Assam Prawns

I love prawns every which way. All the way from live (!), to raw, steamed, poached, stir fried, pan fried, deep fried, grilled and baked. Not forgetting dried prawns, which I can't live without. Stinky and fermented shrimp paste? Pickled cincalok? Bring it on!

Honestly, there's no such thing as bad prawns, so long as they're fresh and not overcooked. Yup, even dried, fermented and pickled prawns must be made with the freshest catch if you want quality stuff.

I really can't say assam prawns is my favourite way of eating prawns, 'cause I love 'em done whatever way. But, as I write this post (Saturday, 4 pm), I'm drooling as I think about the assam prawns I just had for lunch. The tangy sweetness of the tamarind sauce, the succulence of the prawns, the aroma from pan-frying the prawns in their shells . . . . Oh boy, that's the killer! Assam prawns must have shells, ok? It just ain't the same without shells!

I think I'm hungry again. Oh dear, I wish the photos were edible! Om nom nom nom . . . .

Sadly, I have no more prawns in the fridge. Otherwise, I would have Assam Prawns again for dinner. Dang! Too bad I can't eat the photos. Dang again!



Note to self: Set the alarm clock, get up early tomorrow morning – Sunday! – and buy the freshest prawns at the market. Meanwhile, stop drooling!

ASSAM (TAMARIND) PRAWNS (亚参虾) (Recipe for 4 persons) 50 g tamarind (assam) paste 16 prawns (600 g) 1½ tsp dark soya sauce 1½ tsp salt 2 tbsp vegetable oil 5 shallots, thinly sliced 3 tbsp sugar, or to taste ⅛ tsp ground white pepper, or to taste In a bowl, add 5 tbsp hot water to tamarind. Steep till cool enough to handle. Mash paste and water till evenly mixed. Drain liquid into a separate bowl. Discard pulp. To prepare prawns, trim legs and feelers. Cut through shell on the back. Remove veins. Rinse and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Marinate with salt and dark soya sauce for 15 minutes. Heat pan/wok, non-stick if possible, till very hot. Add vegetable oil and heat till just smoking. Fry prawns over high heat till 70-80% cooked, in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding. Transfer prawns to a plate. Add 2 tbsp water to the wok/pan. Swirl to deglaze. Add shallots and tamarind liquid. Simmer, uncovered, till sauce is reduced and shallots are soft. Add sugar and ground white pepper to taste. When the sauce is thick, taste and adjust the balance of sourness and sweetness if necessary. Add prawns to the wok. Toss till well coated. Plate and serve.

Roast Chicken

"Spatchcock?" I said, a bit warily. I was talking to the chicken guy at the market, who was asking me how I wanted my chicken cut up. The young chap – a mainland Chinese – didn't understand the word 'spatchcock'. I tried again, this time in my limited Chinese, 'Er, make it look like a butterfly?' He stared at me like I was insane. "Frog? Make it look like a frog?"

Chicken Guy had no time for insane customers talking about butterflies and frogs 'cause he was selling chickens and ducks. It was Sunday morning, his busiest time of the week. The market was heaving. "Cut into two pieces?" he suggested.

"NOOO! NO!" Dang! What is 'spatchcock' in Chinese? I decided to try a less abstract explanation. "Ok, cut out the bone in the back." I pointed at my own backbone as I spoke. Chicken Guy finally understood what I wanted. He lifted his knife and, just as he was swinging into action, I yelled, "DON'T CUT THE FRONT! Only the back!" Chicken Guy jumped visibly, and he gave me a dirty, 'I know' look. Whaaat? It's better to be clear than sorry, right? The surly chap turned to his chopping board again and in two seconds flat, held up a beautifully spatchcocked chicken. "Yes! That's what I want! What do you call a chicken cut like that?"

"I don't know." What? They don't do spatchcocks in China? I bet they don't do smiles either!

Since that little episode at the market, I've learnt how to make chickens look like frogs/butterflies. You know, in case I want one in Russia or Zimbabwe where chicken guys might not understand what I say. Or in Desert Island where there's no chicken guy, presumably. Nothing to it at all! Here's a video:

I've got a few tricks up my sleeve for making sure that roast chickens are juicy and moist: Use spatchcocks, because they cook faster and more evenly than whole chickens. Less time spent in the oven means the birds have less time to dry out. Brine overnight. The chicken is moist with the brine solution it absorbs. It also cooks faster after it's brined. Air dry the chicken before roasting. This helps the skin brown faster and shortens the roasting time. Air drying also helps the meat side brown faster. The crust formed seals in the juices. For this to happen, the chicken has to be roasted on a rack instead of sitting directly on the pan. Prop up the bottom and sides of the chicken with parchment paper balls, so that the top of the bird is as flat as possible. Use the right temperature and roasting time so that the meat is just cooked and the skin is brown and crisp at the same time and in the shortest time possible. For a 1 kg brined, air dried spatchcock, that's 220°C for 35-40 minutes. If the chicken is much bigger, not spatchcocked, not air dried or not brined, the ideal temperature and roasting time would be different. Making a juicy roast chicken is easy. I swear, even the breast meat can be plump and moist! And, despite my long-winded notes, the preparation is all done in about 10 minutes. It's 10 very rewarding minutes once you get it right!

ROAST CHICKEN WITH MIXED HERBS (Recipe for 6 persons) 1 spatchcocked spring chicken (aka Cornish hen or poussin), about 1 kg 1 tbsp mixed dried herb I use a readymade mix of thyme, rosemary, summer savory, basil, oregano and majoram bought from Phoon Huat; when it's a fresh, just opened bottle, I use a bit less 2 tbsp sea salt ½ tsp ground white pepper 3 shallots, finely chopped 1 tbsp unsalted butter In a small pot, mix herbs, salt, pepper and shallots with ½ cup hot water. Cover and steep for 5 minutes. Add 1½ cups room temperature water. Give it a few stirs. Leave till cool. Rinse chicken thoroughly, removing feathers if any. Drain well. Tuck in wings. Trim excess fat around bottom. Place chicken in a plastic bag. Add brine mixture. Tie a tight knot in the bag, or zip it. Place on a plate, skin side down so that cut side forms a cavity (sort of) for the brine. Refrigerate for 12 hours. Remove chicken from brine. If there are clumps of herbs or shallots, scrape them off (a few specks are ok). Hang chicken somewhere with a piece of string so that it can air dry. I usually hang it on the kitchen tap for about 4 hours, and put a table fan set at medium next to it. If chicken can't be hung in a sink, use a pot to catch the drips. Preheat oven to 220°C. Line roasting pan with aluminium foil. Place a rack in the pan. Gently heat butter in a small pot till it stops bubbling. Do not brown. When chicken is dry, brush with melted butter. Place chicken in the roasting pan, cut side up. Roast 25 minutes in the middle of the oven. Flip chicken over. Move pan to top of the oven. Roast till chicken feels firm, juices run clear, and skin is crisp and brown, 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

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Pork Belly Braised with Red Fermented Beancurd

If you like strong flavours, you'd like the Hakka way of cooking pork belly. The fatty cut is marinated with red fermented beancurd and Shaoxing wine, deep-fried, then braised in the marinade along with fried ginger, shallots and ginger and wood ear fungus. Don't forget to cook more rice when you make this Hakka dish!

HAKKA DEEP-FRIED PORK BRAISED WITH RED FERMENTED BEANCURD (客家南乳炸肉) (Recipe for 4 persons) 20 pieces wood ear fungus (木耳), about 30 g dry weight 500 g lean pork belly with skin, 2 strips cut fairly thick, about 3 cm three 3 cm squares red fermented beancurd (南乳, aka 紅豆腐乳)* 1 tbsp red fermented beancurd pickling sauce 3 tbsp Shaoxing wine ½ tsp ground white pepper ½ tsp salt 2½ tbsp sugar 2 tbsp cornflour for dusting vegetable oil for deep/pan-frying 30 g ginger, mince finely 4 shallots, mince finely 4 cloves garlic, mince finely Soak wood ears in water till soft, about 30 minutes. Remove and discard tough ends. Rub off sand/grit on surface. Tear into bite size pieces. Rinse till water is clear. Drain well. Mash red fermented beancurd with wine, pickling sauce, sugar, salt and white pepper. Mix till even. Wash, dry and cut pork into chunky pieces, about 2 cm wide. Marinade with red fermented beancurd mixture for 2 hours. Scrape excess marinade from pork. Dust lightly with cornflour. Deep-fry skin side down till deep brown. Turn over and deep-fry till light brown (this side would be tough if it's fried till deep brown). Remove oil from pan/wok after frying, leaving about 2 tsp. Add ginger and shallots. Stir-fry till lightly golden over high heat. Add garlic. Stir-fry till everything is golden brown. Add wood ear fungus. Stir-fry till wok/pan is very hot again. Add marinade. Stir-fry till heated through. Add pork belly. Add water to just cover pork, stirring to deglaze pan/wok. Bring to a boil. Simmer gently, covered, till pork is tender and sauce slightly thickened, about 45 minutes, topping up with water as necessary. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve piping hot with rice or porridge.

Chicken with Rice Wine Dregs

I was wandering round my favourite hangout in the neighbourhood – aka supermart – when I noticed some cookbooks in the fruits and vegetables section. Instead of being tucked away in some obscure corner, they were occupying prime real estate, right under my nose.

If you want the customer to buy something, put it where he's bound to walk past, at eye-level. This is one of the oldest tricks of supermarkets.

True enough, I stood amidst the apples, oranges and Russet potatoes and started browsing the cookbooks.

Flip, flip, flip . . . .  

Hey, Pork Ribs Stewed in Red Yeast Rice Paste – 红糟排骨!

I'd seen before, on TV, chicken cooked with 红糟 . I never got round to trying it because I kept getting distracted, by other dishes, work, fun and games . . . . But last night I had the recipe in my hand, and I was surrounded by all the ingredients I could ever want in the world.  

Perfect! No more excuses!

I picked up all the stuff I needed but there was one thing I saved on. Seriously, who buys cookbooks nowadays?! The web is chock-full with recipes! And when I see one I like in a book, I whip out my handphone and – ka-cha! – the recipe's in my handphone!

Shrinks say colours affect our appetite, and red makes us eat more.红糟鸡, as you can see from the photos, is fire engine red. Even tandoori chicken would seem like a washed out vampire in comparison. I have no idea if the shrinks are right but the boozy chook was gone in a flash.

CHICKEN WITH RED WINE DREGS (红糟鸡) (Recipe for 4 persons) 2 tsp white sesame oil 10 thin slices ginger 3 tbsp red wine dregs (红糟 or 'fermented rice residue') 600 g chicken, washed and chopped chunky 4 tbsp Shaoxing wine 2 tbsp light soya sauce ½ tsp salt 2 tbsp sugar Heat wok till very hot. Add oil and heat till just smoking. Add ginger and stir-fry over medium heat till lightly golden. Add wine dregs and stir-fry till fragrant. Increase heat to high. Add chicken and stir-fry till heated through and wok is stonking hot again. Add wine, then light soya sauce, salt and sugar . Stir thoroughly till wine and soya sauce are absorbed. Add enough water to cover about two thirds of chicken. Stir to deglaze wok. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring once half way through. Uncover and increase heat to high. Reduce sauce till thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. If it doesn't taste right, it probably needs more sugar. Add more till it tastes good, then adjust the saltiness. Turn off heat. Plate and serve with steamed rice.

Ginger Cake

Imagine a soft, tender cake that's filled with the spiciness of fresh ginger, mixed with the slight bitterness of treacle.

The cake is not too sweet, so you can taste the trace of cinnamon, cloves and black pepper in the background.

The colour is a dark, gorgeous mahogany that looks rich but, when you take a bite, the cake is quite light.

Mmmmm . . . what could be better than a slice of ginger cake on a rainy day? Let me see . . . . A slice of ginger cake on a sunny day! Or cloudy day. Or any day  regardless of the weather!

The recipe I use is from David Lebovitz. It's a stir and mix cake that requires no beating or creaming at all. It's dead easy and done in a jiffy. Absolutely nothing can go wrong if you measure the ingredients correctly, set the timer, and a meteor doesn't hit your house.

GINGER CAKE Adapted from David Lebovitz's recipe (For 2 persons) 240 ml boiling water  2 tsp baking soda 115 g ginger peel, rinse and mince finely 120 ml treacle 200 g sugar 1 cup peanut oil 350 g plain flour 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground cloves ½ tsp ground black pepper 2 eggs Preheat oven to 175°C. Line bottom of 23 x 7.5 cm round cake pan with parchment paper. Pour boiling water over baking soda. Add treacle, sugar and oil. Stir thoroughly. Sift plain flour, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper into mixture. Mix till almost even. Add eggs. Mix till just even. Pour batter into cake pan. Bake till top of cake springs back lightly when pressed or skewer into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cake cool on wire rack for 30 minutes. Run knife around sides of cake. Remove cake from pan. Peel off parchment paper.