Chinese New Year Dish : Fatt Thieu Cheong/Monk Jumped Over The Wall 佛跳墙

Chinese New Year Dish : Fatt Thieu Cheong/Monk Jumped Over The Wall 佛跳墙

Recipe source :  Doris Choo of Sumptuous Flavours (after listening to narration of a shop proprietor's basic instructions)

Fables had it that this soup was so fragrant that a monk jumped over a wall to trace and followed the wonderful aroma of this soup. The fable became a reality today in my home! The aroma that wafted from the steam oven was truly delicious as the soup was stewing. We all knew it would be great without having to taste it!

Finally I get to taste my own home-styled version of this much fabled "fatt thieu cheong". Thanks to the shop proprietor who persuaded me to buy these mini abalone way before shops started stocking up Chinese New Year goodies. 

Anyway, one of my children was back early for Chinese New Year and has to work during the festive season. So, we decided to celebrate with him first before he goes back to work. My family finds this very delicious. The dried baby abalone which had been soaked for 5 days until soft and then steamed for 3 hours tasted succulent and juicy. In fact we preferred this dried variety to the canned ones. Each springy bite is filled with the rich aroma and wholesome goodness of authentic abalone. Good! Really good!

Truly awesome to the last drop!

Note : the instruction to soak the dried abalone for 5 days until soft was taught by the shop proprietor who sold these abalone.

Ingredients

5 mini dried abalone
1/2 old chicken, quartered
40g dried fish maw(optional)
3 big dried scallops
5 red dates, pitted
1 tbsp wolf berries
6 slices pau-sum
3 pieces wai-san
4 dried mushrooms, soaked until soft
800ml water
2 slices old ginger
1 tbsp rice wine
salt  (optional )

Dried mini abalone

Mini abalone - after soaking for 5 days in the fridge

Dried scallops

Dried mushrooms

From left to right : wolfberries, pau-sum, red dates, wai-san

Method

1.  Soak dried abalone for 5 days until soft. Leave them in the refrigerator. Clean them properly before use.
2.  Soak fish maw until soft. Add 1 tsp vinegar into about 500ml water. Bring to a boil and boil the soaked fish maw to remove the fishy smell and the oily odour. Repeat process if the fishy smell is not removed after the first boiling. Alternatively you can leave out the fish maw if you find preparing it too troublesome because fish maw by itself has little taste.
3.  Place chicken, Chinese herbs and all the ingredients into a ceramic pot. Add in water. 
4.  Steam over high heat for 3 to 4 hours until the old chicken is tender.

Simply irresistible!

The mini abalones were succulent and juicy !

This is absolutely delicious!

The taste is just out-of-this-world!

No wonder there is so much hype about the monk jumping over the wall !

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 also linking this post to Cook and Celebrate CNY : 2015

Orgainsed by Yen of Eat Your Heart Out , Zoe of Bake For happy Kids and 

Diana of Domestic Goddess Wannabe

  

Noodle with a shocking twist

Noodle with a shocking twist

Two days before the Chinese New Year we were planning to have a steamboat dinner, but our youngest son, YS had other plans. He wanted to join his friends to eat out, but we told him we were having abalone that evening and he suggested that we reserved two baby abalones for him which we did. We were wondering what he was going to do with two tiny little abalones and we got a shock of our lives when he showed us what he did.

Ingredients

1 packet instant seafood noodle
2 baby abalone
2 pieces fried dumplings or sui-kow
500 ml water

Method

1.  In a small pot, bring 500 ml water to a boil.
2.  Add in instant noodles and cook according to package instructions.
3.  Transfer noodles to a big bowl.
4.  Add in baby abalone and sui-kow.
5.  Ready to serve.

Big Bowl Feast ( Poon Choi / Pen Cai） 盆菜

Big Bowl Feast ( Poon Choi / Pen Cai ) 盆菜

Recipe source : Doris Choo of  Sumptuous Flavours

Poon Choi ( in Cantonese ) or Pen Cai ( in Mandarin ) is a cultural heritage food of Hong Kong. It was first served in a large wooden basin to the Emperor and his army during the Sung Dynasty.

It has since been widely commercialised in Hong Kong. Various ingredients such as pork, beef, lamb, chicken, duck, seafood, abalone, bean curd, Chinese radish, broccoli, pigskin, prawns and fish maw are cooked and assembled layer by layer in large earthen or metal pots.

The trick lies in mingling the various food, layer by layer, so that the variety of flavours blend well between the layers to complement each other to create a wonderful big bowl feast. 

Today, the 30th of January 2014 is the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year, heralding the year of the Horse. Chinese across the globe are rushing back home to celebrate the annual reunion dinner with their loved ones. Our two older children who are working abroad have come home to celebrate this joyous and auspicious occasion. 

We have prepared a poon choi to cater to everyone's palate, all assembled together in one big earthen bowl ! It is time consuming, no doubt about it, but it is not difficult. All you need to do is plan ahead.l For us, it was a matter of putting all our favourite dishes together. We discussed among ourselves to assure ourselves the various layers of flavours can blend well together. It was well worth the extra time and effort. We had a great feast! 

Special Thanks to Alvin from Chef and Sommelier for providing the inspiration. 

Wishing all friends and readers Gong Xi Fa Cai! 
May the year of the Horse brings you joy, happiness and prosperity all year round!

Base layer - Braised pork knuckles with radish

 

Ingredients

500g pork knuckle, cut into pieces
2 radishes, cut into chunks
1/4 piece Shanghai nam yee, mashed
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 sprig parsley, cut into sections of 3 cm
1 stalk spring onion, cut into sections of 3 cm
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
 1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 1/2 bowls water

Method

1.  Heat wok and add oil. Saute chopped garlic until fragrant.
2.  Add mashed name yee and pork knuckles. Stir-fry until pork knuckles change colour.
3.  Add water and radish. Add oyster sauce, light soy sauce, salt and sugar.
4.  Cook for about 30 minutes or until pork knuckles are tender.
5.  Add parsley and spring onion. Stir to mix well.
6.  Dish up. Separate the gravy from the solids.
7.  Place the pork knuckles and radish into a large earthen ware pot.

2nd layer - pigskin

Ingredients

1 small piece of dried pigskin

Method

1.  Soak pigskin until soft. Boil pigskin for about 20 minutes.
2.  Pour away the water. Rinse and squeeze the pigskin gently several times.
3.  Boil again for another 10 minutes or until the pigskin is soft.
4.  Cut into bite-sized pieces.
5.  Squeeze out water from the pigskin. Ensure you squeeze out all the water.
6.  Place the pigskin pieces into the earthen ware pot over the base layer.
7.  Then pour the sauce from the braised pork knuckles and radish over the pigskin layer. 

Place the pigskin over the base layer of braised pork knuckles with radish

Pour the gravy from the braised pork knuckles over the layer of pigskin.

The pigskin soaked up the gravy and absorbed the flavour from the braised pork knuckles

3rd Layer - Deep-fried bean curd sheets

1/2 a piece of bean curd sheet 

 

Method

1.  Deep dry the bean curd sheet in hot oil. 

2.  Break into smaller pieces.

3.  Place them over the 2nd layer.

3rd layer :  Deep-fried bean curd sheets

4th Layer - Stir-fired Chinese Cabbage

 

Ingredients

300g Chinese cabbage

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 tbsp cooking oil

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp water

 

Method

1.  Heat wok and add cooking oil.

2.  Pour in Chinese cabbage and stir-fry until cabbage is softened. 

3.  Add 2 tbsp water and salt.

4.  Cook for a further 1 minute.

5.  Dish up and pour this over the deep-fried bean curd sheet layer.

4th layer

5th Layer :  Braise mushrooms with top shell

 Marinated mushrooms : with 1 tbsp shao hsing wine, 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp oil

 A can of top shells

Top shells

Ingredients

12 pieces of small dried mushrooms - marinated with 1 tbsp shao hsing wine, 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp oil

1 tin top shell, sliced

1 tbsp chopped garlic

6 slices ginger

1/2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp dark soya sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 bowl water

2 tbsp cooking oil

1 tsp cornstarch     )  mix to form

1 tbsp water           )  thickening solution

 

Method

1.  Heat wok. Add cooking oil.

2.  Fry the ginger slices and chopped garlic until fragrant.

3.  Add in the mushrooms and stir-fry for 1 minute.

4.  Add oyster sauce, dark soya sauce, salt and 1/3 bowl of water

5.  Cook for 2 minutes and add thickening solution.

6.  Dish up and arrange this around the stir-fried Chinese cabbage and over the deep-fried bean curd sheets. 

Premium Layer

200g roast roast pork

300g large prawns : make garlic prawns

1 tin abalone

1 chicken whole leg : make drunken chicken

100g baby bok choy 

Abalone

 Roast pork  - Home-made

To make sauce for drunken chicken

1 bowl chicken stock

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp shao hsing wine

 dash of sesame oil

 

Method

1.  Boil chicken stock, sugar, sesame oil and salt together.

2.  Cool down and add in wine.

3.  Place chicken whole leg into the solution.

4.  Marinate for three to four hours. 

5.  Chop into bite-sized pieces

Drunken chicken

To make garlic prawns

300g large prawns, remove vein and cut a slit across the back 
1 tbsp chopped garlic
4 chilli padi
1 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp cooking oil

Method

1.  Heat wok. Add oil and saute the chopped garlic until fragrant.
2.  Add prawns and chilli fry until turn colour to pinkish-red.
3.  Add soya sauce and continue to fry until cooked.
4.  Dish up and set aside.

To prepare baby bok choy

100g baby bok choy
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2bowl water
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

Method

1.  Boil half a pot of water.
2.  Add 1 tsp lye water.
3.  Blanch baby bok choy. Rinse with running water.
4.  Drain away the water.
5.  Heat 1/2 bowl water, add in oyster sauce, salt and sugar and bring to a boil.
6.  Add in blanched bok choy and stir for one minute.
7.  Remove and set aside.

Assembling the premium layer

1.  Arrange the five ingredients of the premium layer round the top of the earthen pot

 

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest : Hong Kong + Macau - Jan & Feb 2014, hosted by Annie from Annielicious Food

Steamboat 火锅

Steamboat 火锅

Setting the table and getting the food ready for the steamboat dinner

Steamboat is my family's favourite choice for reunion dinner. We like our steamboat light and easy after a heavy lunch of steamed chicken and various meat dishes which were prepared for ancestral worship. Steamboat is pretty easy to prepare and there is literally no "slaving over the hot stove".  It  largely involves cleaning and washing vegetables and getting our favourite seafood items together on the dinner table. The "cooking" is done by dipping pieces of food into the hot boiling stock. If you are particular about sauces, then you have to make your own chili sauces or ginger sauces. As for my family and I, it is just cutting a couple of chili padi and squeezing the juice from one small lime into the chili padi and soya sauce. This chili padi and lime sauce is a great dipping sauce for seafood. 

Ingredients

2 litres of clear chicken stock
10 medium-sized prawns
2 cuttle fish ( the pre-soaked variety )
2 tins of canned abalone
30 pieces of sui-kow dumplings
1 kg jelly fish, soaked one day in advance. You need to change the water several times

1 can of sea asparagus

1 packet of bottle-shaped mushrooms ( or Hang Pau Koo in Cantonese ) 
2 packets of inoki mushrooms

1 handful of glass noodles, soak in water until soft

4 large leaves of Wong ngah pak, wash and cut into sections

1 small head of Chinese cabbage, wash and cut into bite-sized pieces

1 small head of lettuce, wash and cut into halves

2 stalks of Chinese celery, wash and cut into sections

Chili Sauce

8 chili padi, cut into small pieces
1 small lime, squeeze out the juice
2 tbsp soya sauce

Mix the ingredients together and you'll get a hot, and sour sauce

 Canned baby abalone

A plate of wrapped sui-kow dumplings. You can read up my previous post on how to make sui-kow dumplings

 2 pre-soaked cuttle fish, cut into small pieces

Canned sea asparagus

 A handful of glass noodles, soaked in water until soft

 Medium-sized prawns, trimmed and washed

 3 bottle-shaped mushrooms, cut into thin slices

Inoki mushrooms

Chinese cabbage on the left and lettuce on the right

Bottom : Chinese celery cut into sections

 

Jelly fish, soaked overnight and cut into small pieces

4 leaves of wong ngah pak, cut into sections

Place the steamboat over the gas stove

Instructions

 

1.  Prepare all the ingredients and place them around the steamboat.
2.  Fill the steamboat to two-thirds full of clear chicken stock
3.  Place the steamboat over the gas stove and bring the stock to the boil.
4.  Add pieces of the above ingredients into the stock and boil them until cooked.
5.  Dip the cooked food into the chili dipping sauce
6.  Enjoy !


Note :  You can use store-bought chili sauces of your choice, tomato sauce, hoi sin sauce or just plain soya sauce.