Braised Pork Belly with Mui Choy

**Non-Halal**


Mui Choy is a type of preserved mustard cabbage. It has 2 varieties which is the sweet (teem) mui choy or salty (harm) mui choy. The sweet variety come in darker colour where else the salty one is more greenish in colour. Mui Choy is every Hakka household staple which others have learnt to appreciate as well. Mui Choy is generally braised or stewed with pork with pork belly being the most popular part known as Mui Choy Munn Chu Yuk or Mui Choy Khau Yuk.

My mother being a Hakka has learnt some of these dishes from her mother and we all enjoyed them tremendously as these dishes are usually being turned low-fat and low-sodium by my mother. They still tasted good nevertheless.

So here is how, the 3rd generation in the family, cooks this dish which I think my grandma would roll her eyes in her grave :p all caused I've used the pressure cooker to hasten cooking time and to really soften the meat until they melt in the mouth.

I've used the sweet mui choy which need to be washed off all the grit especially on the inner folds of the leaves. I've soaked mine for around 1 hour and even though they're "sweet" but in actual fact, they're quite salty as well. I would say 3-4 hours with changes of water in between would have done a better job in removing the saltiness.

As for the pork belly, I managed to get the portion with quite some chunks of lean meat. I also cheated by removing quite a bit of the fats layers (I can hear my grandma screaming at me in Hakka!!) then sliced them to about 1/2 - 1 cm thickness.

I actually did braised them on the stove but after 45 mins or so, the meat does not give me the melt-in-mouth texture. So I poured them into the pressure cooker and cooked it for about 15 mins and voila... perfect! My recipe is still a little too salty hence have to be tweaked to reduce the saltiness. I gather that one ought to start with lesser seasoning and slowly build it up by tasting the dish as it cooks.



So here is my recipe (adjusted) in guesstimation:

Braised Pork Belly with Mui Choy

1/2 strip pork belly (around 500 - 600g)
2 strips of sweet mui choy, soak and cut into 1 - 2 cm length
3 slices of ginger, cut into strips
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp oyster sauce*
1/2 tsp soy sauce*
1 tsp sugar*

* seasonings amount varies, depending on how salty is your mui choy. I supposed layering the seasonings slowly adding bit by bit and keep tasting until one find the right balance

1. Sliced pork belly into 1 cm thickness. I've asked my butcher to remove the skin. Roast pork (siew yuk) can be used too.

2. Wash mui choy thoroughly under running water especially the inner leaves to remove the grits. Soak in a bowl of water for 3-4 hours and change the water a couple of times in between. Then slice them into 1 - 2 cm in length, do remove and discard the woody parts towards the root.

3. Heat up some oil and fry ginger and garlic till fragrant in a wok (or can do it in the pressure cooker) before adding the meat. Just stir the meat around (I did not brown them). Stir in mui choy and mix well.

4. Pour in just enough water to cover and add in the seasonings. Remember to slowly layer the seasoning so that you can adjust the saltiness. Keep tasting.

5. When it comes to a slow boil, put on the lid (follow your pressure cooker instructions) and cook for about 15 minutes. When done, release the pressure and dish out the braised pork belly with mui choy and serve with rice.

I'm submitting this for Muhibbah Malaysian Monday blog event. This event is the brainchild of  Shaz (Test With A Skewer) and Suresh (3 Hungry Tummies). Read more here.

Braised Chicken with Galangal

Dedicated to the person who complained that I have been featuring a lot of stir-fries lately :p here's a braised chicken dish...

I've bought a couple of those bi-lingual books on confinement dishes some years back all cause the recipes looked really good and sounds very simple. They did gave my mother some meal ideas after my miscarriage, 3 years ago. Every now and then I would look up on these books and would cook up items like Steamed Ribs with Tasty Sauce, Black Bean Soup and Stir Fried Eggplants with Minced Fish.

This time while browsing, I chanced upon this dish that surprisingly does not contain the standard ginger in the ingredients :p which in it's place was galangal. I've adapted the recipe into a simple braising as the original recipe was way too sweet for our liking. This pic is my second try on this recipe which yielded a better and tastier version with the addition of spring onions.

Here's my adapted recipe:

Braised Chicken with Galangal

2 chicken thighs, deskinned and chopped
about 10 slices of fresh galangal
1 tbsp sugar (original recipe called for 2.5 tbsp!)
3 tbsp Stone's ginger wine
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce (can cut down if you don't like it dark :D)
500ml water
1 tbsp oil
1 stalk spring onions, cut into 1.5 inches in length

1. Heat oil in wok and add in the sugar. Cook until sugar is dissolved and caramalised into a golden brown colour.

2. Add in the chicken pieces and fry both sides till browned. Next, add in the galangal slices and stir.

3. Pour in water, light and dark soy sauce and bring to boil. Simmer on low heat until gravy thickens. Remember to taste and adjust according to your taste by adding light sauce sauce if not salty enough. If too salty, just add a little water.

4. Pour in the ginger wine and simmer for another 10 minutes before stirring in spring onions. Serve hot with rice.

Braised Pork Ribs with Leeks and Shallots served with Garlic and Ginger Fried Rice

**Non-Halal**




Most times I will try to keep our meals to be simple but yet striking a balance of having a little bit ot everything. Just like this time, we have a easy peasy braised pork ribs. The shallots gave the dish a sweetish caramalised taste with the addition of fragrant Chinese leeks which seems to be available even outside Chinese New Year season these days.

What I did was marinade pork ribs with a dash of fish sauce, white pepper and some corn flour for a couple of hours in the fridge. Just remove from fridge about 30 mins before cooking. I shallow fry the ribs in batches with some oil until they're lightly browned. Remove the ribs and set aside. Using the same pan, add some oil if needed. Add in a handful of peeled whole shallots and fry till the edges are slightly brown, remove and set aside. Then throw in sliced leeks and cook till soften a bit. Remove and set aside.

Still using the same pan as I liked to deglaze the fried sticky bits on the bottom of the pan, add a little oil if there's non left. Fry some minced soy bean paste till fragrant before adding back the shallots, leeks and ribs. Stir a bit before pouring just enough water to cover the ribs. Adjust the seasoning with a wee bit of sugar, salt is usually not necessary but do add some if you did not use enough soy bean paste. Simmer on low heat for about 45 mins.

You can cook this using your slow cooker. Dish up and serve hot. I served them with a simple Garlic and Ginger Fried Rice.

To cook  the rice, scrambled some eggs and set aside. Fry ginger and garlic in oil till fragrant and lightly browned before adding the frozen vegetables (can omit this actually). Stir and add in some salt. Pour in day old rice and mix well. Sprinkle in some soy sauce for some colour and taste; and also some pepper. Add in the eggs and mix well. Dish up and serve.

Note: The black seeds and brown bits are not sesame seeds but are flax seeds as I've used multi-grain rice.

Braised Dao Gan

As with the previous years, we usually have a vegetarian meal on the first day of the lunar new year. I've made another version of Tzai Choy, Sweat and Sour Veaty Bites, and a Braised Dao Gan (a type of layered beancurd skin) dish.



I just made this according to what I have on hand eliminating the usage of a vegetarian oyster sauce since I didn't want to buy one bottle just to make one dish. What I have here is a packet of defrosted dao gan, a handful of soaked dry Chinese mushroom stalks (mushrooms were used for the Tzai Choy), some soaked kei chi (boxthorn/lycium/Chinese wolfberry) and reserve the water, and a bunch of blanched broccoli to line the plate.

Shred the mushroom stalks with fingers (fingernails come in very handy here) into floss like strips and fry them in oil till crispy. Remove and set aside. This look kinda like dried scallops.

Lightly pan fry the dao gan. I've used a non-stick pan to easy frying and did not need to use a lot of oil. Remove and soak up the oil with paper towel.

Using the same pan which should not contain a lot of oil, pour some water including the kei chi water (enough to cover the dao gan), light soy sauce, white pepper powder and wee bit of sugar. Let it come to a boil. Taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly. Put in the dao gan, mushroom stalks (you can leave some to sprinkle on top of the completed dish but I was just too lazy) and kei chi, braise for about 15 mins. Pour in some cornstarch solution to thicken the sauce up slightly.

Dish up and pour dao gan over the broccoli. Serve with rice.


Our First Day of New Year Dish
Tzai Choy Version 2.0
Tzai Choy (Vegetarian Dish) Version 3.0
Vegetarian Dishes for First Day of Lunar New Year
Tzai Choy Version 5.0

Braised Spare Ribs With Baked Beans

**Non-Halal**




This recipe appeared in Yum Yum magazine issue 63 and seems very appealing. Kinda special since we usually have baked beans on its own or cooked with eggs or with some mince meat. Very easy to prepare and would become a firm favourite if one love baked beans.

Braised Spare Ribs With Baked Beans

1 tbsp oil
1 onion, cut into pieces
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
2 red chillies, cut into pieces (I omitted)
600g spare ribs, cut into pieces
1 tin baked beans

(A)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp tomato sauce
600ml water
1 tsp sugar

1. Heat oil and saute onion until aromatic. Add tomatoes, red chillies, spare ribs and stir-fry until well mixed.

2. Add (A) and bring to boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 40 mins or until rins are tender.

3. Lastly add in baked beans and bring to boil. Dish and serve with rice.

Ref: Yum Yum issue 63

Oh yeah I've read this article earlier and it's rather interesting...

10 things you did not know about baked beans
By Karen Inge

They're a staple quick meal in many houses, but just how nutritious are they for you and your family?

1. Baked beans contain energy giving, low glycaemic index carbohydrates.


2. A cup of baked beans is a great source of protein with more than 10 grams of protein equal to 50 gram steak or 11/2 eggs.


3. The fibre in a cup of baked beans is 12 grams equal to more than 8 large sandwich slices multigrain bread, or 11/4 cups toasted muesli or 4 medium unpeeled green apples.


4. Baked Beans are international. Versions of baked beans are found in many countries from France home of the cassoulet through to the USA with Boston (Navy) Baked Beans.


5. A cup of baked beans is about 900 kilojoules or just less than 10% daily intake energy requirement for the average person.


6. Baked beans are low in fat (less than 1%) with less than 2 grams of fat per cup. They are super low in saturated fats and as a vegetable contain no cholesterol.


7. Most baked beans are also an excellent source of tomato containing the antioxidant lycopene.


8. Baked beans contain folate a vitamin essential to release the energy in our food. One cup of Baked Beans provides more than 25% of the daily requirement (RDI 400 micrograms/day adults and teenagers).


9. We do not have digestive enzymes for all carbohydrates including raffinose found in dried beans and legumes. Gut micro-flora break down this carbohydrate and a byproduct is gas. Raffinose can be reduced in beans that are soaked first and the water discarded.

Source: The Australian Women's Weekly

Braised Chicken With Shallots

Another easy peasy braised chicken recipe. This one used a whole lot of shallots which lend a sweet caramelised taste to the gravy.

Braised Chicken With Shallots

2 pieces chicken thigh, cut into pieces
200g shallots, skin removed
a thumbsized ginger, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
150 ml water

(A)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
salt to taste
1/2 tsp sugar

Fry shallots in some oil till browned before adding ginger and garlic. Stir till fragrant. Add in chicken pieces. Cook chicken till brown. Add water and (A). Cover with a lid and lower the heat. Braised chicken till softens and the sauce thicken. Dish up and serve hot with rice.

Braised Roasted Duck

What do you normally do with your left over roasted duck be it homemade or store bought???

So far I've done a Roasted Duck and Baby Tomatoes Angel Hair Pasta.

My mom gave me one half of a frozen roasted duck which I didn't want to reheat in the oven. So mom told me to braise it with preserved soy beans (min see). What I did was chop up the duck into smaller pieces. Minced a large handful of shallots and a few cloves of garlic, set aside separately.

In some hot oil, saute and sweat the shallots till fragrant before adding garlic. Continue to saute before putting in the minced preserved soy beans. Stir till fragrant before adding the duck pieces. Mix well. Pour in water till it's just enough to cover the duck. Let it come to a simmer and adjust the taste with some sugar, salt is only necessary if it's really not salty enough. Braise for about 20 minutes or until gravy thickens.



Best with hot rice especially when drizzle the gravy over the rice!


Technorati Tags: roast duck

Braised Pork Ribs with Beancurd Strips

**Non-Halal**



Another easy peasy favourite is this braised pork ribs and beancurd strips.

Rather similar to Braised Pork Ribs With Deep Fried Beancurd Sheet but substituted beancurd sheets with strips instead. Just need to chop garlic, preserved soy bean and preserved black bean together. Sear pork ribs till lightly browned and remove from pan.

Fry the chopped ingredients till very fragrant before adding the ribs. Stir till all the ribs are coated before putting in the beancurd strips. Pour in just enough water to cover the ingredients.

Bring to a boil and season with a bit of salt if needed and some sugar to balance out the saltiness of the fermented beans. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes (time given by butcher for braising the ribs she gave me) until tender and gravy thickened.

I could have also done this in a slow cooker by dropping the fried ribs and beancurd strips into the pot and cook for 3 hours WITHOUT adding any water. Yes, no water needed as there would be liquid seeping out from the meat and beancurd.

Check my other braised pork ribs recipes:
Braised Pork Ribs With Deep Fried Beancurd Sheet
Slow Cooked Pork Ribs
Braised Pork Ribs With Spices
Braised Ribs
Braised Ribs With Bean Curd Strips In Teriyaki Sauce


Technorati Tags: malaysian food + pork rib

Braised Chicken with Eryngii Mushroom and Carrot

Eryyn what??? It's Eryngii... a kinda mushroom from Chiangmai, Thailand according to the packaging. Eryngii is also known as king trumpet mushroom, french horn mushroom, and king oyster mushroom. I frist saw this packet at the vegetable stall and grabbed a pack without knowing what to do with it. The size of this mushroom is about the length of my (short) palm and the thickest part is slightly larger than the diameter of 50 sen coin.



Staring at the packet, I guess the best way to cook it would be braising it with chicken and so I set out marinading skinless chicken thigh pieces with white pepper, oyster sauce, a few dashes of fish sauce and some cornstarch. Sliced up the mushroom and carrots for some colour.

In hot oil, brown the chicken pieces. Next, add in 3 cloves of lightly crushed garlic and fry till fragrant. Stir in carrots and mushrooms. Pour in just enough water covering the chicken and add in some oyster sauce for flavouring plus some white pepper and little bit of sugar to taste. Cover with a lid and braise for about 15 - 20 minutes. Dish up and serve with rice.



I have to say this eryngii mushroom is still crunchy after braising for so long. My boiboi and I liked them very much. We ladled lots of gravy onto our rice and ate them up in a gusto! This mushroom would be nice for stir frying which I will try next, if I can find them again.


Technorati Tags: poultry + mushroom

Childhood Fave - Potato Minced Meat in Bean Paste Sauce

I'm not sure about you but potatoes are my absolute favourite "vegetable" (in my context lah as a child hehe). I can eat them any style, well, not exactly any since those days we don't get fries. The most is mom would deep fry them before cooking them in sauces.

I'm glad, my next generation is carrying on this spud thingy in him as well. He adores my mother who diligently cook him potato dishes for his lunch and dinner a couple of times a week. I think he's the only one in the entire family appreciated her cooking openly cos he's the only one who will THANK his granma for cooking his favourite dishes. Sometimes she gets bonus kisses for that! The rest of us, like me - yes I'm guilty, would the most, praise how yummy her dishes were :p

Most times I usually braise chicken with potatoes in soy bean paste (mien si), sometimes I uses minced chicken meat, like this one - just to cheat the little fart to eat some meat.

Method is still about the same, fry some garlic in hot oil before adding bean paste. You may add preserved black beans as well. Next add in the minced chicken (pork also will come out well) meat that has been marinaded with some soy sauce, white pepper and a little corn flour (to make the meat smoother). Stir till browned before adding sliced potatoes. You can cut them into chunks too, deep fry them before adding in. Makes the potatoes tastier but I was too healthy lazy to do so. Keep stirring then add some water. Adjust seasoning, adding salt if not salty enough and a little bit of sugar to bring out the flavour. Put the lid on and simmer on low heat till potatoes are tender and the sauce is reduced.

Dish up and serve hot with rice.


Technorati Tags: malaysian food + poultry + potato

Braised Pork Ribs With Deep Fried Beancurd Sheet

**Non-Halal**

I have a pack of deep fried beancurd sheet (foo chuk) which I've gotten from the market for my steamboat but I've totally forgotten to use them during the party back then. I've chucked them in my fridge and wasn't sure what to do with them until much later. Decided to add them into my usual braised pork ribs dish.

My usual braised pork dish would have garlic, ginger, preserved soy bean and preserved black bean; all chopped up together. Sear pork ribs till lightly browned before adding the chopped ingredients. Fry them till very fragrant before adding water enough to cover the ribs. Bring to a boil and season with a bit of salt if needed and some sugar to balance out the saltiness of the fermented beans. Lower the heat down, put on the lid and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add in the deep fried foo chuk and cover; further simmering for about 15 - 20 minutes or till ribs are tender.

Dish up and serve with plain rice. The gravy is superb to go with the plain rice that even my boiboi loved it.

Technorati Tags: malaysian food + pork rib

Braised Yee Meen (Pre-fried Noodles)

Similar to the Braised Deep Fried Mee Sua, I've made another version using Yee Meen (伊麺, pre-fried noodles - Chinese characters copied from this wikipedia entry haha). This round, it's simpler, just minced meat and cabbage as part of the ingredients.

Best served with some sambal belacan. *grinning at Lanatir*



Technorati Tags: malaysian food + noodle

Braised Deep Fried Mee Sua

I've some left over deep fried mee sua (flour vermicelli) from my failed Kong Nam Meen adventure and decided to braise (munn in Cantonese) them.

Prepared by cutting the vegetables ie baby corn, capsicum, carrots and celery (whatever I found in my fridge actually). Minced some chicken breast and marinade with some soy sauce, a dash of sesame seeds oil and a bit of cornflour. Shelled some shrimps and devine them as well. I've some sliced up fish cakes as well. Oh yeah, chopped a few cloves of garlic, the more the merrier!

Heat up some oil and fry the minced meat till slightly browned before putting in the garlic. Keep stirring and once fragrant, add in the prawns. Stir till cooked. Next add in the vegetables and fish cakes. Stir till mixed well. Next, pour in some water and add in some oyster sauce and dark soy sauce to taste. Cover and let it come to a boil. Taste the gravy now and adjust with seasonings like salt, pepper and a wee bit of sugar.

Put in the deep fried mee sua (or you can use deep fried yee meen or sang meen) which I've quickly washed with some hot water to get rid of the grease. Ensure there is enough water to cover up the noodles. Lower the heat and cover. Simmer till gravy is slightly dry. Uncover and then stir fry the noodles till they got drier. Dish up and serve with lots of sliced red chillies.

Technorati Tags: malaysian food + noodle

Braised Chicken with Potatoes and Beancurd Sticks in Soybean Paste and Salted Black Beans

Phewwww... quite a mouthful eh the name I came up? LOL

It's basically your or most probably your mom's or grandma's usual braised potatoes with chicken in soybean paste but my version I've added black beans and soybean sticks.

Simply brown the chicken in hot oil before adding chopped garlic, soybean paste and crushed black beans. Stir till fragrant before adding water and beancurd sticks (break into shorter length). Let it boil before tasting it. Adjust by either adding salt if it's not salty enough and a bit of sugar. Simmer till chicken is tender before serving with plain rice.

Very nostalgic dish that will guarantee remind us of our mom or gramp version.

Technorati Tags: malaysian food + poultry

Braised Chicken With Fresh Mushrooms

I found these lovely fresh shiitake mushrooms also known as Chinese black mushrooms in the market one morning. Can't resist, I bought a bunch of them. Back home, I cleaned them using some paper towels.



Since the flavour of shiitake mushrooms is slightly on the strong side, I decided to braise them with chicken in some oyster sauce. Marinade the chicken pieces with some oyster sauce, pepper and a dash of sesame oil. Heat up some oil and put some chopped ginger and garlic. Once its fragrant, add in the chicken and fry till slightly browned before adding the shiitake mushrooms. Pour in enough water to cover the chicken, then add in some oyster sauce and dark soy sauce (also known as black soy sauce) to taste. Stir before adding some fresh enoki mushrooms. Cover and simmer till chicken is tender and the water had reduced.

Dish up and serve with plain white rice. It's sooo sooo sooo delicious except that some of the mushroom pieces are bitter! Any idea why they're bitter?



Technorati Tags: malaysian food + poultry + mushroom

Braised Pork Ribs With Spices

**Non-Halal Post**



After I've posted my Braised Chicken With Carrots, Cyrene came about telling me that this dish reminded her of her late granma's version with the exception of the addition of a cracked nutmeg and that this dish tasted better with pork ribs.

That weekend, I made this dish using pork ribs (by all means, use chicken if you want) and since I can't find whole nutmeg, I sub with the powder version and with of course a couple of smses to confirm things with Cyrene.

I marinaded the meat with some soy sauce, pepper and a wee bit of corn flour for a while. Heat some oil and put in cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise and nutmeg. Fry till fragrant, add in large chunks of onions and the pork ribs. When onions and ribs are lightly browned, place in carrots and potatoes (cut into large pieces). Then add in enough water to cover the content. Pour in some light soy sauce according to taste. Cover and simmer. When it boils, run a taste test and adjust your seasonings (you may need a wee bit of salt if you do not wish to add any more soy sauce). Cover and simmer till ribs and potatoes are tender. By now the water would have reduced, else remove the cover and continue to simmer till gravy is further reduced and thickened. I doubt you'll need any corn starch to thicken the gravy as the potatoes would soak them all up.

This dish was great with plain rice but could have been better if I have whole nutmeg instead. The nutmeg powder is simply not aromatic enough. Well, no choice since I can't find whole nutmeg in Tesco, Giant and dried goods stalls at the wet market. Guess where I found them later??? In my neighbourhood mini mart cum medicine hall! Duh... I quickly bought one packet and they're still sitting on the larder shelves haha... and this was way after I made this dish.

Anyway, I would like to thanks Cyrene for the tip and also a big congratulations to her and her hubby on the arrival of their newborn baby girl. Baby Gloria will be turning 4 weeks old next week, wow time flies. I hope their bundle of joy will bring them loads of happiness. Gloria is such a cutie that I think her daddy will bring out his parang to fend off boys when she turns 16! LOL

Happy Weekend!

Technorati Tags: malaysian food + pork rib

Braised Chicken With Potatoes

Another firm family favourite which I think most of you have eaten your mom's or grandma's version. Even the Nyonya's have their version called Ayam Pong Teh. Anyway, this is my version.

Deep fry potato wedges or rounds till lightly browned and set aside. Can omit this step altogether actually. Stir fry some chopped garlic and soy bean paste in some oil till fragrant. Put in the chicken pieces and fry till browned. Next add in the potatoes and enough water. Don't add too much water as the cooking process will draw out liquid from the chicken pieces. Add in salt and a little sugar to taste. Cover and simmer until chicken and potatoes are tender. Best served with plain rice.



Technorati Tags: malaysian food + poultry + potato

Braised Chicken with Carrots and Onions

Fry chicken pieces (I normally used chicken thigh) in some oil till slightly browned, then add in quartered onions. Let onions caramalised a bit before adding the carrots (chopped into large pieces). Stir and add in some oyster sauce to taste. Some people add in some soy sauce and dark soy sauce as well but it's entirely up to you. Pour in some water, barely cover the chicken pieces and simmer in low heat till chicken is tender (takes about 20 mins or so). No need to add salt since the oyster sauce is flavourful already. The gravy produced is slightly sweetish due to the onions and carrots. Kids will love the gravy cos I certainly did when I was a kid.

Best served with steamed white rice.

Technorati Tags: chicken + poultry

Braised Chicken With Bittergourd

Following Mike's recipe of fried eggs with bittergourd, I've also braised chicken with bittergourd (the bigger variety). This is really a very homey dish that most of us will remind us of our mom's cooking. I used to dislike bittergourd when I was a kid due to the bitterness of course but my dad forced us to eat them and green vegetables whenever we sit down for dinner. My brothers and I, darn scared of our fierce dad and have no choice but gulp them down. However, we soon learnt how to love bittergourd and other green vegetables over time.

Well, if you love this dish that your mom had made it for you, this is how it is probably done by her but this is my way of braising this dish. In case you're homesick, you may wanna try cooking this where ever you're located now.

Just clean and remove the seeds and pith from the bittergourd. Slice them into sticks (about thumb sized) and rub in some salt (I was told it will remove some bitterness). Let it rest for a while before washing them clean of salt.

I've used chicken thigh minus the skin. Chop chicken into pieces and marinade them with some soy sauce and corn flour. Get ready some minced soy bean paste and some black beans (or black bean sauce) and chopped garlic.

Put some oil in a wok and shallow fry the chicken pieces to slightly brown. You may dish out the chicken, otherwise just place them further away from the centre of the wok to make way to fry the soy bean paste and black beans in the oil till fragrant. Then add in the garlic. Stir the bean paste and garlic in the middle of the wok till you can smell the garlic. Next stir the chicken pieces into the paste. Add some water into the wok and wait for it to boil. At this stage, taste the gravy and adjust the seasoning by adding some salt or oyster sauce. Place in the bittergourd sticks next and stir to mix well. Cover and braise till chicken is tender. To reduce the gravy further (if you find it contained too much), open up the cover and let it boil till you have the amount of gravy you would prefer. I usually won't add in any corn starch solution to thicken the gravy as I prefer to keep this dish over night for the flavour to develop.

Best served with steamed white fluffy rice but in the picture above, I've served it with mashed potatoes.

Technorati Tags: chicken + bittergourd

Braised Ribs With Bean Curd Strips In Teriyaki Sauce

**Non-Halal Post**

I've bought a bottle of teriyaki sauce and when I took a taste, it doesn't taste like one... got loads of ginger taste in this one, gosh and its really sweet too. So what should I do with it.

So I went and buy those type of ribs for braising, ask your butcher which part ok. I'm using these bean curd strips as well. They came fried and can be stored in the freezer for a couple of weeks.



Fry the ribs in some oil till lightly browned. Add in a few cloves of smashed garlic. Stir in the bean curds. Next add in the teriyaki sauce to taste and some water to cover the ribs. Let it boil and add salt according to taste. Braised for about 45 minutes or until the ribs became tender.

Dish up and serve hot with white rice.



It doesn't really tasted like teriyaki... kinda sweet and slightly tangy. Weird but it's a whole new taste. Finally getting out of my one sauce for all dishes - oyster sauce that is!

Be forwarned that this dish is high in fat and sodium, so one may want to simultaneously look for information on individual health insurance while reaching for the antacids.