Soon Kueh/Turnip Dumplings (I)

Success at last at making the dough for soon kueh! It was my seventh attempt and sixth recipe. How's that for perseverance? As I kneaded the dough, I felt quite sure that this time it would work. And it did, beautifully. Mind you, I had spring roll wrappers standing by in case the dough failed again.

What was wrong with the five recipes that didn't work?

The one from Chan Chen Hei, ex-chef of Hai Tien Lo, failed outright because it had way too much water. What the recipe made was a batter, not dough.

The Best of Singapore Cooking gave me a dough that cracked even before it was steamed. The ingredients – rice flour, tapioca starch, water, salt and oil – were similar to the recipe I succeeded with. But the water added to the dry ingredients was hot instead of boiling.

I also tried the recipe in Cooking for the President. The dough I got, using rice and tapioca starch cooked on the stove, was simply too wet and soft to be shaped or rolled. I think there was way too much water and oil.

And then there was a Taiwanese recipe which used glutinous rice flour mixed with a bit of plain flour. That one wasn't too bad if eaten hot but it hardened badly when it was cold.

And then there was cornercafe's recipe for 'crystal pastry' which used tapioca starch, wheat starch, oil, salt and boiling water. What I got was a very bouncy dough that squelched (!) when it was kneaded, somewhat like what The Best of Singapore Cooking gave me although the ingredients and methods were substantially different between the two. The squelching was rather scary. I threw the dough away before it became alive and attacked me.

The successful recipe I tried was from Rose's Kitchen. The dough was not bouncy, not too soft and, most importantly, it didn't fart squelch. The minute I started kneading, it just felt right. Search mission accomplished.

30 July 2012 Update

SOON KUEH (笋粿; TURNIP DUMPLINGS) (Recipe for 32 pieces) Dough (adapted from Rose's Kitchen) 300 g rice flour 100 g tapioca starch plus ¼ cup for adjusting and dusting 1 tsp salt 600 ml water, boiling 2 tbsp vegetable oil Filling 2½ tbsp vegetable oil 40 g dried prawns rinse and soak in 2 tbsp water till soft, about 15 minutes; squeeze dry, reserving the water; chop roughly 4 cloves garlic, peel and chop roughly 40 g dried mushrooms break off stalks and reserve for other dishes; rinse caps and soak in ¼ cup water till soft, about 30 minutes; squeeze dry, reserving the water; slice thinly 1.1 kg "local" turnip (aka 沙葛, bangkuang, yam bean and jicama) wash, peel and cut matchstick size to yield 1 kg; if grating, make sure grater doesn't turn turnip mushy 2 tbsp sugar 3 tbsp light soya sauce ¾ tsp ground white pepper Finishing touch 1 tbsp shallot or vegetable oil 30 July 2012 Update Click here for my step-by-step video. Strictly speaking, the recipe is for bangkuang kueh rather than soon kueh since the filling is made with bangkuang instead of soon (bamboo shoots). To make dough, mix rice flour, tapioca starch and salt thoroughly. Pour boiling water evenly over mixture. Immediately stir till well mixed and cool enough to handle but still extremely hot. Drizzle with vegetable oil. Knead till evenly mixed to make a smooth, sticky dough. Continue kneading, dusting with tapioca starch till dough is no longer sticky (like glue) but still quite tacky (like Post-it paper). Cover and let dough rest 10 minutes or up to a few hours. To make filling, heat vegetable oil in a wok till just smoking. Over high heat, stir-fry dried prawns till lightly golden. Add garlic and stir-fry till translucent. Add dried mushrooms and stir-fry till everything is nicely golden brown. Add turnip and continue stirring till thoroughly heated and wok is very hot again. Add light soya sauce and sugar. Stir till LSS is absorbed. Add water drained from dried prawns and dried mushrooms, which should be no more than 2 tbsp or so. Stir-fry till turnip is wilted but still crunchy. Sprinkle with ground white pepper. Stir through. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Turn off heat. Push turnip to side of wok to drain. If turnip is very wet, drain in a colander. Leave till cold. Transfer to a bowl. To wrap, dust worktop lightly with tapioca starch. Knead and roll dough into a log shape, dusting with tapioca starch if too sticky. Cut into 32 pieces of equal size, 30-32 g each. Keeping dough not being worked on covered, roll each piece into a ball, dusting with tapioca starch as necessary. Flatten into a disc with dough scraper, then roll into a 11-cm circle about 2 mm thick. If your dough looks more like an amoeba than a full moon, use a 11-cm rice bowl or cutter to cut a perfect circle. Using chopsticks, place 30-32 g filling (1 heaped Chinese soup spoon) on the dough, in the middle. Fold bottom half of dough upward, bringing edges together. Press to seal, from the middle to the corners. Set aside, covered, and repeat from "roll each piece into a ball . . . ." Turnip filling in bottom of bowl would be rather wet. Drain as appropriate. To steam, brush perforated tray with oil, or line with parchment paper. Place soon kueh on the tray spaced 1 cm apart. Steam over rapidly boiling water till slightly puffed, about 10 minutes. Brush lightly with oil. Transfer to an oiled plate, spaced apart whilst cooling down. If desired, pan-fry just before eating. To serve, drizzle soon kueh with sweet dark soya sauce and/or chilli sauce. Leftovers should be refrigerated, then steamed or pan-fried till thoroughly heated through before eating.

Noodles with Red Wine Dregs (红糟面线)

A few weeks ago, I made some chicken with red wine dregs (红糟鸡). As I was writing about how effective red yeast rice extract was in lowering cholesterol, I looked at the photos I had taken. And I started to get worried. The red yeast stuff looked so . . . red!

Maybe there's something wrong with photos?

I went to the fridge and looked at the real wine dregs. Nope, there was nothing wrong with the photos. The dregs were really that shade of fire engine red. I rubbed my tummy, feeling rather uneasy.

Yikes! It must be Sudan Red!

Sudan Red, a carcinogenic industrial chemical dye, is found in a lot of red colored food products.

Remember the salted eggs recall a few years back?

That was because of Sudan Red, which was used to make the yolks redder and more appealing to consumers. Other common products that might contain Sudan Red are tomato sauce, saffron and chilli powder. In fact, anything that has chillies is highly suspect. And because these sauces and spices are used to make other products, Sudan Red could be found in anything from pies to sausages, salad dressing, pasta sauces, pasta and stews. In 2005, the UK had its biggest food recall ever involving over 600 products contaminated with Sudan Red (story here).

I could have thrown away the gaudy, red paste from China but I really liked the chicken cooked with it. Anyways, innocent till proven guilty, right? I decided to give the wine dregs a chance before I sent it to the gallows/bin. I emailed the AVA – Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority, which is in charge of food safety in Singapore – and asked them to check if there was Sudan Red or other food colouring in the wine dregs I had bought.

I guess you can tell from the recipe I'm sharing today that it's good news from the AVA. Despite the artificial looking hue of red, the wine dregs have no added colouring at all, permitted or prohibited.

Phew! It's safe!

The AVA responded with the test results in two weeks which was quite efficient, I thought. And all I had to do was send them an email saying blah blah blah. Not bad at all.



Naturally, I should reward myself after all the 'hard work' done for the investigation. What could be more appropriate than noodles and pork ribs floating in a sea of natural red?

I was happily slurping my noodles when I saw something in the box they came in. It was a piece of paper provided by the manufacturer to separate the two layers of noodles in the box, and it said . . . 'Soon Fat'.

Aaaah! So that's why I'm putting on weight!

NOODLES WITH RED WINE DREGS (红糟面线) (Recipe for 4 persons) 3 tsp vegetable or white sesame oil 12 thin slices ginger (12 g or so) 6 tbsp red wine dregs (90 g) (红糟 or 'fermented rice residue') 600 g pork ribs chopped about 5 cm (2 inches) long, washed and drained 6 tbsp Shaoxing wine (or red glutinous rice wine, which is the wine used traditionally, . . .if you have some) 3 tbsp light soya sauce ½ tsp salt 4½ tbsp sugar 150 g xiao bai cai (小白菜, aka bok choy) 8 bundles mee sua (面线), or 250 g dried noodles such as bee hoon or ramen, . . .cooked according to package instructions 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 and colour darkens. Increase heat to high. Give wok a few seconds to heat up. Add ribs and stir-fry till heated through and wok is stonking hot again. Add 2 tbsp wine. Stir till absorbed. Add other seasoning. Stir till absorbed again. Add rest of wine, and enough water to just cover ribs. Stir to deglaze wok. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes. Top up with more water if necesssary. Have a taste when sauce is thickened. Adjust seasoning if necessary. If it doesn't taste right, you probably need more sugar. Top with more water to just covering ribs again. Cover and simmer gently till meat is tender and sauce is thickened, 30-45 minutes depending on how soft you like it. Remember to check that water doesn't boil dry and top up as needed. Skim off oil if necessary. When ribs are ready, bring 6 cups water to a boil in a pot big enough to hold the noodles and vegetables as well. Add ¾ of ribs' sauce. Taste and add more sauce if necessary. You probably need most of it. Add more light soya sauce and sugar if necessary but it probably isn't. Add vegetables. Bring to a gentle boil. Add cooked noodles and bring back to a gentle boil. Turn off heat. Plate and top with ribs. Serve. Some brands of mee sua are very salty even after blanching in hot water. If that's the case, remember to use less sauce when assembling noodles. Mee sua overcooks easily, and it absorbs a lot of liquid as it sits. Take care it's not overcooked; make sure there's sufficient stock; and serve immediately. Slurp up the noodles pronto; don't wait.

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.

Hakka Yong Tau Foo

What makes Hakka yong tau foo Hakka?

It's the pork. Hakka yong tau foo is always made with minced pork, not fish.

It's also the salted fish, added to give the minced pork a salty fragrance.

Yong tau foo may be cooked in the broth, or deep-fried or pan-fried.

YTF may be served in a broth, or drizzled with chilli sauce and sweet sauce. A gravy made with oyster sauce and a good, strong stock is a good option too.

Eaten with rice or noodles, YTF can be a complete meal. Of course, it can still be a complete meal sans carb.

I love YTF very much whether it's made with pork or fish. I don't mind if it sits in a broth, sauce or gravy. I like it best with bee hoon but don't mind rice or other types of noodle. Anything would do so long as the YTF isn't factory made.

HAKKA YONG TAU FOO (客家釀豆腐) (Recipe for 32 pieces) 500 g chicken breast, rinse and blanch in boiling water 40 g dried anchovies, without heads and bones, rinse 70 g dried soya beans, rinse 4 pieces tau pok ½ bitter gourd, about 12 cm long 8 red chillies 4 small pieces firm beancurd (450 g), slice diagonally into 2 pieces 400 g minced pork 20 g salted mackerel, pan-fry till brown and mince finely to yield 2 rounded tbsp – replace with deep-fried sliced shallots and 1 tsp light soya sauce if not available 4 tsp light soya sauce 1/8 tsp ground white pepper ½ tbsp cornflour, plus more for dusting 2 tsp white sesame oil oil for pan-frying 250 g xiao bai cai (bok choy), rinsed and cut bite size 200 g dried rice vermicelli, soaked till soft To make stock, place chicken, anchovies and soya beans in 2.5 litres boiling water. Bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to very low. Simmer gently, covered, for 2 hours. Strain to get a clear soup. Blanch beancurd puffs in boiling water to remove excess oil. Squeeze dry. Rinse, then squeeze dry again. Cook in simmering stock till almost soft, about 30 minutes. Remove and squeeze dry. When cool enough to handle, slice diagonally into 2 pieces. To fill with minced pork, make a pocket by separating cut side with fingers. Rinse bitter gourd. Cut into rings 1.5 cm thick. Remove pulp and seeds. Dust inside ring with corn flour just before filling. Slit chillies lengthwise. Remove seeds without breaking chillies. Rinse. Dust inside with corn flour just before filling. Rinse beancurd. Cut each piece into 2 halves diagonally. Make slit in cut side without cutting through. To prepare filling, place pork in a big bowl. Grab with one hand and slap back into bowl. Repeat till pork is sticky, about 5 minutes. Add soya sauce, white pepper, salted fish and sesame oil. Mix till even. Fill bitter gourd, beancurd, chillies and beancurd puffs with about 1 tbsp pork each. Smooth top of filling with back of spoon, smearing edges a bit (which helps the filling stick better). Pan-fry bitter gourd, beancurd and chillies over high heat till browned. Or you could leave 'em unfried, or have have a mix. To serve, simmer beancurd puffs and unfried bitter gourd in the stock till soft, about 10 minutes. Add xiao bai cai, beancurd, chillies, fried bitter gourd and noodles if using. Taste and add salt or light soya sauce if necessary. Bring everything back to a boil. Add some deep-fried shallots, garlic, spring onions or dash of white pepper just before serving.