more perfectly than mochi. 

SHANTUNG STYLE PRAWNS

I love this dish but never knew its origins. This dish allegedly hails from Northern China. I say allegedly because a lot of Chinese recipes have gone through so much alterations that they are just a shadow of what they originally were. Also, there is a non-traditional Chinese ingredient here: ketchup. Although ketchup is much used in Chinese cooking today, it does not hail at all from ancient China. The souring agent used then was vinegar. 

KUEH LAPIS LEGIT

For Chinese new year, cakes symbolize a rich and sweet life and layers signify rising abundance. Hence, this cake is the perfect offering at the beginning of the year.

POT ROAST SOY SAUCE CHICKEN

During the two week Chinese New Year celebrations, food with auspicious meaning are eaten to beckon good tidings for the coming year. Whole chicken is served during Chinese New Year because it signifies rebirth, family togetherness and prosperity. Marbled eggs symbolize gold nuggets. In this dish, both are present to bestow good wishes to everyone partaking.

CAMARON RELLENADO (STUFFED PRAWNS)

As in the west, our celebrations on our side of the globe command cooking of stuffed dishes. Having a lot of ingredients make dishes special. 

Camaron rellenado simply means stuffed prawns. It is actually a Chinese dish but has a Spanish name because, in the olden days, restaurant menus in the Philippines were written in Spanish. 

There are a lot of stuffed dishes like these in Chinese cuisine. It is basically the same mixture used in dumplings but wrapped around or used as filling. There is one ingredient that make it tasty and have a firm texture. It is an ingredient that I don't use because, sorry to say, it is bad for your health. That ingredient is chopped pork fat. You can add that to this dish if you wish but I skipped that part.

This dish is simple and only has a few ingredients. Although headless prawns are usually used, I have kept the heads intact. I think it looks better and I also happen to like prawn heads, especially when fried. If you like crab roe, then the inside of the prawn's head could also be a treat for you. What comes after is the best part. The creamy prawn flesh is encased in a seasoned pork mixture that brings on a distinct flavour of celebrations. I don't think anyone will walk away unhappy after eating this.

Ingredients:

250 gms. of minced pork
2 dried Chinese mushrooms, softened in boiling water and chopped
1 tbsp. sherry
2 tbsps. light soy sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 egg, separated
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 tbsps. chopped spring onions
2/3 c. corn flour (corn starch)
6 large shell-on prawns

Method:

Put the minced pork and chopped mushrooms in a mixing bowl. Add in the sherry, soy sauce, salt, sugar, egg yolk, sesame oil, garlic, spring onions, and 1 tbsp. of corn flour. Mix very well and divide into 6 portions. Set aside.

Cut off the antenna and legs of the prawn. There is also a very sharp, saw-like part on top of the prawn's head that you'll need to cut off.

Peel the body of the prawns but leave the head and tail intact.

Cut 3-4 slits in the inner curve of the prawns. This will keep them from curling as they cook.

Dredge the prawns lightly in corn flour.

Wrap the prawns body in a portion of the meat mixture.

Dust again with corn flour and dip in the egg white. Give them a final dusting of the corn flour.

Heat up a pan with enough cooking oil for shallow frying.

Fry the prawns on medium heat, two at a time until crisp and cooked through (about 5 minutes). Drain on kitchen paper. Serve hot with sweet chilli sauce or sweet and sour sauce (recipe here).

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You might also like 

Camaron Rebosado

Pork and Prawn Siomai

Stuffed Roast Chicken (Rellenong Manok)

Thanks for dropping by. It would be nice if we could meet up on FACEBOOK or TWITTER. 

WU GOK (TARO CROQUETTES)

 I know that I've said that making dim sum is best left to the experts. I have to say it again.

I just can't help but tinker with recipes that intrigue. These wu gok or taro croquettes, for example, I wonder how they burst into these flaky, almost feather-like crumbs. 

PATA TIM

Awareness of the art of cooking has been revived, thanks to cooking shows and food websites (such as food blogs). More people are interested in learning about food and different recipes. If they do not actually cook, they at least appreciate the looks, the story and the recipes that's behind every dish.

CHAR SIU PORK COOKIES

I love sweet and savoury twists on recipes, even on meat. This cookie like concoction is actually sweet pastries filled with char siu pork. They are just exceedingly delicious. The pastry is a crumbly and crisp sweet shortcrust and that goes so well with the pork filling. 

CHINESE PEANUT COOKIES

We used to go home to Malaysia for the Chinese new year every year until the children started school. I just enjoyed the festive atmosphere everywhere but most of all in the shops. I feasted my eyes on the beautifully packaged munch-able goodies. Red and gold trays of assorted lucky foods were piled high on display tables. 

CHICKEN AND LETTUCE BOATS (SAN CHOY BAU)

January 23 is the first day of the Chinese lunar new year this year. This year is the year of the dragon, a most auspicious sign in the Chinese Zodiac. I know that 2012 is a dark foreboding year according to some cultural beliefs but there is still a chance for things to turn around.

The Chinese new year is met with a lot of luck, wealth and happiness boosting ceremonies and food. This dish, called san choy bau, is one of the dishes that is popularly eaten in the new year.

THOUSAND CORNER SEAFOOD BALLS

As families get together for the Chinese new year, the table is filled with numerous dishes with auspicious symbolisms. It is considered lucky to eat round shaped food to symbolize unity. Shrimps and prawns symbolize happiness and good fortune. Thousand corner shrimp balls, considered a lucky food, is one of the dishes that are commonly served. 

PORK, PEANUT AND CORIANDER POT STICKERS

Pot stickers as we say it simply in English or gyoja in Korean, gyoza in Japanese or Jiaozi in Chinese are all the same banana so to speak. They are little dumplings wrapped in circular flour pancakes, part steamed and part grilled or fried. The filling is usually made with minced pork and Chinese leaf (Napa cabbage). 

TANGERINE AND SZECHUAN PEPPERCORN PORK STEW

There is a recent revival of forgotten meat cuts, those that take more time to cook, such as beef brisket, stewing steak, and hand of pork. A lot have probably set it aside because people have busier lifestyles nowadays. 

Although I like old fashioned recipes, I am still a fan of modern conveniences. My trusty kitchen gadgets are my best friends and they enable me to still cook a lot of good home cooked meals even when I'm pressed for time. 

I bought a whole hand of pork at the market today and I decided to stew it in the pressure cooker. It took a mere forty minutes to tenderize the meat which would otherwise probably take over two hours in a conventional pot. 

The best way to have it is really falling-apart tender: the meat falls off the bone on its own accord. By then the skin and tendons has become all wobbly and gelatinous and have developed a very intense flavour. The tender, tasty meat and its syrupy sweet sauce goes so well with steamed rice or steamed plain buns.

 Ingredients:

1 whole hand of pork (cut at the joint) or two pork shanks
1/2 c. light soy sauce
2 tbsps. dark soy sauce
1/4 c. shaosing wine or dry sherry
1/4 c. + 2 tbsps. of brown sugar
2 cloves of garlic, cracked
3 segments of star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 small bay leaf
1 tsp. whole Szechuan peppercorns
rind of 1 tangerine
juice of two tangerines

Note: Tangerine can be substituted with clementine, mandarin, satsuma or navel orange. Halve the amount needed if using a navel orange.

Method:

Clean the pork very well. Make sure the skin is hair free. Trim off excess fat. Cut deep horizontal slashes on the skin and right through the meat so that the seasonings will penetrate inside the joint. 


Put it in a pressure cooker or deep pot. Add all the rest of the ingredients (except for the 1/4 c. of brown sugar) and leave to marinate for at least 10 minutes. 

Put the lid on the cooker or pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 40 minutes in the pressure cooker (about two hours in an ordinary pot) or until very, very tender. When done, take the meat out of the sauce. 


Strain the sauce. Caramelize the 1/4 c. of brown sugar in a pan. Add the meat joint to the caramelized sugar, turn occasionally and let it take on a uniform deep brown color. Add the sauce, turn the heat up and let the sauce reduce until syrupy. Check the seasonings. 

This is now ready to serve with steamed rice or steamed bread buns.

All rights reserved ©Adora's Box Copyright 2011. 

Please support Adora's Box by making your Amazon.com and mymemories.com (use the code STMMMS55174) purchases from this site. Click on their respective banners to proceed to their websites. It will not cost you a single cent more but will help sustain this blog. Thank you.

You might also like

Pata Tim

Crispy Pata (Crispy Fried Pork Shank)

Home Cured Pork Hock (Pata Jamon)

Thanks for dropping by. It would be nice if we could meet up on FACEBOOK or TWITTER.