Clay-Pot Waxed Meat Rice 瓦煲蜡味饭

Clay-Pot Waxed Meat Rice 瓦煲蜡味饭

Rich flavours of waxed duck and "kwai fah yoke"

Recipe source :  own ( my mum used to cook it this way )

The shops and market stalls are filled with the festive air of Chinese New Year as songs of  "gong xi, gong xi"  are being aired all around! That really revved up my mood and lifted up my spirits as the Lunar New Year approaches. SK and I had started stocking up the goodies. This morning we bought waxed duck and "kwai fah yoke". As we walked along the market stalls, we saw arrow heads being sold at many stalls, so we bought some as well.

SK wanted to eat clay-pot waxed duck rice. We used to eat my mother's waxed meat rice but so far I have not tried cooking it on my own. So SK and I decided to cook a very small portion, just in case it did not turn out well. We are very happy that it was beyond our expectation. The rice was filled with the rich aroma of the waxed duck and the "kwai fah yoke" and the arrow head has a natural sweetness of its own. 

Very tasty, very fragrant !  For those who love waxed meat, I fully recommend this!

Ingredients

( serves 1 or 2 persons )

1/2 a waxed duck drumstick, boil and cut into bite-sized pieces

100g rice, wash and drain

1 piece of Hong Kong "kwai fah yoke"

150g arrow heads, clean, remove skin and cut into quarters

1 tsp salt

200ml water

Top : waxed duck drumstick

Bottom : "kwai fah yoke"

To prepare the waxed duck drumstick

Bring 1 litre of water in a pot to the boil. Immerse the waxed duck drumstick into the boiling water and let it boil for about 5 minutes. Drain away the water and pick off the feathers that are still stuck to the skin. The boiling will help remove the excessive oil from the waxed duck drumstick. 

Cooking Instructions

 

1.  Place the washed rice in a clay-pot. Add 1 tsp salt and 200 ml of water. Bring it to the boil then reduce to low fire. Cover the clay-pot with its lid.

2.  After about 10 minutes check the water level and stir the rice to make sure it is evenly cooked, otherwise the top layer may not be satisfactorily cooked. 

3.  Let it cook for another 10 minutes and stir the rice again. When the water level above the rice is about 1/2 cm left, spread the arrow head pieces evenly on the surface of the rice, followed by the "kwai fah yoke" and the waxed duck.

4.  Let it cook until water bubbles are no longer seen above the rice. 

5.  Then switch off the flame and let it be for another 10 more minutes.

I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013

hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover

Thai-Style Stir-fried Arrow Heads 薯菇炒猪肉-泰国式

 Thai-Style Stir-fried Arrow Heads  薯菇炒猪肉-泰国式

 Thai-style stir-fried arrow heads with pork belly

I have this Thai recipe with me for the last 30 years and yet I have not tried cooking it before. The recipe used "winter yam" and I could not figure out what "winter yam" was. Three weeks ago as I flipped through my recipe books, I came across this recipe again and it suddenly dawned on me that "winter yam" could be arrow heads! The realisation came because arrow heads are now in season! It so happened I had bought 2 kilos of arrow heads just that morning. The photo shown in the book used plenty of dark soy sauce which made the winter yam unrecognisable. I immediately bookmarked that page, making a silent promise that I would try that recipe which had been eluding me for more than 30 years!

I made several changes to the original recipe as I do not want the dish to be too hot and spicy, nor too dark in colour. Well, it turned out beautifully.

Ingredients

350g pork belly
1 piece fried five-spice powder flavoured tofu, cut into slices
3 pips garlic, minced
7 shallots, thinly sliced
10 chili padi, bruised
1 tsp dark soy sauce
a dash of pepper 
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
300g arrow heads, remove skin and cut into slices 4 mm thick
1/2 cup wine
1 1/2 Chinese rice bowl of water
3 tbsp oil
1 stalk spring onion
1 sprig of Chinese parsley

 Raw arrow heads

 Arrow heads with skin removed

A piece of five-spice flavoured deep-fried tofu

Instructions

 

1.  Heat oil in a wok. Saute the sliced shallots and minced garlic until fragrant.
2.  Add the arrow heads and stir-fry for 1 minute
3.  Add the pork belly slices and stir-fry at high heat for 3 minutes.
4.  Add 1 1/2 bowls of water and tofu pieces. 
5.  Let simmer until almost dry and the arrow heads are softened.
6.  Add the bruised chili padi, wine, pepper, salt and sugar.
7.  Add the spring onion and Chinese parsley and mix well.
8.  Switch off the flame and dish up.

Arrow Head Chips 炸薯菇片

Arrow Head Chips 炸薯菇片

Looks like potato chips but much tastier

Ingredients

2 kg arrow head

1 litre cooking oil

1/2 tsp salt

 Raw arrow heads

Use a grater to slice the arrow heads

 

Arrow head slices before frying

 

 Instructions

1.  Remove the skin of the arrow heads. Wash and drain dry.

2.  Use a grater to slice the arrow heads into thin slices.

3.  Heat the cooking oil in a wok.Add salt into the oil.

4.  Once the oil is hot, reduce to medium fire and deep-fry the arrow head slices one by one. Do not do it in batches as the arrow head slices will stick together making it difficult to deep-fry them until crispy.

5.  Fry until the arrow head slices turn golden brown. Use a long pair of bamboo chopsticks to pick up the arrow head slices and place them on a large flat plate lined with kitchen towels to absorb the excess oil.

6.  Let cool completely before storing them in air-tight containers.

Very crunchy

Stir-Fried Arrow head With Pork Belly Slices 薯菇炒猪肉

  Stir-Fried Arrow head With Pork Belly Slices 薯菇炒猪肉

A scrumptious dish of arrow head or chi koo in Cantonese

Arrow head or chi koo in Cantonese is available only around the Chinese New Year season. The traditional way of cooking arrow head is to place slices of arrow head under chopped pieces of waxed meat and waxed duck and steamed them together. Cooked this way, the oil and flavour from the waxed meat and waxed duck are absorbed by the arrow head which on its own is rather bland. 

My family likes arrow head cooked with pork belly slices, a dish I learnt from my mother.

 

Ingredients

 

300g arrow head, remove skin and slice into pieces

300g pork belly, cut into slices

1 stalk spring onion, cut into 5cm sections

1 stalk Chinese celery, cut into 5 cm sections

3/4 piece  nam yee, mash it

2 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 1/2 Chinese rice bowl water

300ml cooking oil

Arrow heads just bought from the supermarket

Deep-fried arrow head pieces which looked like fried potatoes

Pork belly slices

 Spring onion and Chinese celery cut into sections
 

  A bottle of nam yee

 

Instructions

 

1.  Pour the cooking oil into a wok and heat oil until hot.

2.  Add in the arrow head pieces and deep-fry until golden brown.

3.  Dish up and set aside.

4.  Remove oil from wok, leaving only 3 tbsp of the oil in the wok.

5.  Saute minced garlic until light brown and fragrant.

6.  Add in the pork belly slices and mashed nam yee and stir-fry over high heat for 3 minutes.

7.  Add in water and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.

8.  Add in the deep-fried arrow head pieces and stir to mix them up and cook until almost dry.

9.  Add in the salt, sugar, spring onion and Chinese celery.

10. Stir to mix evenly.

11. Switch off flame and dish up.

An annual ritual to cook and savour this great dish