STEWED LOTUS ROOTS AND PORK BELLY

This is another Chinese pork belly recipe that is easy to prepare yet tasty and aromatic. Both the pork belly and lotus roots are stewed till the flavours are well absorbed by the ingredients.  This dish is quite similar to my earlier posting [Stewed Nam Yee Pork belly With Lotus Roots] with a difference in the flavouring ingredient.  Here, preserved soy bean paste [tau cheong] is used instead of nam yee.

Overall, it is a delicious dish, good to serve with piping hot rice.  In the original recipe, this is served with fried rice.

Like the earlier dish, this can be prepared earlier and just reheat before serving.

Recipe adapted from Yum Yum Magazine [modified]

Ingredients

200 gm pork belly [with skin] – cut into bite size pieces and marinate with some light soy sauce

200 gm lotus roots – scrap the skin lightly, rinsed and cut into 2 cm length pieces

Some  black cloud fungus – soaked and break into pieces

3 shallots – chopped or sliced

1 tbsp fine preserved soy bean paste [tau cheong]

Seasoning

1 tbsp each oyster sauce and light soy sauce

½ tsp chicken stock granules

1 tsp dark soy sauce for colour

Some pepper and sesame seed oil to taste

150 – 180 ml water or enough to cover ingredients

1. Heat a little oil in non-stick wok, sauté pork belly until slightly browned, push aside.
2. Add in minced shallots, sauté until fragrant, mix well with fried meat.
3. Add in lotus roots, black fungus, tau cheong and seasoning ingredients.  Stir fry to mix ingredients and seasoning well.
4. Add in water, bring to boil then cover to simmer until meat is tender and sauce has thickened. This takes about 30-40 minutes.
5. Taste to adjust seasoning.  Serve with rice.
   
   
   
   
   
   

I'm submitting this post to Cook Your Books Event #26 [August 2015] hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours

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EZCR#23 - BRAISED CHICKEN WITH RED DATES

Unbelievable that this tasty chicken dish is so easy to prepare. Only a few ingredients needed that are easily available in any Chinese kitchen. Simple ingredients, awesome tastes.

Fragrant and tasty chicken pieces with softened sweet red dates. Hmmm….what a lovely dish. This dish is also versatile in that you can just eat it like this or add in some fragrant sliced Chinese leeks. Looks good, isn’t it? Nope, tastes good too.

Shared some with my SIL and she called to inform that this dish is yummy.

Ingredients
3 deboned chicken whole legs with skin [medium size] – cut bite size pieces
12 red dates
12 cloves garlic – peeled keep whole
12 slices ginger
50 ml water
Seasoning
3 tbsp light soy sauce
3 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tbsp brown sugar

1. Lightly marinate chicken pieces with some light soy sauce for 15 minutes. Mix well until liquid is well absorbed.
2. Heat up a non-stick wok without oil. Pan fry the chicken pieces [skin side down] about 5-10 minutes until golden and crispy. Turn over to fry the other side for another 5 minutes. 
3. Push aside and remove excess oil if  any, then add in red dates, garlic and ginger to fry until aromatic and slightly browned.
4. Mix we all the ingredients, add in light soy sauce, wine and sugar. Bring to a bubbly boil then add in some water to braise [add more if you like to have more sauce].
5. Braise until sauce is reduced or thick or almost dry and the chicken pieces look shining.
6. Dish up to serve.
   
   
   
   
   

Notes: You can add some sliced leeks to fry with the chicken pieces in Step 6.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up August 2015 [Brown Sugar and Molasses]  organised by Doreen from My Little Favourite DIY and Zoe, Bake for Happy Kids hosted by Jess of Bakericious

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EZCR#22 - ANG CHOW FLAVOURED MEAT FILLET

Ang Chow [Red Yeast Wine Residue] is used as marinade for the pork fillet in this dish. This is quite similar to Ang Chow Char Siew and the difference is just the method of cooking. The seasoning sauce is only added after the meat is fried, then braised till almost dry.

The meat is tender and tasty served with the sauce.

Ingredients

1 piece meat fillet [about 250 gm] 

2 tbsp red yeast wine residue [Ang Chow]

1 tbsp sesame oil

Seasoning Sauce [combine]

2 tbsp each of light soy sauce and brown sugar

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

4-5 tbsp water

1. Marinate meat with red yeast wine residue for several hours or overnight.
2. Heat a non-stick pan, add sesame oil. Pan fry meat fillet over medium low heat for about 7-10 minutes on each side.
3. Pour in the sauce, cover to simmer meat for another 15 minutes or until meat is cooked through/tender and sauce reduced or thickened [turning over meat halfway through cooking].
4. Dish up meat to cool a little before slicing to serve with shredded zucchini and sauce. Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds over sliced meat.
   
   
   
   
   

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up August 2015 [Brown Sugar and Molasses]  organised by Doreen from My Little Favourite DIY and Zoe, Bake for Happy Kids hosted by Jess of Bakericious

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EZCR#21 - BRAISED TOFU WITH BLACK FUNGUS AND CUTTLEFISH

When I first saw the recipe, it looks so simple and nothing special but I was wrong. The ingredients and seasoning was a good combination. It turns out to be delicious and suitable to serve with rice or porridge. Suits my taste buds too.

The original recipe uses 1 block of tofu that is cut and fried till golden brown. Here I replaced it with fried fresh beancurd skin [tau pau].

This dish is not salty even with black bean paste but tasty and aromatic.

Ingredients

4-5 pieces of fresh beancurd skin [tau pau] 

10 gm black fungus – soaked and shredded

1 cuttlefish – cut in bite size pieces

A few slices of ginger

1 red chilli – seeded and cut strips

3 cloves garlic – sliced

1 stalk spring onions – cut 1 inch lengths

1 tbsp black bean paste

Seasoning [combined]

1 tbsp each light soy sauce and wine

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp dark soy sauce

1. Blanched squids in boiling water for 10 seconds. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat a non-stick wok with oil to pan fry tau pau until golden brown. Dish up and cut halve. Remove excess oil.
3. Using the same wok, sauté ginger, garlic, chilli and spring onions until aromatic. Add in the fried tau pau, black fungus, black bean paste and seasoning.
4. Stir fry to mix well, add some water to braise the ingredients for a few minutes.
5. Add in blanched squids, quickly mix well and thicken with some cornstarch water, make sure the gravy boils before dishing up to serve.
   
   
   
   
   

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EZCR#20 - FRAGRANT BRAISED MUI CHOY WITH PORK BELLY

Braised mui choy with pork belly is a very common dish in most Chinese families. Each has their own way of preparing this dish. My neighbor cooks this dish very often to serve with plain porridge. At different times, the ingredients used and the portion of each ingredient varies thus the end result is different but all tasted good. 

Similarly, I have cooked this dish many times [vegetarian and non-vegetarian types], with meat or peanuts. They tasted good too, with rice or porridge. This recipe is another version of braised mui choy with the addition of cinnamon stick and star anise. Here again, it is as fragrant and tasty as others that I have prepared.

Ingredients

200 gm salty mui choy 

200 gm sweet mui choy

3 dried mushrooms – soaked and cut strips

300 gm pork belly – cut small pieces

5 dried chillies – soaked and cut halve

3 slices ginger

3 cloves garlic – chopped

1 star anise

3 cm piece cinnamon stick

3 tbsp oil

700 ml water [or enough to cover ingredients]

Seasoning

1 tbsp each of light soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar to taste
1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1. Rinsed both mui choy well and soaked for 15 minutes. Squeeze them dry and cut thin strips.
2. Pan fry mui choy without oil in a non-stick pan until dry. Push aside.
3. Add oil in pan, fry pork belly until lightly brown, then add in dried mushrooms, fry well.
4. Add in ginger, garlic, dried chillies, star anise, cinnamon stick and seasoning. Stir fry to mix well, then add in water.
5. Bring to boil, then lower heat, cover pan to braise mui choy and pork belly until tender and gravy reduced. Taste to adjust seasoning.
6. Serve with rice or porridge.
   
   
   
   
   
   

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