Bitter But Soooo Good!

A group of friends brought me to lunch last week. At first it looked like any other coffee shop, until I walked towards one of the food stalls. At Zai Shun Curry Fish Head, there were three long rows of cooked Teochew dishes lining the stall, and they were enticing enough to make me salivate. But that was not what we had come here for, my foodie friends reminded me.

At the side of the coffee stall sat about 8 large styrofoam boxes; and inside them were a wide variety of fish, reserved, I was told, for regular patrons.  However, I shall reserve that fishy story for a future post.

My friends were raving about another dish. When the dish arrived, it turned out to be bitter gourd cooked with salted egg and omelette. The combination intrigued me. With the first bite, the taste of preserved yellow bean paste hit me instantly. This paste was definitely no stranger to Teochew cooking. Besides cooking with it, the paste was also versatile as a wonderful dip for steamed seafood. The salted egg provided another level of saltiness to the dish. I loved the dish, and tried to replicate it at home. This may not be the actual recipe, but I think it’s close enough!

Bitter Gourd with Salted Egg and Omelette

Bitter gourd                                            250 g, deseeded and sliced thinly

Salt                                                             2 tbsp

Water                                                        4 cups

White vinegar                                         1 tbsp

Salted egg                                                1, boiled and chopped coarsely

Oil                                                               2 tbsp

Egg                                                             1, beaten

Preserved yellow bean paste           1½ tsp

Garlic                                                         1, minced

Sugar                                                         ½ tbsp

Stock                                                         4 tbsp

Corn flour                                                1 tsp, mixed with 1 tbsp of stock

Method:

1.     Pour salt over the bitter gourd and let it sit for 20 minutes. Rinse the bitter gourd thoroughly and squeeze the water out. Blanch bitter gourd in boiling water and white vinegar for 30 seconds and drain. Soak the bitter gourd in chilled water to stop it cooking. Drain and set aside.

2.     Fry egg into an omelette and break it into pieces with a spatula. Add the omelette to the bitter gourd.

3.     Saute preserved bean paste, garlic and sugar over a medium fire. Add a tsp of water if necessary to prevent it from being burnt.

4.     Once the preserved bean paste is cooked, increase the flame to high. Add bitter gourd and omelette and fry for 3 minutes.

5.     Add stock and salted egg and continue to fry for another 1 minute.

6.     Pour corn flour mixture and stir until the sauce thickens.

7.     Serve immediately.

Note: If you prefer a softer version of the bitter gourd, simmer for a minute or two longer.

Hooked on Sambal Stingray

Stingray was a fish I grew to enjoy eating only in my 20s. Before that, stingray was hardly eaten in my family as it was considered inferior seafood among Chinese, along with shark, tilapia, and even selar kuning. That was the 70s.

Then, some years back, stingray started turning up at hawker centers as a barbeque dish. BBQ stingray became very popular and remains one of the most popular items on the menu of barbeque stalls. As I started paying attention to this fish, I came to realize that it was also a staple of the Peranakan and Malay cuisines. In their recipes stingray would be cooked with spicy sambal and sometimes together with salted vegetables, and the combination of hot and sour makes this dish one of my favourites even until today.

Here’s my version of how to cook stingray at home.

Stingray in Spicy Sauce

Salted vegetables            200 g, rinsed in water thoroughly

Oil                                         2 tbsp

Dried chillies                      2, soaked in warm water

Ginger                                  2 sliced, bashed

Stock/water                      ½  cup

Stingray                               800 g, cut into cubes

Sugar                                    ½ tbsp

Salt                                        ½ tsp

Seafood Sambal Paste

Oil                                          2 tbsp

Shallots                                3, minced

Garlic                                     1, minced

Lemongrass                        1, minced

Ginger flower                     ¼ minced

Belachan                              ½ tsp, toasted

Lime juice                             1 tbsp

Assam                                   2 tbsp, mixed with 2 tbsp of water

Method:

1.     Saute shallots and garlic until fragrant. Add the rest of the herbs and spices and stir well.

2.     Pour in assam and lime juice and simmer for 3 minutes.

3.     Meanwhile, season the paste with salt and sugar.

4.     Remove from heat and set aside.

5.     Slow-fry salted vegetable in a clean wok, until the water content evaporates from the vegetable. Add 2 tbsp of oil, dried chilies and ginger, continue to sauté the vegetable for 5 mins.

6.     Add sambal, stock and stingray, simmer for 10 minutes.

7.     Season it with salt and sugar.

8.     Serve it immediately.

Ox Tail Stew in Stout – A Heady Brew

It’s a common complaint, especially with the 40-somethings: they’ve had enough of the corporate world; they’re sick of the endless office politicking; and, most compelling of all, they feel like this could be the last chance for them to do something different, something they’re really passionate about, before it’s too late. I was one of them.

When I hit 47, and after more than 10 years as a book publisher, I handed in my resignation, packed my bags, and left for Hong Kong, as they say, to start a new chapter of my life.  I opened a bistro and a bar at SOHO in the heart of Hong Kong.

Most people would consider that a hasty decision, but that’s to put it mildly. In actual fact, to me it was a “no turning back” and “sink or swim” decision rolled into one -- because I had absolutely no F&B experience nor have I ever cooked professionally in my life. But it seemed luck was on my side.

Despite my inexperience, I managed to somehow win the support of fellow Singaporeans living there as well as of the locals -- many of whom, I’m glad to say, have become firm and lasting friends. The media, too, was just as enthusiastic and supportive; my little eateries received TV coverage even in Korea, China and Japan!

During those four years in HK my cooking repertoire expanded, going from Western to Singaporean and than to my own creations. Some recipes became bestsellers; and this is one of them.

  

Ox Tail Stew in Stout

Ox tail                         600 g

Corn flour                   2 tbsp

Oil                               3 tbsp

Butter                          2 tbsp

Carrot                          2, chopped

Celery                          4 sticks, chopped

Leeks                           2, sliced

Onion                          1, chopped

Garlic                           3, minced

Salt                              1 tsp

Sugar                           1 tbsp

Ham hock                   300 g, cut into chunks

Tomato                       4, skinned, seeded and chopped

Black-eyed beans       200 g, soaked overnight

Stout                           650 ml

Veal stock                   400 ml

Bay leaves                   2

Rosemary                    3 sprigs

Lemongrass                2, bashed

Salt                              2 tsp

Black pepper               1 tsp

Method:

1.    Preheat oven at 180°C

2.    Dust ox tail with corn flour and sear till brown. Set aside.

3.    Saute vegetables, ham hock, sugar and salt, with oil and butter until soft.

4.    Add tomato and black-eyed peas and continue to fry for another 5 minutes.

5.    Pour in stout, stock and herbs and stir thoroughly.

6.    Put it in an oven and bake for 2 hours, stir it occasionally.

7.    Season it with salt and pepper before serving.

Nonya Fried Noodle – Straight from Bibik’s Mouth!

When it comes to matters of food and cooking, everyone knows how the Peranakan matriarch -- or “Bibik” as she’s called -- can be as touchy and ultra-territorial as a bull in mating season. Her recipe, she imperiously declares to all and sundry, is “the most authentic” (and everyone else’s is not worth a SH*T!)

It’s funny that every Peranakan household I’ve eaten at (and I’ve eaten at quite a few in my time) always makes that claim. Therefore if every family’s “version” of a particular dish is the “correct, authentic, and ONLY one”….  You get the picture?

Whatever the case may be, there’s no denying that most older Peranakans – female and male – are superb, passionate cooks. And for any food lover, the Peranakan kitchen is true paradise; just don’t EVER step on the culinary toes of a Bibik!

My own exposure to Peranankan cuisine came late in life; but it was near-instant love. With its heady mix of Malay, Chinese -- particularly Hokkien -- and even Western influence, how could an adventurous, liberal glutton like myself resist that food? In fact, every dish I tasted reminded me of something I ate from another cuisine in Singapore.

And I realized a few other things: that every home’s “version” of a dish varied from other homes, in style, ingredient and taste. And that there were a few standard or “must-have” dishes for formal Peranakan meals. Over the years, I’ve managed to “steal” recipes and cooking tips from some of the Peranakans I’ve known -- matriarchs, chefs, and so-called “authorities” on the culture. And this pilfered information has served me well in the kitchen.

This particular Nonya dish, for instance, is very similar to Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodles, except that it uses an additional key ingredient in the paste -- taucheo. The garnishing is also far more elaborate.

Nonya Fried Noodle

Prawns                        200 g, boiled, then peeled and set aside the prawn heads and shells

Water                          2 cups

Pork belly                   200 g

Squid                           150 g

Chinese sausage         1, steamed for 10 mins and cut into strips

Oil/lard                        3 tbsp

Yellow flat noodle      400 g, washed and drained

Garlic                           1 tsp, minced

Bean sprouts               100 g

Salt                              1½  tsp

Sugar                           1 tsp

Light soy sauce           1 tsp

Dark soy sauce           ½ tbsp

Paste:

Preserved beans          1 tbsp, mashed

Garlic                           1 clove, minced

Garnishing:

Cucumber                   1, cut into thin strips

Egg                              1, fried into omelette and cut into thin strips

Red chillies                  2, large and cut into thin strips

Fried shallots               1 tbsp

Fried garlic                  1 tbsp

Fried lard crisps           1 tbsp

Pepper                         to taste

Method:

1. Saute preserved bean paste, garlic and prawn shells for 3 minutes. Add water, pork belly and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, add squid and cook until it turns pink. Remove and set aside.
2. Remove pork belly and set aside till it cools. Cut squid and pork belly into thin strips.
3. Drain the prawn broth and set aside for later.
4. Boil the prawn broth and season with salt and sugar.
5. In a clean wok, fry noodle and minced garlic for 3 minutes under high flame. Add stock and simmer for 2 minutes.
6. Add prawns, pork belly, squid and Chinese sausage and continue to simmer for another 1 minute.
7. Add bean sprouts and season with both light and dark soy sauce.
8. Serve it on a plate and top with all the garnishing.

An Itch to Teach

I was eight when I started cooking, teetering on a stool to reach the kerosene stove in front of me. The iron wok felt as heavy as an elephant in my hands; but it didn’t stop me from cooking my first dish -- a sunny side-up.

Like many a foodie, I have since gone through ‘phases’ in the kitchen -- times when I’ve been intrigued and enraptured by Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, and so-called ‘fusion’.  Each dish I ate, each recipe I cooked, each chef I met; each experience, each memory…stays vivid in the mind. Other people may thumb through a photo album. I reminisce through smells and tastes of food.

Learning to cook wasn’t easy. It took me a very long time to grasp the principles. Only when you truly understand, can you master something. The road ahead is still long for me; but I’m lucky. I have great teachers and friends. They feed my mind with their knowledge and experience, and fill my soul with their life and passions.

The last five years when I lived in Hong Kong and China had been a ‘crash course’: I learned more about traditional Chinese (particularly Cantonese) cooking than I did in my entire life. The people I cooked for, the friends I dined with, were among the cleverest and most discerning gourmands I’ve ever met.

More importantly, I became friends with a coterie of foodies and authors who were dead serious about documenting or otherwise keeping alive Chinese food history. They have inspired me to do likewise, to seek out and record old Chinese recipes and traditions that people -- even chefs -- have forgotten and neglected.

Thanks, Shermay, for the opportunity; for reminding me of the importance of sharing these recipes and techniques. Here I am, putting on a new hat come July, when I begin my teaching classes at Shermay’s Cooking School…

Shermay’s Cooking School

#01-76 Chip Bee Gardens (Holland Village)

Blk 43 Jalan Merah Saga

Tel: +65 6479 8442/6479 8414

www.shermay.com