Crispy Bacon Croquette

脆皮马铃薯饼

Enjoy these delicious fried potato patties by themselves or as a side dish. 

Ingredients

1 kg Indonesian Brastagi potatoes (870g after mashing)

1/2 egg (optional)

6 to 8 slices of smoked bacon, cut into 1 m strips. (Can replace with other filling e.g. minced beef/pork/chicken)

1 tsp salt

Dashes of black pepper

1 tsp dried herbs

50g plain flour 

Method:

1. Peel and cut potatoes into small cubes. 

2. Boil* the potatoes in salted water until tender (can poke through with a chopstick), around 10 to 15minutes. Drain water and return the pot of potatoes to the stove. On low heat, shake the pot to evaporate excess moisture from the potatoes. Turn off heat and mash the potatoes while they are hot. Leave some small chunks of potatoes for texture (personal preference). If the mashed potatoes are wet (i.e. sticks to your hand), add plain flour one tablespoon at a time.

3. While boiling potatoes, pan fry the smoked bacon strips until crispy and set aside.

4. Add seasoning and smoked bacon and mix well. Shape the patty and rest in fridge for 30 minutes (to prevent the croquettes from exploding while deep frying). Remove patty from fridge 30 minutes before frying.

5. Prepare beaten egg, plain flour and panko. Deep fry in batches. Dredge each patty in each batch through plain flour, followed by egg and panko. Deep fry immediately until light golden brown in colour.  Transfer to wire rack or kitchen towel to drain excess oil. Use a mesh strainer to remove panko bits floating around in the oil before frying the next batch. This will keep the oil clean and produce nice and golden patties.

6. Serve immediately.

* you can also pre cook the potatoes by deep frying them. To do this, slice the potatoes in step 1. Then deep fry them until soft.

Prawn Noodle (Soup Based)

 虾面

I love to eat prawn noodles and to me the real test for a good bowl is in the soup and the prawns. The soup in some of the prawn noodles sold in hawker centres and coffee shops are too sweet (I think they put too much sugar to sweeten the soup stock) or lack prawn unami flavour, or the prawns are small, not fresh or too few. 

After coming across Wendy's recipe for prawn noodle and a couple of others (here and here), I came up with my version and it was a success. 

Ingredients (serves 4 pax):

A. Prawn soup:

Prawn shells from 1kg prawns 

2 garlic cloves (chopped - for frying prawn shells)

2 shallots (chopped - for frying prawn shells)

Chicken carcass or feet

2.5litres water

1/2 tsp white/black peppercorns

1/4 tsp white pepper powder

3 garlic cloves (smashed, with skin)

2 star anise petals

1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

pork skin (optional)

B. Toppings: 

prawns

pork lard

fried shallots 

pork slices (lean meat or pork belly) 

1 bundle of kang kong / water spinach (about 300g) - pluck the leaves and select the tender stems, washed and set aside

C. Noodles:

Rice vermicelli, 200g (soaked until soft, then drain and set aside)

Method:

1. Wash, peel prawns and de-vein. Chill the prawns in fridge.

2. Prepare pork lard. Refer to this post.

3. Prepare fried shallots: Peel and sliced 5-6 shallots, then fry using pork lard until golden and crispy. 

4. Prepare prawn soup: 

4.1 Blanch the chicken carcass and feet in boiling water. Remove the chicken carcass and feet, and set aside. Discard the water.

4.2 Put water into a big pot and bring to a boil. Add the chicken carcass and feet, as well as the whole piece of pork/pork belly into the pot. Fish out the pork/pork belly after 10minutes. Sprinkle some salt over the pork/pork belly. When the pork has cooled down, slice thinly and set aside.

4.3 Fry shallots and garlic using pork lard until fragrant, then add in prawn shells and stir fry until the shells turned pink, dry and very fragrant. Transfer the shells into the pot and add in cloves, star anise petals, peppercorns and pepper powder, and bring to boil again. Once boiled, lower heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour. After 1 hour, season the soup with dark soy sauce and fish sauce.

5. Bring the soup back to a boil and put in the prawns and sliced pork/pork belly. When the water comes to boil again, fish the prawns and pork out, and set aside.

6. Heat the wok with water and bring to a boil. Put the rice vermicelli in a metal strainer and lower into the boiling water. Cook according to package instructions and transfer to serving bowls. Drizzle some pork lard or oil from frying shallots over the cooked rice vermicelli, and use chopsticks to mix in.

7. Using the same water for cooking the rice vermicelli, put in the kang kong and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain the vegetable and transfer to the serving bowls. Add the prawns and pork into the noodle bowls.

8. When it is time to serve, re-boil the soup and ladle the soup through a sieve into the noodle bowls. Top up with pork lard and fried shallots. Serve hot!

Braised Pork Belly

 扣肉包

Adapted this recipe by Chef Yeung Koon Yat.

Ingredients (serves 4 pax)

600g pork belly

1 bunch of spring onions

1 knob ginger, peeled and smashed

1 small piece of tangerine, about 2 cm

5 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

3 tbsp Chinese rice wine (I used Shaoxing wine)

45g rock sugar

400ml water

1 tsp rice vinegar

1/4 tsp fish sauce

Method:

1. Blanch pork belly in boiling water to remove surface scums, or sear the pork belly (all sides) on high heat using a cast iron pan.

2. Place ginger, spring onion and tangerine peel in a pot. Place pork belly (skin side down), add soy sauce, rice wine and rock sugar, and cover the pork with water. Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer for 1 hour or until pork is tender. Flip the pork belly at halfway mark.

3. Remove pork belly from pot and set aside. 

4. Add rice vinegar and fish sauce to the pot. To thicken the sauce, continue to cook it and then stir in corn flour slurry.

5. Slice the pork belly and serve with vegetables (e.g. kai lan) or lotus leaf bun. Refer to my post here on how to make lotus leaf bun.

Potato Salad

Recipe adapted from: Brian Lagerstrom

Ingredients

350g potatoes

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 to 3 strips of smoked bacon

2 teaspoon light sour cream

3  tbsp shredded cheddar cheese

Method

1. Wash and partially peel potatoes (i.e. leave some potato skin for better texture). Cut into bite sized, and mix in olive oil and salt thoroughly. Roast the potatoes @200 degree celcius until 1 to 2 sides of the potatoes are crisped, around 25 minutes. Make sure to stir the potatoes half way through roasting. Set aside the potatoes to cool down.

2. Cut smoked bacon into 1cm stripes. Pan fry them until crispy.  Transfer the bacon together with the rendered fat to the potatoes. Chill in fridge in air tight container if the salad is prepared ahead.

3. When you are ready to serve the salad, mix in sour cream, mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, spring onions and black pepper. Toss and mix thoroughly. Best served warm.