#CookForFamily: Preserving Heritage with Mui Choy

I received an email from a local blogger, Daniel Ang to participate in this #CookForFamily. Without hesitation, I agreed. This event resonates strongly with what I truly believe in – the importance of home cooking and the need to preserve our food heritage.

As the saying goes, the family that eats together stays together. And helping to make this event more meaningful is, I hope, my little way to encourage families to rediscover their handed-down recipes and bring them back to the dining table. The history of the family table is inseparable from the larger culinary history of a people – and therefore needs to be loved and preserved.

The recipe I am featuring was one of the earliest I learnt; a neighbor of mine taught it to me. A typical housewife in her 60s, she would go to the wet market for the freshest ingredients, dispense with her household chores, prepare lunch for her children, and then settle down to listen to Rediffusion for the afternoon. I had learnt not to approach her until she finished her chores.

So this is what I would do: I would follow her to the market in the morning; gather all the ingredients I would need, and wait for her to finish all her chores. When she sat down in front of the Rediffusion box, I would bring the ingredients I had bought to her.

At each commercial break, my neighbor would impart the necessary instructions to me. I would dash to the kitchen after each set of instructions and cook. For the finishing gravy, I would bring her an empty bowl and different types of sauce bottles. Like a pharmacist, she would mix and stir the sauces under my ever-watchful eye. Once done, I would rush back again to the stove for the final assembly.

It was a time of fun that I remember and cherish. Like most people of her generation who were not very demonstrative of their feelings, these generous little cooking ‘lessons’ were my old neighbor’s gifts of affection to me.

Braised Mui Choy with Chicken Feet

Mui choy                     350 g

Ginger                          4 thick slices

Sugar                           2½ tbsp

Chinese wine              1 tbsp

Light soy sauce           1 tbsp

Dark soy sauce            ¾ tbsp

Lard/Oil                       5 tbsp

Meat stock/water        1½ cups

Braised Chicken Feet

Chicken feet                400 g

Dark soy sauce            1 tbsp

Salt                               ½ tsp

Water                          1½ litre

Oil                               2 cups

Method:

1.    Soak and rinse mui choy thoroughly. Squeeze mui choy very dry and dice it about 1cm thick.

2.    Marinate mui choy with sugar, light soy sauce, and Chinese wine for 30 minutes.

3.    Using a dry wok, fry the mui choy until the vegetable becomes dry. Add oil and continue to fry at medium heat for another 5 minutes. Pour stock and deep-fry chicken feet and simmer for 30 minutes.

Deep-fried Chicken Feet

1.    Marinate chicken feet with dark soy sauce and salt for 30 minutes.

2.    Blanch chicken feet in boiling water for 5 minutes.

3.    Remove from water and drain thoroughly.

4.    Deep-fry chicken feet until the skin turns brown and crispy.

5.    Drain the chicken feet thoroughly.

Note:   Mui choy is a preserved vegetable originating from Mei Zhou, a province in Canton where Hokkiens and Teochews meet. Nowadays, this preserved vegetable is exclusively produced in Hui Zhou. There are two types of mui choy: sweet and salty, as the vegetables are dried and heavily soaked in either salt or sugar. Each type of mui choy is used for a specific cooking purpose. The colour of mui choy should be light golden, with a slight scent to the vegetable.

Bun Susie Revisited

Chef Daniel Tay, like many of us, learned life’s lessons the hard way as a go-getting young businessman. He was born and raised in the baker’s kitchen; in fact, for many years, Chef Tay’s father owned a well-known neighbourhood bakery, the Seng Choon Confectionery, at Marine Parade.

Tay Senior learned the ropes of the trade through the people he employed after setting up his shop, eventually mastering the skills and techniques required to become a baker and a businessman. Chef Tay later took over his father’s business, but lost it due to his youthful inexperience.

Apple Pies

This setback spurred him to pack his bags and head for Paris, where he honed his skills working at some of the most respected names in the business. He returned some years later to found Bakerzin, and the rest is sweet history.

Now, with this project, Chef Tay pays loving tribute to his dad by bringing to life the Seng Choong Confectionery. From 1 to 12 August 2012, 11 am to 9 pm, venture down to Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, 30 Keppel Road, to experience once again Rock Bun, Apple Pie, Bun Susie, and even Kaya, the old fashioned way.

Rock Buns

And speaking of Bun Susie, it is a forgotten snack that Eurasians and Peranakans often served their guests in the time before the 70s. Sadly, these days, not many have heard of it, let alone eaten it.

Here is its recipe; though it may not be exactly the same as Chef Tay’s, it is close enough to be enjoyed by the whole family.

Bun Susie

Butter                         75 g  

Mashed potato          80 g

Castor sugar               50 g

Hi-protein flour          450 g, sifted

Salt                              ½  tsp

Yeast                           10 g

Water                          175 ml, lukewarm

Egg                              1, for glazing

Filling:

Coriander powder      5 g

Oil                               2 tbsp

Garlic                           5 cloves

Taucheo paste            ½ tbsp

Chicken/Pork              360 g, diced

Dried winter melon    110 g, finely chopped

Seasoning:

Light soy sauce           1 tbsp

Sugar                           1 tsp

Pepper                         ½ tsp

Salt                               ½ tsp

Dark soy sauce            1 tsp

Water                           120 ml

Method:

1.     Preheat oven at 190°C.

2.    Blend butter, sweet potato and sugar in a bowl until smooth and thoroughly mixed.

3.    Mix flour, salt and yeast and mix thoroughly with a dough mixer.

4.    Add blended sweet potato batter and mix into a crumbly dough. Add water and mix until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover and let it rise for 30 minutes.

5.    Knead dough until smooth. Divide into 22 portions. Flatten the dough, spoon in the filling and shape the dough into a ball.

6.    Place the ball on a greased baking try. Brush with beaten egg and leave it to rise for another 25 minutes.

7.     Bake for 15 minutes.

Filling:

1.   Pan-fry coriander seeds until fragrant, remove from heat. Pound coriander seed until  

      powder form.

2.   Saute garlic and taucheo until fragrant. Add chicken and coriander powder. Stir well.

3.   Add seasoning and water. Simmer the gravy until it is reduced to near-dryness. Add winter 

      melon. Remove from heat and leave it to cool.

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.