Egg & Wine Chicken 蛋酒鸡

Egg & Wine Chicken 蛋酒鸡

Recipe source :  Y3K Magazine, Issue No. 54, 5/6 - 2010

I have been chilled to the bones due to the incessant rain which had cooled the temperatures considerably.  I need to cook some food to warm me up and to boost up my energy level. I flipped through my cookbooks and decided to cook egg and wine chicken which is warming and is good for blood circulation too. 

This dish is suitable for confinement ladies as well. However, for confinement ladies, I would suggest that you use mature ginger.

Ingredients

1 chicken whole leg, chopped into pieces
100g young ginger, shredded
175ml ginger wine
3 tbsp sesame oil
3 eggs, lighten beaten
100ml water
1 tsp salt

Method

1.  Dry-fry ginger shreds till dry. 
2.  Add in sesame oil to saute until fragrant and remove one third of the fried ginger shreds. Set aside.
3.  Pour in lightly beaten eggs. Cook until set. Dish up and set aside.
4.  Saute the remaining one third of ginger shreds with chicken pieces and fry until the colour changes.
5.  Pour in 100ml water. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
6.  Add in fried eggs, wine and salt. Continue to cook for 3 minutes or until almost dry.

Wine-Braised Chicken With Peanuts

Wine-Braised Chicken With Peanuts

Recipe source :  Doris Choo @ Sumptuous Flavours

Every now and then I crave for confinement food. I guess it could be because I love to eat the combination of ginger and wine. Both ginger and wine are two main ingredients abundantly used in Chinese confinement dishes. The wine is meant to strengthen and warm up the constitution of women's bodies after undergoing the rigours of childbirth, while ginger is widely known to get rid of the wind and dampness from the body. Old folks advised that black fungus helps to rid blood clots.

For ordinary people who are not in confinement but who wish to indulge in the rich foods of confinement women, bear in mind that the amount of ginger and wine have to be consumed in moderation. Otherwise there is bound to be side effects like headache, toothache or even a rise in blood pressure. On a personal level, I tend to cook this during the rainy season when  temperatures have turn way low or when I feel a bout of weaknesses enveloping me.

Therefore,  if I need a little prep-up or if I am cooking this dish just to assuage my craving, I have to reduce the amount of ginger and wine in my cooking. Furthermore, I have to use young ginger instead of old, matured ginger.

Ingredients

100g peanuts, soaked overnight     ( add more peanuts if you prefer more peanuts )
50g black fungus, soaked until soft and cut into pieces
50g kam cham, soaked until soft and squeeze dry
1/2 chicken, chopped into pieces
40g young ginger, shredded        ( used 100g matured ginger for ladies in real confinement)
1 bulb garlic, smashed
1 cup Stone's ginger wine            ( use 2 cups of this wine for ladies in confinement )
1.8 litres water
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp soy sauce

Method

1.  Boil peanuts with 1.8 litres over low heat for 1 1/2 hours or until peanuts are soft.
2.  Add in chicken, black fungus, kam cham and half the amount of wine.
3.  Let it come to a boil and reduce to medium flame and continue to cook for 25 minutes.
4.  Add in salt, soy sauce and sugar. 
5.  Add in the remaining wine. Stir to mix well. 
6.  Switch off flame.

Pig Trotters With Black Vinegar 猪脚酸

Pig Trotters With Black Vinegar 猪脚酸

 Recipe source :  Gigi Wong on Astro ( Hong Kong actress )

This is a traditional confinement dish which is ever popular and is always featured in cookbooks on confinement food. This is also one of my favourites even when I am not in confinement.

I have been craving for this dish ever since I watched Gigi Wong's cooking show on Astro a few months back. It was interesting to watch her cook this dish step-by-step but it would have been even better if she had given the precise weights and measurements for each ingredient used. 

Anyway I was eager to try out Gigi Wong's way because she cooked it differently from how my late mother used to cook this for me during my confinement. Gigi Wong dipped hard boiled salted duck eggs into the black vinegar in  addition to hard boiled chicken eggs. I like the addition of salted eggs! They tasted less salty after being immersed in the black vinegar. Gigi Wong dry-fried the ginger pieces before adding a dash of oil and salt to it. The ginger pieces were crunchy. Very nice, even though the ginger were old and matured. 

The sweet and sour vinegar soup was so tasty that I drank several bowls after the trotters and eggs were gone! I guess I'll have to go on a strict diet for at least a week or two after consuming so much fat. And I shall have to suffer guilt pangs and worry about cholesterol, clogged arteries and possibly a coronary by-pass!

Note :  

1)  Do not remove the skin from the old ginger. I was told that much of the nutrients and goodness reside there. 

2)  Use a clean toothbrush to clean and remove the dirt particles from the old ginger.

Bon appetit!

 

Ingredients

800g pig trotters , cut into pieces and blanched in boiling water. Drain dry.

6 chicken eggs, hard boiled and remove shell

2 salted duck eggs, hard boiled and remove shell

300g old ginger, cut into thick slices and give them a smack using the side of a cleaver

250ml black vinegar

1000ml water

 A dash of sesame oil

1/2 tsp salt

130g cane rock sugar

Method

1.  Dry-fry the ginger pieces in a wok until the ginger pieces are slightly charred around the edges.

2.  Add a sprinkle of salt and a dash of sesame oil to the ginger pieces. Remove and set aside.

3.  Place water and black vinegar into a pot, preferably an earthen pot, and bring contents to a boil.

4.  Add fried ginger pieces and cane rock sugar and the hard boiled chicken eggs and salted duck eggs.

5.  Continue to boil over slow fire for about 45 minutes. 

6.  Then add pig trotters and boil until they are tender. About 30 to 45 minutes.

7.  Add salt to taste. 

You can see the contrast between the salted duck egg and the chicken egg

 

Super-duper yummy!

Ginger, Egg & Wine Soup 姜酒汤

Ginger, Egg & Wine Soup 姜酒汤

Recipe source :  Doris Choo

My friend, Sharon was telling me about her mother visiting her during the school holidays and how happy and blessed she felt when her mother cooked all her favourite dishes. One of the dishes she mentioned was this ginger, egg and wine soup. The way she described the taste and how cosy she felt after eating and drinking this soup really set off my salivary glands working overtime. Her description and enthusiasm was infectious!

I decided to cook this since I've got a bottle of raisin wine lying idle at home. It wasn't difficult because my mother used to cook this for me during my own confinement. I just had to rack my brains for the recipe. But of course, if you are cooking for confinement ladies, you must add in lots more ginger and wine than the amount that I mentioned below. I remember my mother used ginger shreds to fry the beaten eggs in addition to the ginger she used to cook the soup. Oh, it was very delicious! I fully understood Sharon's enthusiasm over this dish. 

Even this milder version I am sharing now,  really kept me warm and cosy after dinner.

Ingredients

250g pork slices, mix with 1 tsp of flour
20g dried black fungus, soaked and cut into thin strips
20g ginger, cut into thin strips
3 tbsp glutinous rice wine or raisin wine
500ml chicken stock 
3/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp cooking oil

Method

1.  Heat wok, add 1 tbsp cooking oil and fry beaten eggs to make an omelet. Remove and cut into wedges.
2. Add the remaining 1 tbsp cooking oil into the wok. Saute the shredded ginger strips until golden.
3. Add in the pork slices and stir-fry for one minute or until the pork turns whitish.
4. Add in the shredded black fungus strips and continue to fry for another minute.
5. Pour in the stock and bring it to a boil.
6.  Add in omelette wedges.
7.  Add in wine and switch off the fire. Stir to mix evenly.
8.  Pour into a large soup bowl.
9.  Serve hot.

I am submitting this post to Aspiring bakers #38 : Boozy-licious! (December 2013)

hosted by Jasline of Foodie baker