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

Deep Fried Tofu Meat Patties

This was an experimental dish recently and I was quite pleased with the outcome. What I had in my fridge that day were 2 pieces of firm tofu (beancurd), about 200 grammes of lean pork, some oyster mushrooms and other vegetables. This time, rather than cooking another “usual” tofu dish, I decided to make patties out of it, not unlike burgers.

After steaming

The main ingredients here are tofu and pork whilst the rests adds to the colour and gives its distinctive taste. The end result is a tofu meat patty which is crispy on the outside and yet, juicy and semi-firm on the inside. My daughter liked it very much. It is tasty eaten with rice and also great for tea time snack or parties. I think it will taste even better if it is dipped into some freshly pounded red chilli and garlic with a squeeze of lime. I intend to continue modifying this recipe and will add them in this blog in due course. Nevertheless, I hope you will try this recipe as I loved it!

This is my recipe for Deep Fried Tofu Meat Patties

Ingredients

• 2 pieces firm tofu
• 200 grammes of lean pork mince
• 1/4 piece of carrot (diced as finely as possible)
• An equivalent amount of spring onions (chopped finely)
• An equivalent amount of oyster mushroom or any other type of mushrooms (chopped finely)
• An equivalent amount of dried prawns (chopped / pounded finely)
• 1 large egg
• 2 cloves of garlic (chopped finely)
• 3 tablespoons of corn flour
• Oil for deep frying

Seasoning

• 2 teaspoons of oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon of light soya sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper powder

Method

In a mixing bowl, combine and mash up the tofu, pork, carrot, spring onions, mushrooms, dried prawns, garlic, corn flour and seasoning and mix well in one circular motion. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Place mixture in a stainless steel bowl or deep plate and steam it for 10 minutes. The mixture, especially the meat, should be at least 70% cooked after steaming. Remove from steam and place bowl over cold water (to cool it rapidly).

When mixture has sufficiently cooled down, break the egg onto mixture and stir it in one circular motion till egg is evenly distributed. Add some corn flour if mixture is runny.

Heat oil in wok for deep frying. To fry, scoop one heaped tablespoon of mixture and using another spoon held on another hand, push / slide the mixture into the oil. Fry till patty becomes golden brown. Place fried patties on absorbent kitchen napkins to absorb excess oil prior to serving.

Stir-fried Pork Liver and Kidney with Ginger is a fear-factor dish for some, confinement food for many chinese mothers and delicacy for some like me. This dish is supposedly “heaty” in nature and helps to expel “wind” after mothers have gone through labour. The liberal use of ginger helps in this cause and the liver and kidney provides much needed nutrients.

Pork Kidneys being soaked

Preparation of the kidneys can be a trying task for those who are inexperienced (including me!). If your butcher can help, so much the better. If not, you will need to slice the kidney into half across the middle part, which will give you two equal looking kidney. Using a sharp knife, slice and remove the whitish middle part of the kidney. Then, cut the kidney into smaller portions, cut criss-cross patterns on the outer side of the kidney and then, soak it in water (add ginger slices if you want). My mum will, prior to the actual cooking, further give the kidney “treatment” by frying the kidney in a wok without any oil. It is quite a process because the smell can be offensive to some. After the kidneys have been thoroughly cooked through this process (when it becomes dry and no more juice / water oozes out of the kidney), it will be removed from the wok. Then, wash the wok thoroughly and begin cooking proper.

Ingredients (clockwise from top) : Kidney, sliced pork,
egg, spring onions, ginger, garlic, liver

This is my recipe for Stir-Fried Pork Liver and Kidney with Ginger

Ingredients

• 2 pork kidneys (prepared as per paragraph above)
• Equal amount or less of pork liver (sliced)
• 50 grammes of sliced pork (marinate with 2 teaspoons light soya sauce and 1 teaspoon corn flour)
• 1 or 2 eggs
• 3 cm of ginger (julienned finely)
• 1 1/2 whole bulbs of garlic (chopped)
• 2 to 3 stalks of spring onions (cut to 6 cm lengths or so)
• 1 tablespoons cooking oil (preferably palm oil)
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• Warm water

Seasoning

• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dark soya sauce
• 1 teaspoon light soya sauce
• White pepper powder (to taste)
• 2 teaspoons brandy

Method

Heat cooking oil and sesame oil in wok on high heat and saute garlic and ginger till aromatic. Push garlic and ginger slices aside and fry an egg till semi-done. Add sliced pork and mix well with egg, garlic and ginger till pork is cooked.

Add kidneys, seasoning and warm water enough to cover the ingredients and bring to boil with lid closed. Add liver and break another egg on top of ingredients. Stir gently and add spring onions.

Once liver is cooked (no more blood oozing out), dish up and serve.

This is another simple dish to cook but great tasting. French beans can be cooked in many different ways including blanching and steaming but I find it most delicious when it is stir-fried with garlic and egg.

The crunchiness and sweetness of the french beans mixed with the fluffy-fried eggs gives this dish a good balance in taste and texture, not to mention the healthiness. Try choosing the younger and lighter green french beans which are younger, tender and less fibrous compared to the older and darker coloured variety.

Thinly sliced french beans

Cooking time varies depending on how thinly you slice the french beans diagonally. Obviously, cooking time is lesser if you slice it thinly. You will also have to manage the heat from the cooker as you do not want to burn the garlic.

This is my wife’s recipe for Stir-Fried French Beans with Egg.

Ingredients

• 150 – 200 grammes french beans (sliced diagonally thinly)
• 1 large egg
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons of cooking oil (preferably palm oil)

Seasoning

• Salt to taste
• White pepper powder to taste

Method

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in wok on medium heat. Lightly stir fry the garlic till it begins to brown. Add french beans and stir fry at medium high heat for 1 – 2 minutes. If garlic is browning fast, reduce heat. Sprinkle seasoning to taste.

Make a well in the wok (i.e. move the french beans from the center of the wok), increase to high heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Break egg into the oil and let it fry till semi-solid. Mix and stir french beans into the semi-solid egg and fry for 30 seconds or so.

Remove from wok and serve hot with rice or plain porridge.