Yeung Chow Chao Fan 楊州炒飯 Fried Rice With Prawns, BBQ Pork And Peas A.K.A Special Fried Rice

As promised I am sharing with you a dish that many Chinese restaurant goers consider to be a must - have here in Australia.

Yong Chow fried rice is a Cantonese classic that is better known as "the special fried rice",  "number 21", "number 42", "number 66"... depending on which "palace", "inn", or "house" one frequents.

It is indeed a very special dish when it is done right, unfortunately it is often not the case when the dish turns up greasy or inferior ingredients are used.

Serve it on its own as we often do or you might want to have a "Chinese night" in by simply teaming it up with sweet and sour pork, beef in black bean sauce and lemon chicken.

serves 4 as a one dish meal or as part of a Chinese meal
you'll need;
3 tbs of cooking oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 spring onions (white parts only), chopped
300 g of banana prawns, peeled and roughly chopped
250 g of char siu, homemade or shop bought, diced
6 cups of cooked rice, cool if using freshly cooked rice
1 1/2 cups of frozen peas, thawed
4 tbs of light soy
a dash of sesame oil
a dash of white pepper
3 spring onions, chopped

Prepare the ingredients and set aside.

Heat up the wok, using 2 tbs of oil lightly scramble the the beaten eggs, remove and set aside.

Heat up the wok again, saute the minced garlic and spring onions using the remaining oil. Add the prawns and cook until prawns are just cooked.

Return the scrambled eggs to the wok, add rice and mix well, stir fry on hi heat for a minute.

Add char siu and peas and mix well, stir fry on high heat for another minute. Season with soy, sesame oil and white pepper, add chopped spring onions and continue to stir fry for a further minute. Check for seasonings before serving.

Serve it on its own or as part of a Chinese meal.

Gu Lou Yuk 咕噜肉 Cantonese Style Sweet And Sour Pork

For many non-Chinese a good Chinese meal is incomplete without the ever popular sweet and sour pork, beef in black bean sauce and lemon chicken.... oh one mustn't forget the compulsory yang zhou fried rice (or better known as the special fried rice, recipe next).

The bastardised versions served at most Chinese restaurant simply do not reflect how wonderful these dishes actually are. Having shared with you the superior versions of beef in black bean sauce (豉汁牛肉) and lemon chicken (檸檬雞) , it is time to give this wonderful dish a much needed redemption.

No thick and soggy batter nor the familiar starchy dyed red sauce in this family recipe of mine. Instead you'll be getting crispy and light battered pork in a delightful sweet and sour sauce flavoured with ginger, vinegar, tomato ketchup, sugar and Chinese cooking wine. The crisp vegetables and pineapple add crunch and colours to this wonderful Cantonese classic

If you are not a fan of pork belly, do feel free replace it with pork neck or loin instead. For a northern version, please check out sweet and sour pork spareribs (糖醋排骨)

recipe from the tummies' kitchen
serves 6 to 8 as part of a Chinese meal
you'll need;
1 kg of pork belly, removed rind, cubed and flatten with a kitchen mallet
5 cm knob of ginger, grated
1 spring onion (white part only), minced
1.5 tbs of light soy
2 tsp of sesame oil
a splash of Chinese cooking wine
a dash of white pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
corn flour for coating
peanut oil for frying
1/2 a red onion, cubed
1/2 a red pepper, cubed
1/2 a green pepper, cubed
1/4 of a pineapple, skinned and cut into chunks
1 small cucumber, cubed (treatment see below)
3 spring onions, cut into 2 cm lengths

for the sauce;
2 tbs of cooking oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
a small knob of ginger, minced
120 ml of tomato ketchup
6 tbs of sugar
300 ml of white vinegar
100 ml of chicken stock
a dash of Chinese cooking wine
corn flour solution to thicken

Prepare the vegetables and pineapple.

Cut cucumber into chunks, rub in a tbs of salt and allow to stand for 10 minutes, squeeze out excess water and rinse well.

Marinate pork with ginger, spring onion, light soy, sesame oil, Chinese cooking wine, white pepper  and beaten eggs for at least 30 minutes. 

Coat pork pieces with corn flour and deep fry pork in batches until golden and crispy. drain well and set aside.

Saute onion and peppers with a little oil in a very hot wok for a minute, remove and set aside.

Heat up 2 tbs of cooking oil  and saute garlic and ginger over medium heat until fragrant (~ 1 minute). Add tomato ketchup, sugar, vinegar, stock and Chinese cooking wine, stir well and allow the sauce to come to a boil. Return the sauteed vegetables to the wok together with the pineapple and cucumber, stir and mix well.

When the sauce return to a boil, thicken the sauce with a little corn flour solution. Finally return the fried pork to the wok, turn off the heat and mix well.

Serve with plenty of steamed rice and enjoy!

Panang Muu แพนงหมู Panang Curry With Pork

I was determined to use up all the meat and seafood in my freezer, bounties that I bought months ago that I didn't have the opportunity to cook.

Among the goodies I unearthed was a piece of pork fillet which I turned into a delicious panang curry. With the homemade curry paste I prepared beforehand, frozen kaffir lime leaves in the freezer and coconut cream in my pantry, such a wonderful meal can be prepared with ease.

As I have mentioned before, this keang (Thai curry) is named after the Malaysian state of Penang but it is simply the Thais' interpretation of a Malaysian curry, so don't expect to find anything similar when you are in Penang next.

Though completely misleading, whoever invented this luscious dish should truly be applauded.

P.S feel free to add some green beans to the curry if our heart desires.

serves 4 as part of a Thai meal
you'll need;
500g of pork fillet, thinly sliced
1 can of coconut cream (Mae Ploy brand)
3 heaped tbs of Panang curry paste, homemade or shop bought
4 tbs of fish sauce
4 tbs of palm sugar
6 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded
5 bird chillies, halved lengthwise
3 heaped tbs of toasted peanut, pounded (optional)

Slice pork and finely shred the kaffir lime leaves.

Fish sauce and palm sugar is a must of course.

Add 1/3 can of the coconut cream to the wok and cook on medium heat until the oil starts to split.

Add curry paste, mix well and allow the paste to fry in the coconut cream/oil mixture on medium heat for about a minute.

Add the rest of the coconut cream (reserving a few tablespoons for later use) and bring it to a simmer, season with fish sauce and palm sugar. Add pork to the wok together with half of the kaffir lime leaves and chili halves, mix and cook gently until the pork is just cooked. Finally stir in the pounded peanut (if using) and check for seasonings.

Drizzle the reserved coconut cream and garnish with the rest of the shredded kaffir lime leaves and chili halves.

Serve with plenty of steamed rice and perhaps a perfectly fried egg?

Fu Pei Guen 腐皮卷 Beancurd Skin Rolls - Yum Cha Special 3

I told myself I must put up a post tonight and here you have it - another one of my must order items when visiting a yum cha restaurant.

As I mentioned in my last yum cha special installment, the ingredients of the filling for my fu jok guen is the leftover from my siu mai making. So make a bigger batch of the filling and you should be able to serve both items at your yum cha party without working out too much of a sweat. 

I am making this a very brief post... time to catch up on my reading. Happy cooking and see you soon.

P.S To my fellow blogger friends, I will drop by to say a quick hello when I have a little more time over the weekend :)

makes about 10

for the filling you'll need;

500 g of minced pork or chicken

250 g of banana prawns, shelled, chopped

8 water chestnuts or 1/2 can of bamboo shoots, chopped

2 spring onions (white parts only) minced

2 cm piece of ginger, grated

3 tbs of light soy

1 tsp of white pepper

2 tsp of sesame oil

a dash of Chinese cooking wine

1 egg white, lightly beaten

3 tbs of corn flour

you'll also need;

10 pieces of 8 x 8" beancurd skin

for the sauce;

1 tbs of cooking oil

1tsp of chopped garlic

1 tsp of minced ginger

1 cup of chicken stock

a dash of Chinese cooking wine

a tiny pinch of white pepper

corn flour solution for thickening

Place all ingredients for the filling in a large bowl and mix well.

To wrap the roll - Place a piece of the beancurd skin on a flat surface, use a damp cloth to wipe the beancurd skin to remove the excess salt and to soften the wrapper a little. Place about 3 heaped tbs of the filling in the middle of the beancurd skin.

Roll the beancurd skin over and fold the sides to form an envelope.

Roll tightly into a cylinder roughly 1.5" wide and 4" long. Brush a little egg white on the edge to secure the roll. 

Shallow fry beancurd skin rolls in batches until golden. Remove and drain well.

To prepare the sauce - saute garlic and ginger with cooking oil for a few seconds then add in the stock, cooking wine, white pepper. Allow it to come to a boil and thicken with a little corn flour solution.

Arrange half of the rolls in a shallow bowl, pour half of the sauce over, cover and steam over medium heat for 8 minutes.

Sprinkle with some spring onion julienne spring onions and serve as part of your yum cha at home.

Siu Mai 燒賣 Steamed Pork Dumplings - Yum Cha Special 2

For many, a yum cha meal is incomplete without ordering both siu mai (燒賣, steamed pork dumplings) and har gau (蝦餃, steamed prawn dumplings), the two most popular dim sums (點心, yum cha dishes) classics on offer. Lucky for us the former also happened to be the easiest to replicate at home, so it is only fitting that I share this with you as my second installment of yum cha special.

This is not the dim sims served at your local fish and chips shops but rather one that inspired the creation of the supersize deep fried version so familiar to most Aussies. In contrast these healthy steamed dumplings are  dainty and won't have you feeling guilty afterwards.

I have some leftover filling which I will turn into some equally delicious fu  pi guen (腐皮卷, beancurd skin rolls) so please stay tuned!

makes about 20

for the filling you'll need;

500 g of minced pork

250 g of banana prawns, shelled, chopped

8 water chestnuts, chopped

2 spring onions (white parts only) minced

2 cm piece of ginger, grated

3 tbs of light soy

1 tsp of white pepper

2 tsp of sesame oil

a dash of Chinese cooking wine

1 egg white, lightly beaten

3 tbs of corn flour

you'll also need;

20 wonton wrappers

prawn roe

Place all ingredients for the filling in a bowl and mix well.

Place a heaped tbs of filling on a piece of wonton wrapper, gather the edges around the filling.

Hold the dumpling between your index finger and your thumb, gently squeeze it to form a barrel shape dumpling.

Flatten both the top and the base and you'll get something like this. Repeat with the rest of the wonton wrappers.

Line a bamboo steamer with a piece of grease proof paper that has been pieced with holes, arrange dumplings in the steamer and top each dumpling with a small piece of prawn roe. Cover and steam over simmering water for around 15 minutes.

Serve the delicious siu mai with some chili sauce on the side.

Pork And Chinese Broccoli With Silky Egg Sauce On Rice 滑蛋豬肉芥蘭飯

I had grand plan for a big fancy dinner on Sunday night but all I could managed was this simple one dish meal after a long lunch with perhaps a few drinks too many.

Though simple and far from fancy, this moorish dish is something I could eat everyday.... well anything that comes with the delicious egg sauce really! Feel free to replace the pork with beef, chicken or seafood of your choice. 

If you are also a wat dan sauce (silky egg sauce) fan, remember to check out the following dishes too;

1) wat dan hor (rice noodles with silky smooth egg sauce)

2) crispy egg noodles with fresh water prawns

3) rice topped with a quick braised sauce

3) egg tofu, prawns and peas in silky egg sauce

4) fried beef hor fun with gravy

5) prawns and peas in silky egg sauce on rice

serves 2 as a one dish meal

you'll need;

2 tbs of cooking oil

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

3 cm piece of ginger, finely chopped

1 small bunch of kailan (Chinese broccoli), cut into manageable pieces

300 g of pork neck, finely sliced and marinated 10 minutes

2 tbs of oyster sauce

2 tbs of light soy

1 tsp of white pepper

a dash of Chinese cooking wine

2.5 cups of stock

corn flour solution

2 eggs, lightly beaten

pork marinade;

1.5 tbs of light soy

1 tbs of oyster sauce

1 tsp of sesame oil

1 tsp of white pepper

a dash of Chinese cooking wine

2 tbs of corn flour

Prepare the aromatics and kailan and set aside.

Marinate pork for at least 10 minutes.

Brown marinated pork slices with a little in a very hot work, remove and set aside.

Add a little more oil to the wok and saute chopped garlic and ginger for 5 seconds before adding the kailan. Saute on high heat for about a minute, add seasonings and mix well.

Add stock and allow to come to a boil, thicken the sauce with a little corn flour solution.

Return the pork to the wok, slowly add in the beaten egg and stir gently to incorporate the egg to the sauce. Check for seasonings.

Divide the content of the wok between two waiting plates of steamed rice, serve with some chopped chillies in soy.