Kailan cooked in 2 ways or “yin yong kai lan” is a dish which I ate about 3 years ago in a restaurant in Shah Alam. I found it interesting – even though it is relatively simple. The kailan leaves are shredded and deep fried whilst the stem is given a light stir fry with garlic slices. I had totally forgotten about this dish and did not think about cooking it until recently when I saw a picture of it in a book which I was browsing at a store. My interest was reignited and hence, this dish was attempted last weekend.

I found this dish to be a bit time consuming as the kailan needs to be prepared in two ways. Firstly, the middle stem running along the leaves need to be removed. What I did was to place each leaf (yes, leaf by leaf) on my chopping board, fold it into half with the stem as the guide and then use a knife to cut the stem out. Once the stem has been removed, I then take a couple of leaves which have been given the same treatment and roll them tightly before slicing / shredding them thinly. As for the main stems, I remove the outer skin before cutting them into bite sizes.

The frying of the shredded kailan leaves also needs some care. You will need to use a generous amount of oil because the leaves tend to absorb the oil and they get burnt easily. It is thus important to control the heat – somewhere between medium to high if preferred. After frying them, you will need to drain them and leave them on kitchen napkins to have excess oil absorbed.

It is still an interesting dish to try out if you are bored with the usual stir fried kai lan with prawns or kai lan stems with pork and mushrooms. I sprinkled tiny anchovies or “ghun he” (in hokkien) over the deep fried kailan leaves. A good substitute would be meat floss.

This is my version of Kailan Cooked in 2 Ways Read the rest of this entry »

This dish is easy to cook but a nightmare to think out a name for it. For starters, it is not exactly fried. Neither is it stir-fried, steamed, braised, stewed or poached. I would put it as a combination of a quick and light stir-fry mixed with quick stewing for a quick and delicious meal. Now, it is quite common in chinese homes to have seaweed soup which comes with minced pork. But it is altogether another thing to have it cook this way that I am sharing with you. Whereas seaweed soup may be bland to some, this dish is tasty to the core hence, the name Seaweed Delight.

Mum first learnt this dish from 1st aunt and thereafter, taught me how to cook this dish. It has now become my preferred dish if I were to cook seaweed at home. The basic ingredients are no different from cooking seaweed soup but the cooking method and seasoning is slightly different. As you read the recipe, you will know why. Anyway, this dish has always made its presence on the dinner table only to vanish in every meal session. So, resist trying it at your peril.

This is my 1st aunt’s recipe for Seaweed Delight. Read the rest of this entry »

It was difficult for me to find the exact English equivalent for Sweet Tau Kee or Sweet Tou Kan, a type of soya product which is popular amongst vegetarians. Sweet Tau Kee comes in rectangular dried hard pieces and are brown in colour and you will need to soften them by pre-soaking in water for a few minutes prior to cooking. I have had experience where certain Sweet Tau Kee softens much faster than others depending on different manufacturers. After they have softened, you should cut them into smaller pieces as they measure approximately 15cm in length and 5 cm in width prior to cooking.

Sweet Tau Kee is not for everyone due to its unique taste, which can be bitter to some. Here, I have paired the Sweet Tau Kee with Choy Sum (菜心) or “Flowering Chinese Cabbage” so that there is a good balance between the subtle sweetness of the Tau Kee and the refreshing Choy Sum greens. This dish is quite easy to cook and with a little effort in presentation, you can dish out something which can rival what is being offered in the chinese restaurants. By the way, if you intend to serve this as a complete vegetarian dish, omit garlic from the ingredients.

This is my recipe for Choy Sum with Sweet Tau Kee Read the rest of this entry »

I had a small quarter of pumpkin the other day and we all know how sweet pumpkins are. But I was bored of stir-frying pumpkin with dried prawns and needed a change. After rummaging through my kitchen cabinet, I found a can of luncheon meat and I thought “why not?”. The sweetness from the pumpkin would complement the slightly saltish luncheon meat and that could be a good combo. So, what I did was to cut both ingredients into equal sized cubes and stir-fried them to make this pumpkin and luncheon meat combo. It turned out quite alright

For this recipe, I cut the pumpkin and luncheon meat into cubes. You can cut them into slivers if you prefer it that way. Somehow, I could not resist the use of dried prawns to give it a slight seafood bite. If you are unable to get hold of dried prawns, I would recommend just omitting it altogether. Do take care with the seasoning as the taste depends on how sweet your pumpkin is and how salty your brand of luncheon meat is. So, use salt judiciously. Otherwise you will have to take extra helpings of steamed white rice and a double dose of water to flush them out

This is my recipe for Pumpkin and Luncheon Meat Combo Read the rest of this entry »