Steamed Sea Eel with black bean sauce

I am sorry that I have not updated my blog post for nearly two weeks.  I was very busy.  It is because my rental contract is nearly finished and I have to prepare for removal.

Yesterday I went to a Korean supermarket and found there were a few packs of sea eel.  They were very fresh.  I bought one pack immediately and steamed with black bean sauce.  It is so tasty.  I never found any fresh sea eel to be sold here.  This recipe is simple and easy.  If you like eating sea eel, you must try it. 

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 6 minutes

Serve: 2

Ingredients:

-         400g sea eel (cleaned and sliced into 6 pieces)

-         10g black bean (cleaned and finely minced)

-         2 tsp light soy sauce

-         ½ tsp brown sugar                                    

-         4 garlic gloves (finely minced)

-         1 shallot (finely minced)

-         ½ tsp white wine

-         ½ tsp olive oil

-         ½ tsp sesame oil

-         ¼ tsp himalayan table salt

-         1 spring onion (finely chopped)

-         ¼ red chilli pepper (unseeded and finely sliced)

-         ⅛ tsp ground white pepper

Method:

1.	Use kitchen paper to dry every piece of sea eel. Sprinkle salt and white pepper over the sea eel and marinate it for 5 minutes.
2.	Preheat a steamer.
3.	In a mixing bowl, mix the minced black bean, garlic, shallot, red chilli pepper, soy sauce, brown sugar, white wine, sesame oil and olive oil well. Brush the mixed sauce onto the meat of eel.
4.	Place the eel on a plate and steam for 6 minutes.
5.	Garnish with spring onion and ready to serve.

Pork and Chinese Chives Dumplings in chicken broth

Time flies.  It’s June now, it’s the examination period.  When I was young, my mom always let me have pork with Chinese chives dumplings and a glass of fresh soya bean milk for my breakfast during the examination period.  I like dumplings a lot but it is very difficult to buy some freshly made here.  The dumplings I found in the supermarkets are frozen and the meat is hard and dry.  This morning I bought fresh chives in a Chinese supermarket and made some savory and juicy dumplings for brunch. 

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Serve: 2 (10 pieces)

Ingredients:

-      100g minced pork (10% fat)

-      70g Chinese chives (finely chopped)

-      10 wrappers (round-shaped)

-      4 tsp water

-      3 tsp light soy sauce

-      4 tsp sugar            

-      6g ginger (mashed)

-      A drizzle of sesame oil

-      A pinch of pepper

-      1 spring onion (chopped)

-      50 ml water

Soup:

-      2 cups homemade chicken broth* or ready-made chicken broth

*Refer to the recipe of making Cantonese Wonton Soup (May 2017)

Method:

1.	In a big mixing bowl, marinate the minced pork with mashed ginger, 4 tsp water, sesame oil, pepper, light soy sauce and sugar for 10 minutes.
2.	Add chives and mix well with the marinated pork.
3.	Wrap dumplings: Fill a small bowl with water.  Use a spoon to scoop out 1-1.5 tablespoons of filling mixture in the center of the wrapper.  Wet the finger and run a little water around the edges of the wrapper.  Fold the sides together.  Then press the wrapper firmly around the filling mixture.   Repeat wrapping the others  until all filling mixtures are used.
	The above-mentioned is the easiest way but there are some other ways of wrapping dumplings.
4.	In a saucepan, add and boil the ready-made/homemade chicken broth over medium heat.  Place dumplings inside for 5-6 minutes until they float.  Remove from heat.
5.	Drizzle sesame oil in a serving bowl. Place in the cooked dumplings and chicken broth.
6.	Garnish with spring onion and ready to serve.
	Tips:
i.	You can make more dumplings and keep them into freezer for further use.
ii.	There are three to four ways to wrap dumplings.  I only suggest using the simplest way to do it.
iii.	If you like, you can steam or pan-fry the dumplings instead of cooking them in soup.   For steaming: Preheat the steamer, place in the dumplings and steam them for 5-6 minutes.   For pan-trying: Add 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat, place in the dumplings and pan-fry them for about 2-3 minutes until a bit golden brown.  Reduce to low heat.  Then add ¼ cup of water and 1 tsp vinegar, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes until it dries up.  It is ready to serve.

Cantonese Roasted Pork Belly

In Cantonese speaking, roasted meat is called “Siu Yuk” while roasted pork belly is called “Siu Nan”. It is very common to order them in Chinese restaurants, like “Char Siu” (the Chinese BBQ pork).  I love Cantonese Roasted Pork Belly very much.  The skin is crispy and the meat is moisture and juicy.  My dad loves it too.  When I was young, my dad always ordered this yummy dish when we had dinner in Chinese restaurants.  It is easy to cook but it takes time to prepare and marinate it.  I always marinate it overnight for better texture and flavor.  I enjoy cooking this for my family.  Hope all of you like it!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Marinating time: overnight in fridge

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Serve: 2

Ingredients:

-         650g pork belly with skin

-         1L water

Seasoning for meat:

-         ½ tbsp Shaoxing wine

-         2½ tsp table salt

-         1 tsp sugar

-         ¾ tsp five spice powder

Seasoning for skin:

-         1 tsp table salt

-         ¼ tsp vinegar

Tools required:

-         1 meat tenderizer needle / a scriber needle

-         2 metal kebab skewers / bamboo skewers

Method:

1.	Scrap away the hair on the skin and clean.  Thread the pork belly on the metal/bamboo skewers.  Then boil water in a saucepan or wok over medium heat and simmer the pork belly for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, use the paper towel to pat the meat dry and let it cool down.
2.	Use a meat tenderizer needle or a thick needle to poke the pig skin until it is full of small holes.  Coat the pig skin with a thin layer of vinegar.
3.	In a small mixing bowl, mix salt, sugar and five spice powder well.  Rub the mixture all over the meat except the skin.  Use the aluminium foil to cover the pork belly except the skin.  Leave the pork belly in the fridge to marinate overnight.
4.	Preheat the oven at 220°c.
5.	Lay the marinated pork belly, skin-side up, on a rack in a roasting tray. Poke the pig skin again and scatter it with salt.  Place the roasting tray at the top of the oven.  Then roast it at 220°c for 15-20 minutes until the skin starts to bubble and turn to golden brown.
6.	In the meantime, uncover the pork belly and place the rack in the middle of the oven.  Reduce to 180°c and roast the pork for 30-35 minutes.  Remove the meat carefully from the oven and leave it to rest for 15-20 minutes.
7.	Chop the pork belly into small pieces and ready to serve with mustard.
	Tips: i. After I tried this recipe several times, I found it’s perfect to brush the vinegar and salt on the skin to make it crispy.  I found some recipes which suggest using baking soda instead of vinegar.  Although the skin is crispy, it is too hard and the texture is not good. ii. If you have time, try to poke as many holes as possible on the skin in order to make it crispy.  At the first time, I failed because I only poke some holes on the skin.

Cantonese Wonton Soup with home-made chicken broth

My family love Cantonese Wonton Soup very much.  Every time we travel to Hong Kong, we must have a bowl of wonton soup.  Wonton noodles are very well-liked by the locals in Hong Kong.  When I was studying at high school, I always have a bowl of wonton noodles for lunch at least twice a week.  It looks like a simple dish but it requires a right combination of rich broth, eggy and springy noodles; and shrimp and pork in order to make a perfect bowl.  The best wonton noodles I have tasted are at Ho Hung Kee. The wontons are a decent size, filled with whole shrimp and some pork. The noodles were glossy, tasted firm and springy.

Today I make a bowl of wonton soup for lunch. I just boil some home-made chicken broth in a quick and simple way instead of canned chicken broth or chicken stock cubes.  I really like wonton soup.  It’s comforting.  It’s the perfect cure-all for a cold day.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serve: 1

Ingredients:

-      8 raw prawns (unpeeled and cleaned)

-      3 tsp egg white

-      8 pieces of wonton wrappers (square-shaped)

-      35g minced pork (10% fat)

-      A drizzle of light soy sauce                      

-      A drizzle of sesame oil

-      A pinch of pepper

-      A pinch of Himalayan pink salt

-      1 spring onion (chopped)

-      1-2 yellow chives (chopped in 2 cm length)

-      50 ml water

Soup:

-      2 cups homemade chicken broth or ready-made chicken broth

-      ¼ tsp sesame oil

Home-made chicken broth (superfast cooked):

-      bony chicken pieces (4-6 pieces of legs or 1 back bone)

-      1 garlic clove (sliced)

-      6g ginger (sliced)

-      1 spring onion (sliced)

-      1 shallot (sliced)

-      2 cups boiled water

-      1 tsp oil

-      ⅛tsp Himalayan pink salt or 1 tsp fish sauce

Method:

1.	Home-made chicken broth: Add oil in a non-stick small pan/saucepan over medium heat.  Add garlic, ginger, shallot and spring onion, then stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.  Then add the bony chicken pieces and keep on stir-frying for another 1-2 minutes.  In the meantime, add boiled water and cover.  Simmer for 20 minutes and add a pinch of Himalayan pink salt or fish sauce. Boil for a further 5 minutes. Remove from heat.  Strain the broth through a fine mesh colander into a saucepan.  Discard chicken pieces and other ingredients.  Set aside the clear chicken broth.
2.	Marinate the raw prawns with egg white, a pinch of pepper and a pinch of salt for 5-8 minutes.
3.	Marinate the minced pork with a drizzle of light soy sauce and sesame oil for 5-8 minutes.
4.	In a mixing bowl, mix the prawns and minced pork well. Divide the filling mixture in 8 equal parts, which is one raw prawn with some meat.
5.	Wrap wonton: Fill a small bowl with water. Place one part of filling mixture in the middle of the wrapper.  Wet the finger and run a little water around the edges of the wrapper.  Bring the bottom corner of the diamond up to meet the top corner.  Then press the pastry firmly around the filling mixture.  Dab a little water along the both sides and tightly fold the two corners into the middle.
6.	In a saucepan, add the sliced yellow chives and boil the ready-made homemade chicken broth over medium heat.  Place wontons inside for 3-4 minutes until they float.  Remove from heat.
7.	Drizzle sesame oil in a serving bowl. Place in the cooked wontons, chicken broth and chives
8.	Garnish with spring onion and ready to serve.
	Tips:
i.	You can make more wontons and keep them into freezer for further use.
ii.	There are three to four ways to wrap wontons.  I only suggest using the simplest way to do it.
iii.	For a more rich and strong flavor of home-made chicken broth, more ingredients and a whole chicken will be added. Normally it is simmered for 2-3 hours.