Chinese New Year Dish: Spicy Fish Maw 香辣鱼鰾

Chinese New Year Dish: Spicy Fish Maw 香辣鱼鰾

Recipe source :  Adapted from Y3K Magazine, Issue No. 58, 1/2 - 2011 ( Catherine Chia )


The mood for Chinese festivities has begun for me. I love the exhilaration. I love to walk and browse through the shops and market stalls while happy Chinese New Year songs fill the air! 

It's time to get busy with Chinese New Year preparations. Many shops and stalls at the market  have already started displaying goodies for Chinese New Year. A wide selection of cookies, nuts and all kinds of auspicious food associated with the Spring Festival abundantly filled up baskets and urns, fighting for available space to be seen. They seem to be beckoning to me and all customers and urging "buy me, buy me"! Ah, my imagination has run wild. It's because I am so happy! My favourite time of the year has arrived. 

I have a lot of fish maws at home which were gifts from friends and relatives. So, I shall start off with cooking a fish maw dish.  

Fish maws are delicacies commonly used to prepare Chinese New Year dishes. Not all people like to eat fish maws because they do not like the smell of fried oil nor the "fishy" smell. A shop proprietor once taught me how to get rid of the "fishy smell" and oily odour by using a little vinegar during the preparatory process. His tip works!

Being Malaysian, I love spicy dishes. This version is delicious and is a very delectable change from the conventional ways of cooking fish maws. 

Gong Xi, Gong Xi, Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Ingredients

80g fish maw
2 slices ginger
3 pips garlic, chopped
160g Chinese cabbage, cut into sections of 4 cm
5 pieces assam (tamarind) soaked and drained
4 dried chillies, cut into 2 sections
1/2 tbsp fermented soy bean
300g pork belly, sliced
1 stalk leek
600ml water
3 tbsp cooking oil

Seasoning

2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp chilli sauce
2 tbsp tomato sauce

For fish maw

1.  Soak in water until soft. Place into 1 litre of boiling water and add in 1/2 tsp of vinegar. Boil for about 10 minutes. Let is cool.
2.  Squeeze off excess water .
3.  Rinse again several times and squeeze off excess water from the fish maw. Do so gently to prevent breaking
4.  Cut into bite-sized pieces.
 

Method

1.  Heat wok with 3 tbsp cooking oil. 
2.  Saute ginger and garlic until fragrant.
3.  Add in fermented soy bean and fry well. Then add dried chillies, pork belly and Chinese cabbage. Stir-fry well.
4.  Add in water, assam pieces, seasoning and fish maw.
5.  When it comes to a boil, lower heat to medium flame and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
6.  Add in leek and stir-fry until almost dry.
7.  Switch off flame and dish up. 

I am linking this post to My Treasured Recipes #5 - Chinese New Year Goodies Jan/Feb 2015

Hosted by Miss B of Everybody Eats Well In Flanders 

and co-hosted by Charmaine of Mimi Bakery House

I am linking this post to  Cook-Your-Book#20

Hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours

Steamed Stingray In Aluminium Foil

Steamed Stingray In Aluminium Foil

 Recipe source : Doris Choo @ Sumptuous Flavours

This steamed stingray dish is very appetising. The cherry tomatoes lent a sourish flavour to the hot chilli padi and the savoury bean paste. This goes very well with rice. It is simple to prepare for everyday meal and steaming food is by far the easiest method of cooking, almost effortless.

You can place the fish onto a shallow plate and just steam it as it is without the aluminium foil. 

Personally, I prefer packaging it in aluminium foil as all the flavours and goodness are all encased in the aluminium foil during the steaming process. 

I love the burst of aroma and flavour when the aluminium foil is opened. 

Ingredients :

500g stingray

2 tbsp chopped garlic

1 tbsp ginger strips

2 tbsp fermented soy bean

4 bird's eye chili

2 stalks spring onion
100g cherry tomatoes, cut into halves

1 piece of aluminium foil, 45 cm x 45 cm

 

Method

1.  Wash the stingray and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Set it aside

2.  Roughly chop up the fermented soy bean and mix them with the chopped garlic, chillies and ginger strips.

3.  Trim and wash the spring onion. Cut the white parts of the spring onion into 4 cm sections and slice the green parts into small pieces.

4.  Spread the fermented soy bean mixture evenly over the piece of stingray.

5.  Place the stingray onto the piece of prepared aluminium foil.

6.  Place the white parts of the spring onions on top of the stingray.

7.  Arrange the cherry tomato halves on top and around the stingray.

8.  Wrap up the aluminium foil and secure the edges.

9.  Steam over boiling water for about 30 minutes or until the fish is done.

10. Unwrap the aluminium foil and sprinkle with the sliced spring onion to garnish.

Leatherjacket fish Cooked In Fermented Soya Bean Paste 鸡肉鱼煮豆酱

Leatherjacket Fish Cooked In Fermented Soya Bean Paste 鸡肉鱼煮豆酱

Recipe source : My own

I still remember the time my late mother-in-law brought home an ugly looking fish. I have never seen that species before and I was sceptical that it was a fish at all, despite her assurance. The skin was greyish-black and it looked leathery. I watched in fascination as she removed the thick leathery skin to reveal a smooth and pinkish-white fish which looked very fresh. She just scored the fish and simply fried it in hot oil. I loved it at first bite! It had the fishy taste of fish yet it also tasted something like chicken. 

Over the years, SK and I varied the style of cooking this leatherjacket fish. By the way, the Teochews call it "thee-buoy-teck" whereas the Cantonese refer to it as "kai-yook-yee".

Today, SK is sharing our simple home-style cooking of the leatherjacket fish.

Ingredients

500g leatherjacket fish
20g parsley, cut into 4 cm sections
30g spring onions, cut into 4 cm sections
10g ginger, grated
10g garlic, chopped
40g fermented soya bean paste                            ) mix fermented soya bean paste
1 1/2 Chinese rice bowl of water                            ) and water together
2 tbsp cooking oil                                          
enough cooking oil to deep-fry the fish 

 Skinned leatherjackets

 A bottle of fermented soya bean paste

 Parsley

Spring onion

How To Deep-Fry Fish

1.  Use 1/2 tsp salt, rub over both palms. Then rub salt over the fish. This is to prevent the fish from sticking to the wok/frying pan.
2.  Heat a wok until red-hot. Add cooking oil for deep-frying and heat until the oil is very hot. Then reduce the fire to medium.
3.  Slide the fishes into hot oil and fry until golden-brown. Dish up and drain away excess oil.

Instructions

1.  In a wok heat 2 tbsp of cooking oil.
2.  Saute garlic and ginger until fragrant. 
3.  Add in the mixture of fermented soay bean paste and water. Bring to the boil.
4.  Add in the deep-fried fishes and let boil for 1 minute.
5.  Add in spring onions and parsley and let it cook for 1/ 2 a minute.
6.  Dish up and serve.

I am linking this post to Alvin,  Chef and Sommelier

The ingredient for July is ginger

This event is linked to Little Thumbs Up

 

The event is organised by Zoe, Bake For Happy Kids and Doreen, My Little Favourite DIY

Stir-Fried Eggplant With Fermented Soya Beans 茄子炒豆酱

Stir-Fried Eggplant With Fermented Soya Beans 茄子炒豆酱

Another simple to prepare dish that goes very well with porridge or rice. 

Ingredients

400g eggplant 
60g fermented soy beans
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 1/2 Chinese rice bowls of water

Instructions

1.  Wash eggplant and cut into thin slices.
2.  Heat wok and add cooking oil
3.  When the oil is hot, add minced garlic and saute until fragrant.
4.  Add the sliced egg plants and stir-fry over heat for 2 minutes.
5.  Add in the fermented beans and mix well
6.  Add the water and allow to cook over high heat until it boils. (Eggplants absorb a lot of water you may have to add extra water while cooking)
7.  Once it boils, reduce to medium flame and continue to simmer until almost dry. 

Stir-Fried Snake Beans With Fermented Beans 蛇豆炒豆酱

Stir-Fried Snake Beans With Fermented Beans 蛇豆炒豆酱

A simple way to prepare a home-cooked dish.  I like to eat this with watery porridge especially on a hot sunny afternoon. 

 

Ingredients

400g snake beans
60g fermented soy beans
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 3/4 Chinese rice bowl water

Instructions

1.  Wash the snake beans. Cut into sections of 4 cm
2.  Heat 1 litre of water in a pot and bring to the boil add 1/2 tsp lye water (or kan sooi in Cantonese) Boil the snake beans for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and wash the snake beans with tap water and set aside.
3.  Heat a wok and add cooking oil. Saute the minced garlic until fragrant.
4.  Add water and fermented beans and bring to the boil.
5.  Add the snake beans and let it simmer for another minute.
6.  Dish up and serve. 

Fermented beans