Braised Chinatown Soy Sauce Chicken 醬油雞

I love the soy sauce chicken 醬油雞 that sold in Chinatown.The meat of the chicken is soft ,moist ,delicious, effortless and can keep for a few days after prepared. With as many Chinese restaurants as we have in the tri-state area, you rarely see this style of chicken on any of their menus. The secret of this soy sauce chicken is the sauce!! It’s the same sauce and they cook chicken (usually whole) after chicken after chicken in it. All they do is add ingredients accordingly as it gets lower.It’s not uncommon to have sauce that is 100+ years old continuously either in the fridge or on the stove. Actually it's taste better !! Here I would like to share my simple yet easy recipe with you:) Enjoy! Ingredients:

4 pieces while chicken leg (preferly use whole chicken but I don't have whole chicken)
2 cups water
2 cup soy sauce for marinate chicken (it's written on the label,by LKK)
3 pieces star anise
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick cinnamon
2 inch old ginger,bruise and smashed
5-6 cloves garlic,peel and smashed
2 tbsp sea salt

Method:

1:Wash and clean whole chicken leg,remove feathers or epidermis (yellowish outer layer of dead skin ) and set aside.Prepare a 5 quart stock pot with water,soy sauce ,garlic,ginger ,sea salt,star anise and cinnamon at high heat.

2:When sauce rolling boil,add in brown sugar and whole chicken legs,then reduce heat to medium high.Let whole chicken leg simmer in the soy sauce stock for 30 -45 minutes or until cook.

3:Remove whole chicken legs from soy sauce stock to cool .Then cut or chop soy sauce whole chicken legs into small pieces with cleaver.

4:Arrange into a plate and serve.

Braised whole chicken legs in marinated soy sauce

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Sauteed Kiam Chye (Preserved Salted Green Mustard) wt Chicken

In Hokkian dialect this dish is called Char Kiam Chye and literally translate to English is Sauteed Salted Green Mustard .Char Kiam Chye is a comfort food for many of us Malaysian.I love this dish especially when added extra Thai's chili when cooking . This dish is easy and simple to cook yet delicious and satisfactory to eat. I can have 2 big bowl of white rice just eat with this dish!! Some people like to eat with porridge or congee.Usually you can find this dish in porridge restaurant or stall.Here is my simple recipe: Ingredients:

2 pack preserved salted green mustard,about 2 lbs
1 whole boneless chicken breast,about 500 gm,chopped small
5-6 Thai's chilis,wash and chopped
1 red long pepper(wash and sliced)
4 cloves fresh garlic,peel and chopped
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp oil

Method:


1:Remove preserved salted green mustard(kiam chye) from plastic bag,then soak in cool water for 1-3 hours to remove the saltiness.I soak for 30 minutes only because I plan NOT to add in salt when cooking.

2:Keep repeat changing the water couple of time if you want a more blend kiam chye.Then squeeze dry kiam chye,diced or cut small,set aside.

3:Heat wok or skillet with oil at medium heat,add in chopped garlic for 30 seconds, then add in chopped chicken.Stir-fry for 1 minutes then add on chopped hot pepper ,kiam chye and sugar. Keep stirring until kiam chye dry ,about 10 minutes.Check the seasoning.

4:Dish out and serve warm with rice or congee.

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Huat Kuih/Fatt Koh (Steamed Rice Cake)

I was dying to make huat kuih/fatt koh (steam rice cake) for sometimes. The reason is not because I love to eat huat kuih.It's because of the challenging skill and technique in order to make huat kuih to "SMILE" big. I heard from many people that to make this steam rice cake the real challenge is hard to make it "smile".Recently I have conversation with my mom,she told me she can't make her huat kuih to "smile" so she just bought the premixed flour to make huat kuih.My mom who know how to cook and bake food deliciously,dunno how to make huat kuih?? That was a news to me!! It's really amazed and urge me to make my own huat kueh!! I really want to test the difficultly level of this steam cake!! I love challenge!! yeah...that me!! But the problem is I don't have "wine yeast" or "ragi tapai" in Malay or it's called "chow peang" in Chinese and a proper steamer pot!! Anyway,I found a substitution for dry wine yeast .I can't find tapai ragi in US !! I understand Chinese restaurant in States use fermented sweet rice wine to make sauce like General Tso,Kung Pao or Chicken Broccoli.I used fermented sweet rice sauce/wine to replaced ragi tapai and my Fatt Koh/Huat Hueh really smiling to me!! Viola!! My first attempt making Huat Kueh was a success!! I'm adapted the recipe from Agnes Chang book..but only used half recipe instead of full recipe..
Ingredients:

(A)
125 gm,cold cooked rice
4 tbsp fermented sweet rice wine
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp water


(B)
150 gm sugar,mixed with 2 cups (16 oz) water,boiled to dissolve sugar syrup,cooled
300 gm rice flour


(C)
1 tsp ENO
1 tsp double action baking powder
red and green food coloring






Method:

1:Combine (A) in a clean glass container and cover with clean cloth.Keep aside and leave to ferment for 48 hours/2 days.

2:Pour fermented ingredients (A) into a blender,add 1/2 amount of sugar syrup and blend until smooth.Mix in rice flour and the remaining 1/2 amount of sugar syrup into the mixture.

3:Strain into a clean container,cover with clean cloth and leave to ferment for another 8-9 hours.

4:Add (C) except coloring if you intend to make more than one color into a mixing bowl,add fermented rice flour mixture and stir well.Then use different bowl to mix each coloring before pour into mould for steaming.

5:Pour mixture into small cups and moulds until full.Steam at high heat for about 15-20 minutes until cooked.

6:Remove cups and leave it cool before serve.

I don't have proper steamer so I used spring foam plate over wok to steam this cake.
smiling orcracking Fatt Koh

I used silicone baking mould ,afraid the cake will deflated after took out from steamer but it's still staying "smiling" good!...testing,testing!! no bad eh?

I only fill batter to 2/3 levelThis method might work but the kuih didn't really smiling big,maybe the spring foam pan don't have holes to let the hot steam circulate evenly. I have a small steamer ,so each time I can only steam 4 huat kuih as you can see in the photo

I have almost 30 pieces of Huat Kuih/Fatt Koh sitting on my kitchen counter,anyone?

this is the fermented sweet rice wine/sauce I used .You can find this rice wine in any Asian store in US.

rice in the wine

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Note:

The container and cloth used for fermenting must be clean to prevent the mixture from turning sour and mouldy.I used glass jar.

Pour mixture into cups until very full and do not place them too close during steaming ,so the fatt koh will crack into a flower shape.

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Mee Goreng Mamak Pedas ( Fried Spicy Malaysian Noodle)

Recently I was craving for Malaysian style fried spicy noodle or mee goreng mamak. Of course, I have to cook this fried noodle myself at home.It's out of question for me to drive to Malaysian restaurant in NYC for 45 minutes just to get a plate of fried spicy mamak mee.Luckily I still have a pack of one pound yellow soft noodle.I also store some fried tofu and sambal belacan in freezer.Just in less than 30 minutes I can fried my own Fried Spicy Mamak Mee to satisfied my craving..Here...I would love to share my simple and quick recipe with you:)
Ingredients:

1 pound soft yellow noodle (blanch with warm water if noodle store in fridge)
1 piece boneless chicken breast,about 500 gm(sliced)
5 cloves fresh garlic,peel and chopped
10 pieces large shrimp,clean and deviened
1 pack fried tofu (cut halves)
100 g Chinese chives
3 large eggs
2 tbsp fried-sambal-belacan or sambal oelek
2 tbsp kicap manis (sweet soy sauce)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder
1 stalk scallion,wash and cut 2 inch
some fried shallot for garnishing
2 tbsp oil

Method:

1:Heat wok or large skillet or wok at medium high heat with oil .When skillet or wok hot enough ,add in eggs,fry as scramble eggs for 2 minutes ,then dish out set aside.Add in garlic,fry garlic until fragrant,then add in sliced chicken and shrimp for 1 minutes.

2:Increase heat to high ,then add in sambal-belacan ,soft yellow noodle,kicap manis,chicken bouillon powder and soy sauce.Mix all ingredients well .Add in scramble eggs ,fried tofu and Chinese chives,keep stirring at high heat for 5 minutes,do not burnt !! Check seasoning to your taste.

3:Add in cut scallion and dish out.Garnish with fried shallot and serve warm.

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Yeung Tau Foo 釀豆腐 (Stuffed Fish Paste in Black Beans Sauce)

"Yong Tau Foo," which means "stuffed bean curd" is origin Hakka dish commonly found in Malaysia and Singapore .Since then all variety of vegetables and even fried fritters have been similarly stuffed, and the name Yong Tau Foo has thus been used liberally to apply to foods prepared in this manner.Not only Hakka people who love their dish but all races in Malaysia and Singapore love this famous hawker dish dearly especially me!! My mom did show me how to make fish paste from scratch when I visit Malaysia last year but I'm too lazy to make from scratch since I can get a pre-make fish paste in NYC. Recently I bought a pint of fresh fish paste from Chinatown.It's hard to find a bouncy and not so fishy paste but luckily on that day the lady luck is on my side:)

Ingredients:
For Stuffing:

1 full pint of fish paste,about 2 lb
1 stalk cilantro,wash and chopped
1 stalk scallion,wash and chopped
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp white ground pepper
1 tsp sugar
*combine and mix above ingredients in a medium bowl well*

6 pieces long red and green pepper ( seeds remove)
1 large piece frozen tofu sheet ,cut to 6-8 pieces (fu-chok)
8 pieces fried tofu ball (taufu bok),slit half open
some water for sealing

For Sauce:

5-6 cloves fresh garlic,peel and chopped
2 tbsp tauchu sauce (fermented ground black beans sauce)
1 tbsp chicken bouillon flavour powder
2 tbsp sugar
100 ml water ,plus extra if too dry for sauce

1 cup oil for frying

Method:

1:Wash long red and green pepper,cut slit and remove seeds,set aside for stuffing.Cut dried bean curd ball in slit or half open to stuff fish paste.Use butter spreader to spread fish paste about 2 tbsp on each cut frozen bean curd sheet,then wrap few lap over the bean curd sheet again with fish paste. Use some water with fingers to smooth the paste over the surface of red pepper.Stuff all long red pepper,bean curd sheet and ball until fish paste finish,set aside for pan-fry.

2:Prepare skillet or wok with oil at medium heat .Pan-fry all stuffed
fish paste on both side of the stuffing until cooked,about 2-3 minutes.

3:Use the same skillet with the leftover oil, from pan-fried to fry chopped garlic until fragrant,then add in ground fermented black beans sauce,salt,sugar,chicken bouillon and water until bubble.

4:Add in all pan-fried stuffed pepper,bean curd (taufu bok) and bean curd sheet (fu chok) into the bubbly sauce.Check the seasoning,mix well the stuffed Yeung Tau Foo with black bean sauce .Remove from heat.

5:Dish out ,garnish with some chopped scallion and serve warm. Note:

You can use okra,brinjal,mushroom or other vegetable for stuffing. Instead of black beans sauce you can also cook Yeung Tau Foo in clear soup.

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Cucur Udang ( Taro Shrimp Fritters)

Over the weekend, my friends came to visit me from NYC with her family who just arrived from Malaysia for vacation.Coincidentally I still have taro or yam and take this opportunity to make Cucur Udang (in Malay) ,literally translation to English as Shrimp Fritter.I served this scrumptious shrimp fritters with sweet chili sauce to friends with tea as snack .Usually Cucur Udang don't consist of taro but I love taro texture and flavor add into it. I recalled many moons ago a hawker stall in Yaohan Food Court used taro in their Cucur Udang and it's was hit! Here I would love to share my favourite recipe with you.


Ingredients

(A)
1 head taro/yam/keladi,about 3 lbs plus (peel and shredded)
1/2 lb Chinese chives(wash and cut 2 inch each)
3 stalks green scallion(wash and cut 2 inch each)
1 large carrot(peel and shredded)
1 large onion (peel and sliced)
*wash above ingredients again after shredded*

B)
1 cup all purpose flour,sifted
1/2 cup rice flour,sifted
1 /2 cup glutinous rice,sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground white pepper powder
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp 5 spice powder *optional*
2 eggs
1/4 cup cold water,plus extra if too dry
*combine above ingredients in a large bowl,beat well thoroughly*

3 cups oil for frying
20 pieces large head on shrimp
Yield about 20 pieces

Method:

1:Combine ingredients (B) in large mixing bowl,water first,eggs,and then flour,beat batter well.

2:Add in ingredients (A) into the batter mixture thoroughly.

3: Meanwhile heat oil at medium heat in aluminum pot or wok with 2 metal/stainless steel ladles into the hot oil for 30 second or longer.Then fill the hot ladles with batter mixture 1/2 full,then add a head on shrimp and top with batter mixture up to the edge.( You can top shrimp on top of the full ladle batter mixture but I prefer to add the shrimp in the middle of the batter to prevent the shrimp from frying too dry on top surface or detach from fritter when frying).Deep-fry the ladle with full batter for 1 minutes ,then dislodge the fritter from metal ladle.

4:Let's the fritter fry in the hot oil for 5 minutes or floated or until light golden brown.Repeat the same procedure until the batter finish.

5: Drain the fried shrimp fritters on paper towel before cut and serve with sweet chili sauce.

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Watercress Chicken Soup

Accordingly to Wikipedia:Watercresses are fast-growing, aquatic or semi-aquatic, perennial plants native from Europe to central Asia, and one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by human beings .Watercress contains significant amounts of iron, calcium and folic acid, in addition to vitamins A and C.Many benefits from eating watercress are claimed, such as that it acts as a stimulant, a source of phytochemicals and antioxidants, a diuretic, an expectorant, and a digestive aid. It also appears to have cancer-suppressing properties. It is widely believed to help defend against lung cancer.
Recently I bought 2 bundles of watercress from Asian market when visited NYC. Usually I will stir-fry or make soup with it.I remember when I was young my grandmother always make watercress soup for us.There is no hard rules to make this soup.I used split chicken breast and some herbs with watercress to make this healthy and delicious soup. Ingredients:

2 bundles watercress (soaked and wash)

1/2 cup red pitted dates(soaked and wash)

50 gm or 1/4 cup gojiberries (wash)

2 pieces chicken split (chicken breast with bone)

4 liter water

salt to taste

Method:

1:Make sure to wash watercress thoroughly.Prepare water in medium soup pot at high heat.When water rolling boil,add in split chicken breast,pitted red dates and watercress.

2:When the combine ingredients and soup rolling boil again ,add in gojiberries and reduce heat to medium.Let's it simmer with cover on for another 45 minutes to 1 hour or longer.

3:Add salt to your taste,leave uncover and let's boil for another 10-15 minutes before remove from heat.

4:Serve warm.

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Grilled Lemongrass Chicken in Banana Leave

Whenever chicken thigh is on sale ,I must buy few packets of the family pack to store in freezer..Usually the family pack are 3 pound or more..I love lemongrass flavour,it's so extinguish,citrus and exotic!! Lemongrass has an intriguing, lemony perfume without the bite that lemons can add to a dish. The taste is refreshing and light, with a hint of ginger.Indeed it's widely used used as a herb in Asian cuisine.It's a must for me to store lemongrass at home for easy cooking.I would love to share this simple not spicy recipe with you:Grilled Lemongrass Chicken in Banana Leave.
Ingredients:
(A)

6 pieces pre-cut chicken thigh
2 large sheet banana leave,clean

(B)

2 stalks lemongrass (strip off the tough outer leaves and cut off the bottom root portion. Slice the bulbous end into rings about 1/4" in size on a diagonal before blend)
6 cloves fresh garlic,peel
5 pieces shallot,peel
2 inch fresh galangal *optional*
2 inch fresh ginger
1/2 cup oil
4 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp salt

*blend above ingredients until fine*


100 ml coconut milk for brushing

Method:

1:Marinate chicken thighs with blended lemongrass mixture,each thigh use 2 tbsp or depend on your preference more or less,use ziploc bag to combine herbs and chicken coated well,then store fridge overnight.

2:Preheat oven to 400 F.Prepare clean banana leave over baking tray,arrange marinated chicken thigh over the banana leave and cover the top part with banana leave too.

3:Bake chicken thigh at 375 F at middle rack for 45-50 minutes.Remove the top part banana leave,brush/sprinkle chicken with coconut milk all over the chicken.Change setting to broil,grill the chicken for another 10-15 minutes or until the skin crispy golden brown.Insert bamboo stick into the chicken to check the readiness..

4:Remove the chicken from oven and serve warm.

Note:

If you like spiciness ,add some red pepper or sambal oelek with lemongrass mixture when marinate..

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