Bak Kut Teh

A few years ago, when we still stayed in Singapore, we often drove to Johor Bahru to shop, buy gas, and eat good food. Other than Malaysian food, we also loved Chinese style paper wrap chicken from Bamboo Restaurant, Ampang Yong Tau Foo and also Bak Kut Teh. Too bad, I can't remember the name of the restaurant.

It's actually easy to make your own Bak Kut Teh at home. You can buy ready-made Bak Kut Teh spices in Chinese groceries anywhere. Our family friend, the Kwoks, often go to HK and bring back packaged herbs and spices, and give some to us. Among the many packages, we still have one left and finally use it for a hearty soup. It's cold and rainy outside. There's nothing better than a hot delicious bowl of home-made Bak Kut Teh.

Here's the mix that I use. Just add garlic, it's that simple.


This is the herbs and spices inside with a tea bag (hence the name: Bak Kut Teh)


Three hours later...The soup darkens kudos to the tea in the bag. The aroma is so invigorating.


Warm and refreshing!

Good for you soul.

Make one bowl today ^^




Easy Bak Kut Teh
Ingredients:
1 package of good quality Bak Kut Teh Mix
1 lb of pork ribs
2 liters of water
5 whole garlic
1 tsp of salt
2 tbs soy sauce

Method:
Boil 2 liters of water. Add in the mix, garlic, and the pork ribs. Boil for about 2 hours, and you can add more water if needed. Add the salt and soy sauce. Serve warm with rice.

Black Bean Pork & Tofu

My husband loves fermented black bean. Not just that, I think he likes all fermented, pickled stuff. Fermented black bean or tausi is a very popular ingredient in his household. I remember my late father-in-law used to order Kakap Tausi (Black Bean Snapper) every time we ate out. Those were wonderful days...

Anyway, yesterday we went to buy this small bottled black bean garlic sauce out of curiosity. I don't remember my mom ever cooked with this yummy sauce, that's why I should try it. So today I whipped up an easy peasy meal that was gone in five minutes. Black Bean Pork and Tofu.


There are few main ingredients including ground pork, black pepper, paprika powder (not here), chayote, tomato, green onion, garlic, evoo (extra virgin olive oil), and off course the firm tofu.


The first thing to do would be to brown the pork in a hot pan glazed with a tablespoon of evoo. It should be nice and done in five minutes on high heat.


Make a little opening on one side of the pan, drizzle two teaspoon of oil from the black bean sauce jar. Then stir fry the garlic until fragrant. Mix evenly with the browned pork.


The smell was very stimulating to one's nostril.

Hubby could not stop sneezing. Was it from the pollen? Flu? Or simply from the devilish aroma of black bean garlic oil? Make a guess.

The next step would be to add in the tomato and chayote. The color combination was just superb. Maybe I should add red bell pepper too...and also the yellow, orange, and green one. Next time...


Once the chayote turned tender but still crisp, and the tomato wilted, we can throw in the diced tofu anc chopped onion. Stir a bit, and add in the yummy black bean garlic sauce. Four teaspoon in all. Don't skimp on it, let the strong flavor tickle your tongue. Oh, smells so yum!


Stir, stir, stir...mix all the goodness for a minute or two over high heat. I bet my neighbors think that a new Chinese restaurant has just opened nearby--the smell is pretty strong at this point. I felt guilty for not sharing it with them.


Serve over warm rice. It's a comfort food.

So comforting, it's gone in five minutes.

Who knows that simple ingredients can be that good, if you like fermented black bean.


Black Bean Pork and Tofu

Ingredients:
1/2 lb lean ground pork
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1/2 package of firm tofu, diced
1/2 chayote, cut into thin strips
1/2 medium sized tomato, diced
2 stalks of green onion, chopped
1 tbs evoo
4 tsp of black bean garlic sauce
1/2 tsp of paprika powder
1/4 tsp of coarsely ground black pepper
salt to taste

Methods:
Heat a frying pan, glazed with evoo, brown the pork for a good five minutes over high heat. Sprinkle with salt, black pepper, and paprika powder.

Make an opening in the pan, pour in two teaspoon of oil from the black bean sauce jar. Stir fry the garlic in there. Then mix the pork and garlic.

Add in the tomato and chayote, cook until tender but crisp. Then the tofu and green onion can be added in the pan. Mix everything evenly.

The last step would be to add four teaspoon of the black bean sauce, and mix the whole thing together. Keep cooking for another two minutes. Turn off the heat, and serve over white rice.

Indonesian Shu Mai Ala Moi

Indonesian food, especially from Central Java region, tend to be sweet. So does the shu mai variety. My mom always adds sugar into the mixture and I don't think this will apply to other culture. But that's just us--Semarangnese. We can't even live without kecap manis (Indonesian Sweet soy sauce). I can eat kecap manis with plain rice and tapioca crackers (krupuk terung) just like that! In fact, kecap manis and tapioca crackers were my childhood favorite food.

This evening we shopped around Milpitas, as we always do on weekend. My chubby hubby suddenly suggested, "Do you want to cook shu mai?" He's not someone with much ideas about cooking; so, when he says something like that, it means he wants it (and also means that I'm going to spend the whole night whipping the meal--with his help of course).

Okay, so off we went to Marina groceries and bought the ingredients. The rest of the evening was full of chopping, stirring, pleating, steaming, and not-to-be-missed: food tasting ^^

I like to prepare all the ingredients at once, while my mom does just the opposite. I remember when she cooked back then she always yelled, "Des...!! Get me the tomato sauce!! And also the nutmeg!" Then I would scramble around the kitchen and dining room to look for the things that she needed. It could happen many times in a single cooking process. Phew..

Well, that's just her habit. She might want us to get involved by purposely forgetting stuff, than to let us rested our butts in front of the TV.

But that could be a nuisance...and a mean interruption. Especially when you are watching Korean dramas...Ugh, can't get enough of Korean dramas. LOL

Anyway, I was pretty much traumatized, so I do my homework carefully. I don't want to bother my husband getting me this and that, and ended up being lectured for unpreparedness.

Ok, I'll stop mumbling. Here's the crew for today:

Oh, please don't be surprised if you see an apple there.

I know it's unconventional...some might call me irresponsible...

But I'm just curios. Cooking is my science lab experiement ^^

Next, put the ground pork in a deep container. Throw in a handful of finely diced carrot, apple, and chopped green onion. Try to stir the mixture.



Ughh...it's so hard. I think the mixture is just too dry...

Actually, the sauce and all liquid ingredients should get in. So pour the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, pepper, garlic+ginger paste, one egg, wine, honey, diced ham, and a little bit of water in. And try to stir and feel the difference. Oh yeah, the ham is already mixed in before, so can't see it below:



Yes, even hubby agreed that it was easier to stir with the liquid in. He's just an enthusiast sous chef. He even gave up his newspaper-reading time for this stirring job. Thanks honey...



I want the texture to be smooth, slightly chewy yet tender. It takes eggs and tapioca flour to make it that way...I have one egg in already, and I added another one. Place them in and blend evenly.



The next step would be to steam the shumai. You can pan-steam your shumai by doing the following trick. In a deep pan, pour in water and place a heat resistant bowl in the middle. Fill the bowl with water for double-heating function.



Then put a big heat-resistant plate on top of the bowl. They are perfect partner for an emergency steamer. Tested and proven!



Here comes the tricky part. Well, it's actually easy, but you must be patient and careful when making and handling these babies.


Just place 1/2 tbs of the mixture in the middle of a wrapper. Carefully pleats the side of the wrapper around, and lightly pinch the upper end of the shumai until it resembles a mini volcano. Topped it with finely diced carrot or capelin roe (thanks to Mae Han). Place them in the pre-heat steamer.

Close the lid, and steam each batch for fifteen minutes. For this recipe, I made in total three batches.



Here's the babies fifteen minutes later. They are too cute to end up in my tummy.



But...I must say that in tummies is where they belong :) They're edible shumais after all...;p


THE RECIPE (yields 55 small cuties)

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground pork
1/3 can of ham, minced (yum...)
2 dried shiitake mushroom, soaked 'til soft, then diced finely
5 stalks of green onion, sliced thinly
1 medium-sized carrot, diced into very small pieces (honestly, it's troublesome)
2 eggs
1 tsp garlic+ginger paste (made from 1 big clove of garlic and 1,5 cm of ginger)
4 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs oyster sauce
2 tbs honey
2 tbs wine (I use white zinfandel)
2 tbs sesame oil
1/4 cup of water
1 heap tbs of tapioca starch
1 package of shu mai wrapper
Capelin Roe

Optional:
1/4 apple diced thinly (I know...But my cooking is experimental, I hope you understand ;p)

Methods:
Put in meat in a big bowl/container, then thrown in all the ingredients at once, or in series, is really up to you. But I suggest that the sauces, eggs, and liquid get in first. It will make the stirring job easier.

Once all the ingredients is in perfect unity, put 1/2 tbs of the mixture into the wrapper and try your best to make it like an open money bag (by pinching/pleating the side of the wrapper around)

Steam in batches for fifteen minutes. Take out when ready, set aside to cool. Enjoy with chili sauce or dipping sauce. It's really good too on its own.

Fish Lips Soup (Sup Bibir Ikan)

Do you know that you can make something out of fish lips? Well, I didn't until my mom started to make this delicious heart-warming soup several years ago. I just have to have this dish over and over again. It's good to have it in winter months, or any day of the year! but it's best when you share its goodness with your loved ones.

Here's the cast of the characters:


The main ingredient is off course the dried fish lips as you can see at the left corner in a bowl. It's sad that I can only find this in Indonesia, not in Singapore, not in US. So I treasure my fish lips stock very much. Oh yeah, I miss the onion in the picture.


First thing first..After chopping the garlic, onion, shiitake mushroom, chicken, and pork, boil two cups of water, put a slice of ginger or two inside. Once the ginger-infused water is boiled, put in the dried fish lips. Stir gently for about 5 minutes, drained it, set aside to use later.


This is what it looks like afterward...Looks like jellyfish tentacles. It has a distinct smell that characterized the soup.


Heat a deep pan, put 1 tbs oil and 1 tbs sesame oil. Once the oil mixture is hot, stir fry the garlic, ginger and onion until fragrant and soft.


The mushroom goes next. My Mom said you need to stir fry the mushroom first, and never dump un-stir fried mushroom into the soup--there would be unpleasant earthy smell afterward. So the stir frying is to cleanse any unnecessary odor and add some flavor to the dish.


Then once the mushroom is pretty much cooked, put in the diced pork and chicken. I have to have this two combination, since both of them add robust flavor to the broth. I usually use pork tenderloin and dark chicken meat for this dish. Then, altogether, pour in 2 tbs of soy sauce, 1 tbs of oyster sauce, salt and pepper to taste. I also add 1 tsp of honey to balance the taste. It works every time. Honey is a staple in my house. Next, the napa cabbage is in.


Leave the pan closed for fifteen minutes or so, until the meat is cooked, the veggie turns soft but not mushy, and the broth starts to come out.


Add about 500 cc of water or chicken broth (until the meat and all are nicely covered) and a drizzle of sesame oil wouldn't harm too :) Cover the pan again and let it boils.


Hmm, it looks good and smells good too. But wait, don't forget the beaten egg and to taste it. Add salt or soy sauce if necessary, and the vinegar if you like. My husband loves sour and tangy dishes, so in my family the vinegar is in.


I don't take the picture of the egg, but here's how to make it. Crack and pour an egg into a bowl. Beat it until it's a little bit frothy, then using a fork, pour the mixture little by little into the boiling soup and stir the hot soup with the fork.


The end result is lace-y texture on top of the soup, and it enhances the taste and the appearance altogether. Then, mix 1 tbs of tapioca flour with water, dissolve it, and gradually pour into the hot soup. Stir the soup gently as you pour the flour mixture. Lower the heat and keep it hot for five more minutes. Then...


Voila! A warm bowl of soup is ready for your enjoyment...Beware, it's hot...and it's addictive :)


FISH LIPS SOUP ala ME

Ingredients:
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 medium-size onion thinly sliced
4 dried shiitake mushroom; soaked in water overnight in the fridge; thinly sliced
1/2 lb pork tenderloin, finely diced
1/2 lb dark chicken meat, finely diced (you can use chicken bones for the broth too)
2,5 cm of ginger, divide into three
5 leaves of big napa cabbage sliced thinly
a handful of dried fish lips, quickly boiled in ginger-infused water until soft
500-750 ml of chicken broth or water
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs oyster sauce
1 tbs chicken oil
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tsp honey
1 egg, beaten
1 tbs of vinegar (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Methods:
Heat the chicken oil and sesame oil, stir fry the garlic and onion until fragrant and soft. Throw in the mushroom and cook them for about 5 minutes.

Put in the chicken and pork, soy sauce, oyster sauce, honey, salt and pepper. Stir all the ingredients until the seasonings are well blended. Close the pan and leave it for 5 minutes. Then thrown in the napa cabbage, stir and blend around. Close the pan again and leave it for a good 15 minutes.

Pour in 500-750 of water or chicken broth, let it boils for about 30 minutes. Once boils, then the fish lips can be put in. Gently stir the soup. Add the beaten egg gradually while stirring the soup. Please taste and add salt/soy sauce if necessary.

Thicken the soup with a mixture of 1 tbs of tapioca flour and water.