The Cooking Ninja

We got back to France 12 days ago and I find myself still adjusting to our daily routine and the weather. *sigh* Pierre and Little One don't seems to have any problem at all. Lucky them.

One of my goals when I came home for CNY (besides pigging out big time on local food, catching up with friends etc) is to watch my mom cooks all those delicious food and note them down so that I could redo them in France. Unfortunately my mom whipped up dishes faster than I could catch her doing it: one minute, the ingredients were all layed out on the kitchen counter, the next, they were all in the wok cooking ... or worst ... sometimes I didn't realised she had started cooking ... until the delicious aroma floated to my nose ... I rushed to the kitchen only to see the dishes all whipped up and laid on the table ready to be 'makan' (eaten). Maybe I should install a camera in the kitchen to spy on her cooking Anyway I was lucky to catch my supermom in action cooking up this delicious yet simple dish of hers.

Pineapple is an excellent source of manganese, vitamin C and a good source of B1 & B6. Apparently the juice can also be used as a marinade and tenderizer for meat. Pineapple is actually composed of many flowers whose individual fruitlets fuse together around a central core and each fruitlet is identified as an 'eye'.

How to choose a pineapple?
Choose one that is firm, gold to brown skin, heavy for their size and has a fragrant sweet smell at the base. If the spiky leave gives way with a light tuck, it means it's nicely ripen. Avoid those with soft spots or bruised and darkened eyes - this means that the pineapple is past its prime. Avoid also pineapple that smells musty, sour or fermented.

This is my contribution to this Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Kel from Green Olive Tree.

Pineapple Prawns

Ingredients

• Prawns (peeled)
• Pineapples (cut into small slices)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• Chili (seedless & chopped - option)
• Light soya sauce
• Sugar

Directions

1. Heat up wok with a bit of oil until hot. Stir-fry the minced garlic with chopped chilli till fragrant.
2. Add in the pineapple pieces and a bit of sugar. Stir-fry it for a few minutes or till the pineapples are almost cooked.
3. Stir in the prawns and season it with light soya sauce to your taste.
4. Serve hot with rice.

The Verdict

We know sweet and shrimp go well together and this dish proves it once again (and is an quick and tasty way to add some fruits to your diet). My mom tends to not salt the dish enough for western taste-buds, but it's easily fixed.

Notes

Instead of prawns, try it with squids. It tastes equally good.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

GONG XI FA CAI !

Today is Chinese New Year. On the eve, every Chinese family come together to have a reunion dinner and this year we are home for our very first reunion dinner with my family and we are having steamboat as usual. At the stroke of midnight, there's the usual small blast of firecrackers in the streets: although they are illegal in Singapore (like so many other things!), some still managed to obtain some and set them off to welcome the new year. Firecrackers are supposed to scare off evil spirits and attract the god of wealth to people's doorsteps.

Today before we set off for our "new year visits" (visiting relatives and friends), we will first wish our parents a good new year with prosperity and good health with a pair of mandarin oranges, and we will get a red packet from them as usual. Since I'm no longer single, we will also be giving my parents a red packet this year. Little One will get her very first red packet from all my relatives. She won't know the significant of it yet but she will get it in 2 years' time. For now, she would be more interested in checking all the goodies offered during this festive period and giving away her red packets.

Festivities are not over. The 7th day of Chinese New Year is known as 'Renri' (common man's birthday - everyone's birthday) - it is usually celebrated by tossing Yusheng' and make wishes for wealth and prosperity all year round. The 15th day - the last day of Chinese New Year - is celebrated by having a family reunion dinner again.

So I'm leaving my readers yet another simple dish to sample. Hope this will wet your appetite till I blog again.

Stir-fried prawns with shallots

Ingredients

• Prawns (peeled & deveined)
• Shallots (quatered)
• Chillies (sliced)
• light soya sauce

Directions

1. Heat some oil in a pan or wok until hot, sauté the shallots and chillies for one or two minutes.
2. Season it with a bit of light soya sauce, then stir in the prawns.
3. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar over the prawns. Sauté till prawns are cooked and adjust seasoning to your taste.
4. Serve hot with rice. Can be taken as main dish or part of the side dishes

The Verdict

I'm always surprised by how good this dish tastes - the nice aroma and crunchiness of the shallots mixed with the freshness of the prawns. The soya sauce and a dash of sugar heightens the taste and fragrance. This is succulent.

It feels so good to be home (my home in Singapore that is) with my family! As we decided to fly back for Chinese New Year, it will be Little One's and Pierre's first experience of what is Chinese New Year all about. The flight was a bit long but our daughter slept through most of it, although she was woken up a few times by the crying baby next to us. There are a few perks about flying with a baby however, namely cutting through the line to board and getting seats with extra leg room (sweet precious leg room...)

Little One found her new surroundings a bit strange at first but she quickly adapted and also warmed up to my family rather quickly. She loves playing balls with our family dogs and like to pat them - she even tried to hug and carry one of them. She adapted to the new languages very well and has even said new words in the last 3 days. On the part of my family, even my mom is learning a bit of French in order to understand what is Little One saying like gateau (cakes), l'eau (water), oiseau (bird) or dodo (sleep). She also loves my mom's cooking, as she polishes off her bowl at each meal all by herself. hahaha...I guess I'm not that a good cook afterall.

One of the dishes that I have been loving ever since I was a little girl (and apparently Little One and Pierre too) is this simple and quick White Peppered Pork Slices. I was over the moon when my mom made this the other night.

White Peppered Pork Slices

Ingredients

• Pork (cut into big slices)
• Ground white pepper
• Black soya sauce
• Potato flour or cornflour
• a bit of sugar
• oil (for frying)

Directions

1. Tenderize the pork slices.
2. Coat the slices with ground white pepper (to your desired amount).
3. Add some dark soya sauce and a little bit of sugar on it and marinate them well with your hands.
4. Then sprinkle some potato flour on it and mix them well.
5. Heat up some oil in a frying pan or wok till hot, fry the marinated pieces for a few minutes or until cooked. Then drain it on paper towel.
6. Serve it while hot. Can be taken as part of the main dishes.

Conclusions

Deliciously good - the photo doesn't do this dish any justice. It's not exactly a good looking dish but I assure you it tastes better than it looks. Taste wise: a wonderful mix of pepper soya taste and smell with tint of pepperish hot (but not spicy hot). It's quite addictive - hard to stop at one. It's a bit dry so you might want to eat it with a "wet" side dish (i.e: not plain rice).

Notes

My mom always does her own ground white pepper. It is more fragrant and it stays that way for a long long time.

How to make your own ground white pepper?

1. Sift the white pepper seeds to remove any unwanted particles.
2. Put the seeds in a sieve and run it under tape water to wash it. Drain off water well.
3. Heat up the pan or wok till hot, stir-fry the drained white pepper seeds (without oil) till they are dry and give out a crackling sound. Continue to sauté for another 4 or 5 minutes, then take it off heat and let it cool.
4. Grind the cooled seeds in a grinder and store the ground white pepper in an air tight container.

Char Kway Teow (translated literally as "fried flat noodles" ), is a popular noodle dish in Singapore and Malaysia. The original version is stir-fried with pork fats and crisp croûtons of pork lard which gives its characteristic taste together with ingredients like cockles, egg, bean sprouts, slices of Chinese sausage and fish cake. Because of its high animal fat content, Char Kway Teow has a reputation of being an unhealthy dish. It began as a poor man's meal, but over time many more ingredients were added, making it one of the most loved dishes in Singapore.

This is my entry for Ruth's Presto Pasta Night. My recipe does away with the pork fat and is easier on the arteries.

Char Kway Teow

Ingredients

• 1 kg thick rice stick noodle or flat rice noodle
• 4 tbsp garlic (chopped)
• 350 g bean sprouts
• 6 stalks spring onions or scallions (cut in big chunks)
• 300 g Chinese mustard greens (chye sim)
• 2 Chinese sausages (thinly sliced) - optional
• 18 medium sized prawns (peeled & cooked)
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 4 tbsp fish sauce
• 5 to 6 tbsp sweet dark soya sauce
• 3 red chili (seeded and sliced) - optional
• 300 g squid (cooked and sliced into 1/2 cm rings)
• 8 oz vegetable oil

Directions

1. Soak the noodles in warm water for about 10 minutes or until they are soft. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat the wok until very hot, then add 3/4 of the oil. Lower the heat slightly, fry garlic and chili until garlic is fragrant and golden brown.
3. Add the thick rice stick noodle and Chinese mustard greens (chye sim), stirring constantly with 2 wooden spatulas for about two minutes.
4. Push the ingredients to the side of the wok, forming a well in the centre. Add the rest of the oil and heat it. Add the beaten egg and fry it together with the noodles.
5. Pour the fish sauce and sweet dark soya sauce over the noodles and fry all ingredients together for another one to two minutes before adding the Chinese sausages, cooked prawns, cooked squid, bean sprouts, and spring onions. Add a bit of water, toss to combine.
6. Taste to see if the seasoning is to your liking. If not, add a bit more fish sauce and dark soya sauce.
7. Serve hot.

Conclusion

This is the 2^nd time I'm cooking this dish. The results this time around is better because I didn't overcooked my noodles. I just realized yesterday night that this dish is so simple and quick to fix. (why? once done, I only had two dishes to wash in the kitchen )

We usually eat this as main course by itself. On the taste side, it is a sweet and salty dish at the same time, and is very typical of the colorful south-east Asian cuisine that is prevalent around Singapore.

Notes

The above quantities serve about 10 people.

If you find that your noodles are a bit under-cooked at the end, add a bit of water and stir the mixture. Let it cook for a minute or two and check the noodles again. If it is still not cooked to your liking, add a bit more water to it and stir it. However do not overcook the noodle or else it will break into small pieces when you stir it.

In preparation of this dish, I omitted the Chinese sausages and squid but added some pork slices and more prawns. You can add beef slices in place of pork if you wish. Or totally leave out the seafood if you are allergic to seafood. And if you find it troublesome or difficult to do the egg part, you can skip it too. The dish will still hold the wonderful flavour.

In some other recipe, fish sauce is replaced by oyster sauce and light soya sauce.

Living abroad made me realise the comfort zone I lived in and the things I took for granted living in Singapore (where everything is so easily accessible and within a stone throw away). One of the things I miss most is my mom's cooking and Singapore food. Craving for home food is what drove me to the kitchen and do the dishes I miss... sweet & sour pork happens to be one of them.

Sweet & sour pork

Ingredients

• 250 to 300 g lean pork (cut to bite-size cubes)
• 2 tsp brandy or whiskey
• 1 egg (beaten)
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 small onion (diced)
• 1 small carrot (diced)
• ½ small green bell pepper (cored, seeded and diced)
• some vegetable oil for deep frying
• salt & pepper

Sauce

• 1 tbsp light soya sauce
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp tomato puree (paste)
• 3 or 4 tbsp Chinese stock or water
• 1 tbsp cornflour or cornstarch (to make into paste)

Cornflour or cornstarch paste

Mix 1 part cornflour with about 1.5 parts of cold water. Stir until smooth.

Directions

1. To make the sauce, combine all the sauce ingredients (except the cornflour) in a bowl and set aside.
2. Marinate the pork with the brandy or whiskey, salt and pepper and leave it for 20 minutes.
3. Coat the marinated pork with the beaten egg.
4. Sprinkle the flour on the pork pieces and turn them till they are well coated.
5. Heat oil in wok or deep fryer. When oil is hot, deep fry the pork for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring gently to separate the pieces. Do it in a few batches.
6. Remove the pieces with a slotted spoon and drain them using a paper towel.
7. Reheat oil until hot, return all the pork pieces to wok for about a minute or until golden brown. Remove it with slotted spoon and drain them again on a paper towel.
8. Drain off the oil, and wipe out the wok. Heat some oil in wok, stir-fry the vegetables for a minute or two.
9. Pour in the prepared sauce and bring it to boil. Thicken it with corn flour paste.
10. Add the pork to the sauce and make sure the pork pieces are well coated with the sauce.
11. Serve hot with rice.

Conclusion

Sweet and sour pork is one of the most popular Chinese dish all over the world. I have made this dish several times for my friends and my in-laws and like the szechuan prawns, it never fails me. It's also one of Pierre's favourite Asian dish.

I love the taste of sweet and sour (at the same time), and in this dish the sauce doesn't overwhelm the flavour of fried pork and vegetables which is nice. In fact, all the ingredients of the dish blend in very well yet retaining their individual taste.

This dish is simple and easy to make (for Asian food...). The only part that takes a little effort is preparing the meat for deep frying.

Note

Regarding the preparation, I use rice-wine vinegar and red bell pepper instead of the green one. I usually prepare the sauce first before preparing the meat, and then go on to get the veggies done.

I tried this dish once with chicken. Sadly, it didn't turn out as tasty as the pork version and tasted too sweet using the default quantity of sugar. You can normally also use prawns or fish, this is something I might try sometimes

There are variations on the way this dish is being cooked. Some recipe uses tomato ketchup instead of tomato puree paste and pieces of pineapples as part of the vegetable ingredient and add pineapple juice in the sauce.

Pierre loves prawns. He would eat them in whichever way or sauce they are cooked in: spicy, baked, in soup, buttered, steamed, with or without sauce, grilled, deep fried, etc. So we get to cook prawns pretty often, and one of my favorite recipe is this Chinese dish. It's so simple, easy and fool proof - it was a success the first time I cooked it.

Szechuan Prawns

Ingredients

• 250 to 300 g raw tiger prawns (shrimps)
• ½ egg white (lightly beaten)
• 1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch) paste (see notes below for preparation)
• 600 ml or 2½ cups vegetable oil
• Fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, to garnish
• a pinch of salt

Sauce:

• 1 tsp ginger root (chopped finely)
• 2 spring onions (chopped finely)
• 1 garlic clove (chopped finely)
• 3-4 small dried red chillies (seeded and chopped)
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp Chinese rice wine (Shaoxing wine) or dry sherry
• 1 tbsp tomato purée (paste)
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2-3 tbsp Chinese stock or water
• a few drops of sesame oil

Directions

1. Peel the raw prawns, then mix them with salt, egg white and cornflour (cornstarch) paste until well coated.
2. Heat the oil in a preheated wok until it is smoking, then deep-fry the prawns in hot oil for 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels.
3. Pour off the oil, leaving only a bit in the wok. Add in all the ingredients for the sauce, bring to the boil and stir until smooth and well blended.
4. Add the prawns to the sauce, stirring to blend. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve it with rice.

Conclusions

This dish never fails me. It is always as delicious as the first time I made it. Not only does it taste great, it's also very aromatic. Pierre, Patrick (my father-in-law) and his uncle love this dish very much and so do my friends. They always ask me when I'm cooking this dish again so that they can come over for dinner.

For preparation of this dish, I use long dried chillies (I think it is called cayenne pepper/finger chili/ginnie pepper) instead and I use only 3, yet Pierre felt it was a bit spicy for him. So if you or your guests are not used to spiciness, reduce it to 2 or even 1. When making the sauce, I usually double the quantity specified because Pierre loves to spread the spicy gravy over his rice. I also lump all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and mix them up before adding them to the wok: it saves time. Sometimes I even prepare the sauce ahead of time and leave it in the refrigerator till I want to cook the meal.

As for cooking the prawns, sometimes I skip step 1 & 2 and just stir-fry my raw prawns with a bit of oil first before adding the sauce in.

Notes

To prepare cornflour paste, mix 1 part cornflour with about 1.5 parts of cold water. Stir until smooth. This paste can be used to thicken sauces.

If raw prawns are not available, then use cooked prawns but omit step 1 & 2 and add the cooked prawns directly before the sauce at step 3.

Take care when handling dried chillies, as chili juice stings; avoid touching your eyes and always wash your hands thoroughly afterwards. Discard the seeds as these are the hottest part.