High Fidelity

福建蝦麵 - Hokkien prawn noodle

福建蝦麵 - Hokkien prawn noodle, originally uploaded by yongtze.

Good hokkien prawn noodle is hard to come by in Melbourne. So I decided to try cooking it myself last weekend. I found a properly good recipe here but it is a bit too time-consuming so I simplified the recipe but the results were surprisingly good.

The secret to making a great prawn noodle soup is in the stock. Here, pork fat, pork belly (or ribs), prawn heads and shells are patiently browned and caramelised before being turned into a rich and well-coloured stock.

Serves 2 hungry adults:

- 14 tiger prawns, shelled and de-veined (keep all the heads and shells for stock)
- 250-300 gram pork belly (or ribs or soft bone or tail or ideally mixture of all)
- 5 shallots, thinly sliced
- 100 gram pork fat, cubed
- 4 dried chillies
- 3 tablespoons peanut oil
- half teaspoon salt
- half teaspoon black peppercorns
- half star anise
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce or to taste
- 500 gram Hokkien noodle (or a mixture of Hokkien noodle and dried rice vermicelli ideally for more interesting texture; dried rice vermicelli particularly soaks up the soup and thus the flavour really well)
- 2 fresh chillies
- more light soy sauce
- 1-2 spring onions, sliced with an angle, about 2-3 cm

1. Heat wok over high heat. Add oil and pork fat cubes. Gently fry the pork fat until it is crisp and brown. The pork fat will release more oil and flavour the oil nicely. Remove, drain well on paper towels, and set aside. Next, with the same oil, turn the heat to medium-low, gently fry the shallots until brown but not burned. Remove, drain well on paper towels, and set aside.

2. With the same wok and oil, turn it up to medium-high, brown the pork on one side. Add dried chillies while browing the pork on another side. Once done, remove and place them in a stock pot. Set aside.

3. With the same wok again, add prawn heads and shells to the wok, frying slowly until shells are caramelised and well-coloured. Remove and add to stock pot. Add 6 cups of water, salt, peppercorns, and star anise to stock pot. Bring to the boil then turn down to a leisurely simmer. Simmer for at least 2 hours or more until stock tastes richly flavoured (you can reduce it further if required). Add palm sugar and soy sauce to taste. Simmer another 30minutes. Strain stock. Keep the pork. Slice or shred the pork for toppings later.

4. Now, poach the prawns in the simmering stock till cooked, about 1-2 minutes. Drain them and set aside. Cut the fresh chillies, place them in a small bowl with some light soy sauce. Cook Hokkien noodles in large pot of boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Drain well. Divide both into two deep bowls.

5. Top the noodles with prawns, sliced/shredded pork, fried shallots, fried pork fat cubes and spring onions. Bring the prawn and pork stock back to the boil. Ladle the stock over each bowl of noodles and serve immediately with the fresh chillies in soy sauce for dipping (optional).

Sweet potato soup

Sweet potato soup, originally uploaded by yongtze.

Sweet potato soup is one of a few things that I remember eating when I was a kid. It's kind of like a dessert but not necessarily served after a meal. The sweet and gingery soup and the sweet potatoes will warm you up on a cold day. And it's absolutely dead simple to make.

Serves 4:

• 2-3 sweet potatoes
• palm sugar
• one big knob of ginger

1. Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into about 4cm pieces. Slice ginger into slices.

2. Place the sweet potato pieces and ginger slices into a pot, and add enough water to cover them or a bit more. Start cooking over medium heat. Once the water is boiling, add enough palm sugar for the soup is sweet enough to your liking. Cook gently for about 15-20 minutes. Serve hot.

Easiest, simplest, and delicious steamed fish recipe

Pei Wei's steamed flounder, originally uploaded by yongtze.

Steamed fish has always been one of the favorites at home. Easy, simple, appetizing, it is also one of the healthiest ways to cook fish.

Fresh white pomfret is considered the best fish for steaming in Malaysia. However, it is probably not possible to find fresh white pomfret in Melbourne. Properly-frozen pomfret is acceptable but any fresh white-flesh fish is good with this method, like flounder with its delicate and sweet flesh. The liquid from the steamed fish is sweet with a tint of appetizing sourness from the tomatoes and there is never enough.

• One flounder or white pomfret, about 500-600g
• Ginger, 50g, 3 quarters cut into fine strips, 1 quarter finely chopped
• Garlic, 5 cloves, finely chopped
• Spring onions, cut crosswise, about 1 inch long, or lengthwise into fine strips
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 5 cherry tomatoes, cut in half, or just normal tomatoes
• Salt
• Peanut oil

1. Wash the fish and its cavity with salt. Rinse. Rub the fish with salt for seasoning.  Stuff 1 quarter of ginger strip into the cavity. Lay the fish on a suitable dish for steaming. Scatter the rest of ginger strips and half of the spring onion over the fish. Scatter tomatoes around the fish. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the fish.

2. Put enough water into your wok and heat until boiling. Steam the fish at high heat for 8 minutes. Using a fork or chopstick, gently poke into the thickest part of the fish (usually middle of the body) and lift up the flesh. If it comes clean off the bone easily, the fish is done. If not, leave it to steam for another minute or so. Check again. Do not overcook as the meat gets tough.

3. While the fish is being steamed, slowly fry the finely chopped ginger, garlic and shallots  with 1 tablespoon of peanut oil over low heat until golden brown. Be careful as they get burnt quite easily if not watched.

4. Once the fish is cooked,  sprinkle the rest of the spring onion over the fish. Pour the fried ginger, garlic, shallots, and the oil over. Serve immediately.

Braised pork belly with garlic and chinese shitake mushroom in dark soy sauce with eggs

Braised pork belly with garlic and chinese shitake mushroom in dark soy sauce with eggs, originally uploaded by yongtze.

This is my favourite Hokkien food, also called "Hong Bak" or "Loh Bak". Unlike delicate Cantonese food and refined Teochew food, it is just good old Hokkien peasant food to go with lots of rice. It will taste even better after 1 or 2 days.

Hokkien people in Malaysia are originally from the Fujian province on the southeastern shore of China. There are more information about Hokkien food in Malaysia, Malaysian Chinese and Malaysia Chinese food on the web.

Serves 6-8 with rice

• 1 kg pork (shoulder or belly), cut in 4cm x 4cm cubes
• 6-8 hard-boiled eggs
• 1 whole big garlic (about 12-14 cloves), cloves separated with skin on
• 4 dried Chinese shitake mushrooms
• dark soy sauce
• soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon of five-spice powder
• salt
• peanut oil

1. Soak the shitake mushrooms in boiling-hot water for about 30 minutes or until they become soft. Cut the mushrooms into quarters and set aside.

2. In a big frying-pan/wok, heat up about 3 tablespoons of oil over medium heat, add the garlic cloves cook for about 20 seconds. Turn up the heat to high, add the pork and half teaspoon of salt, quickly stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.

3. Add about 4-5 tablespoons of dark soy sauce and 3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce and keep stir-frying for another 1-2 minutes. Check seasoning. You should be able to taste the dark soy sauce and it should be slightly saltier than normal. You can adjust the amount of dark soy sauce and soy sauce according to your liking.

4. Add the shitake mushrooms and the hard-boiled eggs. Pour in enough water to cover everything. Add the five-spice powder as well. Check seasoning: it is okay if it doesn't taste salty enough but it shouldn't be bland. Bring it to boil and turn the heat down to low. Gently simmer for at least 1 hour to 1.5 hours. The liquid should reduce to about two-thirds or half of the original amount. Serves with rice.

If you can't finish it, keep it in the fridge and re-heat the next day or even a few days it should taste even better. Keep the leftover sauce in the freezer, you can use it when you cook this "loh bah" next time it will improve the taste.

Fried mackerel with ginger, garlic, leek, and black bean sauce

Fried mackerel with ginger, garlic, leek, and black bean sauce, originally uploaded by yongtze.

This is a common way to cook fish in Malaysia. Everybody does it slightly differently and I like my mum's the most. But it's roughly like this: First you fry the fish (a cutlet, or whole fish if it is small). And you make a sauce that has ginger, garlic, yellow bean, fresh chilli, and a touch of soy sauce and a little bit of sugar and this sauce is then poured over the fish. It's nothing special but that's what I used to eat when I was a kid and to this day I can still remember the flavour.

I've always missed the flavour of this home-cooked dish and decided that I would try cooking today. I didn't have yellow bean at home so I replaced it with black bean and I added some sliced leek. Black bean is much saltier and strong than the yellow bean so if you using black bean you probably only need half of the amount of the yellow bean.

Serves 1:

• 2 small Mackerel, head cut off (you can also use big cutlets of fish)
• oil for pan-frying or deep-frying
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil for the sauce
• 20g ginger, sliced or chopped
• 20g garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon yellow bean paste
• 1 fresh red chilli, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon corn flour, dissolved in
• 2 tablespoons water
• Optional: 1 tablespoon sliced leek, white part only

1. Pan-fry or deep fry the fish over a medium heat to a light golden brown. Drain on paper towels then place on a serving plate. Set aside.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of peanut oil in a wok to fry the ginger, garlic, chilli, and, if using, leek for about 20-30 seconds. Add the bean paste and cook until fragrant.

3. Add the light soy sauce, sugar and water. Bring the sauce to boil before adding the corn flour mixture for thickening. Pour the sauce over the fried fish. Optional: garnish with more sliced chilli (We love chilli).

Wedding dinner at Futuna Restaurant in Batu Pahat, Malaysia

Date: 8th February 2008   
Venue: Futuna Restaurant, Batu Pahat, Malaysia
Event: Wade and Sin Mian's Wedding Dinner

Wedding dinner like this brought back these nostalgic memories: The good old mouth-watering braised pork belly served in a Chinese bun, rounds of deafening yelling of "yum-seng" that would last for well over 20 seconds, the guys draining bottles of Hennessy cognac, free flowing Carlsberg beer, the kids enjoying limitless supply of soft drinks, and always-surprising karaoke singing session. It was a great night of celebration.

Curry chicken with potatoes

Curry chicken with potatoes, originally uploaded by yongtze.

This is my own Malaysian version of spicy curry chicken with a strong garlic taste. If you like spicy curry and garlic, give it a try. A pot of curry is always welcomed in winter :)

serving size: feeds 2 hungry adults!

• chicken: 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks, and 1 breast fillet
• 2 big potatoes, diced
• 5 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes (or fresh chillis, chopped)
• 80 grams coconut cream, diluted by about 5 cups of water
• 3 tablespoon good curry powder
• cooking oil
• soy sauce
• dash of salt

Heat up the oil in a big pot over medium heat. Sauté garlic and dried chilli flakes slowly over low heat for about 5 minutes. Do not burn the garlic and chilli. Add curry powder and mix well with garlic and chilli. Cook for another 5 minutes over low heat.

Add chicken and potatoes to brown them briefly over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add 1/3 of the diluted coconut cream and a dash of salt to the pot and bring to boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the diluted coconut cream. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add soy sauce to taste. And continue to simmer until potatoes are tender. Serve with rice or French loaf.