Confinement Food - Varity Nutrition Soup for Wk#1, 月子餐 - 第一周-各类补汤

Forgive me for the inconsistency of my photo quality recently. The time is approaching - it is just around the corner - trying to post as many things as I can. But it doesn't work so well for a clumsy pregnant woman.

After getting advices from elderly women and reading some articles about confinement food, I have come up with a few choices of nutritional soup for my first week's confinement. It is not recommended to consume meals cooked with alcohol (even wine) and sesame oil in the first week post-partum because it will lead to unfavorably high vaginal blood discharge (恶露). The meals for the first week should be balanced, neutral and nourishing.

Here I came up with 3 types of nutritional soup first. I will update more whenever I have chance. It has been really exhausting recently, so I am trying to catch some rest. I would appreciate if some of you could share some tips with me about your confinement experience too.

大肚婆临盆在即, 动作迟钝, 没花什么心思拍照片了, 有拍到交货就好了啦! 照片品质不好, 请大家多多体谅哦...又要采购, 又要试煮, 又要记录食谱, 又要更新网志, 又要在生产之前赶工作进度....累啊!!!

今天先来几道温和的补汤, 还有一些要等以后有机会再整理了...目前争取时间休息最重要.

听 了一些过来人的意见和参考了许多医疗书籍, 结合了老人家的传统和医学上的资料, 我整理了几道产后第一周所要喝的补汤. 根据书上说的, 产后第一周的重点在於排除恶露, 除了服用生化汤, 饮食方面以均衡清单为主, 由于酒精会使血管广张促进血液循环, 而使出血更多, 所以饮食不加酒禁麻油为宜, 中药补汤也需要等到第二或第三周开始. 老人家说的, 第一周要"温补". 以下几款补汤其实也适合在平时褒来補一補, 做法简单, 是属于比较温和的補汤, 不会燥热. 还有其它补汤等我有机会在UPDATE吧, 大肚婆超忙的!!!

月子餐尽量少盐, 要不然水肿消不掉哦! 自己也是在学习, 也恳请有坐月经验的读者们多多留言分享, 感激不尽哦!!!


Soup # 1. - Mushroom & black fungus chicken soup - 香菇木耳鸡汤

1. 1/2 free range chicken chunks (approx. 600g), 半只土鸡(切大块) - pre-washed with boiled water, 川烫备用
2. 4~5 pre-soaked mushrooms - cut to chunks
3. 1" of fresh ginger chunk (can use bigger chunk if you like it)
4. 4~5 pre-soaked black fungus
5. 1 fresh oyster mushroom (sliced) - optional, can omit if it is not available.
6. Some wolfberries
7. 1000~1200ml water.
8. Salt to taste

Steps :

1. Boil the water, add in chicken and mushroom.
2. Bring boil again, simmer over low heat for approx. 40~60 minutes.
3. Add in black fungus, oyster mushroom slices, wolfberries.
4. Bring to boil again, simmer another 20 minutes.
5. Remove from heat, season with salt.


Soup# 2 : Black Bean Pork Rib Soup (黑豆排骨汤)

1. 400g Pork ribs (can substitute with pork knuckles chunks), pre-washed with boiled water, 川烫备用.
2. 2/3~1 cup black beans (wash and sauteed over medium heat (without oil/grease) until the bean's skin begin to crack), remove from heat and set aside.
3. 1" ginger chunk
4. 1200 ml water.
5. Salt to taste.



Steps :
1. Boil the water, add in ingredients # 1~3.
2. Bring to boil again, simmer over low heat for 80~90 minutes.
3. Salt to taste.


Soup# 3 : Chicken in Brown Sweet Rice Soup - 糯糙米汤炖土鸡
(recipe from Sister Lisa)

1. 1 cup (use rice cup) of brown sweet rice
2. 1400~1500 ml water.
3. 1/2 free range chicken chunks (approx. 600g) (1/2 只土鸡块), 川烫备用.
4. 6~8 Black dates/red dates 黑枣/红枣 (optional)
5. Salt to taste (can be omitted)

Steps :
1. Cook the sweet rice until it is the consistency of congee.
2. Separate the rice from the liquid. (I keep some rice)
3. Add in chicken chunks and dates
4. Bring to boil, simmer over low heat for 45~60 minutes.

Confinement Food (月子餐) : Pork Knuckles in Ginger and Vinegar 猪脚姜醋

Curious about whether I am in confinement period??? Not yet, but pretty soon! :-). This is why I said I couldn't move fast in my prior post. I think some of you may have already guessed I am pregnant. :-p. After the moving and un-packing, we are now busy with baby stuff shopping and buying my confinement food ingredients. One of my tasks before labor is to cook excessive food that is freezable for my honey - Tom. That way he doesn't have to eat too much of the high sodium frozen foods that are usually sold at supermarkets here.

I think I have got most of the confinement recipes ingredient stocked up in my pantry, but as most of them are not the same as what are available in Malaysia, I am going through some "rehearsals" on some of the common confinement meals in order to get the right amount to make it taste like what I usually cook. I am so lucky that I have some friends here who are volunteering to help me through out this critical post-natal period. I think it is also better for them to know ahead what kind food I can handle and write down proper recipes for them to follow.

Pork Knuckles in Ginger and Vinegar is one of the Chinese traditional confinement foods that help to increase milk supply for breastfeeding moms. I got different types of vinegars at Lee Lee. Since the one I used in Malaysia was special made to cook this, I didn't have to mix different types of vinegar to make up the right taste. The ratio of mixing the sweet and sour vinegars depends on personal taste, and you can adjust the ratio according to your liking. Recommended ratio is 60~70% sweetened vinegar, 30~40% black vinegar.



我在坐月子中吗???目前还不是, 不过也快了!!我想一些人已经猜到为什么我在之前的搬家文章里面谈到为什么我不能搬太快了吧?我觉得自己在2010年完成了很多事情咧..拖了两年的婚礼, 搬家, 生小孩...感觉到这一年过得特别快.

搬 完家之后就是在忙BABY的必需品和月子餐材料的的采购, 还蛮多东西要买的咧. 列单中应该买的都已经七七八八了. 家里储藏室里的角落也堆满了月子餐所需要的材料, 之前也有从PENANG带一些中药回来. ARIZONA的华人不像CALIFORNIA那么多, 这里没有月子中心, 我听说还有人特别从CALIFORNIA聘请坐月婆过来, 费用不少哦...大大超出我们的预算了...很幸运的我在这边有一些肝胆相照的朋友, 义务帮我煮月子餐, 真的让我很感动. 因为材料的出产地不同, 我想我需要事先"彩排"一下, 写好材料的用量和做法, 让我的朋友跟着食谱来做, 这样她们就比较了解我可接受的口味, 那就比较节省时间了.

首 先出场的这一道是猪脚姜醋, 很普遍的一道马来西亚华人的月子菜. 据说可以促进乳汁分泌, 对想喂母奶的妈妈们很有帮助哦. 以前在PENANG可以买到特制的乌醋, 酸度和甜度刚好. Lee Lee 这边卖的种类看得我眼花缭乱, 花了一番之间研究, 最后选了以下3种. 用量的比例可依照各人的口味调整, 建议比例是 60~70% 甜醋, 30~40% 乌醋/黑米醋.

Recipes & Steps :

1. 1 pork knuckle (have the butcher cut to desired size of chunks) - pre-washed with boiled water, 用滚水川烫备用.
2. 1 bottle (590ml) sweetened vinegar (添丁甜醋)
3. 280~300 ml black vinegar (Koon Chun -冠珍 brand or Kong Yen-工研 brand) - I prefer Kong Yen brand as it tastes better and much more smooth (less harsh) sourness. 我比较喜欢工研醋, 感觉酸度没有那么呛, 比较香和顺口.

4. 2~3 tbsp black sesame oil
5. 2 chunks ginger (approx. 3 inches - will add more during confinement period, add 2 to 3 chunks more. 目前不加太多, 会上火气, 真正做月子的时候要加多一两块)
6. Salt to taste (not recommended during confinement period - 普通日子可加盐调味, 做月子的时候可以不加就不加)

7. Some black beans - 黑豆 (optional - can help on back/lower back bones soreness, 可以随意加点黑豆, 对减轻腰骨酸痛有帮助哦).

8. Hard boiled eggs - optional

**Use clay/ceramic/glass ware to cook or serve this meal, don't use metal ware. 用瓦磁或玻璃锅/碗烹调或盛载为家, 忌用金属.**

Steps :

1. Grease the slightly heated pot with sesame oil, fragrant the ginger chunks.
2. Pour in desired ratio of vinegars.
3. Add in pork knuckles, black beans (optional), hard boil eggs (optional)
4. Bring to boil, simmer for 40~60 minutes or until desired tenderness.
5. Salt to taste (can be omitted during confinement period)
6. Skim the excessive oil before serve.

Spicy Roasted Pork Fried Rice

It is very common in Malaysian Taoist worship to offer roasted pork to the God for special occasions. Whenever there is an special occasion, there is always lot of leftover roasted pork, chicken or duck for my family. I love to use the leftover pork to make some fried rice with chili padi, the spiciness of the added chili really gives the taste a "kick".

I bought some roasted pork from Lee Lee yesterday, mainly just want to make this dish that I have been craving for so much!



You don't need to put so much effort for the seasoning, the taste of the roasted pork itself is already good enough to make you drool.


Recipe for 2 servings :

1. 2 eggs mix with a spoon of fresh milk - beaten.
2. 50g purple shallot - chopped or sliced
3. 3~4 chopped chili padi (or as desired)
4. 1.5 bowl cooked rice - cooled completely or overnight rice
5. 130g roasted pork chunks
6. some green bean or long bean cubed (optional)
7. Some green onion for garnishing

Seasoning :-
1. 1~2 tsp soy sauce
2. 1tsp oyster sauce
3. A dash of white pepper powder

Steps :

1. Make scrambled egg and set aside.
2. Fragrance the shallot in a greased heated pan.
3. Add in chili and rice, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir to mix well.
4. Add in roasted pork chunks, long bean cubes and scrambled egg. Continue to fry for approx. 3~4 minutes. Sprinkle some water if necessary
4. Shake in a dash of white pepper powder, garnish with some green onion, dish out and serve warm.

Lemon Grass Pork Skewers

I have a big bunch of lemon grass growing perfectly in my back yard, besides just using it for curry and sambal prawn, I guess I could use it for something else. Like this lemon grass pork skewer, just something which came into my mind while I was looking at my lemon grass and wondering what else I could make.



The pork skewer is full of lemon grass aroma and delicious. I may use ground chicken or beef for the same recipe someday. I just used what ever seasoning I have and feel might be a good match with lemon grass - nothing complicated - just be creative and follow your taste buds.


1. 220g ground pork
2. 3~4 stalks lemon grass - pre-soaked for at least 1 hour, lightly crush the end of the stalk.

Marinate :
1. 1 tsp turmeric powder
2. 1 tsp curry powder
3. 1 tsp corn starch
4. 1 tsp oyster sauce
5. 1/8 tsp salt
6. 1.5 tsp soy sauce
7. 1/8 cup of finely chopped onion
8. 2 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
9. 1/8 cup chopped green onion
10. Some red chili flakes

1. Mix all the marinate ingredients and finely chop again with the ground pork until well combined.
2. Marinate for at least 1 hour or longer for better better taste.
3. Rub the marinated ground pork on the end of the lemon grass stalk.
4. Grill over the pre-heated grill at medium high heat for about 6~7 minutes for each side.

"Smiling" Char Siu Bao (开口笑 - 叉烧包)

Just wanted to share some pictures and findings for my char siu bao making recently, I have posted the skin recipe before, these are my findings and techniques for making the good "smile" of your buns --> cracking on the top. For full recipe, please read here.



1. While adding the baking powder liquid to the dough, make sure you knead it thoroughly to avoid uneven mixture, otherwise, there will be some little brown spots on the skin. To be safe, knead at least 10 minutes.

2. Rolling - leave the edge thicker than center for easier pleating.

3. While pleating, avoid any oil or gravy of the filing on the edge, try to pull more dough from the edge to the top, the thicker the dough on top, the bigger the smile. :-)


This time, I used the leftover char siu from the restaurant, more fat, but tasted better. I omitted the soy sauce and dark soy sauce, just used oyster sauce and hoisin sauce as gravy seasoning, I have added some green peas too.

Steamed Tofu (bean curd) with Ground Pork

Tofu (bean curd) is commonly used as a substitute for meat in Asian vegetarian meals, it contains large amounts of iron and protein. It is also very popular for people on diets. I am a tofu lover, I used to consume tofu (soft or hard) everyday - steamed, stir-fried, deep-fried, tofu soup, tofu dessert..., whatever dishes that made by tofu, I would surely love it, and never feel sick of it.

Tofu has very little flavor. In order to keep Tom eat healthy, most of the time, I cook tofu soup with sea weed. He always said that tofu tasted bland. To make him consume more tofu, I came up another recipe - steam tofu with some ground pork, mushroom and carrot topping. He is more happy to eat tofu now. :-)



The ingredients are adjustable to personal desire.

A)
1. 1 pc of soft tofu (approx. 1.5" thick, 2.5"W X 6"L)

B)Topping
1. 1.5 tbsp ground pork (if you want to make a meatless meal, you may substitute it with bamboo shoot or vegetarian meat)
2. 1 dried mushroom - pre-soaked - finely chopped
3. 1 clove garlic - minced.
4. Few slices of carrot

- again finely chop the ingredients # 2~5 until well combined, season with 1/2 tsp soy sauce, 1/4tsp oyster sauce, a few dashes of white pepper, a few drops of sesame oil and garlic oil.

C) Sauce
1. 1 tsp soy sauce
2. 1/2 tsp oyster sauce
3. A pinch of sugar
4. 1 tsp hot water
5. Some cilantro for garnishing (Unless you hate cilantro! -Tom)

- mix the sauce ingredients in a sauce bowl.

Cooking :
1. Boil the water.
2. Spread the topping evenly on top of the tofu.
3. Steam for 12~15 minutes.
4. Before remove from heat, add in the sauce C as needed. drop a little sesame oil and garlic oil. Garnish with cilantro
5. Serve warm

Stewed Pork Ribs in Bean Sauce (豆酱排骨)

OK, take a break for seafood, too much cholesterol.

I don't have much time to spend on cooking on week days, hence, I will cook a pot of dish that can be frozen for a few meals. That will save me a lot of time to prepare the dinner when I get back from work.



This is one of the dishes that is available in my freezer. It is very appetizing when you mix the gravy with the rice. For those busy working mom, may be you can try it?

Recipe :

1. 2lbs of Pork Rib (hot water bathed)
2. 5 cloves garlic - sliced
3. 2~3 tbsp of bean sauce 豆酱 (can be spicy or non spicy - your choice)
4. 4~6 dried chilies - unseeded
5. 1 tsp dark soy sauce
6. 2 pickled plum
7. a pinch of sugar (optional)
8. 250~300ml water (or as needed)
9. 2 tsp of corn starch mix with 3 tsp water

Steps :

1. Grease a heated pot with some oil.
2. Fragrance the garlic sliced then add in bean sauce. Stir for 30 seconds.
3. Add in dried chili, pork ribs and dark soy sauce.
4. Stir and cook for 2~3 minutes.
5. Add water, bring to boil.
6. Simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Add pickled plum, pinch of sugar. Simmer for another 20~30 minutes or until the ribs reach your desired tenderness.
8. Taste the gravy, add some water if needed.
9. Before removing from heat, add some corn starch water to thicken the gravy.
10. Serve with white rice.

Salty Fish with Meat Patty Clay Pot Rice (咸鱼肉饼煲仔饭)

There are a lot of Clay pot Chicken Rice recipes out there. I will post my version some day. I came up with the Salty Fish with Meat Patty flavor first.



I had this dish in a Hong Kong style express restaurant here few weeks ago. It tasted good, but it came with just few little pieces of salty fish. Hence, I decided to make my own version with a lot of salty fish in it. LOL!!! Like many Asian people, I couldn't resist the wonderful taste of salty fish. For western people, it may smells horrible for them. Once, I had Tom to help me pan frying the salty fish on the outdoor stove, he came back and asked me a very cute question " Honey, are you sure this can be eaten??" LOL... Anyway, he is doing better now, just not too much salty fish for him.


The rice after it's been mixed with the sauce!! See the big chunk of salty fish?? Yum yum!!

This recipe is for 1 small clay pot rice.

A)Rice
1. 1/2 cup of rice - wash and soak for 1 hour before cook.

B) Meat Patty
1. 75g lean ground pork
2. 1 clove garlic - mined
3. Some garlic oil and sesame oil
4. Few dashes of ground white pepper
5. 1/4 tsp soy sauce
6. 1/4 tsp oyster sauce
6. 1/4 tsp corn starch

C) Few chunks of pan fried salty fish

D) Sauce
Mix all the ingredients D below on the stove or microwave.
1) 1/2 tsp soy sauce
2)1/4 tsp oyster sauce
3) 1/4 tsp dark soy sauce
4) 3 tsp of water
5) A pinch of sugar
6) Some garlic oil and sesame oil

F)
Some cilantro, green onion and red chili slices for garnishing.

Steps :
1. Mix ingredient B together, use a fork to form a 1/3" thick patty.
2. In a small clay pot, cook the pre-soaked rice with 1/2 cup of water, bring to boil (about 3~4 minutes), simmer with cover on at medium low heat for about 3 minutes.
3. Place the meat patty on top of the rice
4. Cover and simmer for another 4~5 minutes or until the patty is done.
**Watch the heat and water, don't let the rice burn. Get some hot water ready, and add some water if necessary**
5. When it is done, remove the clay pot from the heat. Top with the pre-fried salty fish. Garnish some cilantro, green onion and chili slices.
6. Mix with some sauce from step "D" (above) in the rice.

Rotini Con Porco Al Sugo Rosso

Don't be confused by the name of this dish - sounds complicated huh? Sometimes, when I don't know how to name the dishes I cook, I will let Tom and Cici name it. Tom named this dish in Italian, means spiral pasta with pork in red sauce. Sounds better in Italian, right? LOL!

I am working full time recently, so, simple and fast meal is my first priority. I always cook extra to save for mine and Tom's lunch box the next day. Pasta or spaghetti still taste good the next day, so I cook them a lot recently. LOL!




Here's my recipe :

To make the sauce :

1. 280gram ground pork (can substitute with ground beef)
2. 1 can (26oz) spaghetti sauce
3. 1/3 cup chopped onion
4. 1/4 tsp dried basil
5. 1/4 tsp dried parsley
6. 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
6. salt and garlic to taste
7. some your preferred shredded cheese
8. Parmesan cheese to taste

9. 1 pack (340g) Rotini - cook according to packing direction. After drained, mix with 1tsp of olive oil and sprinkle some parsley flakes in it.

To make the sauce :

1. Grease a heated pot with some oil.
2. Fragrant the onion then stir in ground pork, cook for 2~ minutes.
3. Pour in the spaghetti sauce, add in basil and parsley. Simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Add black pepper, salt & garlic to taste.
5. Top the Rotini with shredded cheese then spoon the sauce on top of it.
6. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and serve.

Drunken Prawn in Bak Kut Teh (醉虾肉骨茶)

Tired of meaty Bak Kut Teh? My new invented drunken prawn in Bak Kut Teh!! LOL!!

Bak Kut Teh is a Chinese soup popularly served in Malaysia and Singapore. "Bak Kut Teh" is a Hokkian saying, literally translate as " Meat Bones Tea". In this term, tea means soup. The soup is cooked for hours with pork ribs/bones and a bag consists of variety Chinese herbs and spices. Additional ingredients like pork innards, lettuce, fried bean curd can be added into the soup upon request.



I wanted to make seafood Bak Kut Teh long time ago, but my parents were concern about their blood pressure and cholesterol level. So, I just hold it up until now.

Again, don't worry about my honey, he likes it very much!! He said he is a "weird" guy that has been well trained to eat what ever food I cook. LOL!!!!

You got to try this out if you have chance. Yummy!!!

Ingredients and steps.

A) For the Bak Kut Teh :

1. 650 ml water
2. 1 bag of A1 bak kut teh spices (normally it comes with 2 bags in a packet, double the ingredients if you have more family member to consume).
3. 250g of pork ribs/bones (broiled water bathed)
4. 5~6 cloves garlic
5. 3~4 mushroom - soaked
6. 1 tbsp soy sauce
7. 1 tsp dark soy sauce
8. 1 tbsp oyster sauce
9. 1/2 tsp white pepper
10. Salt to taste

Steps :
1. Broil the water and add in ingredient # 2~#5. Return to broil, simmer for 40 minutes.
2. Add in ingredient #6~ #9, simmer for another hour or longer for stronger taste.
3. Salt to taste.

B) Drunken Prawn in Bak Kut Teh

1. 250g prawn - trimmed and de-vein.
2. 1 tsp of oil mix with few drops of sesame oil
2. 3~4 slices of ginger
3. 2 cloves garlic - crushed
4. 3~4 (or as desired) chili padi or jalapeno - sliced
5. 1 tbsp (or as desired) Shao Xing wine
6. Some lettuce
7. Some cilantro or green onion for garnishing.


1. Grease and heat a pot (use clay pot if you have it)
2. Fragrant the ginger, garlic and chili (about 2~3 minutes)
3. Add in prawn, stir for a while, pour in the Bak Kut Teh. Bring to Broil.
4. When prawns are done, add in Shao Xing wine and return to broil. Remove from heat.
6. Add in some lettuce and cilantro/green onion.
7. Serve with rice or mee sua.

Cheese Bacon Baked Mashed Potato

Potatoes are one of the major foods in Western and European countries. They can be prepared in many ways: baked, mashed, broil and deep fried in strips - french fries - which is most common to all of us.

I'm a huge fan of french fries but afraid they are too fattening, like most women. I found some baked potato recipes that don't contain too much oil. It is easy and also suits to Tom and Cici's taste buds. To be fair to them, I can not always cook my home country's meal for them, right?



I invented this recipe from the combination of mashed and baked potatoes. Enjoy! :-)

1. 3 potatoes (about 600g total) - broil with skin on for 20 minutes or until soft.
2. 3 slices of bacon - cook until crispy them crumb.
3. 1/4 cup of low fat milk
4. 1 tbsp butter
5. 2 tsp Parmesan cheese
6. Some parsley and oregano flakes (or your desired herbs)
7. Salt and garlic powder to taste
8. Some shredded cheese for topping


Steps :
1. Preheat the oven at 350F.
2. Peel the cooked/soften potatoes.
3. In a mixing bowl, mash the peeled potatoes together with milk and butter.
4. Add in bacon crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, oregano flakes and salt and garlic to taste. Stir to mix well.
5. Use your hands to form the mixture into a 2" diameter ball.
6. Place the potato ball in a sauce bowl. Lightly Press to flatten the top a bit.
7. Top with some preferred shredded cheese and herb flakes.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 5~8 minutes.
9. Serve warm.

Chinese Spaghetti - Zha Jiang Mian炸酱面

Chinese people have been eating noodles since 3000B.C. There is a legend saying that Italian noodle (spaghetti pasta..etc) was actually invented from the inspiration of Chinese noodle that brought by Marco Polo from China to European countries and then spread all over the world.

From the translation of Zha Jiang Mian - Chinese Spaghetti, you can tell that it is the noodle served with the ground meat sauce on top. It will be also topped with some thinly sliced cucumber, carrot. Some people will add some bean sprouts and celery slices too.



I'm lucky enough to live in a place that is so convenient to get many kinds of ingredients I want for different country's cooking. I got a pack of dried Chinese ramen from Lee Lee Asian supermarket for my Chinese spaghetti making. If it is not available at your area, you may substitute with instant noodle.

A very experimental sister at Tzu Chi told me that I can add whatever ingredients for sauce making as per desired taste. Here is my version of 炸酱面.

For 6~7 servings.

1. 500g chinese ramen (substitute with the instant noodle if ramen is not available)
- cook according to packing direction. Drain and set aside.
- boil some water. Noodle may be too dry and sticky when serving. You may add a spoon of water when you top with the meat sauce.



Meat Sauce (adjustable according to desired taste, add chilly if you want the spicy sauce. It has to be a bit saltier to mix with the noodle)

1. 150g ground pork (I didn't use too much meat for my recipe, add more if you like)
2. 6 cloves garlic - finely chopped
3. 1 inch ginger - minced
4. 3 tbsp crispy onion (油葱酥)
5. 5 pcs dry mushrooms - soaked and minced
6. 1 pc stewed bean curd (卤豆干) - small cubes
7. 100g pickled bamboo shoot - small cubes
8. 100g carrot - small cubes
9. 2 tbsp spicy bean paste
10. 1 tbsp oyster sauce
11. 1 tsp fish sauce
12. 1 tbsp soy sauce or as needed
13. 1 tsp dark soy sauce
14. 1/8 ground white pepper
15. Some sesame oil
16. 2~3 tbsp water or as needed.
17. 1 tbsp Shao Xing Wine


Topping vegetable (adjust the amount according to personal liking)

1. Cucumber slices
2. Carrot slices
3. Chinese celery
4. Green Onion
5. Bean Sprout
6. Cilantro

Steps :

1. Fragrant the garlic and ginger in a greased heated pan.
2. Add in mushroom and crispy onion, cook for 2 minutes, adjust the heat accordingly to avoid burnt.
3. Add in ground pork and ingredient # 5~12. Stir fry over high heat for 5 minutes.
4. Add some water, switch to medium low heat and cook for another 15~20 minutes.
5. Add in some white pepper, sesame oil and Shao Xing wine. Stir well and cook for another 3 minutes.
6. Top on the noodle. Serve with preferred vegetable toppings/garnishing.

Spicy Soy Bean Paste Pork Front Leg

When my family and friends in Malaysia heard that I cooked pork leg, they were surprised and wondered if Tom would eat it. Don't worry, Tom eats everything I cook except few things - bitter melon, thousand year egg/century egg (皮蛋) and salted egg. So, if he is mean to me, probably I will add some of these ingredients in his meal to punish him! Hehehe... :-p



I learned to cook this dish from my mom and slightly modify the ingredients a little bit. It is super delicious to go with rice. Sometime, I will mix the gravy with dried version of cintan noodle... wow!! I tell you....I'm drooling just thinking about how it tasted.



If you worry about the fat, pick the front leg, it is usually less fatty than the back leg.

Ingredients and steps :

1. 1kg pork front leg (hot water bath and rinse)
2. 4~6 cloves garlic - crushed
3. 2 tbsp of spicy soy bean paste (辣豆酱)
4. 3~5 dried chili - wash and unseeded
5. 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
6. 500ml water, divided.
5. 1 pickled plum (酸梅子) - mashed
6. Few drops plum syrup to taste
7. 1~2 drops rice vinegar - optional


Steps :

1. Heat the non stick pot with some oil.
2. Saute the garlic until light brown,
3. Add in soy bean paste and dried chili, cook in medium heat until fragrant.
4. Add in pork leg and black soy sauce, stir over high heat until well coated.
5. Add in 250~300ml water, bring to boil, simmer with lid covered for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally for better cook.
6. Add pickled plum, few drops of syrup, vinegar (optional). Add some water** and simmer for another 20 minutes or until the meat is at your desired tenderness.

**Note : adjust the amount of water to be added according to your saltiness liking. It should be a bit saltier in order to go with rice.

Prok Ribs Curry

Curry Pork Ribs

Curry is very popular in Malaysia. There are 3 major races in the country. You can find a variety of curries served in our daily meals. Indian style, Malay, Chinese or Nyonya, each of them has their own specialty of taste and flavor. I love curry very much. I used to cook seafood curry while I was in Malaysia because the seafood ingredients are fresh and not expensive.

The choices of the fresh seafood in Arizona are limited and expensive. So, most of the time, I would just cook curry chicken or pork rib to serve with Nasi Lemak (coconut rice).


Curry Pork Ribs

Besides the Pandan Layer Cake, I have also made some curry pork ribs for the Pot Luck Party on last Saturday. As some of the guests are vegetarian, I split the curry gravy to cook with some vegetarian mutton so that everyone had the chance to taste it. I made my curry with a less intense flavor because most of them are Taiwanese, they might not used to the strong and spicy curry that I usually cook.


Curry Vegetarian Mutton

In following ingredients, you will find I used 2 types of curry powder/paste. The Kapitan curry powder has stronger and spicy taste, usually done in just little gravy, mixing with Rendang curry paste is my own version of curry that everyone likes. You may try it.

Ingredients :

A)
1. 2kg Pork ribs - marinate with 2 tbsp Kapitan curry powder and 1/4 tsp salt.
2. 3pcs potato - cook seprately with until tender, peel and cut to 1.5" chunks

B)
1. 1 pack (75g) Kapitan curry powder - mix 2tbsp of powder with 1/4 tsp salt - rub with the pork ribs for evenly coated. Mix the rest of the powder in a bowl of 20ml water.
2. 1 pack (50g) Rendang curry paste.
3. 500g shallot - blended
4. 10g fresh turmeric - blended with shallot
5. 1 stalk of lemon grass - cut to 2 or 3 pieces 2.5" length, cracked.
6. 6~8 curry leaves
7. 1 tsp lime juice
8. 2~3 kaffir lime leaves
9. 60ml coconut milk
10. salt to taste
11. Some water (adjust according to your preferred curry gravy)



Steps :

1. Quick fry the pork ribs for 1 minutes each side. Set aside.
2. Cook the onion and turmeric mixture in 2~3 tbsp red-hot cooking oil for 4~5 minutes or until fragrant.
3. Add in Kapitan curry mixture and Rendang curry paste, lemon grass and curry leaves. Stir and fry for 5 minutes. Add in some more oil and adjust the heat to prevent burning.
4. Add in quick prefried pork ribs. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes. Adjust the heat to prevent burning.
5. Add water, bring to boil, add the precooked potato chunks. Simmer covered until the meat reach your preferred tenderness.
6. Add in coconut milk, lemon juice and salt to taste.
7. Turn off the heat, and immediately add in the kaffir lime leaves. Don't cook the leaves, it will make your curry bitter.
8. Skim the extra oil on the top the curry gravy.

Char Siu Bao/BBQ Pork Bun (叉烧包)

Char Siu bao is a Cantonese saying which means BBQ Pork bun. The bun is filled with BBQ pork chunks mixed with some other seasonings like soy sauce, onion, honey, sesame seed/oil..etc. It is one of the most popular items at Dim Sum (Chinese light dishes) restaurant, and you may find it either steamed or baked.



The typical steamed BBQ pork bun will have a "cracked and smiled" skin. So making the dough for this bun is different than any other bun. The techniques of folding and sealing the skin are important to make your bun cracked and smiled. Secondly, the skin edge must be thicker than the middle while you roll the dough, so it will leave extra dough for the bun to crack and smile. Last, keep the sealing edge oil-free and clean from the pork filling.



The ingredients for the skin (18~20 petite buns) :

A)
1. 4g instant yeast
2. 70g water

B)
1. 140g cake flour (低筋面粉)
2. 60g wheat starch (澄面粉 - normally used for cai kuih skin)
3. 60g sugar
4. 20g oil

C)
1. 7g baking powder
2. 10g water

BBQ pork filling ingredients below are for your reference, you may adjust the amount according to your personal liking.

1. 120g BBQ pork chunks (see recipe for BBQ Pork)
2. 1 tsp sesame oil
3. 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
4. 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
5. 1/2 tsp oyster sauce
6. 1 tsp soy sauce
7. 1 tsp hoisin sauce
8. a pinch of five spices powder
9. a pinch of white pepper
10. 1 tsp honey
11. 1 tsp corn starch
12. some roasted sesame seed



Methods :

1. Mix the yeast in the water.
2. Slowly add in the yeast water into ingredient B, knead to mix well. Let the dough rest for 90 minutes. The dough will be a bit dry at this stage, don't worry, there will be another 10g water to be added in C.
3. After 90 minutes, mix the baking powder in 10g water. Then slowly add into the rested dough. Meanwhile, knead the dough to mix well. Rest for another 20 minutes
4. Divide the dough into 25g balls (for petite size bun).
5. Dust your working surface, hands and rolling pin with some flour.
7. Roll the ball to a 1.5" diameter skin (the middle should be thinner than the edge).
5. Spoon the BBQ pork mixture in the middle of the skin, fold and seal with your fingers. Be careful not to let the filling touch on the edge as this will make your buns not cracked/smiled
6. Steam at high heat for 10 minutes (petite size), 12~15 minutes for bigger size.

BBQ Pork - Char Siu (蜜汁叉烧)

My friend Amy told me that she wanted to make some char siu bao (BBQ Pork bun). The skin of char siu bao is different than any bun else because it has to be "cracked and smiled" after steaming. The skin recipe she showed me is a bit complicated. I made vegetarian char siu bao for the wedding ceremony of a sister at Tzu Chi before. So I decided to make it again to reconfirm the measurements of my recipe.

Here's the recipe for the char siu first, I will post the skin recipe soon.




Ingredients :

1. 580g pork chop (about 1" thick)

Marinating sauce :

1. 1tsp fresh grated ginger
2. 1.5 tbsp Hoisin sauce (I didn't use char siu sauce because it contents red food color)
3. 3 tbsp soy sauce
4. 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce (optional)
5. 1 tsp sugar
6. 3 cloves crushed garlic
7. a pinch of five spices powder
8. 1tbsp sesame oil

Standby 1 tbsp honey for glazing.

1. Mix all the marinating ingredients in a container, rub in the pork chops for evenly coated, refrigerate overnight.
2. Let the marinated pork return to room temperature before cooking.
3. Bake 20~30 minutes for each side with preheated oven at 350F.
4. Immediately brush the honey on both side of the char siu.

Pot Sticker/Chinese Fried Dumpling

The "Pot Sticker" (锅贴) is one of the popular appetizers in US Chinese restaurant, some Chinese people call it 煎水铰 (pan fried Chinese dumpling), it is not just only well known among Chinese ethnic in US, you will find it has been included on the menu in some of the US grill restaurants too. I used to buy frozen packs from Lee Lee (my favorite Asian supermarket), they have different kinds of filling, pork meat, vegetarian, lamb...etc. Since the ingredients of the filling are not hard to obtain, I have tried to invent my own style of pot sticker filling, I'm glad it turned out great, Tom loves it!!




Ingredients below can yield approx. 60 dumplings.

A)
1. 1 lb ground pork - minced well. Mince better than just the ground pork, really mash it up!
2. 1 cup finely chopped head of Napa cabbage (大白菜)
3. 3/4 cup chopped 4~5mm length Chinese chives (韭菜)
(you may add more if you like the strong taste of chive)
4. 6 cloves large garlic - minced
5. 1/2 cup finely chopped green onion
6. 2 tsp grated fresh ginger





B)
1. 2 tsp of sesame oil
2. 4 tsp of Shao Xing wine (绍兴花彫酒)
3. 1 tsp ground white pepper
4. 3 tsp of oyster sauce
5. 3 tsp soy sauce
6. 1/4 tsp salt
7. 3 tsp corn starch

In a large mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients well.



Dumpling Skin/Wrapper (水铰皮) - I got them from Lee Lee too, I'm too clumsy to make them from scratch. The ingredients are simple (warm water, flour, pinch of salt), but the work of rolling each small dough piece by piece just frustrates me. I will try to make it from scratch once my wrapping and pleating skills improve. Please don't confuse with the dumpling skin and wonton skin (云吞皮), they are not the same, wonton skin looks yellowish as it contents egg ingredients. You must get the dumpling skin for this recipe.

To wrap the dumpling, place a small spoonful of the filling in the center of the skin, brush the edge of the skin with some water by your fingers, then fold and pleat the dumpling accordingly. I'm still clumsy on dumpling wrapping, as you can tell from the photos, so don't laugh at me ya!!! LOL!!


I can't finish 60 of these dumplings at once, I freeze them in a bag and just grab some then cook them whenever I am craving for them. To prevent the dumplings from sticking together when freezing, sprinkle some flour on a baking sheet, align the dumplings properly, freeze for about 1~2 hours, remove from the freezer, keep them in a storage bag and return to the freezer.





For cooking, heat up and grease a frying pan with just a little oil, switch to medium heat, place the dumplings on the pan, cook for 2 minutes at medium heat or until the bottom part turns light brown, flip them over, pour the water to cover half of the dumplings, cover with the lid, cook in high heat for another 3~4 minutes, remove the lid, immediately switch to medium heat and continue the cooking until the water dries out and the bottom part turns brown, flip the dumplings again and cook for another 30 seconds. Serve warm, dip with some soy sauce and vinegar (optional).