Stir-Fried Greens With Dried Shrimps

A simple, stir-fried greens using one of my favourite vegetable, cabbage. This is one of the stir-fry cabbage dishes that I sometimes cook at home and was pleasantly surprised to find this similar recipe in Every Grain of Rice cookbook.  

The dried shrimps added an umami fragrant taste to the dish. This stir-fried cabbage dish makes an excellent side dish to rice meal, and is great with plain congee.

Stir-Fried Greens With Dried Shrimps
(adapted from "Every Grain Of Rice" by Fuchsia Dunlop)
400gm spring greens, or cabbage of your choice
4 spring onions, green parts only
4 tbsp cooking oil or lard
6 tbsp thin dried shrimps
2 tbsp light soy sauce
salt

Discard any fibrous outer leaves and cut out and discard the thick stem of the greens. Shred the leaves. Cut the spring onion greens into thin slices.

Add 3 tbsp of the oil or lard to a seasoned wok over a high flame and swirl it around. Add the shrimps and stir-fry until crisp and fragrant. Remove the shrimps from the wok and set aside.

Return the wok to the stove with the remainder of the oil or lard, add the greens and stir-fry over a high flame until hot, barely cooked and still a little crisp. Return the shrimps, adding the soy sauce and salt to taste (you may not need any salt because of the saltiness of the shrimps and soy). Finally add the spring onions, stir a couple of times, then turn on to a dish and serve.

Join us at Cookbook Countdown #38

Liuyang Black Bean Chicken

One of my favourite dish from Fuchsia Dunlop's cookbook, Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook. Made this dish a few times already.

The recipe uses  a whole head of garlic, fermented black beans, ginger, rice wine, rice vinegar, chili flakes and soy sauce. I've used boneless chicken thigh without the skin. Scallions are picked fresh from my garden pot. The chicken pieces are stir-fried until they change colour, remove and then fried  second time until they brown a little. The chicken are then removed, and stir-fry with the rest of the ingredients. 

Simple and delicious, great with white fluffy rice.

Liuyang Black Bean Chicken
(Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook, Fuchsia Dunlop)
1 lb boned chicken thighs with skin
salt
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 head garlic
2-1/2 in piece fresh ginger
4 scallions, green parts only
4 tbsp black fermented beans, rinsed
1 tbsp clear rice wine or Shaoxing wine
2-3 tsp dried chilli flakes
2 tsp clear rice vinegar

1. Cut the chicken into bite-size chunks. Put the chunks in a bowl, add 1/4 teaspoon salt and the soy sauce and mix well; set aside while you prepare the other ingredients.
2. Peel the garlic cloves, cutting any very large ones in half. Peel and slice the ginger. Cut the scallion greens into 1-1/2 inch pieces.
3. Heat the oil for deep-frying over a high flame until it reaches 350-400F. Add the chicken and stir-fry until it has changed colour, then remove from the wok with a slotted spoon and allow the oil to return to 350-400F. Return the chicken to the hot oil and deep-fry again until tinged golden, remove and set aside.
4. Drain off all but 3 tablespoons oil from the wok, then return it to a medium flame. Add the ginger and garlic and stir fry for a few minutes until they are fragrant and the garlic cloves are tender. Add the black beans and stir-fry until fragrant, splashing in the rice wine as you do so. Add the chili flakes and stir-fry for a few moments until they have lent their heat and red colour to the oil.
5. Return the chicken to the wok and toss it in the fragrant oil, splashing in the vinegar and adding salt to taste. When everything is sizzly and delicious, throw in the scallions, and stir a few times until barely cooked. Then, off the heat, stir in the sesame oil and serve.

Join us at Cookbook Countdown #38

       

Fish-Fragrant Aubergines

A simple flavourful dish, what we would call, an "everyday dish". Best eaten with fluffy rice and great with plain congee too. 

The brinjals I used are from my garden pot, harvested when the brinjals are young and tender. I pan-fry the pieces of brinjals cut into batons, in a little oil on both sides. The sauce is then cooked and the brinjals are stirred in for a few minutes until the sauce thickens.

If you would like to give it a try, the recipe can be found here
(or from Every Grain of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop)

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #29 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Sweet-And-Sour Spare Ribs

Come and join us at Cookbook Countdown. This month we are cooking Chinese Cuisine. Cook any Chinese dishes, desserts, or refreshments and link with us at CC. You are welcome to link any other recipes, not necessarily Chinese dishes. As long as you are using any of your cookbooks, you are good to go! More details at CC.

One of my favourite cookbook on Chinese cooking is Every Grain of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop. The recipes are simple and doable for the home cooks. This Sweet-and-Sour Spare Ribs recipe is similar to our local Pai Kuat Wong (directly translated as King Spare Ribs), with sticky sweet and sour glaze and tender meat. It is always one of the favourite dish to order when eating out at Chinese restaurants. 

This dish takes a few extra steps to make. You would want to get the meaty spare ribs for this dish. The spare ribs are first boiled in water with a few  ingredients, then remove, drain and deep-fried until golden. The ribs are then cooked in the sweet-sour sauce until the sauce thickens and the ribs are coated with the sticky sauce. According to the author, this dish is served as an appetizer in many parts of China, though over here, it is usually served as part of a meal with rice. Delicious dish!

Recipe for this dish can be found here
or get the book, Every Grain of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop, pg 58

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #29 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Silken Tofu with Pickled Mustard Greens

This is really a simple soup, with two ingredients, silken tofu and pickled mustard greens. Make sure to use good quality chicken stock, that is what makes this soup. I've used my own homemade chicken stock which I kept a few containers in the freezer, very handy for recipes such as this.

For the pickled mustard greens, I have used pickled mustard tubers, sold in packs, sliced and ready to eat. It is one of my favourite pickles to use in cooking and especially good as a condiment to a bowl of plain congee, as it can be eaten as it is. To make this soup, heat some oil, and stir-fry the mustard greens/tubers till fragrant, add the stock and bring to a boil. Add some salt and pepper to taste, the mustard tubers will be salty, so go easy on the salt, you might not need the salt if the stock is already salty. Once the soup is boiling, scoop the tofu in large pieces using a spoon, into the soup. Let the tofu warm gently and absorb the flavours. Dissolve a teaspoon or so of potato flour into cold water, stir to combine and add to the soup to thicken it slightly. Stir gently so as not to break up the tofu pieces, ladle into serving bowl and garnish with chopped spring onion, serve immediately.

I have made this soup twice, once with the added potato flour and this time without. I like both versions. If you love a luscious smooth soup then go ahead with the potato flour. For a more soupy soup, omit the potato flour. We really like this soup, yum!

The recipe can be found here.
Or from this fabulous book Every Grain Of Rice, by Fuchsia Dunlop

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #23 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Everyday Stir-Fry Chicken

Everyday Stir-Fry Chicken, is just what it is, a simple homey dish that can be cooked in just minutes,. Get the veggies all sliced up and ready, with all the other ingredients close by the wok. Just like most stir-fries, this dish comes together pretty quickly as soon as your wok is hot.

You can use either chicken thigh meat or breast meat, whichever you prefer. Any veggies can be used for this stir-fry dish. According to the author, sliced mushrooms, peppers, or even a small handful of soaked cloud ear mushrooms would work very well too. Here, I have used what I had in my fridge ; carrots, celery, spring onion and cucumber. 

A nice dish to serve with rice along with some stir-fried green veggies, perhaps a plate of omelette and some soup. 

Everyday Stir-Fried Chicken  (This recipe can also be found here)
(Every Grain Of Rice, Fuchsia Dunlop)
2 boneless chicken thighs, with our without skin (225gm)
small section of cucumber (4-5cm will do)
2/3 celery stick
1 garlic clove
an equivalent amount of ginger
1 spring onion, white part only
1 fresh red chilli, or Sichuan pickled red chilli
3 tbsp cooking oil

For the marinade :
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp potato flour
1 tsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp light soy sauce

For the sauce :
1/4 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp potato flour
1 tsp Shaoxing wine
2 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp Chinkiang vinegar
1 tbsp stock or water

Lay the chicken thighs out on a chopping board. Whack them up and down with the back of your knife to tenderiz them, then cut into 1/2cm slices along the grain of the meat. Place in a small bowl. Add the marinade ingredients along with 2 tsp water and mix well.
Cut the piece of cucumber in half lengthways and discard the seeds. Then cut lengthways into 1/2 cm strips. De-string the celery and cut into strips to match the cucumber. Peel and thinly slice the garlic and ginger. Cut the spring onion white and chilli on the diagonal into thin 'horse-ear' slices. Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
Heat the oil in a seasoned wok over a high flame. Add the chicken and stir-fry briskly. When the pieces have separated, add the garlic, ginger, spring onion and chilli and stir-fry until you can smell their fragrance and the chicken is almost cooked but still a little pink. Add the cucumber and celery and stir-fry until they are piping hot.
Give the sauce a stir, pour it into the centre of the wok and stir quickly as it thickens and clothes the pieces of chicken. Serve.

 I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #23 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Cold Chicken with Ginger and Spring Onion

I'm currently obsessed with cooking from Every Grain Of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop. Each recipe I've tried is delicious. Almost all of the recipes are simple and doable, with easy to find ingredients. She has provided some alternative ingredients for some of the recipes, which is really helpful. This dish, Cold Chicken with Ginger and Spring Onion is such a simple dish but very tasty. We love this dish!

Best used deboned chicken thigh, but I have used a mixture of  chicken breast  and thigh meat. This is made with cold cooked chicken. If you do not have any, you can poach the chicken in water with a piece of smacked ginger and a few spring onion whites, simmered for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked. I added some salt to the poaching liquid. Remove the chicken and rinse in cold running water. Then allow to cool. I used the poaching liquid (which is very tasty!), to make a simple tofu soup.

Cut the chicken meat into small bite-sized pieces and arrange on a serving plate. Scatter with chopped ginger and chopped spring onion. Heat some cooking oil until sizzling hot and spoon it over the ginger and onion. The sizzling sound is essential! If it doesn't sizzle, then the oil is not hot enough. Have some soy sauce diluted with some water and pour this over the chicken. Serve.

This method is similar to the one she used to cook steamed fish, which I've made here.

We had this with rice and there's no leftovers. Delicious!

The recipe can be found here.
Or get the book, Every Grain Of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop, on page 50.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #21 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Pork With Cumin

Originally, this recipe is Beef with Cumin, but I have replaced the beef with pork fillet. This is a simple and quick stir-fry. 

The meat are sliced into thin bite-sized pieces and then marinated with Shaoxing wine, salt, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and potato flour. The pork slices are then stir-fry briskly in some hot oil in a  wok over a high flame until the pieces separated, then remove to a plate and set aside. I stir-fry until the meat are cooked.

Heat some oil in a wok, add the chopped garlic and ginger, stir until they are fragrant, then add the sliced red and green peppers, continue to stir-fry until hot and fragrant. Return the meat slices to the wok, give a good stir, then add the cumin and dried chillies, When all is sizzling and smells delicious, toss in the chopped spring onions. Remove from heat and stir in some sesame oil. 

This is a delicious dish! So fragrant from the cumin and so very tasty! We really like this dish, delicious as part of a meal with white fluffy rice. 

The recipe can be found here
(or get it from Every Grain Of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop, pg106)

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #21 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Steamed Garoupa With Ginger And Spring Onion

A typical Chinese style steamed fish dish that is very commonly cooked in a Chinese household. This recipe is from Every Grain Of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop, a dish that is served in China, though the cooking method is typically Cantonese, as the author mentioned. This is very similar as to how we cooked it over here too. 

To cook this dish, get the ingredients ready, the spring onions and ginger are sliced and cut into thin fine slivers of equal length. Put these aside while you prepare the fish. Make some diagonal cuts on both sides of the fish. Rub the inside and out with some salt and Shaoxing wine. Smack a knob of ginger and some spring onions and put them into the belly cavity of the fish. Leave to marinade for 10-15 minutes, then pour off any liquid, pat the fish dry. Arrange some spring onions on the steaming plate and place the fish on top. Steam over high heat for 15 minutes or until the fish is cooked. 

Meanwhile, dilute about 3 tablespoons of soy sauce with 2 tablespoons hot water and keep aside.

When the fish is ready, carefully remove it to a serving plate, discard the ginger and spring onion from its belly. Arrange the spring onion and ginger slivers on the top. Heat some cooking oil till smoking hot, then carefully drizzle over the ginger and spring onion silvers. There should be a sizzling sound, if not, then the hot is not hot enough. Pour the diluted soy sauce all around the fish and serve immediately while still hot.

This is very much how we cook our steamed fish over here too. Though sometimes I would use shallot oil, with a drizzling of sesame oil at the end. A lovely, delicious and popular steamed fish dish that is served both at home and in Chinese restaurants.

Note : The recipe in the book has used sea bass, but I have used garoupa for this dish, though any other fish that is great for steaming would be good, just make sure that the fish is fresh.

The recipe can be found here
(or get it from Every Grain Of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop, pg 136)

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #20 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Braised Pork with Potatoes

Another delicious recipe from Every Grain Of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop. The author describes this as a heart-warming stew, one of those you find on display outside Sichuanese restaurants specialising in braised dishes. This stew uses just a few ingredients, the main ingredient that gives the lovely red colour and delicious flavour, is the Sichuan chilli bean paste.

I have used wavy potatoes instead of floury. As suggested by the author, carrots or other root veggies can be used instead, whichever we prefer, or a mixture of root veggies. The next time I would use daikons, one of my favourite root veggies in stews.

The Sichuan chilli bean paste makes a delicious flavourful stew with the pork braised to a soft tender texture. With a bowl of hot fluffy rice, makes a satisfying meal.

The recipe can be found here
(or from Every Grain Of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop, pg 100)

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #20 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Spinach In Ginger Sauce

I have made some delicious meals from Fuchsia Dunlop's cookbook, Every Grain Of Rice. Spinach In Ginger Sauce is another winner. There are more dishes that I will be sharing as I cannot seem to stop cooking from this book!

This is listed under the Cold Dishes section in the book.  A bunch of spinach are first blanched briefly in hot boiling water, then refresh in cold water, drain and very gently squeeze out any excess water from the spinach. They are then arranged on a cutting board, cut into sections, and arrange neatly on a serving plate. The sauce is then poured over.

To make the simple sauce, you would need to finely chop some ginger, place into a small bowl and mix with some Chinkiang vinegar, soy sauce, water, salt and sesame oil. You may need to adjust the soy sauce, salt and vinegar to your liking. I did use double the amount of ginger as we love ginger!

This spinach dish goes well together when served with a rich dish such as braised pork, as part of a meal with rice, as it is slightly sour, salty and gingery nice. So it helps to cut down on the richness of the rich braised meat. We love this spinach dish, a definite repeat. 

The recipe can be found here.
(or from Every Grain Of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop, pg 64)

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #20 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Salt-Fried Pork with Garlic Stems

Another delicious quick stir-fry dish from Every Grain Of Rice cookbook by Fuchsia Dunlop. I love garlic stems, they are sweet, crunchy and delicious. In this recipe, very thinly sliced pork belly are fried in a little oil until they are curved and browned in places. They are then removed and keep aside.

To prepare the garlic stems, chilli bean paste and fermented black beans are stir-fried until the oil is red and fragrant, then the fried pork slices are added in, season with some sugar to taste. Add the garlic stems and continue to stir fry until the garlic stems are cooked through.

This is a delicious stir-fry. With minimal ingredients, but very tasty. Delicious with fluffy rice. We love it.

The recipe can be found here.
(from Every Grain Of Rice, Fuchsia Dunlop, pg 98)

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #19 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Runner Beans With Black Beans And Chilli

A quick stir-fry dish, simple yet so tasty. I don't cook runner beans very often, simply because they are not always available. And when I do see them in the market, I would not hesitate to grab some, as we love runner beans. 

Recipe calls for the garlic and ginger to be thinly sliced, but I have chopped them instead, and have used more than the recipe calls for. Instead of boiling the runner beans for two or three minutes, I have simply microwaved them for two minutes, then proceed with the recipe.

The stir-frying part is pretty quick, takes only a few minutes. One of my usual way of stir-frying runner beans is to cook with chopped dried prawns. This recipe uses black beans, another delicious way of cooking these runner beans. We love this dish, makes a great side dish to eat with rice and other main dishes. It is now on my list of "everyday-dish" rotation!

The recipe can be found here.
(from Every Grain Of Rice, Fuchsia Dunlop, pg 154)

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #19 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Soup With Vegetable and Meatballs

This is a simple soup of winter melon and pork meatballs. The author mentioned that she came across this simple meal at the tranquil old lanes of central Chengdu, where a woman was eating her supper of this lovely soup of meatballs and winter melon, with a bowl of rice.

You can use any vegetable you like, such as bean sprouts, choy sum, cabbage or tomatoes. But take note that if the vegetable you choose takes a few minutes to become tender, cook it before you add the meatballs. If it cooks almost instantly, then add them in when the meatballs are just about ready. 

According to the author "If you want to make this into a one-dish meal, like the lady in the old lanes, use your chopsticks to pluck out the meatballs and vegetables and them with your rice, then drink the soup from your empty rice bowl."

We had this soup as  part of a meal with rice, along with some other main dish and a stir-fry veggie.

The recipe can be found here.
(or from Every Grain Of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop, pg 248)

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #19 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Pak Choy with Fresh Shiitake

A simple stir-fry greens with fresh shiitake mushrooms. Great as part of a meal with rice, or noodles. According to the author, dried shiitake mushrooms can be used instead. The dried shiitake have to be soaked first and precooked before using them in the recipe. I will try that the next time.

This dish is usually served in Chinese restaurants, though it is a richer version with glossy sauce made with some rich stock, thickened with some corn starch solution. Instead of pak choy, brocolli can be used instead. 

One of my favourite dishes when eating at Chinese wedding banquet.

The recipe can be found here.

kitchen flavours notes :
I did not blanch the pak choy, but microwave for 2 minutes. And did not blanch nor precooked the fresh shiitake, but used them directly in the recipe. Stir fry the mushrooms with the ginger and garlic for two minutes, then add the pak choy.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #18 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Spicy Buckwheat Noodles

A simple and tasty noodle dish. One important ingredient here is the chilli oil, as it really makes the dish. Fuchsia Dunlop's Chilli Oil is simply fabulous.  It is easy to make and do not take much time at all.

Homemade Chilli Oil, recipe from Fuchsia Dunlop's book, Every Grain Of Rice. According to the author, Chilli Oil is "one of the essential ingredients in Sichuanese cold dishes, this is also used in dips for dumplings and other snacks."  I love this Chilli Oil! Tasty with that toasty fragrant chilli aroma. I've used Korean red chilli flakes, used for kimchi making, which is great, as it is not too spicy, yet with a light spicy heat, and they give a beautiful red hue to the oil.

A simple and easy noodle dish. There's an option to use cooked shredded chicken meat, of which I have omitted, and made it plain instead, as pictured in the book. The Chilli Oil is what makes this noodle tasty. Other ingredients that complement the oil; soy sauce, Chinkiang vinegar, sugar, salt, chopped garlic, spring onion greens and chopped fresh red chillies. Mix them with the cooked noodles, (taste and add more seasonings or chilli oil as needed), garnish with more red chillies and lots of chopped spring onion greens, you have a tasty bowl of noodle.  Delicious eaten either warm or cold. 

The recipe for Spicy Buckwheat Noodles can be found here.

The recipe for Chilli Oil can be found here. Note : I use Korean chilli flakes, the ones used for making kimchi

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #18 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Hangzhou Aubergines

This is a delicious aubergine dish, goes really well with white fluffy rice, as part of a Chinese meal with a plate of green veggie stir-fry, a bowl of soup and a meat or egg dish. Though I would be happy with just this one dish alone with hot fluffy rice.

There's quite an amount of oil used in the recipe, to fry the sliced aubergines. I use only about half a cup of oil, enough to fry one side of the aubergines, then I turned the aubergines to fry on the other side. This way there's no need to use so much of oil for deep-frying. Be sure to drain the fried aubergines on kitchen paper to absorb all the excess oil. I have doubled the amount of minced pork, and added a little more of the fermented sauce, and soy sauce. Taste as you cook, to your liking.

This is not a new dish to me, as it is really a dish that can be found quite commonly in Chinese restaurants over here, and one of our favourites. But it is interesting to see how the same dish is being cooked in another part of the world. A delicious dish that I will definitely be cooking again in my kitchen.

The recipe can be found here.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #18 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

I have happy news  to share, Kitchen Flavours has been selected by Feedspot as one of the Top 50 Malaysia Food Blogs on the web. You can read all about it, and see the full list at Feedspot.

Thank you Feedspot. I am honoured!

Stir-Fried Tofu with Black Bean and Chilli

This colourful stir-fry dish tastes as good as it looks (from the photo in the book, that is!). The main flavouring comes from Laoganma black bean sauce, a rich oily black bean relish made from fermented black soy beans, chilli oil and other seasonings. I thought that this sauce is delicious! It is not the same as the regular black bean sauce. It has chilli oil and other seasoning, which makes it really tasty. 

To make this dish, I've used spiced firm tofu, which is sliced to strips. The veggies; celery, red pepper, onion, spring onions are all to be cut to similar size as the tofu. For the Laoganma black bean sauce, I have added an extra tablespoon. Get everything sliced up and all the other ingredients ready before you start with the stir-fry. 

This dish is a delicious way of cooking tofu, a tasty dish with hot fluffy rice, though I could settle down with a pair of chopsticks and enjoy this dish alone!

Laoganma black bean sauce

The recipe can be found here.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #17 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Braised Chicken With Chestnut

Chestnuts is one of my favourites, delicious in braised dishes and really good when roasted, eaten as a snack. Here it is used in a braised chicken dish. I have used a claypot to cook this dish. For this dish I have used ready-to-eat vacuum packed chestnuts. You may however use raw chestnuts, refer to the instructions at the bottom of the recipe on how to prepare the raw chestnuts for cooking. 

A homey dish that is perfect with a bowl of rice. Chunks of boneless chicken thigh browned in oil and then braised in a claypot with the chestnuts. Can be cooked in advance and reheat just before serving. 

This dish is great with a green stir-fry, of which I have made Stir-Fried Romaine Lettuce, recipe which can be found in the same book. This veggie stir-fry is very similar to how we cook our stir-fry veggies. I have however, added some chopped garlic, just because we have always used chopped garlic for stir-fry veggies.  

These two dishes with a bowl of soup makes such a lovely meal with a bowl of hot fluffy white rice.

The recipe for Braised Chicken with Chestnuts can be found here.

Stir-Fried Cos Lettuce
(Every Grain Of Rice, Fuchsia Dunlop)
1 heart of romaine or cos lettuce (about 250gm)
3 tbsp cooking oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped (my addition)
salt

Cut the lettuce heart across its width at 2.5cm intervals. Wash the cut leaves, then shake dry or (even better) spin in a salad spinner.
Pour the oil into a hot, seasoned wok over a high flame and swirl it around. (Saute the chopped garlic until aromatic and light brown, if using). Add the lettuce and stir-fry until hot and fragrant, but still very crisp, seasoning with salt to taste towards the end. Serve

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #17 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Stir-Fried Chopped Choy Sum

Choy Sum is one of my most favourite vegetable. It is great with noodles, in soups, and stir-fry as a dish in itself. This recipe is quite different in the way it is prepared. The choy sum is first blanced briefly in hot boiling water, refresh in cold water, then squeeze dry as much as possible. Chop them up finely and they are ready to be stir-fry.

Even the stir-fry method is a little different. The chopped choy sum are heated up in a dry wok, stir to release any water, add chopped chillies and a pinch of salt, and stir till the wok is no longer moist. The choy sum is then removed to a plate while the wok is heated up once more. Add some oil to the heated wok, saute the chopped ginger and garlic till fragrant. Stir in the choy sum, season to taste with some salt, stir till everything is hot and smells nice. Stir in the sesame oil, dish out and serve.

This method is very different from my regular way of cooking choy sum, which I stir-fry without any blanching or sauteeing the veggie to release it's moisture. I was afraid that the veggie would be overcooked with those extra steps above, but I find that the choy sum cooked this way is quite delicious. Great as part of a meal with rice, with some other main dish.

The recipe can be found here.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #15 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray