Lilian gave me a very difficult task just before Chinese New Year. I was supposed to do something with the skin of Mandarin Oranges. Just see what she skilfully did with the skin of Mandarin Oranges. The thing is, the “trick” I am supposed to do with the skin is so difficult that I have to find a way out of it. Finding a loophole is what lawyers are supposed to be good at and I think I may be lucky enough this time. So, here comes my task handed out to Lilian

Anyway, Red Bean Soup with Mandarin Orange Peel is not really a soup which is taken in a main meal. Rather, it is well known to be a dessert and is usually taken warm or hot. The Mandarin Orange Peel is added to give this dessert a citrus tang to it and if you can’t find Mandarin Oranges, oranges like Sunkist or Jaffa will do. Just remember to dry it in a fridge or left outside to dry on its own. Frankly, I don’t know why it should be dried but this recipe has been handed down from generations to generations and it tastes good. Give it a try.

This is my recipe for Red Bean Soup with Mandarin Orange Peel

Ingredients

• 3/4 rice bowl of red beans (pre-soaked for 30 minutes)
• Skin / Peel from 1 mandarin orange (dried before hand)
• 6 rice bowls of water
• Sugar to taste

Method

Bring water to boil and add red beans. Reduce to simmer. Add mandarin orange peel after 30 minutes and continue to simmer for at least another 30 minutes. (alternatively, you can put the water, red beans and orange peel in a slow-cooker and cook it for 3 hours or more / overnight)

Add sugar to taste before serving.

Technorati Tags: Dessert, Chinese, Red Bean, Orange, Soup

Fiery action

I have heard so much about this Hokkien Mee stall in Kuala Lumpur but did not get a chance to try it until last Wednesday evening. Many people have told me about how good the Hokkien Mee is and how the flames from the charcoal stove will capture your attention. I tried taking a photo of the cook in action but turned out quite poor using the night shot function on my digital camera. Can’t blame an amateur, can you?

The Chef

Anyway, for insurance purposes, I took another shot using the normal settings. If you look at the stall closely, it may turn you off. This stall has been in existence for 60 years or so (according to the proprietor) and is now managed by the children of the original cook. They sell nothing but Hokkien Mee. If they have been selling nothing but Hokkien Mee for the past 60 years and survived, it must be good. Else, how to survive?

This stall is located at the backlane of Lai Foong Restaurant which is situated along Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock. Other landmarks include Petaling Street (facing S & M Plaza / Kotaraya Complex) and EON Bank Berhad. It is only open from 4pm till 11pm at night.

Awesome Hokkien Mee

The Hokkien Mee is smooth yet, unoily. I tell you, you won’t notice a layer of oil on the plate after you have finished the whole plate. This despite the cook using pork lard in the cooking. Pork lard is an essential ingredient in cooking Hokkien Mee and many Hokkien Mee lovers will insist on extra pork lard (also known as “Chu Yau Char” in cantonese) bits to add some crunch to the bite whilst tasting the smooth and semi-soft noodles.

The Hokkien Mee also comes with generous portions of lean pork and chinese mustard leaves. There was one piece of pork liver in my plate…wished there were more but perhaps, the chef did not distribute the ingredients evenly. You see, when he cooked my portion, he also cooked for another 2 customers at the same time.

What I liked about this Hokkien Mee is the texture and taste of the noodles / mee. The balance of saltiness and sweetness is just nice and the lack of visible oil gives one a sense of healthiness. Hah! I like that phrase. We all know how unhealthy Hokkien Mee can be considering pork lard is also used but well….an indulgence once in a blue moon is okay, right?

The fact that this Hokkien Mee is cooked using a charcoal stove gives the Hokkien Mee an added fragrance and “kick” unlike those churned out from gas stoves. Personally, I have a fondness for food cooked using charcoal fire and this gets my thumbs up!

My plate of Hokkien Mee together with a glass of iced chinese herbal tea costs me RM6.00. Definitely a most satisfying meal. Do check it out if you are in the vicinity of Petaling Street or Kota Raya.

Technorati Tags : Malaysian Food , Hokkien Mee , Food Review

[This review was first posted in my personal blog on 16.10.2006]

I am quite fond of celeries. This vegetable is highly fibrous and good for health. When made into celery juice, it does reduce the bad cholesterol of some patients. But I don’t really like celery juice because it tastes rather funny. Saltish, I would say. Most of the time, I would just stir fry the celery with carrots, mushrooms and prawns.

I really did not intend to cook the straw mushrooms on this occasion. That morning, i bought a can of straw mushrooms only to drop it whilst driving and thus causing a dent on the can. Since the can is dented, I cannot be keeping the can of straw mushrooms longer for fear of possible leaching of iron (I am still struggling to understand this bit). Anyway, the dish turned out well and we truly had an enjoyable meal. The crunchiness of the celery and carrots were balanced by the smoothness of the mushrooms. The prawns lended its sweetness to the dish. Voila!

This is my recipe for Stir Fried Celery with Prawns and Straw Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1 stalk celery (cut to 4 cm lengths)
• 1 medium sized carrot (sliced)
• Half can of straw mushrooms (about 10 pieces - you can use more, it doesn’t really matter)
• 8 pieces of medium sized prawns (deveined, leaving shell intact)
• 4 cloves garlic (chopped)
• Corn starch (mix 1 tablespoon corn flour with 100 ml water)
• 50 ml warm water
  
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil (palm oil)

Seasoning

• 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon of fish sauce
• a couple of dashes of white pepper powder
• a pinch of salt
• a pinch of MSG (optional)
• 1 teaspoon of chinese cooking wine

Method

Heat oil in wok and saute garlic till beginning to brown. Add prawns and stir for 15 seconds. Remove prawns and set aside.

Add celery, carrots and straw mushrooms into the wok and continue stir frying for 1 minute. Add seasoning and water and bring to boil. Return prawns into the rest of the ingredients.

Cook for another 2 minutes and add corn starch to thicken gravy (if necessary).

Serve hot with white rice.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Food, Malaysia, Chinese, Celery, Prawns

This is a dish cooked in a slow cooker without adding water. I mustered courage to cook this dish after Babe_KL did her version. The first version I read about was from Food Haven. The marinade used by both of them are different from mine as I was keen on experimenting with something new.

Cooking pork ribs in a slow cooker appears easier than it sounds. There is no fear of the slow cooker (also known as Crockpot) cracking even though no water is added to the cooker prior to or during cooking. The meat and vegetables will provide the necessary juices to make the dish moist. Since no water is added, you can bet that the gravy will turn out really flavourful! And the meat is so tender that it just slips off the bone. Yummy!

This is my recipe for Pork Ribs in Plum Sauce

Ingredients

• 300 to 400 grammes of pork ribs (cut to desired size)
• 1 to 2 large onions (quartered)
• 1 large carrot (cut into chunks)

Marinade

• 4 teaspoons of plum sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce
• a couple of dashes of white pepper powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 heaped teaspoon of corn flour

Method

Marinate the pork ribs for at least 1 hour. The longer the better.

Lay onions and carrots on bottom of slow cooker. Then, lay pork ribs on top of the onions and carrots. Turn on slow cooker to high for 3 hours. If you have left over marinade, baste the ribs halfway through cooking.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Food, Malaysia, Chinese, Pork