Sunday, 05 April 2009

• 家常菜 / 私房菜 Chinese Home Cooking

  Jia Chang Cai 家常菜 and Si Fang Cai 私房菜 both literally translated as Chinese home cooking are the kind of home dishes frequently eaten at home made from fresh ingredients, cooked with simple techniques, are nutritious and full of love prepared by our mothers or parents in my case. This explains why so many asians who live away from their homes constantly miss the yummies prepare lovingly by their mothers.

  Homecooked Weekend Lunch at my place ...

  

  Menu from clockwise: Papa Lee's tomato ketchup prawns, Papa Lee's sambal chicken, Papa Lee's assam prawns, Mama Lee's stir-fried vegetables with garlic and ikan bilis, Mama Lee's soya sauce pork with salted vegetables, and Papa Lee's sesame oil chicken.

  

  Mama Lee's bittergourd with pork ribs soup. See my post on Chinese soup for the soul.

  

  Papa Lee's Sambal Chicken

  

  My mom makes a big batch of sambal once every few weeks and she just made a new batch today using these basic ingredients. Large dried red chillies, lots of shallots, lots of garlic, some belacan and some kunyit (turmeric). This sambal is delicious and you can make curries, assam pedas and sambal eggs with it too.

  

  Big Batch Sambal
  1/2 kg large dried chillies
  1/2 kg shallots, peeled
  1/2 kg cloves of garlic, peeled
  1 cup kunyit
  1/4 cup belacan
  Salt, to taste (Mom said the sambal keeps better this way)
  A little MSG (optional)
  Method:
  1) Cut chillies into halves and put them into a pot filled with water. Bring to a boil, drained and set aside.
  2) Blend chillies and remaining ingredients with a blender.
  3) Done! Pack sambal into individual containers and freeze them until ready to use.
  
  Sambal for Papa Lee's Sambal Chicken
  100g large dried chillies
  15 shallots, peeled
  15 cloves of garlic, peeled
  1 tsp belacan
  1 thumb size kunyit
  Method:
  1) Cut chillies into halves and put them into a pot filled with water. Bring to a boil, drained and set aside.
  2) Blend chillies and remaining ingredients with a blender.
  3) Done!
  
  Papa Lee's Sambal Chicken

  Ingredients:
  Sambal
  Tamarind juice, made with 1 generous tablespoon of tamarind and 1 bowl water
  2 lemongrass, bruised
  Salt, for taste if needed
  1 whole chicken, cut into small pieces
  Canola oil, for cooking
  Method:
  1) Use a wok and dry fry chicken pieces without any oil to get rid of moisture in the chicken for 10 to 15 minutes until chicken pieces are dry. Dish out and set aside.
  2) Add enough oil to the heated wok and add in sambal and bruised lemongrass. Fry for 5 minutes or so until fragrant.
  3) Add chicken pieces and continue frying for 5 minutes.
  4) Add some tamarind juice and remember a little goes a long way. Add a little salt if needed.
  5) Done!

  

  Papa Lee's Assam Prawns

  Ingredients:
  A few cloves of garlic, chopped
  Large tiger prawns, about 15 to 20
  Tamarind juice, 1 generous tablespoon mix with 1 cup water
  Canola oil, for cooking
  Method:
  1) Heat up a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add in enough oil and wait for 30 seconds for the oil to heat up before adding garlic. Fry the garlic until fragrant for a minute or two.
  2) Add in prawns and give it a quick fry. Cover for about a minute then fry briefly again.
  3) Add tamarind juice and give it a quick fry. Cover for 2 minutes and you are done!

  
  
  Papa Lee's Tomato Ketchup Prawns

  Ingredients:
  A few cloves of garlic, chopped
  Large tiger prawns, about 10
  Maggi brand tomato ketchup
  Water
  Cornflour paste, 1 tsp cornflour mix with 2 tbs water
  Method:
  1) Heat up a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add in enough oil and wait for 30 seconds for the oil to heat up before adding garlic. Fry the garlic until fragrant for a minute or two.
  2) Add in prawns and give it a quick fry. Cover for about a minute then fry briefly again.
  3) Add some tomato ketchup, water and cornflour paste. Fry for another minute till sauce thickens. Done.

  
  
  Papa Lee's Sesame Oil Chicken (See my post on Sesame Oil Chicken / Pork)
  
  Ingredients:
  1 whole chicken, cut into small pieces
  2 tbs sesame oil
  lots of ginger, cut into julienne
  Dark soya sauce, to taste
  Chinese wine, to taste
  Cornflour paste, 1 tsp cornflour mix with 2 tbs water
  msg (optional)
  Method:
  1) Heat up a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add in sesame oil and wait for 30 seconds for the oil to heat up before adding ginger. Fry ginger until fragrant for a minute or two.
  2) Add chicken pieces and give it a quick fry for a minute. Cover and don't bother for 2 minutes. Too much stirring causes the chicken to end up dry.
  3) Once the chicken pieces look almost done, add in dark soya sauce and a little cornflour paste. Add a pinch of msg if you like.
  4) Add some chinese wine before serving. Done.

  
  
  
  
  Mama Lee's Soya Sauce Pork with Salted Vegetables
  
  Ingredients:
  1 kiam chye / mustard green, washed twice, cut into strips and soak in water for 20 minutes
  300 to 400g lean pork, cut into strips
  A few cloves of garlic, chopped
  Dark soy, to taste
  A pinch of msg, optional
  Cornflour paste, 1 tsp cornflour mix with 2 tbs water
  Canola oil, for cooking
  Marinate:
  1 tbs sesame oil
  A pinch of msg
  2 tsp cornflour
  1/2 tsp white pepper
  2 tsp dark soy sauce
  A pinch of salt
  1 tbs chinese wine
  Method:
  1) Marinate pork with seasonings for 30 minutes or more. Set aside.
  2) Heat up a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add in enough oil and wait for 30 seconds for the oil to heat up before adding garlic. Fry garlic until fragrant for a minute or two.
  3) Add pork and give it a good fry for a minute.
  4) Add drained kiam chye into the skillet and fry for 30 seconds before adding some dark soy for colour and taste.
  5) Add cornflour paste and give it a quick fry. Done.

  

  Mama Lee's Stir-fried Vegetables with Garlic and Ikan bilis
  
  Ingredients:
  A big bunch of your favourite green leafy Chinese vegetables. Bok choy and choy sum are good.
  A few cloves of garlic, chopped
  A small handful of ikan bilis (anchovies), washed once and drained
  Salt, a pinch
  Method:
  1) Heat up a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add in enough oil and wait for 30 seconds for the oil to heat up before adding garlic. Fry garlic until fragrant for a minute and add in drained ikan bilis and continue frying until slightly browned for 2 minutes.
  2) Add in vegetables and seasoned with a little salt for taste. Done.

  

  Mama Lee's Red Dates with Snow Fungus Dessert Drink
  
  I like to add dried longans, pandan leaves and different types of dates but this one is just as good and very easy! Absolutely refreshing when you serve them chilled! Perfect as a cooling drink in summer.
  
  Ingredients:
  1 cup red dates
  Some snow fungus, soaked for 1 hour in water
  Rock sugar
  Water
  Method:
  1) Combine red dates and snow fungus into a big pot. Add lots of water and bring it to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes.
  2) Add rock sugar for taste. Done!

  I hope you enjoy my home recipes! Stay tuned for more yummies in the near future!

  See also: Homecooked Weekend Lunch At My Place

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