Steam three kinds of eggs

My son and hubby loves eggs. You can cook them in any variation, they will still love it.  To me, my mum makes the best steam eggs. This may look simple to do but to get the right consistency and texture are not so.  Before I started this blog, I never pay any attention to how mum makes this dish. I just know that I love it and have not found any restaurant in Kuala Lumpur that can make it better than her. There are times when I craves for it. Whenever that happens, all I have to do is said to mum, I want to eat steam eggs. "PUOOFF!" the steam eggs will be served at dinner time! I consider myself VERY lucky to have mum staying with me.  She is my BEST friend, someone I can confide in and be myself.  There are times when I go cranky and become nasty and blow my top unreasonably.  Mum puts me back on track by giving me a nice scolding which I deserved! She is my guardian angel. 

As usual, mum does not follow any measurement.  When I asked her how she makes the steam eggs, she said, a pinch of this and a bowl of that and use this aluminium plate to hold the eggs. So, I have to explain to her that I need accurate measurement in order for me to share this recipe with my readers and blogger friends.  They don't have the same size bowl or the aluminium plate we use. I told her I need to measure all her "pinch of this and handful of that" and "a bowl of this and that" to get it right. You know what she said to me?  She said "Aiyoh, why so "Ma fan"(troublesome)?, I don't need so many cups and spoons to cook. All I have is my ten fingers!" LOL! So there you go, here is the recipe carefully measured from my mum's ten fingers.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 egg

1 century egg

1 salted egg

¾ cup water

1 tsp chopped garlic, deep fried

1 shallot, thinly slice and deep fried

1 tsp diced chives

1 tsp sesame oil

Method:

Crack the regular and salted eggs in an aluminium plate. Dice the salted egg yolk. Add water and beat them lightly. Remove shell from century egg and cut into bite size and spread out into the salted egg and regular egg mixture.   Heat steam on high heat till water is boiling. Place plate with eggs mixture into the steamer and gently stir the mixture for 30 sec. Keep heat on high and close lid but just allowing a little gap. You can use a spoon or spatula to create the gap, this is a secret to getting the perfect steam egg custard with silky smooth surface. Steam for about 15 to 20 mins. Drizzle sesame oil on top of steamed eggs and garnish with deep fried garlic, deep fried shallots and chives. Serve hot.

Black eye peas and peanuts soup

I have been eating too much rich food the past few days and just want something plain and simple for a change. I put a cup of cooked rice into this soup and I have a healthy meal. This is it!

Ingredient:

(A)

50 gm black eye pea, soaked overnight

50 gm peanuts, soaked for 3 hours

600 ml water

1 cube bullion chicken stock

(B)

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground white pepper

Method:

Add (A) in a soup pot and bring to boil.  Lower heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour. Add B and serve hot.

Steam ladies fingers with dried scallops

Here is another side dish for Chinese New Year. Maybe after the heavy reunion meal with lots of meat, we should eat some light vegetable dishes. This one is quick and simple. I love it!

Ingredients:

10 pcs ladies fingers

20 small dried scallops (soaked in warm water and retain water)

5 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbs cooking oil

Sauce:

2 tbs warm water from soaking scallop

2 tbs soya sauce

1 tbs oysters sauce

1 dash of ground white pepper 

Method:

Fry chopped garlic oil till golden brown. Remove garlic and set aside. Add dried scallops and oyster sauce and stir fried till fragrant. Add sauce and stir fry till sauce is reduced. Place ladies fingers in steamer and steam for 2 -3 minutes. Remove from steamer and place on a serving plate. Pour sauce over and dried scallops over the steamed ladies fingers and garnish with fried garlic. Serve hot.

Egg Roll with many symbols for Chinese New Year

Do you know why spring rolls is one of the side dish for Chinese New Year? I just found out what its symbolic significance is. It symbolizes wealth because of it's somewhat similar appearance to a gold bar. So if you make spring rolls and put it on a bed of lettuce, you have both wealth and rising fortune because the Cantonese for lettuce, sang choi, sounds the same as "sang" for rising fortune. Wow!

So egg rolls, which uses egg for the skin, versus the bean curd skin of spring rolls, can be a nice side dish for Chinese New Year too. Why? Okay, let me see what I can make out of the recipe. The skin of eggs symbolizes fertility. The skin is yellow and that color symbolizes success and gold. There is chili inside and it is red so which is another, more generalized symbol of good fortune. Put a little sugar for rich and sweetness in life, and the addition of cornstarch makes the filling stick together for family togetherness, while the layers symbolize rising abundance. Last but not least, the sound of prawn in Cantonese is "ha" so many prawns inside becomes "hahahaha" and there will be lots of laughter too. (I made that up, haha) Chive for garnishing is perfect because it's sound in Cantonese is eternity. What do you think? Does egg roll qualify to be served as a Chinese New Year dish or not?

Ingredients:
2 eggs, lightly beaten

10 medium prawns, removed shell, deveined and minced

1 tbs chopped choy poh (preserved radish)

4 thinly diced chili or 1 thinly diced red chili 2 florets of black fungus, (soaked and thinly sliced)

¼ tsp ground white pepper

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp corn starch

4 chives for garnishing

Method:
Mix minced prawns, choy poh, pepper, sugar and corn starch. In a 6 in. pan, pour in egg enough to thinly cover the bottom of the pan and let it cook on medium heat. Remove cooked egg wrapper from pan and let it cool. Repeat till eggs are finished.

To assemble the rolls:
Place an egg wrapper onto your work surface with one corner pointing towards you. Place about 2 tablespoons of cooled filling in a heap onto the bottom third of the wrapper. Fold the bottom corner over the filling and roll firmly to the halfway point. Fold the left and right sides snugly over the roll, then continue rolling until the top corners seal the roll Repeat with remaining egg wrappers. Heat water in the steamer to boil and steam the rolls for 20 mins. Cut and arrange on a serving plate and garnish with chives.

Sweet Sour Chicken for CNY instead of a whole chicken? - Featured at Dishfolio on 31 Jan 2011 & at Group Recipes Best of the Week

For my Chinese New Year reunion dinner, I usually have another variation of chicken dish in addition to the steam chicken which my family likes.  This is because Stitch is not crazy about the steam chicken.  The past years, I have made Lemon Chicken which is his favorite. This reunion I am including this dish in my menu for a change. How about you? How do you prepare yours?

 

This dish was featured in Asian Food Channel (Official) Facebook page

on 25th September 2012

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb. chicken breast (cut into bite size pieces)


1/2 green bell pepper, cut into pieces

1/2 red bell pepper, cut into pieces


2 stalks scallions, only the white part, cut into 2 inch length

1/4 fresh pineapple, cut into small pieces

1 tsp garlic, finely chopped,

1 tbs vegetable oil

MARINATE FOR THE CHICKEN:

(A)

1 teaspoon soy sauce


1/2 teaspoon corn flour


1/2 teaspoon rice wine

BATTER TO COAT THE CHICKEN:

(B)

1/2 cup water


2 oz. all-purpose flour


1 oz. corn starch


1/2 teaspoon baking soda


1/2 egg


1 teaspoon cooking oil


1 small pinch of salt

½ tsp vanilla

SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE:

(C)

1 1/2 tbs tomato ketchup


1 tsp plum sauce


1/8 tsp Chinese rice vinegar

1/2 tsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce


1 tsp oyster sauce


1 tsp corn starch


1 tsp sugar


2 tbs water

METHOD:

Marinate chicken breast pieces with (A) for 30 minutes. Mix (B) to form a thick batter and set aside. When the chicken is well marinated, add them into the batter and have them all well coated. In a deep wok, add in oil enough for deep-frying. Once the oil is hot, deep fry the chicken breast pieces until they turn golden brown. Dish out and drain on paper towels. Heat up the wok again and add in some oil. Add chopped garlic and stir fry until fragrant, followed by the bell peppers and pineapple pieces. Stir fry until you smell the peppery aroma from the peppers before adding in the (C). As soon as the sauce thickens, add the already deep fried chicken breast pieces into the wok and stir well with the sauce. The last thing to add in is the white part of the spring onion. Mix well, and transfer to serving plate. This is delicious to serve with steamed white rice.

Ngoh Hiang/Lobak (five spiced pork rolls wrapped)

I knew my best friend forever, Peng Peng when we were both in our twenties so by calculation, we have been buddies for thirty over years! Peng Peng is the most intelligent, rational, honest person I have ever known. She is a friend that you can trust to be there for you in a time of need. I feel so blessed to have her in my life.

Peng Peng inherited this “Ngoh Hiang” (five-spice pork rolls wrapped) recipe from her mum. This morning, she took time off from her busy schedule to show me how to make this dish. As I watched her preparing it, I recalled the first time I met her mum. Although we had been friends for many years, I have only met her mum once. On that occasion she left a great impression with me because she was a very beautiful and elegant lady. She looked very distinquished with her silver hair. She appeared to me as the ideal “wife and mum”. In the old days, she would have been every man's perception of an ideal wife. For a lady like her, the Cantonese people would say she is a “Yin Chye Leong Moh” (supportive wife and a caring mum). She passed away peacefully not long after I met her and I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity. I dedicate this post to her and thank her for giving me a great friend and now, a terrific recipe.

Ingredients:

(A)

70gm sliced purple onion

150gm ¼” long srtips jicama

600gm ¼” long strips pork belly

1 ½ tsp oyster sauce

1 tsp dark sauce

1 ½ tsp sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

½ tsp salt

2/3 cups green pea flour

1 egg, lightly beaten

15gm five spices powder

1 big pc of bean curd sheet cut into 8” x 5” rectangle

a dash of ground white pepper

(B)

oil deep enough to fry the rolls

Garnish:

1 tbs roasted sesame seeds

some parsley

Method:

Mix (A) thoroughly.

Place 3 tbs of mixture onto each bean curd sheet. Fold into a neat roll. Place rolls on slightly greased plates and steam for 15 mins. Leave to cool.

Deep fry steamed rolls in hot oil till crispy. Place crispy rolls on absorbent paper to remove excess oil.

Cut rolls, garnish with roasted sesame seeds and parsley and serve with sambal belacan.

This dish was featured in the Asian Food Channel (Official) Facebook page 

on 23rd October 2012

Tip: Wipe both sides of the bean curd sheet with a damp cloth to remove excess salt. The steamed rolls, when thoroughly cooled, are suitable for freezing.

I have submitted this entry to  Malaysian Monday.  Do check out 3 hungry tummies or test with a skewer for more information.

Stir fry baby bok choy with almond - an appropriate side dish for Chinese New Year

There are so many variation in cooking baby bok choy. Here is another variation. Quick, simple yet delicious and healthy. This makes a lovely vegetable dish for Chinese New Year if you are looking for one. Since almonds signify goods of life, it is an appropriate dish to include for the celebration.

Ingredients:

350 gm baby bok choy

¼ cup almond, chopped

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp chopped garlic

½ cube bullion chicken stock

¼ tsp sesame oil

¼ tsp ground white pepper

¾ cup water

Method:

Dissolve bullion chicken stock in ¾ cup warm water and set aside. Heat oil in wok and sauté garlic till fragrant. Add almond and stir fry till they a golden brown.  Add bok choy , chicken stock and stir fry till bok choy is limb .  Add sesame oil and ground white pepper and mix well.  Transfer to serving plate and serve hot. 

Frosted Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie

Posted by Quay Lo:

There are many recipes for a peanut butter brownie on the internet and I won’t claim that this one is the best. However, this recipe is a very quick and easy approach that yields a delicious result and it is one that we guessed at as we went along. We were challenged to come up with a worthy dessert recently, but were given very short notice. We had little time on our hands to prepare. This is the result of starting with a boxed brownie mix and ending with a far richer and more interesting dessert.

The box recipe called for adding 2 eggs, ¼ cup water, and ½ cup vegetable oil. Stir all, bake at 350°F (175°C) for 40 minutes, and joila!...a very quick pan of brownies. This would yield, according to the instructions on the box, the “fudgy” version of the branded mix. There was also a cake-like version that called for 3 eggs, instead of two. Here is our version:

You will need:

A medium mixing bowl, a food processor or blender, a small bowl, a mixing fork, a measuring tablespoon, a rubber spatula, and an 8 inch by 8 inch baking pan, slightly oiled. For the frosting you will need a whisk, and a “bain marie” or a 1 quart sauce pan, and a metal bowl that fits in the mouth of the sauce pan such that an inch of water in the pan does not touch the bowl.

Ingredients:

One box of your favorite brownie mix

¾ cup smooth peanut butter 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1 egg 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil 1 cup water

(for the topping see below)

Instructions for the brownies:

Set oven to 350°F (175°C)

Slightly oil an 8” by 8” baking pan and set aside. Place dry mix and walnuts in a medium mixing bowl.

Into a food processor add:

¾ cup smooth peanut butter

2-4 tablespoons cooking oil (or peanut oil if you have it)

Pulse until well mixed (using the third and fourth tablespoon of oil if needed) Remove contents to the mixing bowl that already holds the dry mix from the box.

In a small bowl, stir one egg with a fork and add to the mix.

From a cup of water, start by adding 3 tablespoons of the water to the mix and stir, adding spoonfuls of water as needed until the mix is well blended, (but not so liquid as to be pourable) Avoid using a whisk or an electric mixer. Instead use a mixing fork and avoid adding any air to the mix by a using a slower, more deliberate motion.

Using a spatula, transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to the oiled 8” by 8” baking pan, spreading evenly across the pan.

Bake at 350° F (175°C) for 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to completely cool.

Ingredients and instructions for the frosting:

In a one quart sauce pan add 1 inch of water. Select a metal mixing bowl that fits on top of the sauce pan without touching the water below. At medium high heat, boil the water.

When the water is boiling place the metal bowl on top and add:

2 ounces (60 grams) of dark chocolate, broken into pieces

2 tablespoons of chili oil (this really punches up the frosting. Don't worry, it won't be a spice burn.)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon of thick cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 heaping tablespoons of icing (powdered) sugar

Whisk ingredients together until the chocolate is melted and the ingredients well blended.

Remove the metal bowl and whisk briskly for 30 more seconds, incorporating air. Cover and set aside until completely cooled.

Notes: This should yield a shiny, thin frosting that spreads easily and should cover the baked brownie mix with a frosting that is approximately 1/4 inch (.75 cm) thick. If you want more adjust accordingly. Pictured is a 1/2 recipe version as we prefer less frosting.

We plated this with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and a maraschino cherry, and used some of the cherry syrup to splash around for color.

Cornbread, Sage Stuffing by Quay Lo and Quay Po

This dish was product of a joint effort from Quay Lo and Quay Po.

At its heart, this is southern (U.S.) style cornbread stuffing. Yet it starts with a classic mirepoix and just gets better from there, depending on your flair and your taste on the day you make it. It may be too late for this Christmas, how about keeping it for the next?

You will need a frying pan, a two quart covered casserole or a large loaf pan, a large mixing bowl and a baking pan for cornbread.

Cornbread:

Ingredients:

(A)

1 C corn meal

1 C plain flour

¼ C sugar

1 tbs baking powder

1 tsp salt

(B)

1/3 C vegetable oil

1 egg

1 C milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 200C or 400F. Grease 8 inches square pan. Combine (A).  Add (B). Pour blend into prepared pan.  Bake for 20 – 25 mins.

Stuffing:

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups (approx 340 grams) onions finely diced

¾ cups (170 grams) celery finely diced

¾ cups (170 grams) carrots finely diced

3 tablespoons (42 grams) butter

½ cup fresh sage, finely chopped

½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

3 tablespoons (50 grams) freshly chopped thyme

3 cups (450 grams) cornbread, broken into pieces

8 slices white sandwich bread, toasted to lightly brown, in an oven and allowed to dry. Break into crumbs (don’t just allow bread to air dry. Toasting is added caramelization for your recipe.)

¾ cup chopped chestnuts

1 cup (approx 130 grams) dried cranberries

1 large egg slightly beaten

1 cup chicken stock

Method:

After the cornbread and bread crumbs are made it is time to prepare the mirepoix. So called the “holy trinity” of French cooking, it is nothing more than a mix of the carrots, celery, and onion, sweated in the frying pan on medium-low heat, with the butter. Avoid browning the butter or the vegetables. By now, your kitchen will have all those wonderful smells of the mirepoix and you will understand why so many great French dishes start out this way.

In a large bowl add bread crumbs and corn bread crumbs, and toss together.

Add the parsley, sage, and thyme as well as the chestnuts and cranberries, tossing all until well distributed.

Add the mirepoix mixture with all of the butter and toss again.

Salt and pepper to taste

Add the egg until well distributed.

Just a bit at a time, add the chicken stock, just until the mixture can easily be shaped with a spoon into a ball.

Slightly oil the casserole and gently spoon and press the stuffing mixture into the dish.

Bake covered for 35 minutes

Note: I like to use loaf pans and double the recipe. I freeze the second loaf taking care to seal tightly with plastic wrap, and again with a layer of aluminum foil. May be kept in your freezer for up to six months and is wonderful to have on hand to accompany roasted chicken, pork chops, or ham.

I laughed out loud. Read and I promise you will too.

I want to go "off topic" with something that still makes me laugh when I read it and I thought you might enjoy it too. My Quay lo travels extensively due to his business and the note below is what he wrote in an email to his daughter, who had shared an article on airport security with us one morning. The article was about the growing inconvenience and hassle of security checks when we travel, and highlighted the emerging use of revealing xray equipment. Stitch is specifically responding to his daughter's statement that she just grins and bears it because it is far better than no security.

My Quay Lo wrote:

*** You know, that is exactly how I survive the ordeal. I just keep telling myself that it is one of the signs of the time. If I rant, I rant to myself. Other then that, I just “bend over”, and occasionally say things like, “enjoy yourself?” or “could I get a copy of the picture?” to make it more lighthearted. I once had a female air security person, who had visions that she was Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry. She seemed intent on stripping me piece by piece. First it was remove the shoes. Then it was take out the wallet. Then it was remove the jacket. Then it was remove the belt…at which point I said “Hey, are we playing strip poker??!! Bcuz, I don’t have any cards”. The guy behind me laughed out loud but “Dirty Harriett” kept in character and only scowled. So I shut up and consoled myself that at least I gave one guy a laugh.

One of my regrets is that travel has become so tedious and wearying. Seats are smaller as my ass grows bigger. Leg room is shorter as my knees get stiffer. Meals are rarely a notch above animal feed. Toilets are barely large enough for me to stand up straight in. Passengers are ruder than ever before. Every time I schedule another flight I tend to want to say to myself “crap…another airport, another crappy airline, another hotel that will find 1,000 ways to irritate me”, and I remember how it used be a that each trip I took was preceded with a sense of excitement and adventure. Sometimes with these thoughts, I fall into one of those internalized curmudgeon rants about the “good old days” and "ain't it awful". Usually I jatr myself out of this reverie, realizing that isn’t really true, so I try to catch myself. The fact is that every face I see represents a new opportunity to learn something, and a new opportunity to make a friend. Not long ago I sat next to an Arabic businessman and we had one of the most congenial conversations two people could have. I have had, in my life, a thousand experiences like that. I once was behind a pregnant woman who fell backwards while climbing the stairs to the plane entry. (some problem with the gateway had forced the airline to bus us to the plane and enter this way). I caught her and managed to get her back on her feet. She was so gracious in her thanks that I felt good. But as I reached the plane’s hatch, the flight attendant said “great catch, sir”. The crew then went on during the flight to give me very attentive service. It made my day.

There are still great things out there to experience. And great places to discover. You can’t have these experiences sitting at home, I know that. So I think contemplating a trip becomes a question of overcoming inertia.”

Congrats, my dear, for overcoming yours, though that has always been a skill for you. You are one of those bubbly people that just see pleasure and adventure in everything. That makes me very proud and I hope it will always be that way for you.

Love, Dad ***

When my Quay Lo returns from his travel, he is always glad that he is home. Even a simple sandwich, his usual request after a long return flight and it is late in the day, will make him very happy.

Ham Sandwich

Ingredients:

3-4 slices of shaved ham

2 pcs whole meal bread

3 slices of plum tomato

1 pc of Romanian lettuce

1 tbs mayonnaise, 
1/2 tbs Dijon mustard,
and a dash of black pepper

some corn chips

Method:

Assemble all the above, Simple enough?