The Food Canon

The last time I saw a whole roasted pig, I had to tiptoe just to get a glimpse.

I was a young boy then, celebrating Chinese New Year with my family. On the ninth day, an important occasion for Hokkiens to honor their deities, a grand roasted pig was brought in as an offering.

I can still picture the adults, their faces softened by the swirls of smoke from burning joss sticks. 

Asian greens grows very well and it is also a daily staple for most local families. Since this is a cooking blog, I will keep the focus in this post. If there are some who are interested in the technicalities of growing a home hydroponic system, I will be more than happy to share my experience in another post. (Or perhaps in another blog?)

My hydroponic set up on my balcony: Pak Choi and Cai Xin.

Editor's note: I want to dedicate this post and recipe to my late brother, Clement Wong, whom I am missing dearly.

"Keong Choong Cho Yin Kai" - or Steamed Chicken in Ginger sauce - served by the brothers at Public Pusing Restaurant in Ipoh is a family favourite. We never failed to order this dish whenever we get to dine there.

It has taken me quite a while to come up with a version that is close to theirs. I have to confess that over many visits and some clever conversations with the waitresses, tips can be had. I just piece it all together and experiment till I get the dish closer to their version. 

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. 

I have been actively cooking for more than ten years now. It is funny but with time and experience, I tend to lean towards simplification. I cooked braised boneless pork knee recently ("Yin Tai") and it turned out very well. Some friends have asked for the recipe and so here it is. 

Braised Boneless Pork Knee (Yin Tai) 

So finally, I manage to cough out a video.

I have dreamt of doing since a few years back. The pace of work and life simply did not allow it.

Until Covid19 of course.

So, should I switch entirely to video? I still think that a blog can be supplementary to a cookbook or video recipes. I find it easier to refer to text when I am cooking off a recipe. Videos are great in inspiring and giving me ideas and confidence. Both can be helpful.

Here are some supplementary notes to the video.

1. Can this be cooked under an hour? Absolutely. The thickness of the meat will affect the time needed. In the video, I was using pork which was no more than an inch in diameter. If you pork strips are thicker than that, you will need to cook longer. 
2. If you do not have Hoi Sin sauce, replace it with oyster sauce, which was what my Mum used. You will need to increase the amount of sugar if so. 
3. I made one mistake in the video. You can remove the sauce at the while keeping the pork in the wok. As the amount of sauce reduce, the searing will begin. This reduces the steps and simplify the recipe. 
4. Also note that I was trying to simplify the steps to avoid having to use too many bowls etc. I was just trying to reduce the need for washing. I am sure you can figure out a more elegant and simpler way of cooking this. 

I have tons of Char Siew recipes and notes for those who are into details and seeking to improve on the recipe. Read them here. 

Recipe at a glance:

2 teaspoon - table salt
1 teaspoon - sesame oil
1 teaspoon - dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon - white pepper
2 tablespoon - honey
1 tablespoon - sugar
2 tablespoon - Hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon - Chinese wine or liquor
1 tsp: 5-spice powder

To cook add:
2 tablespoon - oil
1 cup of water

Method

1. Heat up the wok. Mix the ingredients and add to wok.
2. Add pork simmer for 50 minutes or till the pork is tender enough.
3. Remove most of the sauce.
4. Caramelise the meat in medium heat. 

Meanwhile, you can check up on the video here:

Sometimes, some of the simplest dishes are the comfort food we love.

Stir-fry potatoes with meat is one of my Mum's staple dish. Both children and seniors like it and it goes very well with rice. It is also simple to cook. Potatoes keeps well in the open (cool and dry place) and meat can always be kept in the freezer, which explains it's frequent appearance on our dining table.

Choose the right potatoes. Those yellow ones  grown locally (i.e Malaysia or Indonesia) are tasty and they cook fast. As for meat, you can use slice pork, minced pork or diced chicken. As for the sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce and a dash of dark source will do. And garlic of course.

It is really that simple.

Ingredients

1 kg yellow Potato
500 gm meat
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp of dark sauce
1 tbsp of oil
1 tbsp of minced garlic
1 tsp corn starch and I cup of water
Some diced spring onions (for garnishing)

Preparation:
Peel and slice the potatoes, about half a cm in thickness.

Hit up the oil in the wok in gentle fire. Add the minced garlic. When the garlic is browned, add the potato slices. Stir and let it cook for about 10 minutes.

Then add the meat. Add the sauces and stir. After 5 minutes, add the slurry of  corn starch and water. Stir and after 2 minutes it will be ready.

This dish can be prepared hours before dinner. Just reheat before you serve and garnished with the diced spring inions.

You can consider these variations:

• Add slices of Chilli or chilli paste
• Add some curry powder
• Use minced beef
• Garnish with coriander leaves
• Adjust the amount of ingredients used for the sauce to suit your preference. 

I have been wanting to work on the Curry Mee recipe and am glad that I finally got down to it.

So, what is the difference between Curry Mee and Laksa?  In my opinion, both terms describe the same thing: noodles in curry. We know that laksa is not laksa if it is not noodles and if the broth has no curry in it.

Just that this version which we normally call "Curry Mee" in Malaysia  has a lighter broth. In my version, I omitted coconut milk.

In a nutshell, Curry Mee broth is a combination of meat broth (or stock) and sambal. In this version, I used some prawns and added the shells go into the broth. I also added some tamarind slices for the sour flavour. I also used oil from chicken fats and skins to make the sambal.

There are actually many times of Curry Mee. You can also use pork bones for the stock. Add some coconut milk if you like. Omit using daun keeping if you prefer a sweeter broth. Just get the general idea of how to make curry mee or laksa and you can improvise as you please.

This is not something you will want to make for your daily dinner. But if you are expecting many relatives or friends in a gathering, this great for such occasions.

Making the Broth

Ingredients:
2 kg of chicken bones and parts
1 tsp of salt
1 kg of medium size prawns

Peel the prawns. Reserve the meat for garnishing. Fry the shells and heads till they are golden. Heat up about 6 laters of water and simmer the chicken bones and prawn heads/shells for 2 hours. If you are using pressure cooker, an hour will do.

Making the Sambal

Making the Sambal

Ingredients
To blend
10 pieces of garlic
20 pieces of shallots
10 buah keras (candlenut)
1 inch of turmeric or 2 tsp of turmeric powder
1 inch of blue ginger
2 tbsp of belachan

2 tsp table salt
3 tsp sugar
4 tbsp of chilli paste
2 tbsp of light or chicken curry powder
4 stalks of lemon grass (smashed)
2  tamarind slices (daun keping)
1 bowl of chicken or vegetable oil

Blend the ingredients. In a wok, heat up the oil and add the paste. Add salt, sugar, chilli paste, curry powder and the lemon grass. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Boiling the prawn shells and chicken bones

Preparing the Bowl of Curry Mee

Ingredients
Yellow Mee
Rice vermicelli (bi hun)
Bean sprouts

For garnishing
Mint leaves
Strips of Chicken meat
Tau pok (fried bean curd puffs)
Lime (kalamansi)

Strain the broth. Add the sambal paste and stir the broth. Leave some of the sambal paste for dipping. The broth is done. Add the fried bean curd.

In the boiling broth, blanch the chicken meat til it is cooked. When cooled, tear into strips.  Likewise, blanch the prawn meat.

Next, soak the rice vermicelli (bi hun)  in warm water for 15 minutes. Blanch the mee, bi hun and bean sprouts. Add the curry soup. Garnish with chicken strips, prawn, tau pok and mint leaves. Serve with some sambal and lime on the side. If you like, add some slices roast pork as a garnish. It goes very well with the sambal.

The finished broth

Sometime last year, we had the privilege of visiting a some good friends in Kuching who hosted us to a wonderful family holiday.

One of them is a foodie to the boot and we were introduced to some interesting food and produce. As expected, Foo Chow cuisine is a prominent feature here.

Red Wine Lees

In early 20th century, Foo Chows from the Hokkien province of China braved the seas of South China and landed in port towns like Sibu. Lured by their clansmen, they were promised fortune and wealth. The Foo Chows were hardy and laid their hand son jobs like farming and rubber tapping.

Gradually more Foo Chows came over. Eventually, some ventured into the lucrative timber business and till this day, Foo Chows control much of the timber business in Sarawak. All these was happening  under the controversial colonial rule of the James Brooke and "white rajahs": a dark chapter with an impact which still lives on in the beautiful islands of Borneo.

Enough about the Foo Chows or colonial politics but let's talk about food. One of their famous dish is "angjiu" or Foo Chow Red Wine. Red Glutinous Wine Chicken and Mee Sua is a popular dish. When I was in Kuching, I could easily buy good red wine and lees. They keep well in the fridge. You can also put the less in the freezer. If you have both, making this dish is really easy.

Ingredients

1 Kampung or "French" Chicken, cut into small pieces
200 gm of ginger, slice.
400 ml of red glutinous red wine
3 tablespoon of red wine lees.
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Some wood ear black fungus (optional, soaked and cut into pieces)
1 tsp of salt
2 tbsp of light soy sauce
1 tbsp of sugar or sugar crystal
1 tbsp of oil

In a wok, heat up some oil and add the ginger slices. After 2 minutes, add the red wine lees, soaked
wood ear fungus and stir. Then, add the chicken pieces, salt, sugar, soy sauce and mix. Pour in 200 ml of wine and simmer for 305 minutes, stirring occasionally. Towards the end, our in the remainder red wine. Adjust the taste with more sugar or salt, if needed. Garnish wiht coriander leaves before you serve.

You can eat it with rice or noodles like Mee Sua.

There are other ways to use the red wine and lees. Stay tuned for future recipes.

Red Wine Chicken with Mee Sua

Dipping sauces often plays the second fiddle, accompanying the main dish and eaten on the side.

If you take a food photo, the small plate of sauce is likely to be blurred or "bokeh-ed" out in the background as the meat dish takes center stage.

But there are times when the dipping sauce is so good that it becomes the reason why you keep dipping something with it.

My mums favourite ginger sauce always accompany her Steamed Chicken during CNY reunion dinners and on other occasions. And the sauce always ran out way before the chicken was eaten up.

She has never left behind a recipe but from palate memories and some experiment, I have settled on this recipe.

One key ingredient to this sauce is galangal. I have come to appreciate the versatility of this ingredient through Thai cooking and Chao Shan Cuisine. I was very inspired by how Chao Shan cuisine uses galangal through Netflix's Flavorful Origins series on this cuisine.

If you are cooking a small amount, using a mortar and pestle is the way to go for the smashed texture.  (read my inserting satire on the "Rock of Ages"). However, most times, I prepare a large amount of this sauce. It is more practical to grind it coarsely in a grinder and the finish off in the mortar. Old galangal can be as hard as a rock but a good grinder (I use the Sumeet Mixer Grinder - this is the best for Asian cooking, Panasonic also makes mixer grinders) will make short work of it. If you want to grind everything in the electric grinder, that is an acceptable compromise.

It is important to squeeze the ginger juice out before you fry it so that the ginger will caramelise faster. You ned a lot of oil for this sauce to work. And it is also important to add enough salt.

Apart from Galangal, I add normal ginger, coriander roots, stems and leaves. Adding the ginger juice and chicken stock (handy if you are boiling soup at the same time) towards the end of the cooking will help to make the sauce more viscous.

Here is the recipe. Trust me. You won't regret learning this sauce.

Ingredients:

500g galangal (fresh if possible, not dried out)
200g old ginger
100 gm garlic
2 stalks of coriander leaves
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
a bowl of oil (or chicken oil, if any)
1 tbsp of sesame oil
2 tbsp Chinese wine
half a bowl of chicken stock or water

Galangal and cekur

Pounding the coriander roots

The Summit grinder workhorse

Pound or grind the peeled galangal, ginger, cekur and coriander roots. Diced the garlic separately.

In a wok or pot, heat up the oil in a small flame. Add the diced garlic and fry until lightly browned. Then add the ginger paste, salt, sugar and fish sauce. Simmer and stir occasionally for 15 minutes. Towards the end, add some cut coriander stems, leaves and dashes of Chinese wine. Then add some chicken stock and some of the ginger juice back in. Have a taste. Adjust with some salt or sugar if necessary. Simmer for 2 minutes or so and dish out.

When it is cooled, bottle it up. It keeps well in the fridge for a few weeks.

It is great as a dipping sauce for Steamed Chicken, pork or fish. Depending on the the size of the chicken, a 25-to 30 minutes of steaming will be sufficient.

This sauce can be used for the Steamed Chicken in Ginger Sauce. 

My brother holding the late of Steamed Chicken which he has just chopped.

Crunchy fried pork and a tomato-based sauce. What is there not to like about this dish?

In fact it has. global reputation and you can find this in any Pan-Asian Chinese eatery in America, UK or Europe.  

It is surprising why it took so long before the recipe appears on my blog.

One reason is because this is one dish which my wife have cooked a few times and I have basically let it stayed in her domain as I focus on other dishes.

I should add that there was one version we ate in Nanjing (China) which we still remembered to this day. The pork's coating was firm and crispy. We have never encountered this kind of texture. What kind of flour was used to coat the pork before it was deep-fried?  I suppose the experience has raised the bar for me and I will be on the lookout for tips that can get my version closer to that.

I will share a recipe here which my church food team, helmed by Linda Ng (Linda's Cravings), cooked recently. As one can imagine, there are many ways to make this dish but I will introduce this approach where the pork is not coated in a thick batter. It will make for a lighter meal.

Ingredients:

500gm pork collar or shoulder, cut into cubes
1 clove of chopped garlic
1 small pineapple
2 green/yellow pepper
2 tomatoes

For the marinate:
1 egg
1 tsp of salt
1 tip of corn flour

Batter for frying: 
5 tbsp corn flour
2 tbsp rice flour
pinch of salt


For the Sauce:
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp plum sauce
2 tsp Lea Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar (or to taste)
1 cup of water

Method:

1. Marinate the pork for 30 mins in a deep steel container.
2. Cut the tomatoes, peppers and pineapple into bite size wedges. 
3. Add the flour mixture and coat the marinated pork pieces by tossing it in the container.  
4. Using a wok, deep pot or electric fryer, deep fry the pork till they turn golden brown. If using a wok or pot, the fire should be medium. For an electric fryer, use 180˚C. Dish out and drain on paper towels.
5. Mix the sauce ingredients well and adjust the taste if necessary if you prefer your sauce to be sweeter or more sour.   
6. Heat up a wok and add in some cooking oil. Add in the chopped garlic and stir fry until light brown, toss in the bell peppers, tomatoes and pineapple pieces. Stir fry until you smell the peppery aroma from the peppers and then add in the sweet and sour sauce. As soon as the sauce thicken, transfer the pork into the wok and stir well with the sauce. Do a few quick stirs, dish out.

If you are cooking this way before dinner time, you can choose to fry the pork again (double fry method) just before you serve if you want the pork to be crispy. Do note that you can also experiment with different types of flour. There are ways to make a very crispy version but I will leave that to another post.

Photo below: In a recent party, we served sweet and sour pork with rolled omelette and fresh lettuce salad.

I was happy to finally find a type of bean curd skin or tofu skin ("foo chook") here which turns out well when stuffed and fried the Hakka Yong Tofu way (HYTF).

Amazingly, there is a post here on how to make tofu skin. I suppose you may want to take the trouble if are staying overseas where good tofu skin is not easily available.

I have previously blogged about the HYTF fried stuffed bean skin. I have since found out that there is a better type of tofu skin which is available here. It is flexible enough to be shaped without the need to wet it first and it comes int eh right square of rectangle shape.

Stalls normally sell it in square pieces for recipes like Bak Kut Teh; but I find that to be too small for HYTF. There are stalls which sell them in larger pieces and this is the type I like to use if I am making rolled version. Alternatively, you can also create flat square pieces and have the stuffing in between (see lead photo). If you are doing it this way, you can use the smaller square pieces that are more widely available in stores.

The stuffing is made out of 2 parts fish (batting or mackerel) and 1 part minced pork. I also add some garlic, spring onions and Mui Heong salted fish and minced them altogether on a chopping board with two chopper in tow. I add some salted corn flour flurry along the way. You are not looking for the springy bounce like that found in fish balls. After you mince it into a paste, just slap it a few times so that the stuffing will be tighter.

As for the beancurd skin, cut into rectangle pieces in the direction where you can roll it easily. Use the stuffing to stick the rolls together, as in photos below.

The deep fry till golden brown. Best eaten immediately after cooking.

Fried and done.

As for the sweet sauce of "tim cheong", check my recipe here. As for the chilli sauce, any plain and fresh chilli sauce will do.

This goes well with rice or Chee cheong fun.

For my detailed HYTF recipes, check out the posts here.

Lead photo: A HYTF combination with Chee Cheong Fun which we served recently for an Alpha party. (photo credit: Joyce Ho) 

This is years ago now but I used to frequent this fried vermicelli with prawns stall at a HDB coffeeshop. I was still single then and so hmm...that is definitely more than 25 years ago!

If you have spare ikan bilis in your larder or fridge, this is a good condiment to make. It is appetising and goes very well with rice or porridge. And it makes for a good snack. My Mum made this often.

With CNY around the corner, it is good to have some of this in your fridge.

I was told that Indonesian ikan bilis crisp up better than those from China. Should you remove the hearts and organs? After reading this, you may not want to do that.

And please, don't wash the ikan bilis unless you want to reduce it's saltiness and plan to dehydrate them first before frying. Do you know how hot deep frying oil is? Deep your finger in and feel it. But then again maybe not. The point is even humans will not survive hot oil.  Neither will any pathogens clinging to it. Hou should however sake of any dust by shaking the dust down by using both your hands or a suitable colannder.

Tau chu is salty and plum sauce is sweet. Make sense to combine them. Plum sauce will also add some glaze to the ikan bilis.

Ingredients
200 gm ikan bilis
10 shallots (peeled and sliced)
2 fresh green or red chillies (sliced)
1 Tbsp of plum sauce
1 Tbsp of brown soy beans (Tauchu, whole not meshed)
Oil

Method
1. Deep fry the ikan bilis in medium heat till it is golden brown and set aside.
2. Using a Tbsp of the oil, cook the slice chillies and caramelised the sliced shallots for about 2 minutes.
3. Add the tauchu and plum sauce, mix and switch off the fire.
4. When the sauce has cooled, add the fried ikan bilis in and mix.

Serve immediately or keep in an air-tight container.

Happy crunching.

I have written a few post on this recipe and you can check them out through this link.

I have never cooked this for less than 30 bowls and the recipe reflect this. However, there have been various request for a smaller portion recipe. So, I hope this is helpful if you plan on making 10 bowls or less.

As for the stock, it is primarily a prawn or shrimp stock with some secondary flavours from meat stock, i.e. chicken or pork. Once you grasp this, you will know how to vary the ingredients as you will be using different type of prawns, depending on what you can get from the market in your area. If you have very small shrimps, they can be used whole without peeling. Remember to roast them first before pulverising.

Auntie Ruby's Hokkien Prawn Mee Recipe

To make 10 bowls (about 2-3 liter of stock)

Preparing the prawn and dried shrimp stock 

800 gm  prawns
100 g dried shrimps (hae bee)
150 g  fried anchovies (ikan bilis)
5 cm ginger

1. Peel and separate the heads and shells of all the prawns. Trim off the sharp pointers at the top of the heads. Set aside about 20 pieces of meat for garnishing later.
2. Heat up 1 Tbps of oil in a wok and roast the dried shrimps for 10 minutes. Add ginger. Then add the heads/shells and roast till they turn golden orange. 
3. Add 2 litres of water and pulverise it finely, using a stick or standing blender. You should see some orange or red coloured foam at the surface of the stock. 
4. Add the ikan bills. Cover and simmer the stock for half an hour. Then let it steep overnight for maximum flavour extraction. You can also do this earlier in the day and let the flavours develop by dinner time.

Preparing the lard and sambal chili

300 g of pork fat 
30 pieces dried chilli
1 inch in diameter block of belachan or 1 Tbps

1. Lard is of course optional but the flavour and mouth feel of pork fat is fantastic in the broth. Cut the pork fat into 1 cm (0.4 in) cubes. In a pan, slowly heat up the cubed fat. The oil will slowly flow out and fry the rest of the fat. Keep the fire low so as not to burn the lardon. It will take about an hour to do it right. When the cubs have shrunk to a quarter of its original size, increase the fire to get the lardon nicely browned. The lardon can be offered as a garnish but the oil is what you want. Lard can be prepared beforehand and stored in the fridge for weeks.    
2. Leave about half a bowl of the lard in the wok to make the sambal chilli. Blend the soaked dried chilli into a paste.  Then, over low fire, add paste and simmer for 15 minutes. You can also use ready-made or store bought chilli paste.

1. Strain the prawn and ikan bills stock. 
2. Keep the broth on a simmer. It is important to taste it as you develop the flavours to learn how each ingredients move the broth closer to the outcome you want. While I give the quantities of ingredients in the recipe, the sweetness and saltiness which you prefer may be different from mine. Learn to train your palate to balance the flavours. If you have tasted some good Hae Mee or tasted mine, those palate memories can guide you. 
3. Add the rock sugar, chicken stock (bouillon powder or concentrate) and sambal chilli. The chicken stock flavouring gives a mellow body to the broth. (Note: You can replace the chicken stock with chicken bones and meat or pork bones if you want to stir clear of MSG.) 
4. Add the belachan and a bowl of the sambal chili (with lard oil) into the broth. 
5. Add some water along the way.  

Don’t rush through this stage. This is where a cook can improve his skills, palate and learn the steps in improving a broth. Sometimes, I ladle out some broth into a bowl and flavour it to find a right estimate of what is needed in the pot. Of course, if you are using the same ingredients again and with experience, you will get more confident.

Preparing the prawn meat and pork loin meat(for garnishing)

1. Simmer the pork loin meat in the stock for 30 to 40 minutes depending on how large the chunks are. Don't overcook it or it will be too dry. 
2. Set aside 20 pieces of prawn meat for the topping. Keep the remainder for other uses. Devein the prawn meat for the topping using a toothpick or the sharp edge of a knife. It is easier to devein before you blanch them.  
3. Blanch the prawns in the boiling stock using a strainer. Do this in small batches as the prawns need to cook quickly or the meat will fall apart on the sides. If you are doing this the day before serving, refrigerate the prawns. They keep well after they are cooked.   

Preparing the bowls: garnishing and serving

20 pieces prawn meat (halved into 40 pieces, 4 per bowl)
500 gm  water convolvulous (kangkong)
500 gm beansprouts
300 gm pork loin
4 eggs
Fried shallots
400 gm (2.2 lb) yellow noodles
400 gm  (2.2 lb) rice vermicelli (bee hoon)
30 slices of fish cake (3 slices per bowl)

1. Slice the boiled prawn meat into halves. 
2. Slice the pork loin and fish cakes. 
3. Fried shallots are indispensable. Make your own if you can. If you use commercial ones, get those which are fresh and crispy. 
4. Soften the bee hoon in water for about 30 minutes.  
5. When it is time to serve, assemble a serving of the bean sprouts, mee, bee hoon and kangkong in a bowl. Blanch the contents of the bowl in rolling boiling water for about half a minute. This will also remove the “kee” (alkaline) smell of the yellow noodles. Put back into the bowl. Garnish with slices of prawns, pork and fish cake. Pour in the boiling broth and drain. Do it twice. Garnish with fried shallots and serve immediately with plates of sambal chilli and lardon on the side.  

The PPM broth is done.