Spinach is a fast-cooking vegetable and packed with nutrients. That’s why Popeye loves ‘em. It can be stir-fried and it can be cooked in soup. Recently, my dear wife told me that she wanted to try cooking spinach soup with wolfberries (a.k.a. kei chee / goji).

Imagine all the goodness from the spinach doubled up with the circulatory benefits of wolfberries (get the good quality berries which are slightly plummer and sweeter in taste). It is definitely a power-packed soup. Oh yes, the stock is made from ikan bilis soup. So, there you go. My daughter of 3 1/2 years old loved it. I think you will too!

This is my wife’s recipe for Spinach Soup with Wolfberries

Ingredients

• 300 grammes of spinach (rinsed and plucked at the stems. Discard old or thick stems)
• 10 grammes of wolfberries (about 20 to 30 pieces)
• 100 grammes of minced meat (we use pork)
• 50 grammes of ikan bilis
• 3 soup bowls

Marinade (for minced meat)

• 2 teaspoons light soya sauce
• a dash of white pepper powder

Seasoning

• Salt to taste
• 2 teaspoons light soya sauce

Method

Boil ikan bilis in water for 30 minutes to make stock. Remove ikan bilis when done. Meanwhile, marinade minced meat.

Bring stock to boil again after removing ikan bilis. Scoop minced meat into meat balls using a teaspoon and add into the stock. Cook till all meat balls float to surface. Add spinach and wolfberries and bring back soup to boil. Add seasoning to taste and serve immediately.

Claypot Chicken with Bitter Gourd

This is my mother’s recipe. I’ve never acquired the taste for bitter gourd all these years though I know it is packed with nutrients and goodness. I am informed that this dish - Chicken with Bitter Gourd is a favourite amongst many who like bitter gourd. I am also informed that the bigger and older the bitter gourd, the less bitter it is.

So, I thought why not I post it up here on this blog for those who like to eat chicken with bitter gourd but do not know how to cook it. My mum used the claypot to retain the warmth of the dish as well as to ensure that the chicken and bitter gourd continue to simmer slowly though it has been removed from the cooker. If you don’t have a claypot, it doesn’t really matter. Just serve it on a plate.

This is my mother’s recipe for Claypot Chicken with Bitter Gourd.

Ingredients

• 1 large bitter gourd (wash, remove seeds, cut halved across the bitter gourd and then, cut to chunk bite sizes)
• 2 whole chicken legs (remove skin and cut to chunky bite sizes. You can keep the skin if you don’t mind the dish slightly oily)
• 5 pieces dried chinese mushrooms (pre-soaked till soft and cut to two with stems discarded)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tau cheo
• 4 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil (preferably palm oil)
• 1 cup warm water

Seasoning

• 1 1/2 teaspoons dark soya sauce
• Salt to taste
• a pinch of sugar

Method

Heat oil in wok and stir-fry garlic and tau cheo for 30 seconds. Add chinese mushrooms, chicken and bitter gourd and continue stir-frying till outer layer of chicken meat is cooked.

Add seasoning and water enough to cover the ingredients. Bring to boil. Meanwhile, if you have a claypot, heat it up whilst waiting for the gravy to boil in the wok.

Once the gravy is boiling, transfer contents into claypot and simmer for 15 minutes on medium heat till gravy reduced to your liking. If you do not have a claypot, simmer likewise.

Serve hot with white rice.

Stewed Pork Belly in Dark Soya Sauce (before slicing)

This recipe is VERY EASY and DELICIOUS. You have no reasons why you should not try it (unless you do not eat pork), even if you are a beginner. The ingredients are simple and can be obtained almost everywhere. In fact, I used to cook this dish during my university days in England and it was really nice to have it with steaming hot rice on a cold winter’s night!

This is my recipe for Stewed Pork Belly in Dark Soya Sauce

Ingredients

• 300 grammes pork belly (whole)
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 whole bulbs garlic (separate into individual cloves)
• Approximately 15 - 20 white peppercorns
• Warm water
• 1 piece star-anise (optional)

Seasoning

• 3 to 4 tablespoons dark soya sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method

Add sugar into a wok / saucepan which has been heated up. Let the sugar caramelise (turn liquid and brown).

Once sugar fully caramelised, add pork belly and let it “sear” for 1 minute on each side. Add water to cover the pork belly by 1 to 2 cm. Add the rest of the ingredients and seasoning. Once water begins to boil, reduce to medium low heat, cover lid and let it simmer for 30 minutes to an hour.

To serve, separate gravy from the rest of the ingredients. Slice the pork belly to desired thinness.

Mui Choy, which is preserved mustard cabbage, comes in two variants - salty type as well as the sweet type. It is normally sold in sundry shops and wet market grocers (unsealed) or in sealed bags in supermarkets. In Malaysia, it is usually sold in wet market grocers. Whichever type you use, make sure you wash and soak them (especially the salty type).

This dish is great eaten with mantou (a type of bun) or with plain white rice. In fact, it even tastes better overnight as the meat would have soaked all the exquisite sweet-salty taste from the cabbage.

This is my recipe for Mui Choy Bak (Mui Choy with Pork Belly)

Ingredients

• 1/3 piece salty mui choy (washed thoroughly, soaked for 30 minutes and chop to small pieces)
• 2/3 pieces sweet mui choy (washed thoroughly, soaked for 15 minutes and chop to small pieces)
• 500 grammes pork belly without skin (also known as three-layered pork, cut to small cubes)
• 2 whole garlic (smash it a bit with the side of a cleaver / chopper)
• 1/2 tablespoon cooking oil (preferably palm oil)
• Warm water

Seasoning

• 2 to 3 tablespoons of dark soya sauce (or more if you prefer)
• Sugar and salt to taste (if necessary)

Method

Heat oil in pot and stir-fry pork belly till beginning to brown. Add mui choy and garlic and continue stir frying for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add water to cover all the ingredients by at least 1 cm and seasoning.

Simmer for at least 1 hour or more till meat is flavourful and slightly soft, checking that the dish does not dry out occasionally. You can also add dried chillis at the stir-frying stage if you want a little spiciness to this dish.

For picture of mui choy and a quite similar method of cooking, click here.