Lately I have been quite fond of eating Bak Kut Teh, a herbal soup with pork parts (predominantly ribs). Bak Kut Teh is transliterated to the Hokkien / Eng Choon dialect as “Pork Rib Tea”. All these while, I would buy Bak Kut Teh from a nearby stall and have it for dinner with steaming white rice. That was until the thought of cooking it myself came about when I popped by at a Chinese herbal medicine shop. I wanted to see if I could replicate it at home.

Ready made Bak Kut Teh herb sachet are commonly found in supermarkets and grocery shops and the different brands available can be quite mind-boggling. We bought ours called the Chat Lin Brand, manufactured in Semenyih, Malaysia. So, last Saturday morning, I went to get myself about 700 grammes of pork ribs and loin and the experiment began.

The recipe was simple and easy to follow, though I did add the seasoning to my personal taste. I also added some Goji berries to sweeten the soup. The end result was a satisfying dinner for the family and I am looking forward to cooking the other sachet soon. There are 2 sachets of about 8 grammes each in a packet.

This is the Bak Kut Teh recipe Read the rest of this entry »

I saw a recipe somewhere before on stuffed mushrooms but did not take down the recipe. So, relying on the basic idea on how it should be prepared and cooked, I came up with my own Stuffed Mushrooms recipe. The mushrooms which I used are the dried chinese mushrooms which were pre-soaked to soften them. You can also use Shiitake mushrooms. These mushrooms are chosen due to the natural shape which looks like a plate when turned upside down and are not too small (like button mushrooms) or too big (portobello, oyster or grey mushrooms). The ideal way is to have them in bite sizes, not unlike a dim sum treat.

For the ingredients, I initially wanted to use salted egg whites as one of the ingredients but silly me, I cracked the egg with the black coating still on the egg without realising that I should have washed the coating off first. In the end, I could only salvage the salted egg yolk but it was interesting as the salted egg yolk gave the Stuffed Mushrooms a twist in the flavour. Sorry as I am unable to describe the taste in words but if you have eaten salted egg yolk mooncakes, you will know the taste.

This is my recipe for Stuffed Mushrooms Read the rest of this entry »

At certain markets in Malaysia, you can get yellow-coloured tofu (firm type) which I believe has been given a boost with kunyit powder thus making it aromatic and flavourful. This type of tofu can be fried and eaten on its own but one great way of cooking it is to pair it with leek and minced pork. The combination of sweet tasting leek, slightly salted minced pork and aromatic tofu makes this dish a favourite for many.

Cooking is also pretty simple and does not require a lot of work. Prepare the 3 main ingredients and you are ready to cook. Give this dish a try if you can get yourself to the ingredients.

This is the recipe for Leek with Fragrant Tofu Read the rest of this entry »

I was introduced to Kidney Ginger Soup by my wife. All along, my encounter with pig’s kidney is in the stir fries which I absolutely love. So, having kidney soup was new to me and took some getting used to. The taste is slightly hot due to the liberal use of julienned ginger and I believe this soup is suitable to aid “releasing of air”, if you know what I mean

Preparation of pig’s kidney for cooking can be an unpleasant experience for the uninitiated. The smell can be a bit offensive and might turn you off completely for after all, the end product of kidney goes south. Worry not however as after cooking, all memories of the offense evaporates

Anyway, when you buy the kidneys, ask the butcher to slice the kidney to remove the middle part which looks like some white netting. Wash it thoroughly. You might want to consider soaking the kidney in water with some slices of ginger. After soaking and changing the water 2 or 3 times, which should take you about 2 hours, make shallow cuts across the kidney without fully cutting the kidney. Make criss-cross patterns and then, cut them into bite sizes before cooking.

This is my wife’s recipe for Kidney Ginger Soup Read the rest of this entry »