Lovin' the new grill pan

Here's what I made tonight for dinner -




















Grilled Red Snapper (about 150g each here)

Let's start with the marinate - 2 tablespoons of melted butter goes into a mixing bowl with one chopped shallot, a dash of EVOO, 2 crushed cloves of garlic, juice and zest from half a lemon, sprinkle of pepper and chopped thyme leaves, and a pinch of salt to taste.

Once that's done you mix it around and then add to the wash, de-boned and de-scaled fillets of snapper. Set aside for 45 minutes.

When it's time to cook, fire up the grill to medium heat and drop it in skin side first for about 5 minutes of until the lower half starts to cook. Turn and finish up till the meat flakes when pressured.


Paprika Prawns (I used about 9 big ones here)

I realized that it's all about the marinate when it comes to grilling. Not much to do except watch it cook, so the marinate is key. Here's the one for the couple of tiger prawns I got. Be sure to devein the prawns and cut a nice slit along their spine to make the marinate sink in more.

You'll want a medium-sized shallot diced up along with a moderate amount of chopped garlic (about 2-3 cloves). Toss in about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and about 1 tablespoon of paprika. Mix in the juice of about half a lemon and last but not least chop up two chili padis and toss them in with the prawns. Mix.

Fire up the grill to medium heat and toss in till both sides are cooked with that nice charred look that we all love.


Garlic and Herb Potatoes

This is easy. And everyone loves potatoes. I used about 2 Russets for this one. Clean and scrub them potatoes and put them through the boiling salted water treatment for about 15 minutes or till they go soft (we need them cooked for the grill). Cool and wedge them.

Crush up 5 cloves of garlic and put them through a dry pan to roast them. About 10 minutes in medium heat will do. Extract and chop them up very finely. Commit this to about 3 tablespoons of olive oil and mix it with the potatoes.

Once the potatoes are nice and oily, put them into the grill and let em char on one side before turning over to reveal the nice burnt lines down the sides. Remove from grill when satisfied and toss in a pinch of parsley to serve.


Peppered Grilled Asparagus

These guys are really nice when you put them to the grill. Cut off the muddy bits and give them a nice wash before you throw them into a tub of icy water. Wait 30 minutes and then put them diagonally to the grill so they won't fall through and give you that nice charring down the sides.

When they go soft, that's what you remove em. Toss with ground pepper and salt to taste.

From the Kitchen of Mama Wong - Part 6

Sea Cucumber with Pork and Mushrooms

Mmmm.. Sea cucumbers! This disgusting little sea slug is filled with goodness, and for the ladies - they've no calories! I've been in love with them since my first bite, and if you're afraid of eating badly prepared ones, give me a call.

Ingredients -
Sea Cucumber (1kg)
Dried Mushrooms (preferably the Japanese ones, about half a bag)
Ginger (about 2cm)
Garlic and Shallots (2 cloves each)
Pork Belly (三辰肉, sliced to cubes of about 2cm)
Fatt Choy (grab a bunch)

All set? Fire up.

Mario Would Be Proud
Before we start, my first experience with dried mushrooms is worth a mention. I've been hungry again and thought of making some instant noodles (couldn't cook that well then so anything goes). There was nothing to go with the noodles so I decided to cook me some mushrooms! I took a bunch out of the packet and threw them into hot water so I could hasten the process. Big mistake.

Back to reality, and you'd want to soak the mushrooms for at least 2 hours in tap water. Throw in a little sugar. Once that's done, give the mushrooms a little squeeze to get out the water and nip off a little of their base before setting them aside.

Set aside the water as well. You won't regret it.

Tip: You can set aside the base for soup! Just wrap em in a cooking bag and toss em in.

My Sister Thinks It's Hair
Fatt Choy is like algae. It is, actually. Soak these in water and wait for them to soften. They will be useful in the last step of the recipe.

Squish
I can't stress this enough - clean the sea cucumbers. You need to scrape the stomach walls off the inside. if not it'll be a disgusting bitter aftertaste for you.

Once that's done, slice up some ginger (only about 1/2 of the total though - you'll need the rest for the next step) and fire up the wok. Heat up some oil and fry the ginger till you get that nice ginger smell in your kitchen. Throw in the sea cucumber after and play around. Next add a sprinkle of 花雕酒 (Hua Diao Wine) and cook till the wine becomes essence.

Once that's done remove everything and run it under a cold tap. Set aside and heat up the wok again.

The Rest of the Bunch
Oil, garlic, shallots, ginger till fragrant, and then throw in the pork. Cook that a little and then add in the mushrooms to the mix. A dash of oyster sauce (about 1 tablespoon) and dark soy sauce (about 2 tablespoons) to add some color, and then into a good pot.

Remember the water you saved when soaking the mushroom? The one with the sugar? Pour it into the pot with the mushrooms and pork, and then bring to a boil before stewing it for about an hour and a half till the mushrooms turn mush. Throw in a small cube of rock sugar while you're at it.

Once that's achieved, add in the sea cucumber and continue stewing for 30 more minutes. 20 minutes after the sea cucumber goes in, throw in the fatt choy.

Be sure to give it a stir once in awhile so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot.

Enjoy.

From the Kitchen of Mama Wong - Part 5

Steamed Sea Bass with Mushrooms and Pork

I'm a big fan of fish, but sea bass isn't one of my favs. It isn't one of the tastiest fish, but eat it the with mushrooms, pork and salted vegs and you'll end up loving it.

Ingredients -
Sea Bass (1 whole)
Pork Belly (三辰肉; 1 strip about 5-6cm long)
Salted Vegetables (1-2 leaves)
Dried Mushrooms (5-6; I like to those from Japan coz they've the best fragrance)
Ginger (3-4 slices)
Coriander (1 batch)
Spring Onions (1 batch)
Light Soy Sauce
Corn Flour
Pepper
Oyster Sauce
Pre-Cooked Oil

All set? Let's get cooking.

Always Be Preparing
I hope you've never had to try to eat dried mushrooms without soaking them properly first. My first experience with them was pretty bad - I wanted to add them to instant noodles and decided that they will pretty tun soft after I throw them in hot water for about 5 minutes.

I've since discovered that you need at least 2 hours of soaking before the mushrooms can be used, so do that; no need for warm water. When the mushrooms are all soft, take off their stems and slice them up.

Next up in the ginger. Scratch off the skin and then slice them up FINELY. My mum does a really good job of it (she doesn't hide that fact too); the ginger's gotta be really fine for it to work... like hair.

After the ginger comes the pork (seriously it doesn't matter which comes first really... you gotta do em all in the end). Wash and clean the excess fats off the belly strip and then slice them FINELY. They should look like little slimy maggots in your bowl after you set em aside. Makes for better 口感.

The salted vegetables should also be cut finely, but you need em to crunch down well so ease up on the fine-as-hair requirement on the ginger.

Spring onions are like the ginger. Keep the stalks (the thick lower half near the roots) for the fish.

Coriander's sparingly cut into 2cm segments, ready to be sprinkled onto the finished product along with the spring onions.

Last but not least (I must say this is my least favorite part of the dish), the fish. Descale it (the monger usually does a kindergarten kid's job of it) and clean out its guts.

Side Story: Selecting a good sea bass
When you're going to the market to choose fish, always look out for certain traits. Just remember that they all used to be alive, so by keeping out for signs of decay, you'll be pretty safe.

The Chinese call sea bass 金目鱸, literally translated into Golden-Eyed Fish. So you're gonna want to choose one with bright silver eyes. Its flesh should also have a certain bounce to it.

Once all that's done, take a break by firing up the wok in preparation for steaming.

Let Em Soak
The next step would be to marinate the meat and the mushrooms. Let's do the mushrooms first.

Take the mushroom slices and throw in corn flour (about a teaspoon), oyster sauce (2 teaspoons but you might like it saltier), ginger slices, pepper (a dash), and the pre-cooked oil (about a table spoon). Mix and set aside.

For the pork, you'll need light soy sauce (about 1 cap full), corn flour (1 teaspoon) and pepper (a bigger dash than the mushrooms; let's call it TWO dashes). Mix and set aside.

Into The Fire
Lay the spring onion stalks on a ceramic plate and place the fish on top. Sprinkle pre-cooked oil over the bass and then decorate the plate with the mushrooms, pork and salted vegetables. If you like your fish salty, you might wanna stuff a few salted vegs into the belly.

Put the fish to steam for about 10 minutes under high heat and when it's done, sprinkle on the spring onions and coriander before serving.

From the Kitchen of Mama Wong - Part 4

Pork Chops in Ketchup

Feeling kinda low right now, so I've decided to bring this dish to the table in a bid to cheer myself up. This is the first dish Mama Wong taught me, and it's kinda the longest dish to prepare. Trust me, it'll be worth it when you're done.

Ingredients -
4 - 8 Pork Slices (五花)
Potatoes (4-5 depending on how much you love em)
Onions (2 whole)
Garlic (2 cloves)
Tomatoes (2 whole, quartered)
Ketchup (about a half bottle)
Oyster Sauce (like 2 tablespoons I think)
Light Soy Sauce (1 cap full)
Pepper (a pinch)
Sugar (to taste, but definately less than the pepper)

All set? Here we go. It's gonna be a three-stop process.

Dunkin Pork Chops
Wash the pork and slice em into thin slices about 5mm thick. Alternatively you can ask the butcher to slice em up for you. Next thing to do would be to tenderize the pork by smashing them up. Now's a good time to release all your frustration and anger onto the pieces of meat coz you want them as tender as possible. One and two and pound and four!

When you're done beating the crap out of the pork, raid your cupboards for oyster sauce, pepper, a single egg (we're only going to use the white), and a little soy sauce. Mix em up with the pork and throw it into the fridge for an hour.

We'll get started on the potatoes now.

I like Em Soft and Salted
Wash and peel the potatoes. Sharpen that knife and prepare to wedge em. You'll probably get 3-4 wedges per half. Once you've gotten the wedges done, fire up the wok.

Well, a deep fryer would do as well, but I like em soft so that they'll mix well with the sauce later. No point getting them all fluffy and crunchy just so you can soak them later.

Bring the oil to a boil (skip this chapter if you're using a deep fryer. I promise not to make fun of you), and then plop in the wedges under a medium heat. Be sure to dry them before they enter the oil if you want to prevent splatter (hah, guess I should've told you that earlier huh). In about 5 minutes you can flip em over. Once they all done you should be able to catch the distinctive smell - that's the smell of potatoes turning into wedges.

Once they're all done, we move on to the pork. Get your protective gear if you're afraid of oil splatter. And this one's for those using fryers - chicken.

If You Can't Stand The Heat
Take the pork out and have a whiff - they've been basking in the marinate for a good hour and should be smelling divine. Keep the image of the finished delicacy in your head coz you're gonna need an initiative to get the next step done.

For people with deep fryers, you're getting away from this one. Time to face the (oily) music.

Fire up the oil once more and throw in the pork. I'm gonna give an oil warning here - a lot of splattering will happen, especially if you're using frozen pork.

Cook the porkers till one side is done and then flip for the other half. Once all's done, set aside and we'll move on to the sauce. We'll talk about cleaning the floor later.

Orange, and Warm, and Poured All Over
With a lot less oil this time, fire up the trusty wok for one last time. Throw in the onions and garlic and toss em around till you're fragrant. Oh, the garlic before the onions, sorry.

Next we add in the ketchup - half of the bottle. Mix in about half a cup of water to your desired viscosity. Cook to a boil and add in the sugar. Do a little taste test to make sure it's good (you can add in more water, more sugar, or more ketchup), and then throw in the pork.

Mix well, and then throw in the potatoes.

Mix weller, and then serve.

Tada! Now all you have to worry about is the oily floor and the filthy kitchen top.

From the Kitchen of Mama Wong - Part 3

Ginger Braised Duck

I've only had this at three places - my home, my grandma's home, and at the home of some relative I go to during the Chinese New Year. I like the ones at the first two; the last one wasn't too nice coz they used the wrong type of ginger and there's a lack of sauce. No kick ar.

Ingredients -
Duck (Whole)
Bean Paste (2 tablespoons; I prefer the brand with the green urn as the logo)
Garlic (4 cloves)
Black Beans (it's called lu[3] dou[4] in mandarin, but I've no idea what it's called in English)
Young Ginger (2 medium-sized one about 10-12 cm long each)
Oyster Sauce (1 tablespoon)

All set? Here we go.

Newspapers Recommended
So you got a duck, and it's dead. Next thing you want to is to clean it (you don't know where it's wobbly ass has been do you?). Take the meat to the tap and tweezer its remaining feathers off.

Out then comes the cleaver, and to its head the first blow goes. Once that's done, take the carnage to [unsuitable content edited].

So once the duck's all cut up and you've cleaned up all the mess in the kitchen, it's off to the boring stuff.

Old Ginger May Be the Most Flavorsome
But in this case, we'll be using young ginger. You won't want to kill off the sweet sweet taste of the duck with an overpowering bitter aftertaste of brainsed ginger rite?

Thought so.

Anyway, there is a very easy way of differenciating young ginger from their grandparents. All you have to do is take a closer look - the young ginger usually comes in a packet labelled "YOUNG GINGER".

But seriously, the young ones have a slight green tint to it, and the grocers usually keep the green leaves for you so that you can differenciate. Also, their skin (or bark) is a very thin compared to old ones. They also have a sweeter smell when you break them; the old ones have a distinct 'spicy' ginger whiff to them. Kinda like old men and their Chinatown Cologne.

Back to the kitchen!

Scrape the skin off the ginger, and cut them up into big long slices. Put em aside and we'll move on the bean paste.

All Black and Blue and Brown and Gooey and Soft
Smash the garlic with the cutting knife to get the peels off, and then add them to 2 tablespoons of bean paste. Add the black beans to the goop and take out your cleaver. Oh, this has to be done on a hard surface that you won't mind damaging.

With the blunt end of the cleaver (you cut with the sharp edge. The other one's called the blunt end), pound in the garlic, bean paste, and the black beans. Once they're VERY MIXED (or when the police arrives as a result from a call from the neighbors), put the paste aside and fire up the wok.

The Oily Bit
Heat the cooking oil and toss in the ginger. Cook till you catch a whiff of cooked ginger and then add in the bean paste. Keep stirring in medium heat until you smell the garlic from the paste. (For those with blocked noses, stirr until the paste covers every bit of every slice of ginger; I'd still recommend clearing the blockage though)

Note: You have to keep tossing the paste around. You won't like the taste of burnt paste, trust me.

It's then time to add in the duck! Toss the meat around for about a minute to mix in the paste (make sure all of the duck's covered), and then add in the oyster sauce. Cook for about 1-2 minutes. The meat won't be cooked but that's what the next part is for.

Pulling the Transfer
Once the duck's cooked with oyster sauce for a little bit, we're going to transfer the duck from the wok into a pot. I'm not very good around the kitchen so I won't know the exact name of the kind of pot. All I know is it's made in France so I'll call it Potty le France.



So put all of the duck into Potty and then add in about 2 and a half bowls of water. Cook to a boil and then leave to simmer for 90 minutes.

Open the lid to stir the duck every 30 minutes. Otherwise keep it closed so the sauce remains thick.

At the end of 90 minutes, the duck's good to go.

From the Kitchen of Mama Wong - Part 2

Prawns in Dark Soy Sauce

Sometimes I love to hate this dish - my mum, excellent cook as she is, misjudges the human limit on spicy and the end result is a lot of water and a bloated stomach. Stop eating the prawns you say? Not an option.

Ingredients -
Prawns (500g; I like to use those white sea prawns that go for about $16 per kilo)
Ginger (about 1-2cm thick would do)
Garlic (2 cloves)
Chilli Padi (3-4)
Spring Onions (1 batch)
Dark Soy Sauce (we use the Wor Hup brand; my mum swears by it)

Let's start!

Nipping Trouble in the Head

Prawns are great, but they've got spikes on their head and a single spear along their tails, so be sure to snip them off with a good pair of scissors lest you want to get yourself a tongue ring (or several) while eating. You'll be sucking the sauce off the prawn before you eat it (coz it's so good of course!) so cutting off the spikes would be a good idea.

Next you would want to de-vein the prawns by sticking a fork down the 2nd or 3rd segment of the shell and pulling out the disgusting black thing.

Wash and keep.

The Unsung Heroes

Seriously, these guys are under-appreciated. The trio of garlic, ginger and chilli padi have gone unnoticed in many of the dishes they feature in. I love em, so should you. Chop, chop, chop and get em all into a bowl for the frying later.

If you thought the trio was underrated, wait till you see the spring onion! Get these guys into cuts of 1cm and put em aside for the finishing touch later.

Stirring Up the Goodness

The first step to making great stir-fried prawns is getting all the moisture out of them first. That way they absorb all the great sauce instead of tasting like soggy cereal later.

Heat up the wok and toss in the diarmed and de-veined prawns. Cook till one side is COMPLETELY DRY (they'll be bright red and even a little charred) and then give the wok a little flip to cover the other side. You'll catch a wiff of the sweet fragrance of prawns when you're done.

Once both sides are nice and dry, take em out and put the prawns aside.

The Party's Getting Started

Fire up the wok and pour in some cooking oil. Once the oil reaches a boil toss in the unsung heroes and toss them around till you smell them well and good.

Once that's done add in the prawns from earlier. Toss those around and then add in about 1 table spoon of sugar (I say about because I'm used to estimating it; get used to this coz that's about just how most chinese home cooking is done).

Once the sugar's all mixed up with the prawns, introduce the dark soy sauce. About 2 laddle-full )I'd guess about 8-9 table spoons). Toss those around till the dark sauce is fully absorbed into the prawns.

The Finishing Touch

Here's the most important part - adding in the spring onions. They make all the difference so I decided to give them their own section.

So go ahead and add the greens in. Stir until everything is evenly mixed and you're good to go.

From the Kitchen of Mama Wong - Part 1

Sambal Kang Kong

This one's a favorite of mine whenever I eat out - whether it's a restaurant or a neighborhood eatery. You'll find that the one I'm going to introduce is a slightly drier variety from those served outside my house, but if you dare give it a try I guarantee you'll get a pleasant surprise from the heavenly combination of dried shrimp, garlic, and chilli.

Ingredients -
Kang Kong (1 batch), chilli padi (3), red chilli (1), garlic (3 cloves), dried shrimp (a handful)

Let's start!

Making the Cut
Next we clean the kang kong. I apologize to all those who don't know what a kang kong is; you've not tasted one of the best greens grown by man.

Moving on we'll snip off the edible parts of the kang kong with our fingers and then toss out the roots and the hard lower stem of the vegetable. Once the whole batch is snipped, have them soak in a basin of water to get rid of the soil and snails that may have gathered.

Seven (Hundred) Pounds
And while we wait for the greens to soak, we'll move on to preparing the shrimp floss. We'll begin by pounding the chillies in a mortar and pestle till it's hardly anything. Add in the garlic cloves in a comfortable amount, and then finishing it off my venting your tired forearms on the shrimp. Once they're a consistent dry floss, scoop them up and put them aside in anticipation for frying.

Note: You are able to buy pre-made dried shrimp at markets. Those usually do the trick if you neighbor threatened to burn a hole in your floor just so he can fume you whenever you start on the m&p.

Always Wear Protection
The first time I made Sambal Kang Kong, I did it shirtless. I'll treat that as an initiation ceremony - guys take off your shirts, and gals remember to take a video (my email's on the left frame under PROFILE).

Heat up a good amount of oil (I use Knife brand) because the shrimp floss will soak it all up leaving nothing for the vegs. Once the oils starts to cook, put on your shirts and toss in the shrimp floss. Prepare for a splatter fest (especially if you didn't pound it thoroughly enough coz that'll mean there's still plenty of moisture in them chillies).

Keep the heat up and toss away, not letting the floss char. Once you catch the smell of cooked shrimp floss, toss in the greens.

Throw those around in the wok for about 2-3 minutes and you will notice the greens getting darker. Once they're completely flattened and dark, toss in a pinch of salt (or 2. or 3) to taste.

Whip them around for a minute and you're good to go.

Note: If you're using store-bought floss, be sure to add in a pinch of chopped garlic to the oil (use a lot less than previously mentioned) and fry them till fragtant before throwing in the vegs to fry before ending it off with the floss and then salt.