Get the Year of the Rooster off to a bright, prosperous start with these CNY reunion recipes that use auspicious ingredients to usher in luck, prosperity and wealth to your life.
Get the Year of the Rooster off to a bright, prosperous start with these CNY reunion recipes that use auspicious ingredients to usher in luck, prosperity and wealth to your life.
BLACK MOSS FOR ABUNDANCE
FORTUNE CLAYPOT VEGETABLES WITH STEWED BLACK MOSS
By McDonald Eng, chef instructor, At-Sunrice Globalchef Academy
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
4 tbsp vegetable oil + more for deep frying
10g sliced ginger
2 cloves garlic, chopped
100g carrots, peeled and sliced thinly
16 snow peas
8 shiitake mushrooms
20g black moss, soaked for 2min
2 tsp salt
350ml chicken stock
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp ground white pepper
200g egg tofu, cut into 1cm slices
60g enoki mushrooms, stalks removed 2 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 2 tbsp water 2 tsp fried shallots
2 sprigs coriander leaves
2 red chillies, julienned
DIRECTIONS
1 Heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a pot over high heat, then stir-fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add the carrots, snow peas, mushrooms and black moss, and stir-fry for 30sec. Add 1 tsp salt to taste. Set aside.
2 In a claypot, combine the chicken stock, sesame oil, white pepper as well as 1 tsp salt, and bring to the boil.
3 In the meantime, deep-fry the egg tofu and enoki mushrooms for about 20sec. Transfer to the claypot along with the carrots, snow peas, mushrooms as well as black moss, and simmer for 5min.
4 Add the cornstarch mixture to the claypot, stirring constantly, to thicken the stock.
5 Garnish with the fried shallots, coriander leaves and red chillies, and serve.
FISH FOR ABUNDANCE
CANTONESE-STYLE STEAMED FISH
By McDonald Eng
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
5 stalks spring onions, chopped
1 red chilli, julienned
2 stalks coriander leaves
4 red grouper fillets, approximately
80g per piece
10g sliced ginger + 15g julienned ginger
6 tbsp water
2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp light soya sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
½ tsp ground white pepper
1 coriander root
4 tbsp vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS
1 Place one-fifth of the chopped spring onions, all the chilli and coriander leaves in a bowl of iced water for 5min. Drain and chill to use as garnishing later.
2 Place the fish fillets on a plate, and top with the sliced ginger. Steam for 5min, then remove the ginger.
3 Make the sauce by mixing the water, sugar, soya sauce, sesame oil, white pepper and coriander root in a pot. Bring to the boil, then remove the coriander root.
4 Pour the sauce over the steamed fish and top with the remaining spring onions.
5 In a frying pan over high heat, add the vegetable oil and fry the julienned ginger until fragrant. Pour the oil and ginger over the fish.
6 Garnish with the chilled spring onions, chillies and coriander leaves, and serve.
SEA CUCUMBER FOR GOOD HEALTH
STEWED SEA CUCUMBER WITH BAMBOO FUNGUS
By McDonald Eng
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tbsp Chinese rice wine
700ml chicken stock
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tbsp light soya sauce
4 dried bamboo fungus*, sliced 2cm wide 1 tbsp potato starch, mixed with 1 tbsp water
100g spring onions, cut into 5cm lengths 4 dried sea cucumbers, cleaned, soaked and sliced into 2cm pieces
1 stalk spring onions, julienned
1 red chilli, julienned
*Also called zhu sheng, dried bamboo fungus is available at major supermarkets.
DIRECTIONS
1 Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok set over high heat, and fry the garlic until brown. Add 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine followed by 100ml chicken stock, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, ½ tbsp dark soya sauce and 1 tbsp light soya sauce.
2 Reduce the heat to medium, add the bamboo fungus and cook for 2min. Add half of the potato starch mixture, stirring constantly, to thicken the gravy. Remove the bamboo fungus and set aside.
3 Turn the heat to high, add 3 tbsp vegetable oil and stir-fry the spring onions until brown. Add the sea cucumbers.
4 Add 2 tbsp Chinese rice wine and stir-fry for 30sec. Then add 600ml chicken stock, followed by 1 tbsp oyster sauce, ½ tbsp dark soya sauce and 1 tbsp light soya sauce.
5 Reduce the heat and simmer for 20min. Stir in the remaining potato starch and then turn off the heat.
6 Place bamboo fungus and sea cucumbers on a plate. Garnish with spring onions and chilli, and serve.
PRAWNS FOR WELL-BEING
HERBAL SOUP WITH PRAWNS
By Huang Xi Hong, senior chef instructor, At-Sunrice Globalchef Academy
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
500ml chicken stock
10g wolfberries, rinsed
1 liquorice root (gan cao), rinsed
15g dried dioscorea opposita (huai shan), rinsed 4 red dates, rinsed
25g angelica sinensis (dang gui), rinsed
1 tbsp Benedictine Dom or Chinese rice wine 1 tsp salt
5g rock sugar
½ tsp ground white pepper
16 tiger prawns
DIRECTIONS
1 Bring the chicken stock to the boil in a pot.
2 Add all the herbs and simmer for 20min.
3 Add the Benedictine Dom, salt, sugar and white pepper to taste.
4 Line a ceramic bowl with aluminium foil, followed by microwave-safe cling wrap.
5 Pour the herbal soup into the bowl, and add the prawns.
6 Gather the cling wrap and tie a knot to enclose the soup. Fold in the aluminium foil. Steam for 15min. Serve warm.
LEEKS FOR PROSPERITY
STIR-FRIED PORK BELLY WITH LEEK
By Huang Xi Hong
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
200g pork belly
½ tsp Sichuan peppercorns*
5 tbsp Chinese rice wine
50g ginger, thinly sliced
4 stalks spring onions
2 tbsp spicy black bean paste*
4 tbsp chilli oil*
¼ tsp Sichuan pepper powder*
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 red chillies, sliced
4 green chillies, sliced
200g leek, sliced at an angle into 5cm pieces
3 chilli padi, sliced
120g firm bean curd, sliced into pieces
¼ tsp sugar
1 tbsp light soya sauce
4 tbsp dark soya sauce
*Sichuan peppercorns and pepper powder are available at Yue Hwa Chinese Products Emporium, 70 Eu Tong Sen Street, tel: 6538-4222. Spicy black bean paste (dou ban jiang) and chilli oil can be found in the condiments aisle of major supermarkets.
DIRECTIONS
1 Bring a pot of water to the boil and cook the pork belly with Sichuan peppercorns, 2 tbsp Chinese rice wine, ginger and spring onions for 25min. Remove the pork and leave to cool before cutting it into 2mm slices. Discard everything else.
2 In a bowl, combine the spicy black bean paste, chilli oil and Sichuan pepper powder.
3 Heat vegetable oil in a wok over high heat. Fry the red and green chillies, leeks and chilli padi with the black bean paste mixture for 1min. Set the vegetables aside and strain the oil to use in the next step.
4 Using the oil from the veggies, fry the bean curd over high heat for 15sec. Add pork belly and stir-fry for 3min until lightly browned.
5 Add the remaining 3 tbsp Chinese rice wine, followed by sugar and the soya sauces.
6 Transfer to a plate and top with sliced chillies and leeks.
ABALONE FOR GOOD FORTUNE
BRAISED ABALONE WITH ASPARAGUS AND BOK CHOY
By Huang Xi Hong
Serves 5
INGREDIENTS
5 whole canned baby abalones with brine 950ml chicken stock
12 asparagus spears, ends trimmed and peeled
12 baby bok choy, ends trimmed
8 baby carrots, peeled
1 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tbsp potato starch, mixed with 2 tbsp water 2 tbsp Chinese rice wine
1 tbsp vegetable oil
A pinch of salt, to taste
A pinch of ground white pepper, to taste
DIRECTIONS
1 Put the abalones and all the brine from the cans in a ceramic bowl. Add 700ml chicken stock (room temperature). Cover and steam for 4 hours.
2 Remove the abalones and set aside. Transfer the stock to a pot and bring to the boil.
3 Blanch the asparagus for 30sec in the stock left over from steaming, then dunk them in a bowl of iced water for 10sec to stop the cooking process. Do the same for the bok choy and baby carrots, blanching them for 15sec each, then dunking them for 10sec. Set aside the veggies.
4 To make the sauce, combine the remaining 250ml chicken stock with oyster sauce and dark soya sauce in a small pot. Simmer for 10min.
5 In the last 5min of cooking, add the potato starch mixture and 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine to the pot.
6 In a frying pan set over high heat, add the vegetable oil and stir-fry all the blanched vegetables for 10sec. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then add 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine and stir-fry for another 10sec.
7 Place the asparagus, baby bok choy and baby carrots on a plate. Top with the abalones and pour the sauce over to serve.
Coordination Ho Pei Ying Photography Darren Chang Art Direction & Styling Nikki Ho
