The Food Canon

Cooking for Chinese New Year 2022

Chinese New Year Monday, January 31, 2022

Another CNY is here and here are my cooking notes. This will be the third celebration happening under the shadow of the pandemic. This means that, sadly, I won't be able to celebrate with the Wongs for the third year running at our family home in Petaling Jaya. And with the restriction to 5 unique visitors per day, this will be a quiet CNY here in Singapore.

With limited guests, this also means that we can plan for sit-down dinners and lunches. The concession is that there will be a lot cooking and trying out various festive dishes.

What am I planning to do?

As you will know, the plans have to be made weeks ago and the marketing done beforehand. The menu will keep changing, even up to today. Tweaks being made to ensure an efficient (and delicious) laying out of dishes for successive meals. At the same time, I hope to recreate some our family traditions as CNY meals. Chai Buay or Choi Keok is a must by the 2nd day, the famous Hokkien leftover dish which I have blogged about here.

Chai Buay

I have already start preparing the stocks. The "supreme stock" is for the sauces and the general stock for the soups. The supreme stock is cooked from a whole kampung chicken, half a kg of lean pork and a piece of Chinese or Jinhua ham. It went straight into the pressure cooker and simmered for 2 hours. Then it was finely strained and put into the fridge. The layer of fat will congeal on the top nicely and I will just scoop it up (reserve the lard/fats for other dishes). See the photo below. From here I have the base stock to make the sauces I need.

The congealed fats can
be easily removed

I was given some giant mushrooms and after a day of dehydrating, it was braised with other smaller mushrooms. I only use some salt and sugar. This gives me flexibility to use the mushrooms for dark soy-based or clear dishes. I plan to serve the large mushrooms in various dishes, including abalones, braised pork belly and broccoli. I will blog the mushroom dish later.

I have grown some beautiful and tasty Japanese Tang-oh (see photo below) in my hydroponic set up. I will blog about how one may grow vegetables at home in another article. I plan to use them in a clear soup. Tang-Oh hardly needs any cooking. Add them when you are about to serve the soup.

Tasty Japanes Tang-oh

I have some large prawns in the freezer. Some of them are gifts. I also bought 2 kg of some large ones in the market where prices seem to be least affected by CNY: the Geylang Serai Market. They went for $18 per kg! Following my Mum's tradition it will be cooked "Har Lok" style. I have blogged the recipe here.

As for the chicken dish, the usual steam chicken (45 minutes) is simple to do. Use a "corn-fed free-running" chicken. I have made the chilli sauce and ginger sauce. My Mum's version for the ginger sauce: pound the garlic and gingers coarsely (I use 3 types: blue, normal and young). Heat up some oil and in a small flame cook the ginger paste for about 5 minutes. Add some sugar and oyster sauce. Switch off the fire and add some chopped coriander leaves.

Another chicken dish will be the green curry chicken. Yes, this is Nonya and follows my wife and mother-in-law or the Teos' tradition. I will blog the recipe but it is very similar to Nonya curry chicken. Green chillies will be used along with lengkuas (blue ginger) and daun limau perut (kaffir lime leaves).

And of course, last but not leat, the old favourite, Lo Hon Chai or Chap Chai. Following my mums style, it is cooked in white fermented beancurd (fuyi). Check the recipe here.

I hope to put up an article with photos of the dishes. Stay tuned.

And whether you are buying in or cooking your own CNY dishes, do enjoy those moments with you family and God's richest blessings be with you!

This multilevel steamer is very useful.
You can cook the stock below and
steam stuff at the same time

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Ipoh Curry Mee

Wednesday, December 08, 2021

It has been some time but I had always wanted to get down to the Ipoh Curry Mee recipe. This is also somewhat emotive for me as I miss being with my family lock downed in KL and Ipoh. And of course, I miss Ipoh food. I have posted my experience at the famous Ipoh Curry Mee stall here.

This Malaysian version of Curry Mee do not normally use coconut milk. The broth is lighter and more emphasis is placed on the use of aromatics like spices, herbs and chillies.

In my opinion, curry mee is easier to cook compared to Assam Laksa or Prawn Mee. Both these recipes are explained in details in some posts here. I have also posted a laksa recipe here.

Curry mee (or laksa for the matter) is simply the combination of a good meat broth and a fragrant sambal chilli.

The broth for my version is based on chicken and pork bones. As for chicken, while you may use carcasses or bones, the sweetness from the meat is important. So I will always at least leave one whole chicken inside to be cooked throughly (i.e. the meat is tasteless after that and unusable) and this will be reflected in my recipe here. In fact, for any good meat stock, the meat is important if you want the depth and sweetness in the broth.

As for the sambal, the onion base is important, which is slowly simmered in oil. To that you add spices (coriander, cumin, cinnamon), herbs (lemon grass, blue ginger, ginger) and red chilli paste. As always for sambal, sufficient oils is important for the mouthfeel and fragrance, as the oil will absorbed the flavours from the spices and herbs.

For garnishing, calamansi lime juice and fresh mint leaves will add a lift. If you are serving this for dinner, adding boiled chicken make sense. You can just leave another whole chicken and steep in the simmering broth for 30 minutes and then cut it to accompany the curry noodles. And of course, adding some roast pork is a nice bonus.

Once you understand what's behind a good bowl of curry mee, you need not be stuck to my recipe and should have the confidence to variate your spices and herbs. And as always with soup noodle recipes, your palate is important as you tweak the taste of the broth to your liking.

Broth
1 whole chicken
1 kg pork bones
1 kg chicken carcasses and bones

1 kg of prawns, peeled

8 litres of water

Sambal Paste

1 cup of oil

1 tbsp of belachan

500g shallots

1 inch turmeric

100gm garlic

2 lemon grass

3 slices of blue ginger

3 slices of ginger

2 tsp Coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

2 cinnamon sticks

About 1 cup of Chilli paste

Sugar and salt to taste.

For garnishing

Lime

Mint leaves

1 Kampung Chicken (optional)

Roast pork (optional)

Tau pok (tofu puffs), soak in water to remove the oil

Yellow Mee

Bee Hoon (Rice vermicelli) - soak in warm water to soften and rehydrate

Bean Sprouts

Method

Preparing the broth

This is something you can prepare much earlier on in the day or even the night before. In a large pot, heat up the water. Get it to a boil and add the whole chicken, pork bones and chicken carcasses/bones. After 10 minutes, lower the fire and slowly simmer for 2 hours or more. For this recipe, you want the fats. Add the prawn heads and shells. Periodically, using a strainer to remove the scums when they float to the top.

Strain the broth.

Cooking the chicken, prawns and tofu puffs

Increase the fire for the broth till it is boiling. Put the whole kampung chicken in. Lower the fire to a simmer and cook the chicken for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken. When it is cooled, cut it up. You can also choose to debone it.

Add the prawn meat and cook in the broth till it turns orange-red. This will take about a minute or so. When it has cooled, slice horizontally into two flat halves.

Add the tofu puffs to the broth.

Preparing the sambal paste:

Blend the shallots, blue ginger, ginger, garlic and turmeric. In a wok, first toast the belachan. Then add the oil and when it is heated, add the paste. Slowly simmer for 15 minutes. The add the chilli paste. Add 1 tsp of salt and 2 tsp of sugar. Simmer for another 15 minutes.

Finishing the curry stock

Add half of the sambal paste into the broth. Add salt and sugar to taste. Reserve half of the sambal paste for dipping.

Serving the Curry Mee

Boil a pot of hot water.

Prepare one serving of beansprouts, mee and Bee Hoon. Blanch it in the boiling water for about 30 seconds. Shake off the excess water and blanch it in the boiling curry broth. Garnish with a few sliced of prawns, chicken, sliced tofu puffs and mint leaves. Squeeze one lime over the bowl. Serve immediately, with the sambal as a dipping sauce. If you like roast pork on it add a few slices.

You can hardly go wrong with this recipe and enjoy this comforting bowl of curry mee.

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Roast Pork (Cantonese Style) using the Anova Precision Oven

Chinese Wednesday, November 10, 2021

I have been making roast pork Cantonese style from time to time (check the posts here) and I have settled into a method which I have found to be easy and consistent. My aim is to have the meat cook just right and juicy while the skin is crisped. There are various ways of roasting pork belly and of course, a regular oven can be used.

My mother-in-law bought an Anova Precision Oven recently. This oven suited this method to the tee. I won't need to use vacuum bags and I can do everything from start to finish in the oven. I will share here my cooking notes. Down the line, I will be experimenting different ways of using this oven to cook, for example, using the SV probe and so on.

The steps in a nutshell -

blanch

poke holes

add marinate

sous-vide cooking (72˚C , 5 hours)

grilling (200˚C, 10 minutes)

Blanching removes impurities and make it easier for the skin to be poked. The SV stage serves to purpose: cook the pork and dry out the skin. The Anova oven allows for cooking in stages. This means I can set the grilling stage to start immediately after the SV stage. But the oven does not stop after the timer goes to zero. So, I prefer to initiate the grilling stage manually and be around to watch over it.

Ingredients

Slab of pork belly, skin on of course, 2 kg

3 tbsp of table salt

1 tbsp of sugar

1 tbsp of white pepper

1 tsp of five-spiced powder

1. Blanch the slab of pork in boiling water for 10 minutes.

2. Using fork, poke holes. I slant the fork at an angle so that I don't accidentally poke all the way through. If this happens, water will ooze out of the meat during the grilling process, making skin crisping harder.

Move the fork into the skin at an angle

3. Lay a foil on the tray. Put the pork skin side down and rub the marinate into the meat.

4. Put the slab of pork, skin side up, on the tray and fold up the foils. Place tray at the lowest rack. You can set the oven using the app or on the panel. Set: Sous Vide On, 72˚C, No steam, Heating from rear, Timer: 5 hours (see below).

Sous Vide Stage

4. Then grill at 200˚C for about ten minutes. Use a spoon or chopstick to tap the skin. Some burned black spots are okay as you can scrap them off later with a knife.

Grilling Stage

After the grilling stage

Let the meat cool off, slice and enjoy. If you did it right, the meat should look intact (not breaking apart). I normally slice of the underside meat which is firmer. Use the sliced meat to cook with veg for another disk. Your roast pork pieces should be flat at the bottom and able to stand upright, making for a nice presentation.

This roasted pork should be eaten at room temperature. It keeps well. If eating it one or two days later, just grill it again to warm it up or to crisp u the skin.

You can also stay fry it with garlic using the recipe here.

You can use the roast pork to stir fry in garlic and black sauce.

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Delicious Tempeh in Soy Sauce and Bango Sauce (Kecap Manis)

Malay Wednesday, May 19, 2021

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A delicious batch of Beef Rendang

beef Monday, May 03, 2021

I love beef rendang. We love beef rendang.

As I have said in an earlier book and in my cookbook, local beef cooked the rendang way transforms it into a very special dish. From the humble to the sublime, slowly braised, beef rendang is to Malays what beef bourguignon is to the French.

I made a batch recently where some diners felt that it was "the best they have ever eaten." I won't want to stake that claim for my version as I think I have eaten some very good rendang in the past. I can think of my Mother's version which I grew up with which was constantly good. I have not been able to cook a version that taste exactly like hers and she used local Malaysian beef. I also like the version cooked up by Penang Place.

There are indeed many types of rendang and one should have an open mind to taste the many varieties out there. From my own experience, the following tips are helpful:

Cooking good rendang is not something you can do in a rush. Be prepared to go for even up to three hours or more. The traditional simmering in the wok is still best and I have not been satisfied with versions where I tried cut down the time needed through pressure-cooking. As with all good curries involving an onion paste, long simmering will impart a mellow taste.
As for beef cuts, I prefer those with stringy meat texture and you will get that with topside or brisket.
Adding a tinge of sourness is important (Assam keping or tamarind juice).
While white sugar can be used, Gula Melaka or Indonesian Palm Sugar do a more complex flavour. It is hard to describe but the sauce will have a more caramelised feel and taste.
Dried chillies should be used as it imparts a smoky taste to the chilli oil.
In my opinion, blue ginger is essential for rendang but be careful of adding too much less it overpowers the sauce.
As for lemon grasss, while it can be added whole and removed later, I prefer to blend it into the sauce for the added texture.

In any case, this blog is my cooking notes as as my wife will say very often: please write down the recipe.

And so, here it is. Do note that a few years ago, I have blogged a rendang recipe here.

Ingredients

2 kg of top side or brisket, cubed to about 2-3 cm in width

blended paste

500gm of red onions

100gm of garlic

1 inch of blue ginger

3 stalks of lemon grass

4 Tbsp of dried red chilly paste

300 ml of cooking oil

200 gm Gula Melaka or palm sugar

1 tbsp of table salt

2 pieces of assam gelugur (dried tamarind slices)

1 pack of Kara coconut milk (200 ml)

2 tsp of Kerisik (dried coconut)

a few pieces of kaffir lime leaves

some water as needed

Heat up the oil in a wok.
Add the blended paste, Assam keeping, palm sugar and simmer for half an hour, stirring occasionally.
Mix in the beef cubes and stir. Add the coconut milk and kerisik. Go on a low simmer till the beef is soft and tears apart easily. The duration depends on the type of beef cuts and the type of wok or pot you are suing. Add some water occasionally if the sauce is drying up too much.
Towards the end, garnish with some diced kaffir lime leaves.

It is important to be tasting all the way as you cook to make adjustments to the sauce. To add a note, sometimes I will add some cumin and coriander seeds and there are other occasions where I will blend in the turmeric leaves and some femur ginger. These are just variations you can experiment with to get a different taste to the sauce. As for kerisik, it will be best to do it yourself though I should add that I have used store-bought versions from time to time. Toast the coconut flesh in a wok, stirring constantly for about 30-40 minutes till it is light brown in colour. After this, pound in a lesong or use a good blender is to turn it into an oily paste. I have eaten versions of beef rendang which used only toasted coconut (without pouring it) and I find this acceptable too.

Early stage of cooking it in a wok.

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Mattar Paneer (Dry paneer cheese curry with green peas)

Indian Wednesday, April 21, 2021

You may have come across the popular Indian dish, Palek Paneer. For those who are less familiar, Paneer Cheese is delicious and relatively cheap. Ordering a frozen packet is just an online click away.

I have mentioned elsewhere that I have been inspired by some great recipes from the Dishoom Cookbook. One of them is Mattar Paneer, which I cooked recently for my niece, Rebecca Loy's birthday.

Mattar Paneer is a ubiquitous Indian dish cooked in many Indian homes, with each having their own version. The key is to start with a good *onion-tomato masala paste*. You need to be patient in caramelising the onion paste in oil till it is dark brown without burning it. And don't sting on the oil. As with all good curries, oil is needed to caramelise the onion paste and gives a good mouth feel to the curry. The principles behind a good curry is the same behind every cuisine, whether Indian, Chinese or Malay. Check this post for some tips on good curry making. I also have a slew of curry recipes here.

Once a good paste is done, just add the perfect combination of paneer cheese cubes and green peas. It will go great with basmati rice or chapatis.

Ingredients

300 ml cooking oil

1 kg red onions, diced or blended
30g garlic
30g ginger

2 tsp salt

2 tsp chilli powder

600g chopped tomatoes

1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground cumin
150g frozen peas
300g paneer, cut into 2cm cubes
100ml double cream

Heat up a wok or deep pot in low to medium fire. Then add the oil and when heated, add the diced or blended onion paste.
Slowly simmer, stirring frequently with the spatula. Add a bit of water if needed to prevent bottom burning.
Add the chilli powder, garlic and ginger paste.
Simmer till it is dark brown. It will take about 30 minutes or so.
Then add the chopped tomato and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the salt, garam masala and ground cumin.
Add the green peas and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the paneer cheese cubes and gently stir for 10 minutes so as not to break up the cubes.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

You can always make your own variations and adjustment. You can use chilli paste or fresh chillies if you prefer. Do taste to adjust the saltiness if necessary. Garam Masala is easily available in any Indian grocery salt or you can also buy it online.

You can hardly go wrong with this dish. Give this a try.

The Mattar Paneer finished in a wok.

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The Food Canon

Cooking for Chinese New Year 2022

Ipoh Curry Mee

Roast Pork (Cantonese Style) using the Anova Precision Oven

Delicious Tempeh in Soy Sauce and Bango Sauce (Kecap Manis)

A delicious batch of Beef Rendang

Mattar Paneer (Dry paneer cheese curry with green peas)

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