Alluring Claypot Chicken & Eggplant Stew (惹味茄子鸡煲)

"It might sound familiar to you, but this is my new dish."

I was so excited when had the first taste of it as I was unsure how the taste would be, actually. This is an entirely new dish which I have created and cooked just last night, I considered it as a success by the fact that the entire dish including the gravy was wipe up by my girl with extra serving of rice which she usually doesn’t need! She kept praising and describing to me how flavorful the dish was, and even gave me idea to adapt the same recipe for tofu stew. Not just my girl, I had extra rice to go with this dish, too. :)

As usual, this is simple and fuss free to cook. If you need a flavorful dish to whet your appetite, cook this. :)

2 – 3 Servings
Ingredients
½ chicken, chopped into pieces
1 eggplant aka brinjal, arm-length, chopped into (chunky) pieces

2 tablespoons of spicy whole bean paste (辣豆酱)
1 small cube of fermented beancurd (豆腐乳)
1 heaping teaspoon of sugar
10 – 15 curry leaves, rinsed and pat dry
1 tablespoon of dried shrimps (虾米干), rinsed and pat dry
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Chili Padi, chopped
50ml of water

1 tablespoon of cooking oil

1 teaspoon of corn starch, mixed with 1 tablespoon of water to make into slurry

Method
(1) Heat claypot with oil over medium-high fire. Add garlic, dried shrimps, chili Padi and curry leave and stir fry till fragrant. Then, add spicy bean paste and fermented bean curd, and stir fry a little.

(2) Add chicken and water. Stir fry to mix all ingredients well. Add eggplant and continue to stir fry for few seconds. Then, add in sugar and stir fry to combine. Let it cook till bubbling, and then, reduce heat to low fire. Stir fry a little to reduce then heat in the pot, and cover pot with lid. Let it simmer for an hour.

(3) Before heat off, increase heat to high fire and stir in corn starch slurry to thicken the gravy. Serve hot with a big bowl of rice.

Put your diet on hold for the moment. A portion of this chicken and eggplant stew counts at least 350kcal! :p

Tips: The eggplant will turn mushy and its flesh will be disintegrated after long simmering. So, you may want to cut into chunky pieces.
* Add spicy bean paste together with some of its chili oil in the bottle to cook this dish.

Chinese (Napa) Cabbage Roll (如意白菜卷)

"Simple 3-in-1 Festive Dish, as simple as 1.2.3"

Fish, shrimps, crabs, pork knuckle and poultry are important food symbols during the Spring Festival. However, we cannot omit the importance of having greens during such festive celebrations, especially in this modern society. Having too much meaty and seafood stuff, in addition to sweet beverages and alcohol, it might not be as abundant as we think we would received in the end of the day, if we do not take the right balance in our diet. :) Besides, vegetables do play an important role in symbolizing closeness (in relationship) and vitality to life. ‘Closeness’ (亲 'qing') has the similar pronunciation as ‘Green’ (青 'qing') in Mandarin. Lettuce, as 生菜 'sheng cai', in Chinese，the first character, '生', has often been related with the character '生' in 生气, the flow of vitality to life. It also symbolizes money making, 生财 'sheng cai'. So, how can we omit having vegetables here?

Well, I have used Napa cabbage in my recipe. Napa cabbage, be a symbol of gratifying and satisfactory. The auspiciousness has been elevated to its fullness, with the stuffed filling in these Napa cabbage rolls. This way, you won't end up eating solely vegetables or meat. You'll have the best of both worlds, three indeed (plus the prawn meat in the stuffing, too). Don't forget, it's steamed!: D

Having said so, I just hope you like my recipe.

Serve 4 - 5
Ingredients
6 - 8 large Napa cabbage (aka Chinese cabbage) leaves
250 grams of minced pork meat
150 grams of prawn, minced
1 egg, beaten
1 small bunch of coriander, chopped (Optional)

1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of sesame oil

Seasoning (B):
1 tablespoon of light soy sauce
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of grounded white pepper
1 teaspoon of chicken granule
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of corn starch
Pinch of salt

Ingredients for gravy:
Broth yielded from the steamed rolls
50 ml of chicken stock
1 teaspoon of premium oyster sauce (with or without dried scallop shreds)
1 teaspoon of Shao Hsing rice wine
¼ teaspoon of corn starch, mixed with 1 tablespoon of water to make slurry

1 large pot of water and 1 teaspoon of salt (to blanch the cabbage leaf)
1 large bowl of iced water

Method

(1) Mix minced pork meat and minced prawn with the listed seasoning (B). Place the meat mixture into food processor and blend with low mode for few seconds. Transfer mixture into a bowl and season for 30 minutes, or longer.

(2) Bring a pot of water to a boil. Stir in salt. Place few cabbage leaves at a time into the boiling water to blanch the leaves till soften, and then, transfer the soften leaves to iced water for few seconds and remove to drain on strainer. Then, gently pat dry each leaf with kitchen towel.

(3) Place 1 large leaf of cabbage flat on a clean table top. Do cut away the thick white part of the cabbage, if you find the greener ‘leavy’ portion is large enough for the wrap. Otherwise, the roll may appear too thick. Scope a heaping spoon of meat mixture (more or less) and place it nearer to the end of the cabbage leaf. Use the spoon or your clean bear hand, to arrange the meat filling snugly before rolling up the cabbage leaf. Handle the cabbage leaf gently to avoid tearing. Repeat step until all the ingredients are used up.

(4) Then, place the cabbage rolls seam side down on a large deep place, leaving small gap between the rolls. Steam the rolls for 10 minutes. When done, gently transfer the rolls to a nice deep serving plate. Please do keep the broth yielded from the steamed rolls aside, for later.

(5) Heat wok with sesame oil over medium fire. Add in garlic and stir fry till fragrant. Return the liquid of the steamed rolls kept aside just now to the wok. Add in also the chicken stock, oyster sauce and Shao Hsing rice wine, and simmer till bubbling. Lastly, stir in corn starch slurry to slightly thicken the gravy. Heat off. Scope and drizzle the gravy over the cabbage rolls. Serve whole rolls or cut halves.

A large Chinese cabbage roll stuffed with ground pork and prawn counts about 150kcal.

Tips: If the gravy appears too little for your liking, increase chicken stock to 100ml, and/ or add less corn starch slurry.
* Instead of adding oyster sauce, try the dried scallop sauce (or oyster sauce with dried scallop shreds). It enhances the presentation of the dish by the appearance of its shredded scallop over the cabbage rolls, making the dish look more elegant and abundant, especially for the festive.
* The whole leaf of Napa cabbage could be used for the wrap (I used whole leaf and found that the roll appeared too thick), or use only the leavy portion if it is large enough for just one round of wrapping which will be good enough. Prepare more Napa cabbage leaves to make more rolls, in this case.
* Adjust the amount of meat filling to the capacity of the cabage roll.

Salted Egg Yolk Prawns (黄金炒虾)

"How can you miss the 'Laughter' during this festive season?! Eat 'Ha' (Prawn in Cantonese), and let it smother you with laugther and most of all,... the wealth."

One of my readers, was checking out salted egg yolk prawns recipe, and I couldn’t remember that I had actually posted the recipe since a while ago (laughing). Oh well, I did tell her about it, just few days back. And this time, I am going to post another version of salted egg yolk prawns, for the healthy you, and all, for this coming Lunar New Year, of course (smile)!

I've also create an auspicious dish name for this dish, in Chinese, 黄金炒虾. It simply means stir-fry prawns with 'gold'. The name emphasizes on the 'gold' this time. Chinese likes good and symbolical things or words relating to gold, wealth, happiness, laughter, good luck, and etc, during the festive. I hope you like the dish and its name. :)

Most importantly, with similar ingredients and steps from my previous recipe, it is never a chore to cook this for your reunion dinner and/ or gathering with friends and relatives. Yes, to the cook, it would not be a difficult dish to prepare. As to the diners, this dish should be great, too, as you do not have to peel the prawn shell during your meal. If that’s what you hate about eating prawns, they are all shelled in this recipe of mine!

But of course, cooking the prawns with shell intact has its advantage, too. It helps to absorb and seal the flavor and aroma to its fullest and make each prawn taste more succulent, in a way. So, for the shelled prawns, I have, in this recipe, tried to elevate the overall flavor of the dish with some adaption to the ingredients or its amount used. Perhaps, do it like me, simply place the lightly dusted (with corn starch) prawns in the hot oil to fry for just 15 - 20 seconds. The effort is to make the prawns more aromatic, bouncy and moist to the palate. I did not deep fry my prawns the usual way (dredged in thick flour batter or with more starch coating) as I did not feel like eating deep fried stuff at that moment when I cooked this. Of course, I knew crispy deep fried might taste even better, to some of you. So, you make the choice.

Serves 4 - 5
Ingredients
8 - 10 large shrimps, shelled (may use frozen shelled prawns)
4 pieces of salted duck egg yolk, cooked and chopped
2 stalks of curry leaf (remove stem, use only the leaves)
2 tablespoons of butter
½ teaspoon of chicken granule
Pinch of salt and sugar
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Seasoning:
1 teaspoon of chicken granule
1 teaspoon of grounded white pepper

2 egg yolk (chicken egg), beaten
1 tablespoon of corn starch (for dusting)
½ cup of cooking oil, or amount enough to submerge the entire prawn (for frying)

Method
1) Devein (cut a slit at the back of the prawn to remove its vein), rinse and pat dry the shelled prawns. Season with chicken granule and pepper for 30 minutes or longer.

2) Briefly chop the cooked salted egg yolk, and set aside.

3) Dip shelled prawns in beaten egg yolk. Then, dust the prawns with corn starch. Heat wok with oil over medium-high fire, and then, put the prawns in the hot oil to deep fry for 15 seconds and immediately remove from wok and drain on strainer. Return the cooked prawns into the hot oil for another few seconds and remove to drain on strainer again. Set aside.

4) Remove excessive oil in wok, leave only 1 - 2 tablespoons and reduce heat to medium fire. Add in minced garlic and curry leaves and stir fry till aroma releases. Then, further reduce heat to low fire, melt butter in wok and add in salted egg yolk. Use the spatula to mash and stir-fry the yolk (in quick circular motion) immediately. Once the ingredients appear foamy and aroma of the mashed yolk releases, return prawns to the wok and add in chicken granule, sugar and salt. Toss all the ingredients till well blended. Dish up, and serve with steamed white rice.

A serving of my Salted Egg Yolk Prawn counts about 250kcal.

Tips: Use of larger prawns is recommended as gotta take the shrinkage of the cooked prawns into account.
* Add cut some Chili Padi (Bird’s eye chili), if wish to spice up the taste a bit more. Add in the chili together with curry leaves. Beware of the pungency when cooking.
* Instead of the quick frying method I have used here, the usual deep frying method can also be done by encasing the prawns with more corn starch, or thick flour, and even tempura batter. Then, deep fry for longer time till the prawns are entirely crisped and browned.

Porky Pork Rolls filled with 'Gold and Treasures' (黄金白玉枕)

"Chinese eats for symbolism, but I go for both the taste and auspiciousness!"

Happy New Year 2012 to all of you!

This is my very first post in this new year of 2012 (waited too long? :D), and am already too late for recommending this recipe for your Christmas celebration or the New Year party... but... I am sure you are still in time to learn and cook this for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year's gathering. Otherwise, a treat to your guests, anytime!

This porky pork roll dish is definitely something you want to serve during parties and celebrations as it is easy to prepare and convenient to serve as snacks, let alone its rich flavor and aromas that mingle in the palate, simply eating it on its own!

And, I cooked this as one of my dishes for dinner, too. I liked it as it is equally good to go along with my plain porridge. So, it's up to you, to have this in any occasions.

If you cook this during Chinese Lunar New Year, retain the Chinese sausage bits in your cooking. It makes a wonderful festive dish complimenting any other festive dishes. And don't forget, great symbolical food to be eaten during Chinese Lunar New Year festival is very important in order to obtain auspiscious and good head start for the entire (Lunar) year. I have, thus, created an auspicious dish name for this, 黄金白玉枕, a great symbolism of having these 'white jade' (= pork meat) pillows filled with 'gold and treasures' (= cheese and sausages). These auspicious "pillow" food also helps you to catch a sweet dream. :D

Well, feel free to substitute the Chinese sausage with bacon, if any of these auspicious attributes ain't bothering you at all. :)

Serves 3 - 4
Ingredients
8 deli-thin slices of boneless pork chop, palm-sized
8 slices of Cheddar cheese
1 Chinese sausage, finely diced

Seasoning (B):
3 tablespoons of red cooking wine
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
1 tablespoon of chicken granule
1 teaspoon of black pepper

2 eggs, beaten

Coating (C):
2 tablespoons of plain flour
1 tablespoon of corn starch
Pinch of salt
* Combine well into flour mix.

2 cups of oil (For deep frying)

8 toothpicks

Method
1) Lightly hit both sides of the pork chops with the back of the knife. Rinse and pat dry. Season with the listed ingredients in (B) for at least an hour or longer. Store it in the refrigerator while marinating.

2) Dust some flour mix (C) on the both sides of each pork chop. Then, dip it into the beaten egg. Lay the pork chop on a clean surface and sprinkle bits of Chinese sausage. Then, place a slice of cheese on top. Roll up the pork chop and secure the opening end with a toothpick.

3) Coat the pork chop roll with more egg solution, followed by flour mix to cover the entire roll. Repeat steps for all remaining pork chops. Let the coated pork chop rolls set in for about 5 minutes.

4) Heat wok with oil over medium high fire. Deep fry the pork rolls (in batches) till crisped and golden browned. Drain excessive oil on strainer. Remove the toothpicks and arrange the rolls on a serving dish. Serve warm with Honey Mustard or mayonaise.

A Golden Porky Pork Roll counts about 160kcal.

Tips: Pork chops have to be sliced into deli-thin sheet, just half of the usual thickness.
* Do not over fry the pork roll to retain moisture of the pork.
* Red or White cooking wine can be found in NTUC Fairprice supermarkets @ S$5.50 per bottle.
* To create brighter golden colour on the food appreance, add some tumeric powder into the flour mix (C), if you do not mind for having some mild spicy tumeric flavour.