Salted Fish and Beancurd with Mixed Herbs

First time making this dish and turned out quite well. Easy to make. The combination of salted fish and tomato paste may seem strange but the taste is actually quite good.

Ingredients


2 pieces of hard beancurd (diced)
3 tbs salted fish (diced)
1 piece of chicken breast or 200 gm (around $15) of pork belly (diced)
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 tbs tomato paste
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp minced shallot
1 tbs chopped spring onion


Sauce


1 cup water
1/4 tsp chicken powder
2 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tbs oyster sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
pepper


Method


1. Marinade the pork or chicken with some light soy sauce, pepper, cornstarch and oil.
2. Blanch the tofu and drain.
3. Heat wok with little oil and saute the chicken/pork. Dish up.
4. Heat wok with little oil. Saute ginger, shallot, garlic, tomato paste and mixed herb. Pour diced chicken/pork and tofu to wok. Stir fry for 1 minute. Add the sauce and cook until the sauce reduces to 1/4. Add spring onion. Dish up and serve.

Stir Fry Bitter Gourd with Minced Pork

Ingredients

1 bitter gourd (deseeded, sliced)
1/4 cup of minced pork
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs minced Chinese olives (lam choy)

Sauce

2 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 tbs water
1/2 tsp chicken powder.

1. Marinade pork with some light soy sauce, sugar, pepper, cornstarch, water and oil.
2. Coat the sliced bitter gourd with salt for 1 hour. Squeeze out juice from bitter gourd. Rinse the bitter gourd.
3. Heat wok with little oil and fry the bitter gourd. Add a pinch of salt. Dish up and set aside.
4. Heat wok with little oil. Add minced garlic and fry. Add the pork and minced Chinese olives. Fry. Add the bitter gourd and sauce. Fry for a few minutes. Dish up and serve.

Fried String Beans with Minced Pork

Ingredients
1 pack of string beans (washed and cut into strips of approx 2 inches)
$10 minced pork (around 1/3 cup)
1 tbs minced garlic
2 red chili (seeded and diced)


Marinade
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
some white pepper
1 tsp oil
2 tsp water
1 tsp cornstarch


Sauce

2 tbs chinese olives (see photo) 


Method
1. Marinade pork with 'marinade' ingredients for 30 mins.
2. Boil a big pot of water. Add the string beans and let boil for a few mins. Remove beans and put in a big pot of ice water (this process is to preserve the green colour of the beans).  Drain and set aside.
3. Heat wok with little oil. Add the minced garlic and fry until fragrant. Add the Chinese olives and minced pork. Fry for 5 mins. Add the string beans to the minced pork. Fry for another few mins until the beans are soft. Add the red chili and a little salt to taste. Serve.

Steamed Tofu with Garlic and Dried Shrimp

This is a really easy and tasty menu.

Ingredients


1 box of silken tofu (sliced)
2 tbs of dried shrimp (soaked)
2 tbs of minced garlic


Marinade


1/2 tsp chicken powder
sesame oil


Sauce


2 tbs green onion (chopped)
2 tbs light soy sauce
2 tbs water
1 tsp cornstarch


Method


1. Mix the minced dried shrimp and garlic. Heat wok with little oil and fry the mixture for a few minutes. Dish out. Add chicken powder and  sesame oil. Mix and set aside.
2. Place tofu on dish. Sprinkle the minced dried shrimp and garlic mixture on top of tofu. Steam for 8 mins.
3. In a small pot heat the sauce ingredients until it thickens.
4. When tofu is steamed, pour away the excess water. Pour sauce over the tofu. Serve.

Congee Combo

It's so hard to find good congee that is MSG free so I prefer to have homemade congee together with this fried '粒粒' - a perfect combo.

(A) Congee with lean pork, salted egg and preserved egg


Ingredients 


1/2 cup uncooked rice                                                                                      
$20 lean pork

1 beancurd sheet (washed) - see photo of beancurd sheet 
1 salted egg (boiled and diced)
1 preserved egg (diced)
1 small piece of dried tangerine peel (soaked. Scrap away the white inner layer with a spoon)
3 litres of water
1 tbs oil
1 tsp salt
2 dried scallops (soaked and shredded)


Method


1. Wash the rice and mix it with oil and water. Put the rice in freezer overnight.
2. Boil some water and scald the lean pork.            
3. Boil water in big pot. When water boils, add the frozen rice, dried scallop (can also add the water used to soak the dried scallop), lean pork, beancurd sheet and eggs. Boil over medium to high heat for around 45 mins. 
4. Remove lean pork from the congee. When cool, shred the lean pork. Marinade with some sesame oil and Maggie sauce or light soya sauce. Place approximately 2 tbs of shredded lean pork in each serving bowl. Add the cooked congee to serving bowl. Can add some salt to taste. Serve.

(B) Fried 粒粒


Ingredients


1 cup of long green beans (washed and diced)
4 pieces of dried bean curd (diced)
1 cup of cooked fresh corn kernals
10 pieces of preserved vegetables (soaked and diced) - "CHOI PO"
2 tbs dried shrimp (soaked)


Sauce
1/2 tsp chicken powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbs hoisin sauce
sesame oil


Method


1. Heat wok with little oil and fry each ingredient (except green bean) separately. Dish up and set aside.
2. Heat wok with little oil. Fry the green bean. Add chicken powder. When almost cooked, add all other ingredients together with the hoisin sauce and salt. Fry. Add sesame oil and dish up. Serve.

Stir Fry Eggplant

Stir Fry Eggplant

This is a simple but very delicious dish. Eggplant can soak up a lot of oil so to make this dish less oily, I tried steaming the eggplant before steaming and it turned out great.

Ingredients

Eggplant (sliced) -2 pieces

Garlic (diced) - 4 pieces

Sauce

Chicken powder - 2 tsp

Salt - pinch

Sesame oil - pinch

Chili sauce - 2 tsp

Method

1. Place sliced egg plant on a dish and steam for 10-12 mins.

2. Heat wok with a little oil. Add garlic and chili sauce. Fry until fragrant. Add steamed eggplant. Fry for a minute. Add chicken powder and sesame oil. Fry for another 30 seconds. Dish up and serve.

Steamed Tofu with Chinese Ham and Mushroom

Steamed Tofu with 

Chinese Ham and Mushrooms

Ingredients

Silk tofu 2 pieces

Chinese mushroom (soaked and sliced) 4 pieces

Chinese ham (scald and sliced) a few slices

Sauce

Stock 1/2 cup

Oyster sauce 1 tbs

Light soy sauce 1 tsp

Some sesame oil

Cornstarch 1 tsp

Method

1. Slice beancurd and place on dish.

2. Arrange ham and mushroom slices between each slice of tofu. Steam for 8 mins. Pour away the water.

3. Cook sauce over medium heat and pour over beancurd. Serve