Daikon Beancurd Stew

A meat free dish. Flavourful, delicious!

It's easy to cook, goes well with rice.


I think I've cooked this 3 times, I think.. or at least twice :)
I slurp the gravy like soup

Thanks Peng for this recipe...

Acar Awak - MFF Penang #2

I love acar  awak.

The one I grew up eating was similar to the one by Rasa Malaysia, that is vegetarian with no belacan and dried shrimp, and consist of only the basic 5 vegetables. I couldn't decide on an exact recipe to follow because a lot of recipes do differ from one to another, but the basic idea is the same, hot and sourish pickled vegetables with lots of peanuts and sesame.

Arrowhead Fishcakes 煎慈菇鱼饼 - Arrowhead #3

I love this fishcake, my hubby was so so. It has a slight crunch to it due to the arrowheads. It’s not the usual springy springy type. Reuben loved it and took 3 himself. This is also suitable for bentos.

I happen to have yellowtail fusilier(ikan tauhu) in my freezer, you can use mackerel if you want, but I think you might need lesser if you are using mackerel. The fish is there to for flavour only, the arrowhead provides texture. I might have been greedy to double the fish that what I should be using. LOL. You might want to try the original ratio that is 1 part fish to 4 parts arrowheads, so that you will taste more arrowhead.

Beef with Arrowhead Stew 慈菇焖牛肉 - Arrowheads #2

I was attracted to this recipe because of the use of Haw in this recipe. I didn't have that on hand and so I used Haw flakes instead, those round flat Chinese candy that we used to eat when we were kids. When I used that, I didn't need to add in sugar as well.

The original recipe didn't call for black vinegar, but I found that it lacked that edge... or maybe it's because I didn't use dried haw of which is a lot more tangy than haw flakes candy. Maybe next time I'll try it with dried haw.

For this dish, my hubby gladly ate up everything even the arrowheads of which normally he'll give a skip.

Steamed Arrowhead with Waxed Duck 腊鸭蒸慈菇- Arrowhead Week#1

3 years back, when I did my arrowhead chips post, I did say I want to do a few recipes using Arrowheads.
Finally I did it this year :) I'm a slow blogger, LOL. Very slow.

This is a dish introduced to me by my “ 3 Kow Mou”, the wife of my mother’s 3rd brother. That's how we call them in Cantonese.

Honey Mustard Roasted Pumpkin, Beets and Carrots - Pumpkin #2

I made this for more relatives who came back from Australia few weeks later after the pumpkin sabzi.

They have past their 50's and are conscious of the things they eat. 

Having living overseas for quite a long time, they love to eat roasted vegetables.
Something my hubby find it hard to take in.

I took the opportunity to try out this dish.
Very well recieved by them. I was only so so about this.

Woo Ha (Crispy Taro Shreds, Hong Kong Style) 港式芋虾 - CNY Crispies # 2

Woo Ha .... It literally translates as Taro Prawns. A Cantonese Chinese New Year Treat.

Is it almost extinct here? Is it so?

I'm not sure. But I think it's not very well known because it was super tedious to make. Very!!! And expensive too. Taros are not cheap.

Beetroot Tofu Salmon Parcels with Brocolli Xmas Tree - Red/Green Week # 3

I wanted to do a Brocolli Xmas Tree, but has been contemplating between Chinese style or Western style.
Not until Mike's relatives came back for the weekend, and I'm hosting them a dinner did I finally decided on how to do it.

It'll be Chinese style :)

Fennel and Onion Chicken - Confinement Month # 6

Looks like a Chinese stir fry? Haha, no this is a recipe from a Westerner.

I've bookmarked this recipe way before I knew I was going to have a baby. It was at the same time when I did the double fennel roasted chicken. Back then I was searching for ways and methods to use up the first fennel I bought and this recipe was KIVed. And now, it's into good use.

Fennel is a galactagogue and onions are good for expelling wind, as it causes you to release gas. Fresh fennel when cooked until tender is far more delicious then when roasted. I'll definately cook this again even if I'm not in confinement.

Braised Taro with Kai Lan - Brassica Trio #1

Brassicas or Crucifers are a group of vegetables that include stuff like cabbages, choy sum, radish, daikon, mustard, brussels sprouts, cauliflowers and broccoli. Brassicas are good for you as they are high in vitamin C, soluble fibre and contain multiple nutrients and phytochemicals with potential anti-cancer properties. Most of the vegetables we consume are from this family, even Wasabi is.

Kailan is a member of the Brassica family. It has leaves that seem to have a layer of bloom over it. When I was a kid, I was scared to eat it, because I was told by my “smart” brother, that whitish silvery layer contains mercury. Well, up until today, I don’t think I still believe that, but then again, I don’t know how much truth there is to there. Haha!

When I saw this dish on Elin’s, I knew I just got to try this. It’s so special. I think she used the same type of kailan as I did. Or maybe she really did use baby kailans as I can’t really see from the pics. FYI, baby kailans here are really miniature kailan, that really looks like a kailan with long petioles, a stem but in miniature form. The stem is just anywhere 5mm-8mm thick only. But it’s long, up to 6 inches in length. Hong Kong kailan is about the same length, but the stems are fatter and leaves are thicker. But looks wise, similar. Regular kailans can have stems with similar width as Hong Kong Kailans but much larger, up to 1 ft in length. But then again, feel free to use whichever kailan you prefer.

Braised Taro with Kailan
Recipe source: Elin Luv Tidbits

250gm taro (cleaned weight), cut thumbsized
2 Tbsp dried shrimp
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
Pepper to taste
2 cups water

500gm Hong Kong Kailan
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp oil

1. Bring a pot of water to boil.
2. Put in salt and oil. Blanch kalian for 1-2 minutes (I like mine not too cooked)
3. Remove from water and rinse with cold water. Set aside. (Or you can do step 1-3 while you braise the taro, if you have more than one available stove)
4. In a wok, heat up and put in 2 tbsp of cooking oil.
5. Put in garlic and dried shrimp and fry until fragrant.
6. Put in taro and cook for 1 minute. Put in water and simmer on medium low heat until taro turns soft and the gravy looks creamy. (Remember to check water once a while)
7. Put in salt, sugar and pepper.
8. Return blanched kailan to wok and toss it around. Cook until the kalian warms up again.
9. Dish up and serve.

*It's a bit sad that my taro is not that creamy, no matter how long I braise it. Buying taro is sometimes like buying lottery. Haha. Even Thai taro may not give me favourable results each time. But the overall dish is indeed nice.

Braised Carrots with Orange and Rosemary - Fruit Week # 4

I had to do a veggie side dish for my main dish and I only have carrots in the fridge. I then remembered Bob Blumer making carrots with orange and I have 10 oranges in the fridge. This is it!!!

But how to do it? I’ve forgotten, so I googled and found this site . Read thru and used the recipe as a reference.

The taste was really good, and seeing Mike eating another piece of carrot after the other, I’ll definitely do this again some other time.

Braised Carrots with Orange and Rosemary
Inspired by Bob Blumer

Recipe refered from here

For 2 persons only

300gm carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
1 orange (you can either juice it or segment the flesh)
1 heaped teaspoon chopped rosemary
1 heaped tsp orange zest or julienned peel(no white parts) from ¼ of an orange
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp butter (I used the renderings from my roasted chicken and skipped the butter)
1 tsp brown sugar (use only after tasting)

1. Put butter (renderings instead, if you have) into a heated pan.
2. Put in carrots and spread them around single layer.
3. Let the carrots cook for 1-2 minutes. Then flip the carrots and let it cook for another minute.
4. Put in orange zest/peel and chopped rosemary. Add 1/3 tsp salt and some pepper, and let it cook for another minute or so.
5. Put in segmented orange or orange juice and put in few tablespoons of water.
6. Cover and let it cook on low heat until the carrots reach desired softness, it may take 5-10 minutes.
7. Remove lid and taste the carrots, adjust with sugar if it is too sour.
8. Turn heat to high and reduce until no liquid is seen and carrots look shiny with a nice glaze.
9. Dish up and serve

Beetroot and Sweetcorn Soup - Soup Week #1

I was attracted to this by the colour. I’ve never seen a Chinese soup using beetroot. So, this is a must try for me. Few times at Jusco, I can’t get nice beetroots, and then I finally got a nice blemish free, still plump beetroot. But then I forgot the white radish/daikon, but I usually prefer to get the slim and curvy type at a Malay vendor in KK. That variety taste much better than the fat plump straight variety.

But on the day I wanted to boil this, it rained cats and dogs, and I couldn’t go out to get my white radish. So, I just skipped it. It might still taste good, fingers crossed : )

Beetroot and Sweetcorn soup
Recipe adapted from : The Sweet Spot

400gm beetroot
2 ears of corn
200gm waterchestnut (7 large ones)
200gm carrots (2 medium ones)
200gm pork loin or lean pork, or 300gm pork ribs
2.5L water (10 bowls)

1. Bring the water to boil.
2. Peel beetroot, cut into chunks.
3. Peel waterchestnuts, cut into halves.
4. Peel carrots, cut into slanting chunks
5. Shuck the corn and cut into chunks
6. Cut pork into smaller pieces.
7. When water has come to a boil, put in everything and let it simmer for 2 hours.
8. Season with salt.

Verdict:
Yummy. Everybody loved this soup especially my Mother in Law.

Thanks Swee San for this cute soup... Oh yes, I do find this cute.

Caramelized Onions

When I saw these on Zurin's blog, I was totally attracted to the goldeness of the onion strands.

I love onions, be it raw or cooked, in soups or in salads. I love them all. Even when I was a kid, whenever grandaunt cooked sweet and sour fish, she likes to put in lots of sliced onions, and I'll pick those up and eat. Better than the fish itself.

Somehow I regretted using only 1kg of onions,... later you'll know why.

Caramelized Onions
Recipe adapted from Cherry on a Cake

1kg yellow onions
4 tbsp of cooking oil
2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp butter
Salt for seasoning

1.Wash, peel and slice the onions.
2.Put in a 4 Tbsp of oil into a heavy based pot and cook onions on medium low heat. Stirring from time to time until they turn pale golden.
3.Then put in sugar, worcestershire sauce and butter. Season with salt. Then on, stir it all the while.
4. Cook until onion is translucent and nicely golden.
5. Push onions to one side, tilt the pot and let the extra oil flow away from the onions. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
6. Dish up, leaving the extra fat in the pot.

This is the outcome, from the large bowl of sliced onions, I'm left with just one cup of caramelized onions. One hour of effort!!!!! I should've doubled the amount and made more.

Then I filled them into my sausage sandwich.

Tasted absolutely lovely

Filled some for my in laws too

Double Fennel Roasted Chicken

I saw some fennel at Jusco, locally grown at Camerons. Whoopppie!!! They were cheap!!! I didn’t know what to do with them but I bought them anyway cos I was told, it’s a new produce and it’s not sold often. I’ve seen fennel growing in Camerons before, in Mardi Park in Tanah Rata, but I never knew Cameronians will one day plant this to sell.

Then I saw Australian butternut squash. Usually they are pretty big, but this time I saw some small ones. The name is really enticing, butternut. Is it really that buttery? I won’t know until I’ve tasted it, and that’s for sure. This baby cost me almost RM14. Hahaha!!! The big ones will cost me more than RM30. Crazy!!!
Then I came back and searched on the internet high and low for recipes… and I don’t’ want soup. No fennel soup, no butternut squash soup. In the end, I settled down with roasting them.

1kg Whole chicken legs (3 rather large pieces)
½ Tbsp salt
½ Tbsp fennel seeds
Few black peppercorns or some ground black pepper

2 bulbs of fennel (rather small when compared to imported ones, if imported ones, 1 will do)
Some salt and some pepper
Few cuts of Butternut squash, just as a rack and part of the meal later on (You can substitute with pumpkin)
Some butter and 1 tsp of honey for each leg

1. Mill salt, fennel seeds and black peppercorns until fine.
2. Rub (1) onto chicken legs.
3. Marinate them for at least 1 hour (do not stack them, and leave them uncovered in the fridge to dry up a bit)
4. Preheat oven to 180/200C.
5. Place butternut squash onto baking pan. Slice fennel and sprinkle them over butternut squash. Season with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. (just like what Jamie Oliver usually will do)
6. Place marinated chicken over fennel and butternut squash.
7. Thinly slice some butter and lay them on the chicken.
8. Bake for 30 minutes until golden
9. Remove chicken frm oven and quickly brush (I just use the back of spoon) 1 tsp of honey on each leg.
10. Pop them back into the oven for another 15 minutes. They will be very golden when done.

The chicken was just nicely cooked, saltiness level perfect. The roasting juices were wonderfully sweet!!!! Not sweet from the honey but from the chicken, butternut and fennel. What could be better than to have some rice to soak up all the gravy… err.. you may like mash potatoes, but we like rice. And I made some garlic rice to go with it. (Recipe for garlic rice, later)

If you ask me what does fennel smell like when raw.. a bit like celery, a bit like parsley.
What it taste like when cooked… Celery, the bottom white part of celery. Just that it has more texture to chew on.

What does butternut squash look like inside : A pumpkin
What does butternut squash taste like when cooked : A pumpkin, hahaha!! Just nuttier.

Any of you have any recipes to suggest me for fennel?? Preferably no soups and salads.

Stir Fried Hot and Sour Lotus Root 酸辣炒莲藕

My cousin Grace, brought this back from Seremban many many years ago. She told me a church member cooked this for her. One bite into it and I was shocked!! It’s sour!! I knew it could be spicy because I could see the dried chillies, but I didn't anticipate the sourness.

It’s nice. It’s addictive, the crunchiness of the lotus root, the spiciness of the chilli, the sourness of the vinegar, the smell of the flat leaf parsley…It’s a myriad of senses.

Maybe u can try this for Chinese New Year reunion dinner, for a refreshing change. I hope that u find this dish as yummy as I find it is.

100gm local lotus root (cleaned weight, so u better buy more than 100gm, China's lotus roots may not be as crunchy as the local type, and they could be more starchy too.)
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
½ cup chicken breast thin slices (marinate with 1/3 tsp salt and some pepper)
5 dried chillies (seeds removed, cut into 3 pcs each, rinsed, )
1 cup flat leaf parsley(Daun sup, cut into 2 inch lengths)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
1/3 tsp salt
2/3 tsp cornstarch + 1/3 cup water
2 Tbsp oil

1. Slice lotus root thinly and marinate with vinegar for 2 hours. Tossing the roots slices every now and then to make sure the vinegar is well distributed.
2. Heat wok and put in oil. Put in garlic and fry until fragrant but not golden. Put in dried chilli and fry until fragrant (the heat of the chilli might come up to ur eyes), put in chicken slices and stir fry until half cooked.
3. Put in marinated lotus root and the balance of liquid into wok and toss for about 20-30 seconds. Put in salt and cornstarch solution. When gravy has come to a boil and thickened, put in parsley. Toss until parsley wilts, dish up and serve.

French Bean and Preserved Radish Stir Fry 四季豆抄菜宝

(A)

15 pcs french bean (cut slanting)

½ carrot

½ cup sweet preserved radish

½ big red onion

1 red chili

2 tbsp oil

(B)

A good dash of pepper

1 tbsp light soy sauce

½ tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

Cut (A) into thin strips.

Heat wok. Add in preserved radish and fry them for a minute. Dish up.

Heat wok until very hot. Put in oil, sauté red onion for a while. Add in Red chili, stir, then add in the french bean, carrots and the preserved radish. Stir fry for a minute or 2, add in seasoning.

If u find it too dry, add in a splash of water, but not too much. This is intended to be a rather dry dish with no gravy at all.

*******
My kitchen felt smokey after I did this dish. Haha. Had to be this way, if not, the dish won't smell nice.