GL's Cooking : Stir-Fried Bitter Gourd With Bacon 苦瓜炒熏肉

GL's Cooking : Stir-Fried Bitter Gourd With Bacon 苦瓜炒熏肉

Looks very appetising !

My daughter, GL substituted the pork slices with 3 pieces of bacon. She cut the bacon into thin strips. She added 1 tsp of  taucheo and 1 tsp of oyster sauce to stir-fry.


My post :  Stir-Fried Bitter Gourd With Pork Slices

GL's cooking : Stir-fried bitter gourd with bacon slices

Mango Lassi 芒果酸奶

Mango Lassi 芒果酸奶

Perfect for a hot sunny day

Ingredients

500g mango, peel off the skin and cut into cubes
2 cups plain yoghurt
2 cups chilled water
2 tbsp honey

Mangoes

Yoghurt

 

Instructions

 

1.  Put all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth.
2.  Pour into glasses.
3.  Ready to serve.

Savoury Bamboo Leaf Dumpling 咸肉粽

Savoury Bamboo Leaf Dumpling 咸肉粽

After making bamboo leaf alkaline dumpling with red bean paste  and bamboo leaf dumpling with dried shrimps sambal,  I had originally  planned to make this savoury dumpling much earlier to share in my blog. However, due to unforeseen circumstances and work commitment, I am only able to make these dumplings today for the coming Dragon Boat Festival which falls on the12th of June 2013.  I hope it is not too late to share my savoury dumplings now. These savoury dumplings are popularly known among the Hokkien community as the "Bak Chang" or "Hum Yook Chung" in Cantonese. 


Happy Dragon Boat Festival to all of you !

 

Glutinous Rice

1 kg glutinous rice, wash, soak overnight and drain

Then add : 
4 tsp salt
2 Chinese soup spoon oil
1 tsp 5-spice powder
1 tsp sugar

Mix the above ingredients with the glutinous rice. Mix thoroughly.

Mushrooms

200g mushrooms. soak until soft and remove the stems

Then marinate the mushrooms with the following ingredients, overnight in the refrigerator :

6 tsp ( heaped ) sugar
2 1/2 big Chinese soup spoon soy sauce
2 big Chinese soup spoon shao shing wine
3 big Chinese soup spoon cooking oil

Pork Belly

1 kg pork belly, cut into slices

Then marinate the pork belly slices with the following ingredients overnight in the refrigerator :-

 2 1/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp pepper
1 1/4 tsp five-spice powder
1 tsp salt
3 tsp sesame oil
3 tsp oyster sauce
3 tsp dark soy sauce

Instructions

1.  Heat oil in wok until very hot. Fry the marinated mushrooms and pork belly together for 5 - 6 minutes.
2.  Dish up and set aside to cool. ( No need to fry until the pork slices are cooked ).

Other Ingredients

5 salted duck egg yolks, cut into halves
150g dried scallops, wash and rinse
150g black-eyed beans ( mei-tau in Cantonese ) - soak overnight, then boil with 1 tsp salt until soft
150g split mung beans ( look-tau peen in Cantonese ) - soak overnight, then boil with 1 tsp salt until soft
2 bundles of bamboo leaves, boil in water and wipe clean with towel
straws or strings for tying

 The stir-fried mushrooms and pork belly

 Black-eyed beans

 Split mung beans

 Glutinous rice mixed with the spices and seasonings

  Dried scallops

 Salted duck egg yolks

 

 All ready for wrapping

Wrapping the bamboo leaf dumpling step-by-step

 Scoop 1 1/2 tbsp of glutinous rice onto 3 pieces of bamboo leaves

  Add on the mung beans and black-eyed beans

 Then add on 5 pieces of dried scallops

 Top up with half a piece of salted duck egg yolk

 Add 2 pieces of pork belly and 2 pieces of mushrooms

 Scoop 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp glutinous rice on top

 Place a piece of bamboo leaf over the ingredients to be wrapped

 Fold the bamboo leaf over one side

 Fold the other side to form a packet or a parcel

 Turn the edges to the bottom of the parcel

The wrapped-up parcel. Makes 20 to 22 dumplings

Secure the parcel with strings.

You may refer to my previous posts on step-by-step guide on wrapping bamboo leaf dumpling

Boiling the Dumplings

1.  In a very large pot, bring 10 litres of water to the boil
2.  Add 3 tbsp of salt to the boiling water.

3.  Make sure the water is boiling before adding in the dumplings and make sure all the dumplings are submerged in the boiling water. 

4.  Boil for 2 1/2 hours. 

5.  If the water level is reduced below the dumplings, add more boiling water to the pot.   

N.B. Unless otherwise stated, a tsp or tbsp or big Chinese soup spoon means a flat spoonful.

Home-made Spicy Pork Burgers 咖哩汉堡包

Home-made Spicy Pork Burgers 咖哩汉堡包

Recipe source :  Adapted from Amy Beh's Culinary Conundrums ~ The Star Newspapers


We had these home-made spicy pork burgers for lunch. A nice change from our usual staple which is rice or porridge.  Add more curry powder to the seasonings if you prefer a hotter and spicier burger.


SK found these burgers "tolerable" as his food preference has always been Chinese, while YS and I gobbled up the burgers with gusto!

Ingredients 

350g minced pork
1 big potato, boiled and mashed
1 big onion, chopped
Mayonnaise ( optional )
Barbecue sauce ( optional )
Chili sauce ( optional )

Seasonings

2 heaped tsp curry powder
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/3 tsp pepper

Other ingredients

6 burger buns or hot dog buns
Slices of tomatoes
Lettuce leaves, shredded

Instructions

1.  Put minced pork, mashed potato and seasonings together in a large mixing bowl. Add chopped onions and mix to combine well.
2.  Shape the mixture into round or oval burgers ( depending ) on your choice of bread  to thickness of about 1 cm.
3.  Shallow fry the burgers in a flat based saucepan until both sides are cooked.
4.  Cut burger buns into halves. Place shredded lettuce on a cut burger bun.
5.  Add a piece of pan-fried home-made pork burger on top of the shredded lettuce.
6.  Top with slices of tomatoes.
7.  Add mayonnaise, barbecue sauce or chili sauce of your choice
8.  Place the other half of the burger bun on top.

I am submitting this post to Miss B of Everybody Eats Well In Flanders

The theme for June 2013 is curry powder

This event is linked to Little Thumbs Up

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

Hot Pot Pork Ribs 番茄咖哩排骨

Hot Pot Pork Ribs 番茄咖哩排骨

Recipe source :  Adapted from a booklet distributed by Lea & Perrins sauce

This is not the usual hot and spicy curry that we, Malaysians are familiar with. The recipe calls for curry powder and lots of Worcestershire sauce. Both ingredients blended beautifully with the tomatoes and big onions resulting in a piquant stew. The pork ribs were tender and full of flavour.

This dish certainly has my vote. Thumbs Up !!

Ingredients

500g pork ribs
1 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp cooking oil
3 big onions, quartered
3 big tomatoes. halved
1 carrot, cut into thick chunks

Seasonings

80ml Worcestershire sauce
1000 ml water
1 tsp salt

Instructions

1.  Heat oil in a pot. Saute the big onions until fragrant
2.  Add in the pork ribs and stir-fry until the colour turns whitish
3.  Pour in the water and add the remaining ingredients and seasonings
4.  Bring to the boil, then lower the flame and simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the meat is tender.
5.  Switch off flame and dish up.

I am submitting this post to Miss B of Everybody Eats Well In Flanders

The theme for June 2013 is curry powder

This event is linked to Little Thumbs Up

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

Seeded Crackers 双麻饼

Seeded Crackers 双麻饼

Recipe source :  Adapted from Williams-Sonama's Essentials Of Baking

I love to eat crackers and they were always store-bought ones. I have never eaten homemade ones until today. This is the first time I am making crackers and also the first time I am participating in this Bake-Along event. The theme for Bake-Along #45 is Seeded Crackers. I made only half of the original amount as I was not certain of the outcome of my first attempt at making crackers.

I omitted a few ingredients and made a few adaptation to the original recipe. I used yoghurt instead of heavy cream. 

I am glad my first attempt turned out nicely. The crackers are very crispy.  Oh yes, they are very addictive! I made 30 pieces of seeded crackers today.  I am looking forward to baking the next batch of crackers with a different flavour.

Ingredients

1 cup of all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp black sesame seeds
1/2 tsp white sesame seeds
1 tbsp cold butter
1/4 cup yoghurt 

Instructions

1.  I mixed the dough by hand since I was making such a small portion.
2.  Then wrapped it up using cling film and rested it overnight in the refrigerator. 
3.  The next day when I took it out from the refrigerator, I allowed it to warm up a little, about 45 minutes before rolling out the dough and cutting it into pieces.
4.  Bake at 170 degree C for about 12 minutes.

 

I rolled out the dough in small batches then cut them into rectangular pieces

I am linking this post to Bake Along Event #45

 

 

Bake Along by Lena of Frozen Wings, 

Joyce of Kitchen Flavours and 

Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids

Stewed Radish & Chinese Cabbage 萝卜斋

Stewed Radish & Chinese Cabbage 萝卜斋

I first tasted this vegetarian dish at a Buddhist religious gathering organised by a feng shui master cum temple caretaker. The radish and Chinese cabbage were stewed until tender. Both the radish and Chinese cabbage were infused with the aroma of spices from the star anise and cinnamon. We seldom eat at vegetarian restaurants and we found this dish of stewed radish and Chinese cabbage a very refreshing change from the more common deep-fried bean curd fare.

Ingredients

700g radish
650g Chinese cabbage
3 star anise
1 piece cinnamon bark ( 2cm x 3cm)
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorn
1 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cooking oil
1.5 litres water
1/4 MSG ( optional )

Instructions

1.  Remove the skin of the radish and cut into thick slices
2.  Wash Chinese cabbage and cut it length-wise into 4 quarters
3.  In a large pot, bring 1.5 litres of water to the boil
4.  Add in all the spices and boil until aromatic
5.  Add the radish and Chinese cabbage and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender
6.  Add salt, sugar, MSG and cooking oil.
7.  Stir well to mix.
8.  Dish up and cut the Chinese cabbage into sections of about 4 cm.

 Radishes

 Chinese cabbage

Top left : Cinnamon bark. Bottom left : star anise.

Right : Sichuan peppercorn