Hakka Pestle Tea Rice/Ham Cha Farn/Looi Cha Farn

This dish is from the Chinese migratory Hakka dialect group and is several hundred years old. The Hakkas, especially this sub-group called Ho Poh , have a unique tradition regarding this dish as medicinal, a detox meal which is also reputed to boost metabolism and servet his supersalad, with 7 types of vegetables, on the seventh day of Chinese New Year just like the cantonese tradition of serving Yee Sang which most chinese are accustomed to.

Ham Cha Farn(salty tea), Looi Cha Farn(ground tea) or Thunder Rice, has a lot of variations. The tea used ,be it green or black signifies and determine the flavour and taste of the dish. It is sometimes kept simple by grinding the tea, add salt to taste and hot boiling water, to make a broth. However others may add roasted peanuts, sesame seeds or both together with the tea leaves and herbs like mint, basil, perilla and saw coriander, in the grinding process to make into an almost medicinal tea broth. This alters the flavour of the dish significantly. The taste however, is not for everyone. Some find it enervating and refreshing, others do not like the bitter or strong herbal notes.

The essential ingredients are Farn(Cooked Rice), which can be puffed rice (mee chang) or rice grains fried with garlic and a little oil, prior to cooking and three of the seven ingredients which will determine a good Ham Cha Farn/Looi Cha Farn are dried shrimps, choy poh(preserved radish) and firm tofu. These three are to be sauted and seasoned with sugar and white pepper..

To complement the tea and rice, a wide variety of carefully selected vegetables (including blanched long beans, cabbage, carrots, four-angled beans, chye sim, celery, are used. It should be noted that meat and fish is seldom added to this diah as the the main idea is to eat lots of vegetables, making this dish cheap, hearty , nutritious and a fibre-rich.

Continue for recipe HERE

A Maize-ing Soup

Maize  was or is the term used  for Corn in the United Kingdom and Ireland and since Malaysia was colonised by the British, maize it was to me for the longest ever, until there came Sweet Corn in the Malaysian markets.  I did not realised that Maize and Corn are the same becauce the difference in taste and texture were totally different,  the maize was woody, starchy and it took a lot of mouth grinding to finish a cob, while the sweet corn needed no introduction espeicially when we are here in sweet corn Heaven.   In Chinese Medicine, corn and celery are used as a stomach tonic, carrot and tomato promote  digestion, lastly the humble potato heals inflammations and is used as an energy tonic.  With these goodness in a soup, what can go wrong? 

Ingredients:

2 ears of fresh corn - cut into 1 1/2 inch slices
3 large tomatoes - quartered
2 stalk celery - cut into 1 inch lengths
2 carrots - peeled and cut into 1 inch lengths
2 potatoes - peeled and cut into halfs
2 lbs pork spareribs/neck bones
Salt to taste









Method:

In the pressure cooker, put the pork bones in and enough water to cover the bones.  Bring to high boil and let boil until most of the scum is floating on top of the water.  Turn off heat and pour the contents through a colander.  Wash the bones thoroughly with cold tap water until all scums are removed. Wash the pressure cooker well, removing scum and fat that are stuck to the pot.

Put bones back into the clean pressure cooker and add in the corn, tomatoes and wai san with enough water the cover ingredients.  Make sure that the water level is not more than 2/3 full - pressure needs to be built with space.  Pressurized for 30 minutes and turn off heat, allowing the soup to continue to cook in the pressure.  Remove lid only when the pressure is totally off and add salt to taste.   If you are in a hurry for dinner, put pressure cooker under the tap and run the cold water over the lid of the pressure cooker,  this should bring the pressure down fast and you can soup on the table as soon as salt is added to taste.

Serves

Garlic Chive Omelette

Garlic Chives aka Chinese Chives is the first green that will be on the ground after the long winter and it is a very welcome sight. It is a very forgiving plant which does not need much attention and a tiny patch of it, is suffice for many meals through the summer. This omelette is one of recipes using this garlic chives.

Here are some nutritional information:  they are rich in vitamin C. Chives leaves are a good source of fiber, potassium, and vitamin A. Garlic chives is high in carotene, thiamine, and riboflavin. Garlic chives is also rich in minerals, especially calcium and iron.was used in traditional folk medicine to treat intestinal parasites, enhance the immune system, stimulate digestion, and treat anemia.  It has long been used to treat fatigue, help control excessive bleeding, and as an antidote for ingested poisons. The leaves and bulbs are applied to insect bites, cuts, and wounds, while the seeds are used to treat kidney, liver, and digestive system problems. 

This vegetable saved my life  - when i was 2 or 3 years old, i was having a metal whisle in my mouth while i was having my bath, the whisle was tiny, like the pepermint candy which has a hole in the middle.  As soon as my mom lay me down on to the towel, oops - i swallowed the whisle.  I had to go to the doctor right away and was told that the only thing to do was to wait - yes, wait for it to come out the other end.  The most important thing was not to allow the whisle to get rusty and to do so, i have to drown in alot of cod liver oil and eat as much of this garlic chives as possible.  The whisle did come out, vegetable and all. 

Ingredients:

2 cups of garlic chives - chopped
4 large eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
oil for frying

Method:

Beat eggs with salt and pepper.

Add in the chopped chives.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan and pour in all the egg mixture to make a large omelette or fry it by spoonful into tiny patties.

Serve warm with white rice.. 

Cilantro Oil

Like i have said in my previous post on Cilantro Pesto, i came to like cilantro and use lots of it, adding it to lots of dishes especially soups. When you have more than you need of fresh cilantro and before they die on you, besides making Cilantro Pesto,  the next best option is to turn it into a infused oil,.  It is not quite the real thing, it is less pungent but it is there in your refrigerator, to put on almost anything - noodles, rice etc. 

Ingredients:

250 ml (1 cup) vegetable oil or olive oil
2 bunches of fresh Cilantro


Method:

.Drop the cilantro into boiling water for a few seconds and refresh in ice water.

.Squeeze the blanched cilantro dry.

.In a high speed blender/food processor, blend the oil and cilantro together for 30 seconds, strain it through a cheesecloth.

Serves

Cilantro Pesto

I have a  hate-love relationship with this herb - Cilantro.  I used to hate this raw green leaf that sat side by side, closely clustered together with shredded green onions, like a couple who are in love and they were or still are, sitting on top of all dishes served in the restaurants.  At home, it was a different story, garnishes like these two never appear with our meals, cos we had to be frugal and garnishes were luxury,  perhaps that was why i hated garnishes, not because it did not taste good, it was because i have not eaten enough to like them.  Now, it is a different story, i don't know when i started to like these garnishes but i really love them.  Cilantro can be very expensive especially during the Chinese New Year Celebration in Malaysia but strangely and luckily, it is pretty cheap here.  The problem arises when it is cheap, i will buy a few bunches and cilantro don't keep so well and knowing this fact, have to find ways to use/cook them before they wilt.  Making pesto is one of the ways and pesto keeps well in the freezer until you need to use it.

Ingredients:

2 cups, packed, of cilantro, large stems removed
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 teaspoon chopped and seeded serrano chile(optional)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil













Method

In a food processor, pulse the cilantro, almonds, onion, chile(if using), and salt until well blended. With the food processor running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream.

Add more oil as needed for your use.
Makes about 1 cup.

Serves

Taro Crunch

When i was shredding taro for Yee Sang, i remembered this snack.  I shredded more taro and made this forgotten snack which was so crunchy.  The taro is sometimes called the "potato" of the humid tropics and indeed it is - a good taro will be fluffy in texture just like the potato.  Taro is quite costly and choosing a good one which will be fluffy is crucial to your pocket and the dish you will be preparing. For a good fluffy taro, choose one that is shaped like a vase - narrow on the top and bottom, wide in the middle and it has to be as smooth as possible - no bumps or knotches.  Bumps mean that the taro has been constricted from growing well and that it has been grown in muddy soil.  Taro grown in sandy soil, grows well and will be fluffy. I have given up buying taro with skin on and have been buying peeled ones, although peeled ones are very much more expensive, at least i can see that the taro will be fluffy and not rotten. 

Taro is so versatile and there are endless recipes which are classics, below are some of the tested recipes -

Woo Tau Koh
Taro fatt koh
Woo Tau Kow Yoke

Woo kok
Taro Shredds

Taro and black-eyed pea cake
Taro fragrant rice
Sueen poon cheeBubur Cha Cha

Fried Nin Ko

There are many more recipes that i would like to try - like Or Nee, Taro Cake, Taro Filling for mooncake and many more.

Ingredients:

1 lb shredded taro
1 cup roasted peanuts - chopped
½ cup sesame seeds
3 - 5 tbsp rice flour
1/2 tsp 5 spice powder
1 tsp salt.
Water to bind




Method:

Mix all the ingredients, followed by a little water to bind ingredients.

Heat oil for deep frying and when oil is 350f, using the chopstick, pick up a little taro shreds and deep fry till golden brown and crispy.

Drain well and let cool before storing.

Serves

Mock Shark Fin's Omelette

It has been such a long time that i have attended a chinese wedding dinner - an eight course one. The most memorable will be this first dish which was supposed to be an appetizer - The Four Seasons. It was the most welcome platter cos, malaysian guests were noted for never being on-time, so can you imagine how hungry everyone must be. There were four types severed on a lovely garnished huge plate and i did not really cared which represented which season but this omelette was more often than not, will be one of them but it was cooked with Shark Fins. Here, i have fried my omelette with bean sprouts instead - not because i am turning 'green' cos i don't have Shark Fins - who has???

Ingredients:

1 cup crab meat - mix with 1 tbsp shaoxing wine and steam for 3 minutes.

1 cup bean sprouts - heads and tails removed

3 large eggs

salt and pepper to taste

oil for frying

chopped spring onions/cilantro for garnishing

Iceberg lettuce (optional)

Method:

Beat eggs with salt and pepper.

Add in the crab meat and bean sprouts.

Heat up oil and when oil is shimmering, add in the egg mixture and stir. Continue to stir until egg is cooked and set.

Dish out and serve hot.

Serves

Soft Boiled Cassava

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.“~ Confucius

Think Simple - There are so many simple pleasures that we don’t always take time to enjoy. Take some time to really focus on something simple - focus on your breathing, focus on drinking down a cold glass of water, focus on enjoying the simple things you do every day. We can find so much happiness in the small everyday things. They are there if we seek them, and when we seek, we shall find and i have great pleasure eating something as simple as a piece of cooked cassava. I eat them as is or with sugar and grated coconut or however as this soft-boiled root has a delicate flavor and goes well with most 'sambals' or sauces.

Cassava can be cooked in various ways and there are endless recipes but a word of caution - it has to be cooked and not to be eaten raw because they contain two cyanogenic glucosides, linamarin and lotaustralin. These are decomposed by linamarase, a naturally occurring enzyme in cassava, liberating hydrogen cyanide

Ingredients:

Raw Cassava

Salt

Water

Method:

Cut the woody ends of the cassava and then cut into 2 inches pieces. Remove the skin and soak the peeled roots in water for at least 1 hour.

Drain and put into saucepan with enough water to cover the roots.

Add salt and turn on the heat. Bring to the boil and stir to prevent roots sticking to the bottom of saucepan.

Check for doneness, roots should be fork tender.

Drain and place roots back to the warm saucepan to dry-out.

Cooked cassava is ready for consumption. Eat with whatever fancy your palate. The pictures above are with 'sambal shrimp' and 'xo sauce'.

Cassava Fritters is a spin-off from these boiled cassava.

Cassava Fritters/Ketuk Ubi

I love everything cassava/tapioca/yucca/ubi kayu and have not had these fritters for quite awhile. I have refrained from buying the fresh cassava as they have become moldy and shrivered and that is the sign of a dead root. In Malaysia, the root has to be consumed as soon as it has been harvested so, it is a strange sight for me, seeing them for sale in the asian store's shelf. I am enlightened by the fact that these roots are treated with wax to prevent them from getting moldy and save to eat. Thanks Chan, for letting me know and allowing me to enjoy and making all the goodies that can be dished out from them.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked cassava

1 cup grated coconut - white only

1/2 cup sugar

a pinch of salt

Oil for frying

Batter:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornflour/cornstarch

1 tbsp rice flour

1 tsp double action baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cooking oil

3/4 cup/6 fl oz/180 ml water

Method:

Prepare the batter by mixing all the batter ingredients and leave aside.

Heat oil until 350f. While oil is getting hot, prepare the cassava balls by mixing all the ingredients together and making into golf size balls.

When oil has reached 350f, dip balls into batter and put into hot oil to deep fry. Do not crowd the wok and crank up the heat and removing some hot oil from the wok, at the last stage of frying. Removing some oil will allow the temp. of oil to rise higher and faster and this way, the balls will be not be soggy. When balls are golden brown, remove and drain on an overturn cake rack which is sitting on kitchen towels - the excess oil will drip down and since the balls are not touching the kitchen towels, they will not soak back the oil while cooling.

Pour back the removed oil and finished frying the rest of the balls.

Note:

Noticed the long one? I have left some cooked cassava unmashed and dipped them in batter to fry. Try it this way, it is just as delicious.

Serves

Yellow Squash Soup

I was away and when i came home, the yellow squash had grown big and over matured. I harvested it and used it as a decor on the kitchen counter. It was pretty to look at as the yellow was so pleasing next to the tomatoes. One day, i wanted to cook soup and there was nothing fresh and i do not want to make herbal soup in the summer. The only fresh vegetables i had were tomatoes and that matured squash, so squash and tomatoes soup it was. I was very surprised that the soup turned out so delicious and the squash tasted very much like 'the old cucumber' soup which i yearned for. For all the years here, i have not found 'matured/old cucumber' in the asian stores and i am not looking anymore, i am leaving my squash to mature.

Ingredients:

1 large over matured yellow squash

1 cup grape tomatoes or 4 large tomatoes

1/4 cup dried scallops - soak in hot water

1 lb pork spareribs/pork butt

Method:

Put pork and cover it with enough water. Bring to a boil and continue to boil until scum has subsided. Remove pork and discard the water - scum and all. Wash the pork under cold water.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise and using a metal spoon, remove the seeds. Then cut squash into large pieces.

Put pork, squash, tomatoes (cut into quarters if using the bigger tomatoes) and dried scallops into the pressure cooker. Put enough water to cover all ingredients and make sure it does not come up to half way up the pressure cooker. Close the lid and cook on high. As soon as the pressure is build-up - 15 lbs, reduce heat and maintain pressure, cook for 15 minutes.

Turn off heat and let the pressure release by itself with time. Remove lid only when there is no more pressure.

Adjust taste with salt and pepper.

Serve hot.

Serves

Chai Choy/Vegetarian Delight

This would be my vegetable dish when i ran out of greens. The only fresh ingredients are the Nappa Cabbage or ordinary cabbage and carrots, the rest are dried. There are many ingredients involved but even with a few ingredients less, this dish will be very flavorful especially if the sauce is right. This is a classic to the vegetarian and it can be a meal by itself for there are so many nutricious ingredients involved. Although this is a vegetable dish, dried oysters can be added for flavor and oysters are acceptable and considered vegetarian.

Ingredients:
4 tbsps cooking oil
2 pieces fermented beancurd(preferably the red type which is called 'nam yee'

1/2 cup dried oysters - soaked(optional)
8 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked and halved
1 lb Nappa cabbage, sliced
1 carrot, sliced

6 - 8 pieces Fried tofu (tofu pok) - halves

3 long pieces dried bean curd (foo chook) - soaked and break into small pieces

1/2 cup black fungus - Wan yee - soaked

1/2 cup lily bulbs - soaked and tied into knots

1 small bundle glass noodles - soaked

Seasonings:

1/2 tsp white pepper

1 cup water

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp soya sauce

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp sesame oil

Method:

In a wok, heat oil and stir-fry fermented beancurd until fragrant. Add oysters (if using),mushrooms, cabbage and carrot. Stir-fry until cooked through.

Add in the rest of the ingredients except the soaked glass noodles and the seasonings

Bring to the boil, add the seasonings, then reduce heat, cover with lid and simmer.

Add in the glass noodles and continue to simmer, you might have to add in more water/stock if the sauce has thickened too much. Do no be afraid to add more water/stock as the glass noodle will swell and soak up all the goodness.

Simmer until sauce has thickened.

Dish up and sprinkle with sesame oil.

Serve hot.

Serves