Sambal Stingray (II)

The key to making good sambal stingray is a piece of stingray wing that's fresh and young.

There's nothing more disgusting than stale fish . . . . Ok, there are lots, actually, but you know what I mean. The best fish for eating is one that's still swimming. If that's not available, then at least one that's firm, shiny, and hasn't stopped swimming for too long.

Other than the DOD, the DOB is also crucial because younger fish have smoother, silkier meat. How do you tell if the wing you're buying is young? From the size. Young ones have small, thin fins. And small fins are cut triangular. If you see a thick, rectangular piece, that'd be from an old fish with huge fins.

If you've living somewhere where tropical ingredients aren't available fresh, I have good news for you. The banana leaf for sambal stingray is better frozen. Fresh ones burn easily under the grill but after freezing and thawing, the waxy leaves tolerate much higher temperatures.

Once you've bought the ideal stingray wing, it's time to tackle the sambal. If you've had sambal stingray before, you'd know the chilli paste makes or breaks the dish. How to make a good one? By using the best ingredients and patiently frying the spices over low heat. You also have to adjust the seasoning because the ingredients vary in taste. Not all belachans are equally salty fragrant; some shallots are quite tasteless, others intensely aromatic.

The best sambal stingray is barbecued over charcoal. I skip this part this part, I'm afraid, and turn to electricity. You, I'm sure, would let nothing stand in the way of perfection. Your stingray is juicy and moist inside, slightly charred outside, and full of the smoky aroma of charcoal-grilled fish.

Hmm, I don't think I'm saying anything you don't already know. Well, sambal stingray is pretty straightforward in theory. It's all in the execution, isn't it?

Please click here for the recipe.

Sambal Ikan Bilis (II)

Ini ikan bilis; ini kacang.

"Beep beep beep! KT has reached maximum capacity of her Behasa Melayu."

What?! That is so not true. I know lots more Malay words . . . like, um, nasi lemak, mee rebus, ayam, ikan, babi, pulut, pisang goreng . . . .

No, it's not just food words I know. I can count up to 10 in Malay, and I know colour words like hitam, hijau, merah, puteh and biru. I have to confess though it's food, like kacang puteh and nasi kuning, that helps me remember the colour words.

I also know "majulah Singapura" means forward Singapore. Believe it or not, that's the only part of Little Red Dot's national anthem I understand. The rest is just gibberish to me, most of which I don't even pronounce correctly.

If it's any consolation, I'm not alone in my ignorance. Wiki says (link):

 The majority of Singaporeans are clueless about the meaning of their national anthem. Only 1 in 7 know the meaning of each word.

Only 1 in 5 are able to sing the anthem perfectly. Singer Taufik Batisah, who is Malay, isn't one of them. Instead of bersatu, he once sang berseru.

 About 1 in 10 can recite only the first line, or not even that.

One-time Deputy PM Rajaratnam once said, "Anyone over the age of five, unless mentally retarded, has no difficulty singing the anthem."

Ha . . . ha . . . ha . . . oh dear . . . .

Well, better late than never. Time to find out, I guess.

*google . . . click click click*

What the . . . !

I'd always thought "forward Singapore" meant forward in terms of economic growth. Hell no, it's actually happiness. Sama-sama menuju bahagia means: let us progress towards happiness together. Happiness? Gee, what's that? According to the Happy Planet Index, Singapore is the second unhappiest nation in Asia.

After looking up the meaning of each word in the anthem, I can now compose two Malay sentences: Marilah kita masak! Marilah kita makan! Come, let us cook! Come, let us eat!

Marilah kita click sini for the resipi. Please click here for the recipe.

Teochew Fish Porridge (潮州鱼粥)

How do you tell if the fish you wanna buy is fresh? (a) It doesn't smell fishy. (b) The eyes are bright. (c) The gills are red. (d) It feels firm. (e) The skin is shiny. (f) All of the above. If you choose 'f', then sorry, you're wrong . . . mostly.

20 years ago, 'all of the above' would have been the correct answer. These days, the fish may feel and look fresh because it's preserved with formaldehyde, the stuff used by embalmers. Nice, eh?

So how do you tell if the fish is fresh or embalmed?

If the fish is cheap, such as ikan kuning, ikan selar or some farmed fish, it's probably safe from chemicals added postmortem. The more expensive stuff, like large white pomfret and large sea prawns, are more likely to be preserved. Without a lab test, you can tell if it's fresh only by eating it. If it looks and smells fresh but it's tasteless even though it's wild, not farmed, then you've been had.

When you've NOT been had, fish porridge is an absolute delight. It's full of the sweetness of fresh fish and, the way my mother did it, dried prawns, dried squid and 冬菜. It is light, with no fat at all other than a few drops of garlic or shallot oil, but it's totally delicious.

The special ingredient in my mother's fish porridge is dried squid which must be: (1) cut lengthwise into very thin strips; (2) soaked till it's completely soft; and (3) very lightly blanched in the porridge, just enough to make the squid curl. The dried squid lifts the umaminess of the porridge to a higher level but if you don't follow the three steps, you'll think there're rubber bands in the porridge. You have been warned.

I wouldn't say I'd eat fish porridge every day because there isn't anything I could eat every day. But I'd eat Teochew fish porridge maybe once a week. That's the biggest compliment possible from me.

TEOCHEW FISH PORRIDGE (潮州鱼粥) (Recipe for 2 persons) 20 g dried prawns rinse and soak 10 minutes or longer in just enough water to cover 10 g dried squid body, quill discarded, at room temperature with scissors, cut crosswise about 3 cm long; cut 10 g lengthwise into thin strips about 1 mm thick; rinse and soak in just enough water to cover till soft, about 20 minutes 200 g white fish fillet rinse and slice bite size 3-4 mm thick; mix evenly with 1 tsp light soya sauce; sprinkle with ½ tsp cornflour or tapioca starch and mix again 120 g long-grain jasmine rice 800-900 ml boiling water 1 tsp light soya sauce 1 tsp 天津冬菜 (Tianjin/Tientsin pickled cabbage) 1 tbsp fried garlic or fried shallots 1 tbsp spring onions cut 3-4 mm thick ground white pepper to taste Fish porridge should be made with a mild tasting white fish that has a fine, smooth texture, such as ikan tenggiri papan (spotted Spanish mackerel), ikan tenggiri batang (barred Spanish mackerel), white pomfret, or ikan kurau (threadfin). Prepare dried prawns, dried squid and fish as detailed above. Put kettle on. Wash rice till water runs clear. Add dried prawns, along with soaking liquid, and 750 ml boiling water. Bring to a boil. Stir thoroughly to prevent rice from sticking. Keep rice boiling rapidly for 10 minutes, checking and stirring from time to time to make sure rice doesn't boil over. Top up with boiling water if necessary, depending on how thick or thin you like your porridge. Continue boiling rapidly till rice is just soft but surface is still smooth without any sign of turning mushy, another 5 minutes or so. Season porridge with 1 tsp light soya sauce and 天津冬菜. Add fish and stir through gently. Turn off heat once porridge returns to a gentle simmer. Add dried squid, along with soaking liquid, and stir through. Remove pot from stove. Quickly taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Immediately transfer porridge to serving bowls to prevent fish from overcooking. Sprinkle with spring onions, fried garlic and ground white pepper. Serve immediately with light soya sauce or light brown taucheo (fermented soya beans) as a dip, with lime juice and/or thinly sliced bird's eye chillies added if you like, to bring out the sweetness of the fish. Fish porridge is best eaten steaming hot. If your mother-in-law is Teochew and you want to impress her, add a pinch of very finely julienned young ginger next to the spring onions. If you want to knock her off her chair, add a piece of toasted Chinese seaweed (in addition to the young ginger), and make your porridge with white pomfret.

Crispy Bean Steamed Cod (豆酥鱈魚)

This is steamed cod served with a topping made with hot bean paste, crispy beans (豆酥), garlic and spring onions. The fish is moist and oily. The topping is crisp and fragrant.

This is a ball of crispy beans, aka 豆酥, the main ingredient in the topping. The taste is a bit like natto.

The ball has to be broken up and pounded into coarse bits.

This is the video that shows how to steam the fish and make the topping.

Ladies and gentlemen, good luck. . . .  . . .  . . .  . .  . . . . .

CRISPY BEAN STEAMED COD (豆酥鱈魚) Source: Adapted from 阿基師 (Recipe for 4 persons) 800 g black cod cut 3-cm thick, rinse, debone and slice into 8 equal size pieces any white fish such as threadfin, sea bass or red snapper would do too ½ tsp salt 2 tsp white rice wine 1 sprig spring onion, wash, trim and cut 5 cm long 4 slices ginger 4 tbsp 辣豆瓣醬 (hot bean paste) 5 tbsp vegetable oil 45 g 豆酥, pound/grind into coarse bits, 1-2 mm 1 tbsp vegetable oil 3 cloves garlic, peel and mince very finely 1 sprig spring onion, wash, trim and cut ½ cm long Preheat plate by steaming over rapidly boiling water for 3 minutes. Sprinkle salt and rice wine on fish. Mix thoroughly. Spread ginger and spring onion on plate. Place fish on ginger and spring onion. Cover and steam over medium-low heat till just cooked, 7-10 minutes. Check that fish is totally opaque inside by flaking thickest part with chopsticks. Remove from heat. Discard ginger and spring onion. Baste fish with liquid in the plate. Whilst fish is steaming, stir-fry hot bean paste in 5 tbsp oil over low heat till fragrant. Strain oil onto crispy beans. Mix well. Set aside till fish is cooked. If pan/wok is not non-stick, wipe clean with paper towels. Keep drained hot bean paste for other dishes, such as 麻婆豆腐 or 回锅肉. If pan/wok is not non-stick, wipe clean with paper towels.) Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil till moderately warm. Add crispy beans, minus excess oil (which may be used as for drained hot bean paste). Stir-fry over low heat till colour changes slightly, removing bubbles if any. Add garlic. Stir-fry till mixture is lightly golden. Taste and add some drained hot bean paste if too bland, or pinch of sugar if too salty. Turn off heat. Add spring onion and stir through. As residual heat dissipates, beans and garlic should turn just golden brown. Spread mixture evenly on steamed fish. Serve immediately with rice.

Sambal Ikan Bilis (I)

The good news is, anchovy stocks have doubled because their predators – the type that doesn't have legs – have declined sharply in numbers. This is where we, the two-legged predators, need to step up our efforts. Eat more anchovies, people!

I don't know about you but I don't need much persuasion to eat sambal ikan bilis. The salty little fishies and deep-fried peanuts make a perfect ménage à trois with the sweet and spicy sambal.

Nasi lemak simply woudn't be complete without some sambal ikan bilis. No coconut rice? Never mind, it also goes well with Teochew porridge and steamed rice. Or just eat it on its own, but be warned that once you start nibbling, you won't stop till you eat everything. Which is fine if it's everything on the plate. Just don't go eating every anchovy in the oceans.

9 July 2012 Update

SAMBAL IKAN BILIS (ANCHOVIES WITH CHILLI PASTE) (Recipe for 6 cups) Sambal (makes 1 cup) 40 g lemongrass, white part only 150 g shallots 75 g garlic 20 g ginger 50 g red chillies 15 g dried chillies trim stems, cut 2 cm long, soak in warm water till soft, about 30 minutes; squeeze dry and discard water 15 g belachan roast at 150°C or dry-fry over medium-low heat till dry and crumbly 80 ml vegetable oil 20 g tamarind paste mash with 2 tbsp hot water, drain and discard seeds 30 g palm sugar, roughly chopped vegetable oil for deep-frying 150 g peanut ½ tsp salt 250 g ikan bilis, gutted and split 4 tbsp sugar Rempah (spice paste): Wash, trim, peel and roughly chop lemongrass, shallots, garlic, ginger and red chillies as appropriate. Grind or pound with dried chillies and belachan till smooth. Set aside. Peanuts: Deep-fry in warm vegetable oil over medium-low heat, stirring, till light brown. This should take 4 minutes or so. Turn off heat. Remove peanuts from oil. Immediately season with salt. Set aside. Anchovies: Rinse briefly and immediately dry with paper towels. Heat oil till just smoking. Add anchovies and deep-fry over high heat, stirring, till lightly golden. Push anchovies to side of wok. Let oil reheat to just smoking. Stir anchovies into oil and fry till almost golden brown. Turn off heat. Continue stirring till residual heat dissipates. Place anchovies with peanuts. Sambal: Remove excess oil from wok, leaving about 80 ml. Stir-fry spice paste over medium-low heat till fragrant, colour darkens and oil separates. Add palm sugar. Stir till melted. Add tamarind water. Stir till evaporated. Turn off heat. Remove to a bowl. Mix: Remove oil from the wok. Over medium heat, stir sugar till melted. Reduce heat to very low. Add peanuts and anchovies. Toss till evenly coated. Add sambal. Toss thoroughly. Taste and add more sugar if necessary. Turn off heat. Remove to a plate to cool down completely. Serve: sambal ikan bilis is excellent with steamed rice, nasi lemak, or Teochew porridge. Also makes a great nibble. Store leftovers in the fridge, tightly covered unless you like your fridge smelling of fish.

Buah Paya Masak Titek (Peppery Papaya Soup)

If I had a dollar for every bad recipe I come across . . . .

Who is it this time?

It's Sylvia Tan, whom I absolutely loathe because she's such a killjoy. She goes on and on about cutting out the fat from this, that and every other recipe. Biggest turn off ever, she is!

I used to have zero respect for Sylvia Tan, but that was before I saw her on TV. Believe it or not, she made skinless, low-fat (of course!) kong pao Chicken with sambal belachan! Did she think the people in Sichuan eat belachan? Or did she think it's OK to totally disregard the recipe's authenticity? After that awful, bastardized kong pao Chicken, my respect for her fell from a big fat zero into negative territory.

Sylvia Tan has hit rock bottom in my book. You might think that's the worst rating possible but the amazing woman has the ability to penetrate rocks. This time, it's the recipe for Papaya Titek in her cookbook, Modern Nyonya. Her stock for the Peranakan soup is made with the heads and shells of 50 g of prawns! For those who don't know, 50 g would be two prawns each about the size of a forefinger. According to her recipe, the heads and shells of these two small crustaceans boiled in one whole litre of water for 30 minutes would make stock for 4-5 servings. Le sigh . . . . She's considered an authority on Singapore cooking, you know?

Modern Nyonya is clearly a load of crap. The Best of Singapore Cooking, on the other hand, would have given me a very salty papaya soup. The recipe has a huge amount of salted fish bones and dried prawns, in addition to salt and a chicken stock cube.

The The recipe in Cooking for the President isn't ideal either. It's more like a stew than soup since there's more papaya than water. There aren't any fresh prawns, and it's less spicy than The Best Of. But I like the idea of dry-frying, then simmering the dried prawns.

In the end, I sort of combine the two better-but-not-ideal recipes. I don't use as much papaya as Cooking For, nor as much salted fish bones as The Best Of. I omit the salt and stock cube but there're fresh prawns, as well as dried ones dry-fried till very fragrant. Lastly, I go along with The Best Of's amount of white peppercorn and chilli.

The soup doesn't make me jump up and down with excitement, but I like the fruity sweetness of the papaya contrasted with the salty and mildly spicy stock. Le purr . . . . I'll definitely make Buah Paya Masak Titek again when I have a papaya that's too green for eating straight, and too ripe for pickling.

BUAH PAYA MASAK TITEK (PEPPERY PAPAYA SOUP) Source: Adapted from The Best of Singapore Cooking and Cooking for the President (Recipe for 6 persons) 350 g prawns peel, leaving tails on, devein and rinse; reserve shells and heads for making stock 80 g salted threadfin bones, rinse twice 900 ml water 40 g dried prawns (¼ cup), rinse and dry-fry till fragrant 12 g candlenuts (3 pieces) 1 red chilli 1 tbsp white peppercorns 80 g shallots, peel, wash and chop roughly 800 g half-ripe papaya (skin should be green with a hint of yellow) peel, rinse, quarter lengthwise, discard seeds, trim inner surface, and cut crosswise 1½ cm thick sugar to taste, about ½ tsp Bring prawn shells and heads, salted fish bones and water to a boil. Simmer gently, covered, for 5 minutes. Make spice paste whilst stock is simmering. Blend or pound dried prawns, candlenuts, chillies, peppercorns and shallots finely. Remove and discard prawn shells and heads from stock with a slotted spoon. Add ground paste. Continue gentle simmering for 10 minutes. Add papaya and bring back to a boil. Simmer till almost tender, 3-4 minutes depending on how ripe papaya is. Do not overcook or papaya would turn mushy. Turn off heat. Let soup sit 10 minutes, covered, to develop flavours. Reheat soup till gently simmering. Taste and season with sugar to taste, about ½ tsp. Add prawns and heat till just pink and opaque. Do not overcook. Serve Buah Paya Masak Titek hot, accompanied by sambal belachan and calamansi lime juice as a dip.

Ikan Tempera (Nyonya Sweet & Sour Fish)

Previously on Kitchen Tigress, in the episode on Kueh Bengka Ubi in 90 Seconds, Mac wanted to eat fish.

Ikan, which means fish in Malay, is Mac's favourite food. 'Wai doesn't shee kook ikan?' she wondered wistfully.

Suddenly, there was something in the air. *sniff sniff* 'Fee-fi-fo-fum . . . feesh! I smell the blood of . . . feesh! Ikaaaaan!'

Is KT cooking fish? Oh yes, she is! Mac waited anxiously. 'Wai is shee taking so 'ong? 'urry up!'

Finally, KT was done. 'Do you want some fish, Mac?' 'Ai wan! Yes, yes! Ai wan feesh!' Mac nodded her head so fast it was a blur.

'There you go, Mac, your all-time favourite.' .... .... . . . ..... ..... .... ... .. .... .... ...

'Oh boo hoo hoo, ai don't eat chilli!' ..... ..... ... ........ .. . . .. . . . . .. . ... ..

IKAN TEMPERA (NYONYA SWEET & SOUR FISH) Source: Adapted from Cooking for the President (Recipe for 4 persons) 500 g fish parang (wolf herring), cut crosswise 8 cm wide; or tinggiri (batang or Spanish mackerel), cut crosswise 3 cm thick; or 2 small pomfret ¼ tsp salt 5 tbsp vegetable oil 150 g shallots, peel, wash and cut lengthwise 3 mm thick 1 red chilli, wash and cut diagonally 4 mm thick 1 green chilli, wash and cut diagonally 4 mm thick 150 g tomato (1 medium size), wash and cut into wedges 1½ cm thick 3 tbsp light soya sauce 3 tbsp Chinese white rice vinegar ½ tsp dark soya sauce 5 tsp sugar stir with vinegar, light and dark soya sauce till dissolved 300 ml water Wash fish and dry with paper towels. Sprinkle evenly with salt. Pan-fry in hot oil over medium-high heat till golden brown. Transfer to a plate. Remove oil, leaving about 2½ tbsp. Stir-fry shallots till light brown. Add chillies and tomato. Stir-fry till soft. Return fried fish to the pan/wok. Drizzle with half of soya sauce mixture. Let fish sizzle for a few seconds. Flip over. Repeat drizzling and sizzling. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer gently, drizzling top of fish with the sauce from time to time, till fish is saturated and flavourful, about 3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Sauce should be full-bodied, mildly sour and subtly sweet. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Steamed Fish Head

What do char kway tiao, or luak, bak chor mee, and Teochew style steamed fish have in common, apart from being Teochew?

Don't know? What if I remove steamed fish from the list, and add or nee, chai tow kway and yam mooncakes? Is it obvious now?

Ladies and gentlemen, all these Teochew dishes have lard – lots and lots of glorious lard!

Wait a second . . . there's lard in Teochew steamed fish? But of course! It's not rendered liquid lard or fried bits of golden lardon, but strips of raw, white pork fat steamed together with the fish. Sadly, it's usually omitted nowadays because of the phobia of animal fats. Are you afraid of lard?

The lard for steamed fish should be the firm fat found just underneath the pigskin rather than the floppy, shapeless fat in the belly. That, along with pickled plums and kiam chye (pickled mustard greens), makes Teochew steamed fish Teochew . . . . Oh hang on, there's something else if you want uncompromised authenticity: Dipping the fish in fermented soya beans

Ah yes, don't forget the taucheo, which should be the light rather than dark type. For cooking, either would do but you'd want the less salty, light-coloured one for a dip.

Good taucheo is very fragrant and umami, and it brings out the sweetness of the fish. Clean tasting fish like threadfin or red snapper is dipped in taucheo neat, but fishier fish like big head carp or rabbitfish goes well with a squeeze of lime, some cili padi and julienned young ginger.

Besides piling a heap of stuff on steamed fish, Teochews also love steaming fish as it is, with nothing added at all. Sometimes, I kid you not, the fish isn't even gutted or scaled. I'm guessing only Teochews would appreciate such a peasant style!

And only Teochews – those who don't live in China but understand the dialect – would appreciate how hilarious Snow White is in Teochew. If you're one of these, please watch this video 'cause it's really funny, especially 2:32 and 2:42 which had me in stitches:

TEOCHEW STEAMED FISH HEAD (Recipe for 6 persons) 3 medium size Chinese dried mushrooms 20 g kiam chye (pickled mustard greens) 4 cili padi (bird's eye chillies) 1 piece ginger, thumb size, peeled 30 g lard 2 pickled plums, seeded and roughly chopped large pinch of sugar 1 song yu (松鱼, big head carp) fish head, . . . halved lengthwise 1 tbsp light soya sauce Dip 4 tbsp light taucheo (fermented soya beans) juice of 4 calamansi limes 6 cili padi (bird's eye chillies), roughly chopped 1 tbsp julienned young ginger Other types of fish, such as sea bass, ikan selar and white pomfret, can also be used. Rinse mushrooms and soak till soft in just enough water to almost cover, about 30 minutes. Squeeze dry, reserving the water. Trim and discard stalks. Slice thinly. Place mushrooms back in the reserved water. Rinse kiam chye, chillies, ginger and lard. Slice thinly. Mix with pickled plums, sugar and mushrooms. Remove gills, liver, bile sac, scales, etc from fish head. Rinse thoroughly and drain. Drizzle with light soya sauce. Place mushroom mixture on fish. Steam fish head over rapidly boiling water till just cooked, about 12 minutes. If steaming one piece at a time, thinner side without backbone needs only 10 minutes or so. Serve immediately with dip, made by mixing together all ingredients.

Baked Cod

In 1950, New York Times science editor Waldemar Kaempffert wrote an article about what miracles the world might see in 2000. At a time when modems hadn't been invented yet, he predicted that access to The New York Times would be possible 'in your home, in the streets, in the trains and cars that carry you to your work, in the bargain basement of every department store'. Video phone calls, TV via phone lines, and faxes that cost next to nothing were also predicted. As was hair removal cream, though it wasn't foreseen that said cream would become a taboo for men: they'd rather die before they let anyone know they use it!

Some of Waldemar Kaempffert's predictions were spot on but there were others which were way off, like what he said about food and cooking:

'Cooking as an art is only a memory in the minds of old people. A few die-hards still broil a chicken or roast a leg of lamb, but the experts have developed ways of deep-freezing partially baked cuts of meat. Even soup and milk are delivered in the form of frozen bricks. 'In eight seconds a half-grilled frozen steak is thawed; in two minutes more it is ready to serve. It never takes . . . more than half an hour to prepare . . . an elaborate meal of several courses. 'Sawdust and wood pulp are converted into sugary foods. Discarded paper table [paper] “linen” and rayon underwear are bought by chemical factories to be converted into candy.'

Eww, candy made with discarded underwear? I'm sure someone somewhere in China must be doing it!

Not only has cooking not become 'a distant memory', it's celebrated by zillions of websites, food blogs and online forums. Cyberspace is overflowing with recipes, many with step-by-step photos or even videos, and online advice if you have any questions – all for free.

You definitely don't have to be a die-hard to try Sam Leong's 'Baked Cod with Marinated Superior Light Soya Sauce and Honey'. (What a mouthful!) In fact, by the time you say 'Baked Cod blah blah blah', the marinade's done. The fish then sits in the marinade for 15 minutes, and then it sits in the oven for 15 minutes. Cooking from scratch doesn't get easier than this, or better.

Whilst the fish is sitting here and there, you should sit too and enjoy a cold drink. And maybe contemplate what the world might be like 50 years from now? I'm guessing a frozen pre-cooked steak will still taste horrible in 2061.

BAKED COD MARINATED WITH SUPERIOR LIGHT SOYA SAUCE & HONEY Source: Adapted from Sam Leong's A Wok Through Time and the video below (Recipe for 4 persons) Marinade 4 tbsp light soya sauce 4 tbsp water 1 tbsp dark soya sauce 2 tsp sugar 2 tsp Maggi seasoning 400 g black cod, cut into 4 pieces, each 2½-cm (1-inch) thick, rinsed and drained 1 tbsp honey Garnish 2 egg whites pinch of salt dash of ground white pepper 2 tbsp milk I opted out of the egg white garnish but you go right ahead with the whole nine yards, please. Here's the man himself to show you how easy it is: To make marinade, stir ingredients till sugar is dissolved. Add cod and turn to coat evenly. Marinate for 15 minutes, turning over mid-way. To make garnish, beat egg whites with salt, pepper and milk. Bring 1 cup water to a boil. Turn off heat. Add egg whites and stir very gently to form large wisps. Steep till just cooked, 15 seconds or so. Drain and place on a serving plate. To cook fish, bake at 150°C (300°F) for 10 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 100°C (210°F). Continue baking till centre of fish feels firm when pressed, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with honey. To plate, place fish on egg whites. If you like, top with a sprig or two of coriander and sprinkle plate with some powdered seaweed as in the video. Serve immediately.

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Sambal Stingray (I)

I was in a restaurant somewhere in India. When the waiter came to set my place, a diner sitting nearby said something to him. It was all gibberish to me but I could tell that the tone wasn't too friendly. Next, the waiter trotted off with the banana leaf he had just laid on the table. And then he came trotting back with a stainless steel plate.

What the . . . ? Oi! Gimme back my banana leaf!

But the busybody diner was beaming and looking mighty pleased with himself. What could I say? I guess he meant well, and thought the 'Japanese' woman would prefer a 'proper plate'. I so would not!

I love banana leaves. To me, rice and curry tastes so much better when it's on a banana leaf rather than a steel (yuks!) or even ceramic plate. It's lots more fun, and I feel good using something that's disposable yet traditional and natural. Who says only modern people are lazy? Whoever first thought of using banana leaves as plates must have hated washing up, just like me!

The banana leaf in sambal stingray is the unsung hero. The sambal – always the sambal! – takes all the glory but even a good one would be even better with the banana leaf's subtle smokiness. Isn't the nicely charred leaf a perfect frame for the gleaming, red sambal? Sambal stingray without banana leaf just wouldn't be the same (though it's still better than no sambal stingray at all).



17 September 2012 Update

Here's my video guide for making sambal stingray:

SAMBAL STINGRAY (Recipe for 3-4 persons) Sambal (makes about 1 cup) 150 g shallots 75 g garlic 15 g ginger 40 g lemongrass, tender, non-bitter part only 50 g red chillies 15 g dried chillies trim stems, cut 2 cm long, soak in warm water till soft, about 30 minutes; squeeze dry and discard water 15 g belacan (fermented shrimp paste) roast at 150°C or dry-fry over medium-low heat till dry and crumbly 20 g tamarind paste mash with 2 tbsp hot water, drain and discard seeds and pulp ½ cup vegetable oil 30 g palm sugar, roughly chopped ¼ tsp salt 1 piece stingray wing, 400-500 g rinse and drain; cut a 2-3 slits in thicker end along the grain 1/3 tsp salt 1 piece frozen banana leaf thaw and rinse; trim to fit baking tray Garnish calamansi limes, halved red onion, thinly sliced tomato or pineapple wedges cucumber slices Wash, trim, peel and roughly chop shallots, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and red chillies as appropriate. Grind or pound with dried chillies and belachan till smooth. Stir-fry sambal paste with vegetable oil over medium heat till fragrant and colour darkens, about 15 minutes. Add palm sugar. Stir-fry till dissolved. Add tamarind water and salt. Stir-fry till oil separates. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Remove from heat. Leave till cool. You should have about 1 cup. Use about 1/2 cup for 400-500 g stingray. Remaining 1/2 cup may be stored for a few weeks refrigerated. Preheat grill to 230°C (450°F). Line baking tray with aluminium foil. Lightly brush with vegetable oil. Place stingray on baking tray, white side up. Season lightly with salt, including slits. Grill till 70-80% cooked, about 5 minutes depending on thickness of fish. Spread with sambal, thinly. Grill till top of stingray feels firm when pressed chopsticks, about 5 minutes. Lift stingray from baking tray with a spatula. Place banana leaf in tray. Flip stingray onto banana leaf. Season lightly with salt. Grill till 70-80% cooked, about 7 minutes depending on thickness. Spread with sambal, thickly. Grill till fully cooked and sambal is sizzling and slightly charred, 5 minutes or so. Slide foil, leaf and fish onto serving plate. Pull foil from underneath banana leaf and discard. Garnish and serve immediately.