(THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Having the reunion dinner
on the eve of
Chinese New Year
is a must for the family. Kick-start your gastronomic journey with these dishes.
FISH IN ABUNDANCE
Ingredients
250g garoupa fish fillet
2 stalks spring onion, cut into 4-5cm sections
3 slices ginger
20g shimeji mushrooms
20g enoki mushrooms
20g belly pork, julienned
For the sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 Tbs light soya sauce
1 Tbs abalone sauce
1 tsp Chinese rice wine (Shao Hsing Hua Tiau wine)
1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbs sugar or to taste
3 Tbs water
For the garnishing
Adequate spring onion curls and chilli curls
Some coriander leaves
Method
1. Blanch the julienned belly pork in boiling water for 10 minutes till cooked. Drain and put aside.
2. In the same boiling water, add the mushrooms and blanch briefly for 10 to 20 seconds. Drain well.
3. Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
4. Put the spring onion and ginger slices on the bottom of a steaming plate. Place the fish fillet over and steam for 8 to 9 minutes.
5. Remove and drain off the steamed liquid.
6. Arrange the belly pork and mushrooms over the fish and drizzle over with the combined sauce ingredients liberally over the fish.Spoon the rest of the sauce around the fish. Steam over rapid boiling water for another minute. Remove and serve with the garnishing.
FORTUNE IN HAND
(Braised Pig Trotter)
Ingredients
1 whole pig trotter, about 1.5 kg, chopped into big sections
20g black sea moss (fat choy) soaked to soften and drained
8 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked to soften
70g carrot, cut into desired pattern, blanched
60g Chinese Tientsin cabbage, blanched
1 tsp sesame oil
For the seasoning (A)
1 Tbs oyster sauce
½ tsp chicken stock powder
For the braising sauce
5 star anise
5 black cardamoms (cao guo)
5g cinnamon stick
5 pieces liquorice sticks
1 piece fractos momordicae (luo han guo)
10 cloves
25g ginger, smashed
15g angelica root (tong kwai)
4 stalks spring onion
250ml light soya sauce
250ml Shao Hsing Hua Tiau wine
2 litres water
For the seasoning (B)
200g rock sugar
1 Tbs chicken stock powder
Method
1. Combine all braising ingredients in a saucepot. Cook to a boil, then simmer over gentle low heat for 2 hours till aromatic.
2. Lightly marinate the trotter with the seasoning (A) for at least 2 hours. Heat oil in a wok till hot and deep-fry the trotter briefly. Dish out and scald in boiling water.
3. Place the trotter in the braising stock. Add the mushrooms into the stock and braise for 1½ hours till meat is done.
4. Scoop l ladle of stock into a small saucepan. Add the fatt choy and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the fatt choy and add the sesame oil.
6. Dish out the pig trotter and place on a serving platter. Dish out the fatt choy and the rest of the ingredients and arrange around the trotter.
Thicken the gravy with thickener (cornflour slurry) and pour sauce over the trotter. Add the carrot and Tientsin cabbage.
PROSPERITY SPICY CHICKEN
Ingredients
350g chicken breast meat, skin removed
½ cup potato starch
20g dried red chilli, cut into small sections
15g dried Sichuan peppercorns
1 Tbs minced garlic
20g red capsicum
20g green capsicum
2 stalks spring onion, chopped
3 stalks curry leaves, sliced
For the marinade
½ tsp salt
1 tsp chicken stock powder
1 tsp sugar
1 egg white, lightly beaten
For the seasoning
1 Tbs fish sauce
1 Tbs sesame oil
2-3 Tbs sugar or to taste
½ tsp ground black pepper
Method
1. Cut the chicken into chunks and season with the marinade for at least 30 minutes.
2. Coat the marinated chicken pieces in potato starch, then deep-fry in hot oil till crispy and golden. Dish out and drain from oil.
3. Put the curry leaves into the remaining hot oil. Saute till fragrant. Add the dried chilli and Sichuan peppercorns. Deep-fry till crispy, then drain and put aside.
Scoop half a ladle of the same hot oil into a saucepan. Saute the minced garlic and spring onion till fragrant.
4. Add both capsicums and the seasoning, followed by the pre-fried chicken chunks. Add the curry leaves and a little of the Sichuan peppercorns. Toss and fry briskly till well combined. Dish out and serve at once.
