Mee Suah Soup is one of my favourite noodle soup. Mee Suah, which is usually sold in dried form, is made from rice flour and is very brittle in uncooked form as the strands are really thin. This dish is more or less an automatic dish for breakfast on the first day of Chinese New Year at my home. It is also eaten to celebrate the chinese birth days at home.

Mee Suah is also cooked in different ways. There is the famous Red Mee Suah cooked by the people of Foochow dialect and there is also the chicken soup Mee Suah. Our family recipe is quite easy to prepare and cook and if you could get your hands on the ingredients, give it a try. Oh, by the way, generally there are two types of mee suah (or at least, in Malaysia). One is the factory pre-packed mee suah manufactured in Muar, Johor whilst the other is made by the Foochow community - usually from Sibu and Sitiawan. The former is thicker and bland tasting on its own whilst the latter is fine and thin (and smoother) but saltish in flavour. If you are using the former, you will need to add seasoning (eg. salt to taste) but for the latter, no seasoning is needed. My recipe here uses the latter.

This is my recipe for Mee Suah Soup

Ingredients

• 250 grammes of mee suah (or 4 pieces)
• 50 to 80 grammes of pork tenderloin (sliced thinly)
• 5 pieces dried chinese / shiitake mushrooms (sliced thinly)
• 2 large eggs
• 5 bulbs shallots (sliced thinly)
• 2 stalks spring onions (for garnishing)
• 4 tablespoons palm oil
• 5 soup bowls of hot water

Method

Heat oil in wok and fry shallots till golden brown. Remove fried shallots.

Leaving about 2 tablespoons of oil in wok, add mushrooms and saute for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Push to the side of the wok.

Add pork and stir fry till changed colour. Push to the side of the wok. Add remaining oil into wok and fry the eggs. Try not to break the eggs too much. Return mushrooms and pork into the fried egg and stir well for another 15 seconds or so.

Add water and bring to boil. Add mee suah and stir well. Mee suah cooks fairly quickly and should turn colour when done.

Garnish with fried shallots and spring onions prior to serving. Serves approximately 3 to 4 bowls here.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Chinese, Soup, Mee Suah, Noodles

I like asparagus very much and it’s a really healthy vegetable (if you can stand the smell). In chinese cooking, I think asparagus and prawns are like a match made in heaven. Some cooked them in belacan but I prefer mine simple with garlic. Less oily, I guess. These asparagus I bought from the supermarket are the local variety grown in Cameron Highlands. They are thinner in size compared to their Aussie or European counter-parts.

As you prepare the asparagus spears, gently remove the thin layer of skin using your fingernails (wash your fingernails first, please - ahem!). It’s not easy but you’ll get the hang of it. You can skip this process but you may get too much stringy fibre between your teeth when you chew on them. LOL!

Anyway, this is my recipe for Stir Fried Asparagus with Prawns

Ingredients

• 250 grammes of asparagus (cut to 4 or 5cm lengths)
• about 5 to 10 medium sized prawns (remove shell with tail intact, devein)
• 4 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
• 30 ml warm water
• 2 tablespoons palm oil

Seasoning

• 1 teaspoon of light soya sauce
• a pinch of salt
• a dash or two of white pepper powder

Method

Heat oil in wok on high heat. Saute garlic till beginning to brown. Add prawns and stir till begins to turn red. Add asparagus and seasoning.

Stir well and add water. Cover lid for 30 seconds to a minute. Check to ensure that dish does not dry out. Add a little bit more water if it is dried out. Asparagus should be cooked in less than 2 minutes with just a little gravy to keep the dish moist.

Technorati Tags: Asparagus, Prawn, Chinese, Recipe, Food

I bought a small bottle of fish sauce recently though I have never used fish sauce in my cooking before. In fact, I don’t even know what it tastes like. Having bought and tasted it straight from the bottle, it was kinda slight saltish in taste.

Anyway, this dish was yet, another experiment for me. We had a small bunch of four-angled beans in the fridge and I thought I would just give this a try. I was blown away by the result and beaming from ear to ear as I happily crunched this during dinner. I don’t know if anyone else has cooked this before or something similar…but I think if you can get your hands on these ingredients, you should give it a go.

This is my recipe for Stir Fried Crunchy Four-Angled Beans with Fish Sauce

Ingredients

• 200 grammes of four-angled beans (sliced thinly)
• 5 to 10 bulbs shallots (sliced thinly)
• approximately 30 grammes dried prawns (about 15 to 20 pieces, soak for 5 minutes)
• 2 tablespoons of palm oil

Seasoning

• 1 to 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of sugar

Method

Heat oil in wok and fry shallots till golden brown. Push fried shallots to the side of the wok. Add dried prawns and stir fry for 30 seconds till fragrant. Return the fried shallots to the dried prawns and add four-angled beans.

Stir well and add seasoning. Sprinkle one or two tablespoons of water if you want the four-angled beans a little moist. As the four-angled beans can be eaten raw, the cooking time is up to you. I like mine crunchy, so I only give it a couple of stir to ensure the seasoning is mixed well. The next time I cook this, I will try to add a squeeze of lime for a little tang to it.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Vegetable, Chinese, Fish Sauce

Sambal Ikan Bilis is commonly found in many hawkers in Malaysia and Singapore, especially Nasi Lemak vendors. It is the main condiment to Nasi Lemak and can actually make or break the popularity of Nasi Lemak vendors. What is less common would be Sambal Ikan Bilis with Tang Hoon (glass vermicelli) as seen above. This dish is more often cooked at home rather than being sold outside.

At home, we usually prepare the sambal (chilli paste) beforehand and keep them in the refridgerator for use as and when needed. Recipes differ from one cook to another and mine is actually a very simple no-frills version.

This is my recipe for Sambal Ikan Bilis with Tang Hoon

Ingredients

• 3/4 bowls of ikan bilis (rinsed)
• 20 grammes / 1 small bundle of Tang Hoon (it is in dried form and it should be soaked to soften it beforehand)
• 1 large onion (cut into rings)
• Cooking oil (palm oil)
• 40 ml hot water

Sambal ingredients (pound together)

• 4 to 8 red chillis (ensure seeds are completely crushed during pounding)
• 6 cloves garlic
• 4 cloves shallots

Seasoning

• Salt and sugar to taste

Method

Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and fry ikan bilis till crisp. Remove ikan bilis and discard oil.

Heat oil 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and saute sambal ingredients on medium heat till aromatic and semi-brown. Set aside.

Next, heat up 2 teaspoons of cooking oil in wok and saute onions till beginning to limp. Add sambal and continue to stir briskly for 15 to 30 seconds. Add tang hoon and water and bring water to boil. Let the tang hoon cook for not more than 1 minute whilst you add seasoning. The water should be reduced by now.

Return fried ikan bilis into the wok and mix well with the ingredients prior to serving. The fried ikan bilis is only added in prior to serving to preserve its crunchiness as against the softness of the tang hoon.

Serve with white rice.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Sambal, Ikan Bilis, Malaysia