Roast Pork Belly With Carrot & Bamboo Shoot 双笋烧肉煲

Roast Pork Belly With Carrot & Bamboo Shoot 双笋烧肉煲

Recipe source :  Chopsticks Recipes - Chinese Casseroles


This cookbook titled, 'Chopsticks Recipes - Chinese Casseroles' is a bi-lingual Hong Kong  publication which has been in my possession for a long time. This is one of my favourite cookbooks. I have already tried out many recipes from this cookbook. So far all the recipes which I tried turned out great. 

Today, I am sharing this great dish, preferably to be eaten with hot steaming rice. The carrots were sweet and still crunchy as were the bamboo shoots. Every bite into the piping hot roast pork belly tasted heavenly as they were well-coated with the fragrant sauce. In fact, all the flavours blended very well together.

Ingredients 

350g roast pork
150g bamboo shoot
150g carrot
2 pips garlic, minced
2 shallots, chopped
2 slices ginger

Seasonings

1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp wine
300ml chicken stock
1 tbsp oyster sauce
a pinch of pepper
a dash of sesame oil
1/4 tsp dark soy sauce

Cornflour Solution

1/2 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp water

Mix together to form cornflour solution

Instructions

1.  Cut roast pork into bite-size pieces.
2.  Cut bamboo shoots and carrots into wedges. Blanch and set aside.
3.  Heat wok with 2 tbsp cooking oil. saute shallot, garlic and ginger until fragrant.
4.  Add bamboo shoots and carrots.
5.  Sprinkle with salt and sugar and mix well.
6.  Add roast pork.
7.  Sizzle with wine, add in the stock and seasonings. Stir well to mix all ingredients.
8.  Transfer to casserole and cover with lid.
9.  Let simmer for 5 to 6 minutes.
10. Thicken with cornflour solution. 
11.  Give a final stir to mix evenly. 
12.  Switch off the flame.

Piping hot and fragrant!

I am linking this post to Cook-Your-Books #1 

 

hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours

Clay-Pot Chicken with Mushrooms and Bamboo Shoot 雙冬滑鸡煲

Clay-Pot Chicken with Mushrooms and Bamboo Shoot 雙冬滑鸡煲

 

 Recipe Source :  Chopsticks Recipes Cookbook : Chinese Casseroles

Ingredients

350g chicken (chop into bite-sized pieces)
  50g shitake mushrooms
250g bamboo shoot 
3 slices ginger
1 shallot (minced)
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 sprig spring onion (sectioned)

Seasonings

 

2 tsp shao shing wine
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp dark soy sauce

Dissolve in 1 Chinese rice bowl of chicken stock

How to Marinate the Chicken

 

-Marinate chicken with 1 tbsp ginger juice, 1 tbsp shao shing wine and 1 tbsp cornflour
-Parboil in oil, drain and set aside.

How to Marinate the Mushrooms

-Soak mushrooms for 2 hours or longer till soft and squeeze dry.
-Wash again and squeeze dry again and marinate with 2 Chinese soup spoon of oil, 2 tbsp shao shing wine, 2 tsp sugar and1 tsp light soy sauce.

N.B. Mix the 4 marinade ingredients in a large bowl and stir thoroughly before adding in the mushrooms and mix well. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Instructions

1. Wash and slice the bamboo shoot into strips.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in the clay-pot till hot. Reduce to medium heat, add shallot, garlic and ginger and stir-fry till fragrant
3. Add chicken and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
4. Add mushrooms and bamboo shoot and stir-fry for another 2 minutes.
5. Add the chicken stock with the dissolved seasonings and stir thoroughly.
6. Cover the clay-pot with the lid and let it cook for another 10 to 15 minutes. In fact, after cooking with the lid covered for 5 minutes, stir the contents to make sure that they do not stick to the bottom of the clay-pot. 
7. Garnish with sectioned spring onion and serve hot.


N.B. When cooking with clay-pots the chances of the contents sticking to the bottom of the clay-pot are very high. Therefore, you need to check it periodically.

I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #28 : Chicken Feast (February 2013)

hosted by  SSB of Small Small Baker 

Leaf Lard Chicken Nugget 猪网油炸鸡胸肉

Leaf Lard Chicken Nugget 猪网油炸鸡胸肉

 

Yum yum!

Ingredients

300g leaf lard
350g white meat (cut into thin slices)
300g bamboo shoot (cut into thin slices)
500ml oil for deep-frying

 Top: Bamboo shoot slices   Bottom: Leaf Lard

White meat slices

 

Bamboo shoot and white meat wrapped with leaf lard

Marinade for white meat

1/5 tsp m.s.g.
1 tsp white soy sauce
1/5 tsp pepper

Batter

6 tbsp wheat flour
6 tbsp cornflour
6 tbsp rice flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
140 ml of water

In a large bowl, stir and mix the above into a paste

Instructions

1) Use 2 pieces of bamboo shoot to sandwich a piece of white meat.
2) Then use a piece of leaf lard to wrap the bamboo shoot and white meat.
3) Heat 500ml of oil in a wok till hot and then reduce the fire to medium.
4) Dip the wrapped bamboo shoot and white meat into the batter and deep-fry in the oil for 10 minutes.
5) Eat by dipping the deep-fried chicken nuggets in chilli sauce or chopped chilli padi and soy sauce.

Crab Siew Mai 蟹肉烧卖

Crab Siew Mai 蟹肉烧卖

 

Looks delicious even when raw!

Ingredients

30 to 40 pieces of won ton skin
1 tbsp cooking oil for oiling the base of a steaming plate 

Ingredients For Siew Mai Filling

350g minced pork and fat
100g bamboo shoot (diced )
20g spring onion (chopped )
1 medium-size crab ( boil to cook and remove all the flesh )
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp Shao Hsing wine
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
A dash of pepper
1 tsp oyster sauce

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly together.

Note : It's optional to leave some of the crab meat to top up the siew mai as garnishing

Instruction To Wrap The Siew Mai

1.  Place one tsp of the siew mai filling onto a piece of won ton skin
2.  Gather the edges together to form a firm cylindrical shape. Ensure the bottom of the siew mai is flat to enable it to stand on its own
3.  Level the top with the back of a spoon after dipping in water 
4.  Place the wrapped siew mai on an oiled steaming plate
5.  Repeat the process until all the filling and won ton skins have been used up
6.  Place the wrapped siew mai at least 1 cm apart to avoid them sticking together.

Steaming the Siew Mai

1.  Heat up the water in a steamer and bring it to a boil
2.  Place the whole plate of siew mai into the steamer
3.  Steam at high heat for 10 minutes

Note : You can refer to my previous post on The Technique of Steaming Food, read  here

 

Looks even more delicious when cooked!

Sui Kow Dumplings or 饺子 in Mandarin

Sui Kow Dumplings or 饺子 in Mandarin

It's so fulfilling and satisfying to make your own sui kow dumplings at home. These piping hot dumplings are very delicious and so easy to make. It so happened it rained heavily today. So it sort of created a very cozy and homey atmosphere for my family while we were eating piping hot dumplings on a very cool and rainy day. 

Ingredients

 Left : water chestnuts with skin. Middle : water chestnut with skin removed and diced. Right : finely diced shrimps

 Left : a few slices of canned bamboo shoot to be chopped up later.  Middle : chopped Chinese celery. Right : a stalk of Chinese celery

Minced pork

 Round sui kow wrappers - available at most supermarkets and wet markets

Ingredients

 

250g of minced pork
8 water chestnuts - remove the skin and dice into small pieces
1 stalk of Chinese celery - chopped into small pieces
200g of shrimps -  remove the shells and the veins and dice into small pieces
80g of canned bamboo shoots - chopped into small pieces
30 pieces of dumpling wrapper ( sui-kow wrapper )
1 litre of chicken stock

Garnishing

 

1 tbsp of shallot oil
1 stalk of spring onion - finely chopped

Sauce Ingredients

 

2 tsp soya sauce
1 tbsp Shao Hsing wine
2 tsp sesame oil
a dash of pepper
1/2 tsp salt          )
a pinch of m.s.g        ) Mix together to dissolve
1 tsp water         )

Instructions to prepare the filling :

1.  In a large bowl, mix the minced pork, diced water chestnut, chopped Chinese celery and diced shrimps and chopped bamboo shoot together.
2.  Add in the sauce ingredients
3.  Mix very thoroughly together

Cornflour solution 

 

1 tsp cornflour
1 tbsp of water

Mix together - this is to seal the wrapped dumpling

Instructions on how to wrap the dumpling

 

1. Place a piece of sui-kow wrapper on a flat surface

2. Spoon 1/2  tbsp of the sui-kow filling onto one half of the sui-kpow wrapper

3. Spread cornflour mixture around the edge of the semi-circle of the sui-kow wrapper

4. Fold over the half of the wrapper to seal.

5. Make sure you press out as much of the air as possible when you press down to seal around the semi-circle

All wrapped-up and ready for cooking

Cooking Instructions

 

1.  Bring half a pot of water to boil

2.  Drop wrapped dumplings into the boiling water one by one. It's cooked when the dumplings float to the surface

3.  Scoop up the cooked dumplings and transfer them to a large bowl of cold water. This step is to make sure that  the flour on the sui kow wrapper is removed otherwise the chicken stock will end up yellowish and cloudy.

4.  In a clean pot, bring the chicken stock to boil

5.  Add in all the cooked dumplings

6.  Let it simmer for one minute.

7.  Dish up the sui kow dumplings into a large bowl, add in one tablespoon of shallot oil and garnish with chopped spring onion.

8.  Eat them while they are still hot

Baked Spring Roll 炸春卷

Baked Spring Roll 炸春卷

 

Crispy, crunchy and

yummy !

Everyone loves a snack. I have no idea from which country the spring roll originated as there seems to be spring roll recipes from websites and blogs running from China, Hong Kong to South East Asian countries.  Here, in Malaysia, it is popularly known as "popiah" among the many ethnic groups. It is among the more popular food item presented at buffets and open houses, irrespective of the host's ethnicity. There are of course so many different versions of what is put into the making of the filling.  Some use only vegetables while others use chicken instead of pork. It's very much up to the individual. Once you know how to make it, you can change the ingredients for making the filling according to your fancy or to your religious beliefs. 

Ingredients :

 

Thinly sliced Chinese cabbage

Canned bamboo shoot, sliced into fine strips 

A packet of spring roll skin bought from the supermarket. 

Read the instructions at the back of the packet carefully. 

Once the seal of the packet is broken, cover the packet  of spring roll skin with a damp towel, 

because when exposed to air it becomes harden

Top Centre ; marinated minced pork

Left bottom : black fungus cut into very fine strips. 

Centre bottom : mushroom cut into very thin pieces. 

Right bottom : shrimps cut into very small pieces 

The spring roll filling 

All wrapped up and waiting to be baked

Ingredients 

 

600g Chinese cabbage

50g dried mushrooms

50g black fungus, or mook yee  in Cantonese

350g shrimps

350g minced pork

1 can of bamboo shoot

2 tbsp of minced ginger

1 tbsp of minced garlic

A dash of pepper

3 tbsp cooking oil

45 sheets of spring roll skin ( locals call it popiah skin )

Sauce Ingredients

 

1 tbsp soya sauce

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp Shao Hsing wine 

Marinade Ingredients For Pork

1 tsp cornflour

1/4 tsp sugar

1 tsp soya sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

A dash of pepper

Marinate the pork with the marinade ingredients for 15 minutes

Preparation Instructions

 

1.  Marinate the minced pork with the marinade ingredient for 15 minutes. Set aside

2.  Clean and wash the Chinese cabbage and cut them into small pieces. Set aside

3.  Open the can of bamboo shoot, rinse in running water and cut them into thin strips. Set aside. 

4.  Soak the black fungus until soft and cut them into very thin strips. Set aside

5.  Soak the mushroom until soft. Wash thoroughly and squeeze out the water. Slice them into thin slices. Set aside

6.  Shell the shrimps, remove the veins and cut them into small pieces. Set aside

Cooking Instructions

 

1.  Heat a wok, add in the cooking oil

2.  When the oil is hot, add in the minced garlic and ginger and saute until light brown and fragrant

3.  Add in the marinated minced pork and stir fry until the lump of minced pork breaks up and change colour to whitish

4.  Add in the shrimps, mushroom, black fungus and bamboo shoot.

5. Mix well, then add in the Chinese cabbage and stir fry until the cabbage turned soft.

6.  Keep stir-frying. Do not add water.

7.  Once the Chinese cabbage has turned soft, add in the sauce ingredients and continue frying until dry

8.  Dish up and aside aside to cool down.

How to Wrap the Spring Roll

1.  Set the oven at 200 degree Celsius

2.  Cut open the packet of spring roll skin. Read the instructions at the back of the pack carefully and make sure you follow the instructions. 

3.  Take out a small stack and peel off only 1 or 2 pieces at a time and wrap fast. Once the spring roll skin is left unattended for a few minutes, it hardens and become inflexible.

4. So while you are wrapping each spring roll, use a damp towel to cover the stack of unused spring roll skin which are still in the pack 

5.  Use 1 tsp of cornflour and mix it with 2 tsp of water. Mix well to form a thick solution. This is for binding and sealing the opening of the wrapped spring rolls.

6.  On a flat surface, spread out a piece of spring roll skin

7.  Spoon 1 tbsp of the cooked filling onto the spring roll and wrap it up the basic and simplest style

8.  Use your finger to smear a little of the cornflour solution to seal the opening.

9.  Place the wrapped spring roll onto a greased baking tray. 

10. Leave a small space between each wrapped spring rolls on the greased baking tray. Do not place them too closely together.

11.  Continue wrapping until all the filling is used up. 

12.  This batch used 45 pieces of the spring rolls skin

13.  Place the baking tray into the pre-heated oven. 

14.  Bake at 200 degree Celsius for 20 minutes until crispy

Baked spring rolls - a healthier version of the deep-fried ones but no less tastier

Braised Pork Belly With Mushrooms, Bamboo Shoots and Black Fungus 五花肉焖冬菇竹笋

Braised Pork Belly With Mushrooms, Bamboo Shoots and Black Fungus 五花肉焖冬菇竹笋

Yummy!

This dish has been handed down from my father-in-law. In my family, or rather in SK's family, the men are better cooks than the womenfolks. The cooking skills seem to be in the genes and appear to have been passed from one generation to the next and it encompasses even the kinsmen in China. When we visited SK's home village in Chaozhou, China, the men were the ones cooking in the kitchen while the womenfolks attended to the supporting functions of cleaning, cutting and the general preparatory work. Well, it's okay with me if I can sit back and enjoy good food ! Cheers to the clan !

 

Ingredients

500g pork belly

50g dried mushrooms

50g dried black fungus / mook yee

1 can of bamboo shoot

1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, cut into thin slices

1 tbsp minced garlic

Sauce ingredients

3 tbsp oyster sauce

3 tbsp black soya sauce

1 heaped tsp salt

2 heaped tsp of sugar

Mix all the ingredients in 1 rice bowl of water

Cornflour Solution

Mix 2 tsp of cornflour with 2 Chinese soup spoons of water

Marinade for mushrooms

3tbsp of shaoxing wine

2 Chinese soup spoon of cooking oil

1 tsp of soy sauce

2 tsp sugar

A Chinese soup spoon

 

 

 

 

 Preparation of the mushrooms

 

Soak the mushrooms in water for 1 hour until soft. Any mushrooms that still remain hard despite the soaking should be discarded. Remove the stems and wash thoroughly and squeeze out the remaining water. Stir the marinade ingredients in a bowl  then add the mushrooms to the marinade and mix well.

The marinated mushrooms look plump and juicy with a film of oil

Set aside

Preparation of the black fungus

 

Soak the black fungus in water until soft

 Cut off the hard parts as shown

Cut into bite size pieces

Set aside

Preparation of the bamboo shoots

 

Open the can of bamboo shoot. Rinse the bamboo shoots under the tap. Drain off the water and cut into sections as shown.

Set aside

Preparation of the pork belly

 

Wash the pork belly. Drain away the water. Cut out the fatty parts and remove the skin. 

Set the skin and the fatty parts aside. Do not throw away

 Cut the pork belly into cubes

How to extract lard

Heat wok until very hot, add the skin and fatty parts and fry to extract the lard or the oil. Remove excess lard and set aside. Leave 2 tbsp of the lard in the wok

Add in the cubed pork belly and stir fry quickly over high heat until the pork belly changes to a whitish color

Dish up and set aside

 

 

 

 

Cooking instructions

1.  Heat wok until very hot, add 2 tbsp of lard

2.  Add the ginger slices and minced garlic and saute until fragrant and light brownish in color

3.  Add in the marinated mushrooms and fry for 3 minutes

4.  Add in the black fungus and bamboo shoots and stir fry for another 3 minutes

5.  Add in the pork pieces and mix evenly with the rest of the ingredients

6.  Add in the sauce ingredients

7.  Add in more water and make sure all the ingredients are covered with water

8.  Let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes

9.  Add in the cornflour solution

10.  It's ready once the fragrance emits from the wok.

Isn't this mouth-watering ?