Lilian gave me a very difficult task just before Chinese New Year. I was supposed to do something with the skin of Mandarin Oranges. Just see what she skilfully did with the skin of Mandarin Oranges. The thing is, the “trick” I am supposed to do with the skin is so difficult that I have to find a way out of it. Finding a loophole is what lawyers are supposed to be good at and I think I may be lucky enough this time. So, here comes my task handed out to Lilian

Anyway, Red Bean Soup with Mandarin Orange Peel is not really a soup which is taken in a main meal. Rather, it is well known to be a dessert and is usually taken warm or hot. The Mandarin Orange Peel is added to give this dessert a citrus tang to it and if you can’t find Mandarin Oranges, oranges like Sunkist or Jaffa will do. Just remember to dry it in a fridge or left outside to dry on its own. Frankly, I don’t know why it should be dried but this recipe has been handed down from generations to generations and it tastes good. Give it a try.

This is my recipe for Red Bean Soup with Mandarin Orange Peel

Ingredients

• 3/4 rice bowl of red beans (pre-soaked for 30 minutes)
• Skin / Peel from 1 mandarin orange (dried before hand)
• 6 rice bowls of water
• Sugar to taste

Method

Bring water to boil and add red beans. Reduce to simmer. Add mandarin orange peel after 30 minutes and continue to simmer for at least another 30 minutes. (alternatively, you can put the water, red beans and orange peel in a slow-cooker and cook it for 3 hours or more / overnight)

Add sugar to taste before serving.

Technorati Tags: Dessert, Chinese, Red Bean, Orange, Soup

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Red Bean Soup with Mandarin Orange Peel

Braised Noodles with Stewed Pork Slices is again, one of my experiments. Setting up this blog has resulted in me having to experiment with new recipes so that I can keep up with my postings! Haha!

Before you go “wah!” about this dish, let me tell you first that it is more a dish / recipe of convenience and simplicity than sheer cooking-from-scratch. So, the stewed pork slices come from the can and the noodles are from Sitiawan, Perak (where I previously cooked Sitiawan Noodle ala PabloPabla). Feel free to use any type of instant noodles but I think it will work well with the noodles which are slightly flat, not unlike fettuccine or linguine. As for the result, it’s simply delicious! Hochiak!

This is my recipe for Braised Noodles with Stewed Pork Slices

Ingredients

• 5 pieces of instant noodles (this should serve 3 to 4 people)
• 1 tin of stewed pork slices (cut into rings)
• 300 grammes bean sprouts (remove root)
• 1 small carrot (julienned)
• 4 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
• 2 large eggs (beaten)
• Have 150 ml warm water ready
• 4 tablespoons cooking oil (palm oil)
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  

Seasoning

• 1 teaspoon of fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons of dark soya sauce
• 1 teaspoon of light soya sauce
• salt to taste
• 1/3 teaspoon of white pepper powder

Method

Using a non-stick frying pan if available, fry the eggs in a couple of batches to form thin layers of fried egg. Cut the fried eggs to strips.

Next, boil sufficient water in a pot. Cook the noodles till al-dente and then, run it over cold water. Place them in a bowl. Drizzle the sesame oil over the noodles and stir well. Place aside.

Heat oil and saute garlic with carrots. Add fish sauce and about 50 ml of water. Open the tin of stewed pork slices and pork half of the stew into the carrots. Let the gravy simmer, add the rest of the water plus seasoning. Add the cooked noodles and bean sprouts and reduce to medium heat, stirring well to ensure noodles are coated with gravy. Cook for not more than 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, with the frying pan, heat up the pork slices with the remaining gravy from the tin till it begins to boil. Remove from heat. Pour gravy onto the noodles and mix well.

Serve noodles onto individual plates and garnish with egg strips and pork slices.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Food, Noodles, Stew, Pork

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Braised Noodles with Stewed Pork Slices

Mee Suah Kueh is my wife’s recipe. In fact, many have not heard let alone seen this “cake” which is made using Mee Suah. The mee suah used in this recipe is the one manufactured in Muar, Johor which comes in little packets with red banner. There are about 4 pieces of mee suah in each packet.

This recipe comes in 3 stages. Firstly, to cook the mee suah in a wok, followed by quick steaming and then, cooling it overnight before frying it the next day. Despite the complexity it sounds, it is actually very simple to cook.

It is great for tea time and can also be eaten with rice. Dip it into chilli sauce for added oomph!

This is my wife’s recipe for Mee Suah Kueh

Ingredients

• 2 packets mee suah (8 pieces)
• 50 to 100 grammes lean pork / chicken meat (chopped roughly)
• 50 to 100 grammes prawns (chopped roughly)
• 1 whole bulb garlic (chopped finely)
• spring onions (chopped)
• 2 tablespoons palm oil
• 2 soup bowls of hot water

Seasoning

• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper powder

Method

Heat oil in wok and fry garlic till beginning to brown. Add meat and continue to stir fry till meat changed colour. Next, add prawns and stir well for 15 seconds.

Add water and bring to boil. Add mee suah and stir well to evenly coat with other ingredients. Sprinkle the spring onions at this stage.

Add more water to just cover the mee suah so that it cooks in a thick and sticky soup (not runny). Once the mee suah is evenly coated, remove onto a stainless steel plate or pan.

Steam it for 3 minutes. Allow to cool overnight.

Cut into squares, dip into beaten egg and deep fry till golden brown. Remove and place onto kitchen napkin to absorb excess oil prior to serving.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Cake, Mee Suah, Chinese, Asian

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Mee Suah Kueh

Mee Suah Soup is one of my favourite noodle soup. Mee Suah, which is usually sold in dried form, is made from rice flour and is very brittle in uncooked form as the strands are really thin. This dish is more or less an automatic dish for breakfast on the first day of Chinese New Year at my home. It is also eaten to celebrate the chinese birth days at home.

Mee Suah is also cooked in different ways. There is the famous Red Mee Suah cooked by the people of Foochow dialect and there is also the chicken soup Mee Suah. Our family recipe is quite easy to prepare and cook and if you could get your hands on the ingredients, give it a try. Oh, by the way, generally there are two types of mee suah (or at least, in Malaysia). One is the factory pre-packed mee suah manufactured in Muar, Johor whilst the other is made by the Foochow community – usually from Sibu and Sitiawan. The former is thicker and bland tasting on its own whilst the latter is fine and thin (and smoother) but saltish in flavour. If you are using the former, you will need to add seasoning (eg. salt to taste) but for the latter, no seasoning is needed. My recipe here uses the latter.

This is my recipe for Mee Suah Soup

Ingredients

• 250 grammes of mee suah (or 4 pieces)
• 50 to 80 grammes of pork tenderloin (sliced thinly)
• 5 pieces dried chinese / shiitake mushrooms (sliced thinly)
• 2 large eggs
• 5 bulbs shallots (sliced thinly)
• 2 stalks spring onions (for garnishing)
• 4 tablespoons palm oil
• 5 soup bowls of hot water

Method

Heat oil in wok and fry shallots till golden brown. Remove fried shallots.

Leaving about 2 tablespoons of oil in wok, add mushrooms and saute for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Push to the side of the wok.

Add pork and stir fry till changed colour. Push to the side of the wok. Add remaining oil into wok and fry the eggs. Try not to break the eggs too much. Return mushrooms and pork into the fried egg and stir well for another 15 seconds or so.

Add water and bring to boil. Add mee suah and stir well. Mee suah cooks fairly quickly and should turn colour when done.

Garnish with fried shallots and spring onions prior to serving. Serves approximately 3 to 4 bowls here.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Chinese, Soup, Mee Suah, Noodles

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Mee Suah Soup

Sitiawan Noodle ala PabloPabla

This must be one of the discoveries from Sitiawan. I was there for a trip recently and chanced upon these instant noodles being sold at a famous Kong Pia shop. Read about my review on the kong pia. Anyway, I’ve always known that the Foochows have great tasting noodles called “Kan Pua”. And I believe these are the dried and instant type.

Seng Huat Hand-Made Instant Noodles

Having brought it home, I went to the wet market the next day, bought some char siew (with sauce), cucumbers and carrots and had a lip-smacking lunch ala PabloPabla. Almost like cold soba styled, it’s simple, light, healthy and definitely, delicious! These noodles are different because of the texture and it does not break easily. It also does not clump up. Try it if you can get your hands on these noodles. Otherwise, just try it with any other types of instant noodles though I can’t guarantee it will be as nice.

This is Sitiawan Noodle ala PabloPabla

Ingredients

• 5 pieces Sitiawan instant noodles
• 200 grammes of char siew (sliced thinly)
• 1 medium sized cucumber (remove core, cut to strips)
• 1 medium sized carrot (cut to strips)
• 5 shallots (sliced thinly)
• 5 tablespoons palm oil
• Water for boiling

Seasoning

• 50 ml char siew gravy / sauce
• 3 teaspoons light soya sauce
• a couple of dashes of white pepper powder

Method

Fry shallots in oil till golden brown. Remove fried shallots. Save up 2 tablespoons of shallot oil.

Boil instant noodles till al-dente. Remove, run through cold tap water and return to boiling water to heat it just a little. Drain and let the noodles cool down.

In a large mixing bowl, mix noodles with seasoning and shallot oil till even.

Place an amount of noodles on serving plate, garnish with generous amounts of cucumber, carrots and char siew. Mix well before eating. Gives about 4 servings.

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Sitiawan Noodle ala PabloPabla

Instant noodles are sold in all supermarkets nowadays. I think most people have got their favourite brands and flavour. When I first started learning how to cook, I was taught by mum to cook instant noodles without using the packet of ingredients that come with it. No MSG.

Boil the instant noodles

If you do not wish to be wasteful, you can actually buy a larger packet of instant noodles which does not come with any flavour. These noodles can be cooked in a variety of ways – in soup, stir-fried and even dried style, which I shall show you shortly.

Combination of seasoning

This recipe is a very basic recipe and there are no accompanying ingredients. You can add them on your own eg. fried egg, sausages, blanched vegetables, etc. It’s all up to you. Use your creativity, ya? Tell me if you like this recipe or not. My 3 year old daughter loves it!

This is my recipe for Super Fast Noodles

Ingredients

• 1 piece dried instant noodles
• Water to boil

Seasoning

• 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
• 2 teaspoons light soya sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil

Method

Place seasoning on a plate.

Boil instant noodles in water for 3 minutes till cooked. Remove and drain and mix well with the seasoning. Serve immediately.

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Super Fast Noodles

Once in a while, we will cook Fish Ball Bee Hoon Soup for lunch on a weekend. Bee Hoon is also known as Rice Vermicelli. The clear soup is refreshing especially on a hot day. We usually use Ikan Bilis stock for the soup as it makes the soup tastier.

I would advise that you buy the Fish Balls from the wet market and have it cooked the same day to enjoy its freshness. If you are unable to cook them on the same day, do keep them in the fridge and cook them the next day. I don’t think preservatives are added to these fish balls and so, they don’t last long.

This is my recipe for Fish Ball Bee Hoon Soup. Serves 4 people.

Ingredients

• 1/2 packet of bee hoon (approximately 150 grammes) (pre-soaked in water for 30 minutes to soften)
• 15 to 20 fish balls
• 100 grammes of pork tenderloin (sliced thinly) (optional)
• 200 grammes of choy sum (chinese mustard leaves) (washed and cut into 6 cm lengths)
• 5 to 8 shallots (sliced thinly)
• 100 grammes of ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
• a pinch of salted chinese vegetables (tung chai)
• 3 tablespoons of palm oil
• 1.25 litres or 5 soup bowls of water

Marinade (for pork tenderloin slices)

• 2 teaspoons of light soya sauce
• a couple of dashes of white pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon of corn flour

Seasoning

• 2 tablespoons of light soya sauce
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon of MSG (optional)

Method

Marinade pork tenderloin slices for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, boil ikan bilis in water for at least 45 minutes. Remove ikan bilis when done.

Fry shallots in oil under medium heat till golden brown. Remove fried shallots from oil and set aside.

With remaining oil in wok / pot, stir-fry the pork tenderloin slices for 30 seconds. Add ikan bilis stock above and bring to boil.

Add pre-soaked bee hoon into boiling stock followed by choy sum and fish balls and let the ingredients cook for at least 2 minutes in boiling condition. The fish balls will float to surface when cooked. Add seasoning to taste.

Separate into individual bowls and sprinkle fried shallots and chinese salted vegetables prior to serving

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Fish Ball Bee Hoon Soup

Fishballs are commonly sold in wet markets in Malaysia especially by the chinese traders. It is usually cooked in soup and tastes delicious when fresh. I prefer those which are springy and “crunchy”. Fishballs should ideally be cooked the same day it is purchased as it usually does not taste as fresh overnight.

One of the common ways to cook a quick and delicious soup using fishballs is to cook it with Tang Hoon (also known as Glass Noodles). It can be served as an accompaniment to rice or even eaten / drunk on its own. One of the important ingredients which you should strive to add to the soup is chinese salted vegetable as it adds a nice saltish flavour to the soup. The chinese salted vegetable can be bought from sundry shops.

Chinese Salted Vegetable

This is a very simple and clear soup to cook which admittedly, might be too amateurish to some. Happy trying if you have not.

This is my recipe for Fish Ball Tang Hoon Soup a.k.a. Fish Balls with Glass Noodles Soup.

Ingredients

• 10 to 15 fishballs (actually, quantity up to you)
• A handful of Tang Hoon (usually sold tied in a small bunch) [pre-soak in water to soften it]
• Chopped spring onions for garnishing
• A pinch of chinese salted vegetable
• 50 grammes of ikan bilis (dried anchovies) [buy those suitable for making stock]
• 2 bulbs shallots (sliced thinly)
• 2 tablespoons of cooking oil
• 1 1/4 soup bowls of water (approximately 600 ml)

Seasoning

• Light soya sauce
• Salt
• White pepper powder
• A pinch of msg (optional)

Method

Boil water with ikan bilis for 45 minutes to make stock. Remove ikan bilis when done.

Fry shallots in cooking oil till golden brown and place aside to cool.

Once stock is ready (which should be at least 1 soup bowl full) and maintaining high heat, add tang hoon and fish balls. The fish balls will float whilst the tang hoon will turn semi-translucent when cooked. Add seasoning to taste.

Sprinkle chopped spring onions, pinch of chinese salted vegetables and 2 teaspoons of the shallot oil onto the soup before serving.

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Fish Ball Tang Hoon Soup