Braised sea cucumbers with pork knuckle

Ingredients
1 pork knuckle ( 1.2 kg)

200-250g sea cucumbers

20 dried mushroom ( soaked )

2 bulbs of garlic
6 pcs shallot ( cut into thin slices)
2-inch piece old ginger ( flatten with back of knife)
5 stalks of spring onion

50g rock sugar
2 tbsp light soya sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp shao xing wine

1 tbsp black vinegar
4 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp cooking oil

To clean sea cucumbers takes a few days. Therefore you have to plan at least 5-6 days ahead:

1. Wash the sea cucumbers and put them into a big pot.

2. Pour into the pot enough water to immerse the sea cucumbers and bring to boil. Do not stir and leave to cool naturally. Keep in the fridge and let them soak overnight. Make sure the water is free from oil.

3. Take the pot of sea cucumbers out from the fridge the next morning. Pour away the water and fill the pot with fresh water. Bring to boil and leave to cool..... and back to fridge..... i.e repeat step 2.

4. On the 3rd day, just feel and see if the sea cucumbers are soft enough for you to slice/cut them open using knife or scissors. If not repeat step 2 for one more day.

5. When sea cucumbers have become soften, cut them lengthwise and clean off entrails (using a teaspoon to "scrape" ).

6. Wash the sea cucumbers thoroughly after cleaning.

7. Boil them again with 1-inch ginger (crushed). Drain away the water.

8. The sea cucumbers are now ready for you to cook or you may cool them and keep in freezer for future use.

Preparation

1. Heat up 2 tbsp oil in saucepan, put in the sea cucumbers and ginger and stir fry until almost dry. Add in the rice wine and stir fry for further 1-2 minutes. Dish up and set aside.

2. Heat up 4 tbsp oil in saucepan and stir-fry shallot until golden brown.

3. Put in the pork knuckle, mushroom, salt, light soya sauce, dark soya sauce and stir fry for 5 minutes. Add in 1 1/2 cup water and bring to boil.

4. Now put in the sea cucumbers with ginger, garlic, spring onion and rock sugar. Add in more hot water if necessary to make sure the pork knuckle and sea cucumbers are immersed. Bring to boil and cook over medium flame for 30 minutes and then lower the flame to simmer for 1 1/2 -2 hours.

5. Alternatively, you may transfer it to cook in a slow cooker; cover and simmer for about 3 - 3 1/2 hours.

6. Remember to check from time to time for both cases. Stir lightly with a spatula to prevent sea cucumbers sticking to the bottom of pot. Sea cucumbers and pork knuckle would be soft and tender when cooked.

Braised Duck

Ingredients

1/2 duck

1/2 bulb garlic

1-inch piece of old ginger (crushed)

2 star anise

2 cinnamon stick
2 stalk lemon grass (white portion, optional)

1/2 tsp five spice powder

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp rock sugar (10g)

2 tbsp shaoxing wine

2 tbsp corn flour

4 tbsp light soya sauce

5 tbsp dark soya sauce( add more if necessary)

5 stalk spring onion

Preparation

1. Heat up a saucepan. Over low flame, put the duck in with skin down (to get rid of excess fat under the skin).

2. Dish up the duck.

( Optional : if you don't mind the fat)

3. Boil 1 1/2 litre water in a pot. Put in all the ingredients except the duck and shaoxing wine.

4. Put the duck in when the water is boiling. Make sure the water just covers the duck.

5. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes and turn it over to simmer for another 30 minutes.

6. Add in the shaoxing wine and simmer for another 20 minutes or until the duck is tender.

7. Dish up the duck. Strain the gravy to get rid of the residues of the spices. Return the gravy back to stove and bring to boil.

8. Dissolve 2 tbsp corn flour in about 4 tbsp of water and stir it into the gravy to thicken it.

9. Chop the duck and pour the gravy over it. Serve with rice.

Grandma's Kaya( coconut egg jam)

Ingredients

This recipe is easy to remember as we use equal amount of eggs, concentrated coconut milk and brown sugar. Just measure by bowl or cup will do.

In addition, we require 1/4 cup of sugar(for caramel) and some pandan leaves.

Preparation

1. Beat the eggs slightly in a bowl and strain it through a piece of cloth. Make sure it is properly strained(not lumpy).

2. Put the brown sugar and the egg mixture in a pot and beat to mix well.

3. Add in the coconut milk and stir the mixture for a while to make sure that it is well blended before putting in the pandan leaves.

4. Put the pot on the stove and continue to stir the mixture slowly over very low flame. It is necessary to keep on stirring so as to ensure nothing sticks at the bottom of the pot.

5. Melt 1/4 cup of sugar in another pot.

6. Stir lightly until the sugar melts and is turning brown.

7. Add the caramel into the coconut mixture and continue stirring for about 1 to 1.5 hours until the mixture thickens.

8. Remember to keep the flame low so that the texture of kaya would be fine and smooth.

9. Discard the pandan leaves when kaya is cooked.

Bitter gourd braised chicken

Ingredients

1 bitter gourd about 300g

1 pc chicken thigh ( cut into big pieces )

2 shallots ( cut into thin slices)

5 slices of ginger

1 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tsp black bean sauce

1/2 tsp dark soya sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

some salt

some oil

Preparation

1. Cut the bitter gourd into rectangular shapes. Rub it with some salt and leave it for 5 minutes ( to remove bitterness). Wash away the salt.
2. Marinate the chicken with 2 tbsp light soya sauce and pinch of salt for 30 minutes.

3. Heat up some oil in the saucepan and shallow fry the bitter guord for about 5 minutes until it is half-cooked. Dish up and set aside.

4. Pour out the oil and leave about 2 tbsp oil in saucepan.

5. Stir fry the shallot until fragrant. Add in the ginger and chicken.

6. Stir fry chicken for a while over high heat.

7. Return the bitter gourd to the saucepan. Put in oyster sauce, black bean paste, sugar, dark soya sauce and stir fry to mix well.

8. Add in 60ml water and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.

9. Dish up to serve.

Bitter gourd and lean meat soup

Ingredients

150g bitter gourd ( cut into thin slices)

50 g carrot ( cut into slices)

100g pork fillet ( cut into thin slices)

1 tbsp corn flour

1 tbsp light soya sauce

some salt

Preparation

1. Add some salt to bitter gourd. Rub it evenly and leave it for about 5 minutes to remove bitterness. Wash away the salt.

2. Marinate the meat with 1 tbsp corn flour and 1 tsp light soya sauce.

3. Boil about 1 litre water in pot. 

4. Add bitter gourd and carrot into the pot and cover to boil over lower flame for 30 minutes.

5. Put in the meat and bring to boil. Do not stir after adding the meat.

6. Add salt to taste when the meat is cooked.

7. Serve the soup hot.

*This soup taste a bit bitter, but it seems that it is good for "cooling" when one feels "heaty".

Fried eggs with prawn in oyster sauce

Ingredients

150g prawn ( shelled and deveined)

2 eggs

1 shallot ( sliced)

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp light soya sauce

1 stalk spring onion ( cut into small pieces)

pinch of salt 

dash of pepper

some oil 

Preparation

1. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add in the prawn, light soya sauce, salt and pepper. Stir lightly to mix well.

2. Heat up 3 tbsp oil in the saucepan and stir fry the shallot until fragrant.

3. Swirl the saucepan so that it is evenly covered with oil. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan.

4. When one side is done (slightly brown), turn it over to cook the other side.

5. Add 50ml water mixed with 1 tbsp oyster sauce into the saucepan, when both sides of the omelette are cooked (not too brown).

6. Cover to simmer for 1/2 minute over low flame.

7. Put in the spring onion and stir fry lightly.

8. Dish out to serve.

Braised chicken feet with mushroom

Ingredients

12 fried chicken feet

15-20 pcs dried mushroom ( soaked)

10 dried oyster ( soaked ) - optional

1/2 bulb garlic

2 star anise

1 stalk spring onion ( Do not cut )

1 stalk spring onion ( cut into small pieces for garnishing )

1/2 inch ginger ( cut into slices)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp dark soya sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp light soya sauce

800 ml water

Preparation

1. Boil the water in a pot.

2. When the water boils, put in all the ingredients (except the spring onion for garnishing ) and bring to boil.

3. Simmer over low flame for 1 1/2 hours or until the chicken feet is soft.

4. Discard the garlic and the stalk of spring onion.

5. Garnish and serve hot.

Black chicken herbal soup (乌骨鸡汤）

Ingredients

1 black chicken ( skinned)

10g dong gui (当归）

10g mai dong （麦冬）

10g yu zhu （玉竹）

1.2 litre water

Preparation

1.  Put all the ingredients in a pot and bring to boil.

2. Turn to low flame and simmer for 2 1/2 hours.

3. Add salt to taste.

4. Serve the soup hot 

*Note : This soup is for treatment of low red blood count,white blood cell count and platelet. It also increases immunity.

Black bean pork ribs soup

Ingredients
100g black bean
250g pork ribs ( vertebrae ribs)
salt to taste





Preparation
1. Soak the black bean over night.
2. Blanch the ribs.
3. Put the ribs and black bean into a pot and add in 1.5 litre water .
4. Bring to boil and simmer over low flame for 1 1/2 hours.
5. Discard the ribs and serve hot.

*Note : This soup is for treatment of low red blood count,white blood cell count and platelet. It also increases immunity.

Braised pork knuckle

Ingredients
1 pork knuckle ( 1.2 kg)

2 bulbs of garlic
6 pcs shallot ( cut into thin slices)
60g old ginger ( flatten with back of knife)
50g rock sugar
2 tbsp light soya sauce
2 tbsp dark soya sauce
1/2 tsp salt
100-120ml black vinegar ( Yongcun laocu)
250-300ml water
4 tbsp cooking oil

Preparation
1. Heat up 4 tbsp oil in saucepan and stir-fry shallot until golden brown.






2. Add in the pork knuckle, salt, light soya sauce, dark soya sauce and stir fry for 5 minutes.







3. Transfer the pork knuckle into a cooking pot.
4. Add in 1 cup of water, black vinegar, dark soya sauce, ginger and garlic and bring to boil over medium flame.
5. Turn to low flame and cover it to cook for 2 hours.
6. Check from time to time to make sure it does not drys up completely. Add in a bit of water if necessary.

7. Add in the rock sugar and cook for further 30 minutes.
8. Dish out the pork knuckle to serve. Discard the garlic and ginger.

"3 in 1" baked beans with pork and eggs

Ingredients

1 can baked beans

2-4 eggs 

100g pork fillet ( cut into thin slices )

1 shallot ( cut into thin slices )

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp cornflour

some oil

Preparation

1. Marinate the pork fillet with 1 tbsp light soya sauce and 1 tbsp cornflour. Set aside.

2. Heat up 2 tbsp oil in the saucepan and fry the eggs.

3. Dish the eggs onto a plate.

4. Add 1 tbsp oil to the saucepan and stir fry the shallot until fragrant.

5. Put in the pork fillet and stir fry till cooked.

6. Put in the baked beans and 1 tbsp oyster sauce. Stir fry to mix evenly.

7. Cover to cook for 3 minutes.

8. Pour the baked beans onto the plate which contains the eggs .

9. Serve hot with rice.