Homemade French Fries

薯条

Making french fries at home is easier than you think. What's more, you can cut the fries to the preferred thickness. Here's my adaptation of the recipes shared in Shack Shake's cookbook and Recipetineats. 

Ingredients:

Potatoes (buy yellow-fleshed potatoes. I bought Holland potatoes - grown in China)

White vinegar (1 tablespoon per 1 kg of potatoes)

Method:

1. Peel potatoes and submerge in water to keep them from turning brown while you cut the rest of the potatoes.

2. Use a serrated knife to cut the potato lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices, then cut each slice lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick fries. Continue to submerge the fries in water until all the potatoes have been sliced. Note: The serrated knife creates a rougher surface for crispier fries.

3. Rinse the fries under running tap water to remove excess sugars from the surface of the potatoes. Transfer to a pot filled with water above the fries, and stir in the white vinegar*. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer the fries until they are just tender (test with a toothpick). DO NOT OVER SIMMER THE POTATOES as they will fall apart.

*The white vinegar will prevent the potatoes from disintegrating during simmering.

4. Transfer the boiled fries to a baking tray lined with tea towel. Let the fries steam dry on their own.

5. Heat up a wok with sufficient oil to deep fry the fries. Fry in small batches until the fries are the edges turned pale gold. Remove from wok and drain excess oil on a wire rack.

6. Spread the fries on a baking tray lined with kitchen towel to cool down. Once cooled, bag the fries and freeze them for frying on another day. Freezing help to wick remaining moisture in the cooked fries. 

7. When you want to eat the fries, heat up the wok with sufficient oil to deep fry the fries. Fry in small batches until the fries are deep golden brown and crispy. Remove from wok and drain excess oil on a wire rack.

7. You can also bake the fries straight out from the freezer. Preheat the oven to 180 degree celcius, put the fries in a single layer in a baking tray and bake for around 20 minutes. 

8. Sprinkle the fries with salt. Toss and serve!

Canned Sardine With Pickled Onions

沙丁鱼酸大葱

This is one of my late mother-in-law's quick and easy dish. 

Ingredients (serves 4 pax)

2 small canned sardines (buy  Ayam brand 215g oval can sardines - we find that the sardines are smaller and tastier)

1 large onion (sliced)

3 shallots (sliced)

3 tablespoons of vinegar (e.g. rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar)

3 to 4 limes

Method

1. Pickle the onion in vinegar for at least half an hour.

2. Fry shallots until golden brown and set aside.

3. Heat up a wok*. Pour the canned sardines and the tomato sauce into the wok/pot. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Off the heat, transfer the sardines and tomato sauce to a plate.

4. Drain the pickled onions. Discard the vinegar. Add the fried shallots, pickled onions to the sardines. Squeeze the lime juice over the onions and sardines. Serve warm!

 * alternative method: Pour the canned sardines including the tomato sauce into a plate. Prepare a wok with a steaming rack and sufficient water and bring to a boil. Place the plate of sardine on steaming rack, and steam for 10 mins over medium heat.

Gingko Nut Barley

腐竹白果薏米糖水

 

This dessert is very nutritious - gingko nuts improve memory, pearl barley reduces the body "heatiness" and soya bean skin/sheets rich in plant proteins. 

Ingredients:

150g pearl barley - buy the Holland barley, NOT the Chinese barley (which is usually used for cooking soup).  Refer to pix below : Holland pearl barley (top) vs Chinese barley (bottom). Note: The pearls look small but they will triple in size after cooking. So adjust the quantity accordingly. 

100g gingko nuts (see my post here on how to prepare these nuts ahead, or buy vacuum packed fresh nuts)

2 litres water (add more if you like to have proportionately more soup than beans) 

2 to 3 sheets of dried beancurd skin (腐竹) - buy the dried ones used for dessert

or

3 to 4 pieces of fresh beancurd skin - usually sold in wet market stalls which sell vegetarian/vegan groceries and ingredients. I like to use this type of beancurd skin. Refer to pix below:

70g rock sugar 

3-4 blades of pandan leaves (optional)

Method

1. Wash and rinse the pearl barley.

2. Put the pearl barley, gingko nuts, soya bean skin/sheets and water into a deep pot and soak for one hour.

3. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour or until the barley and nuts are tender. Keep the lid for the pot open with a small vent opening to prevent the water from bubbling over. 

Note: To save on gas bill, bring the pot to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes, off the heat, use a towel to cover the pot for half hour. Repeat this for two times.

4. Once done, stir to break down the beancurd skin. Add pandan leaves and rock sugar, bring to a boil again, then remove from heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Discard pandan leaves.

5. Serve warm or chill in fridge for 2-3 days and serve cold.

Steamed Orange for Cough Relief

蒸橙子

Steamed orange is a natural and gentle remedy to relieve cough, sore throat and reduce phelgm. I usually prepares this for my family members who come down with sore throat, flu and cough. 

Ingredient

1 orange

1 to 2 pinches of salt

Method

1. Wash the orange.

2. Cut the top of the orange and sprinkle salt into it. Use a sharp knife of fork to push the salt into the orange.

3. Cover the top of the orange and put the orange in a small vessel (bowl or cup). Place the vessel in a steamer and steam over medium heat for 15 minutes.

4. Remove the vessel from the steamer. Eat the orange and drink the water in the vessel while it is warm.

Fried Fermented Beancurd Pork Belly

南乳炸猪肉

This dish goes by a few names - nam yue (red fermented beancurd) pork, Hakka Zhar Yoke, Hakka Char Yoke. It originates from Hakka cuisine. The distinctive taste of fermented red beancurd gives the pork belly a very nice fragrance. Instead of slicing the pork belly into small pieces and frying them, I prefer to fry the pork belly slab and then slice them. I referred to ieatishootipost recipe but made slight changes.

Ingredients (serves 4 pax)

500g pork belly (skin removed and cut into 1.5cm thick slabs)

Marinade:

40g nam yue 

1/2 tsp five-spice powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1/4 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon minced/grated garlic

1/2 egg

1 tablespoon Chinese wine

Batter

2 tablespoon plain flour

1 tablespoon rice flour

1 tablespoon corn flour

or

4 tablespoon corn flour

Method

1. Prepare the marinade and add to pork belly. Marinade for at least 3 hours.

2. Prepare the batter. Take each slab of pork belly and coat it with the flour batter. Set aside the pork belly slabs for 30minutes for the flour to absorb the marinade.

3. Heat up wok with sufficient oil. Fry the pork belly slabs until light golden in colour. Then turn up the heat and fry a second time for less than a minute to crisp up the pork belly before slicing.

Homemade Butter

自制牛油 

My late mother-in-law used to make her own butter at home. She would put whipping cream in a container and shake the container vigorously until the whipping cream breaks down into solid (butter!) and liquid (buttermilk!). I was prepared to do this for my soon-to-expire whipping cream, when I came across other methods using mixer, blender and even food processor. So, I set up my mixer and churned out 1.57kg of butter from 4 litres of whipping cream!

Ingredient

Whipping cream (1 litre makes 350g to 400g butter)

Method

1. Put the mixing bowl and balloon whisk in fridge.

2. Pour the whipping cream into the cold mixing bowl.

3. Whisk at low speed for 1 minute, then medium speed until the cream turns thick and fluffy. Use a spatula to scrap the sides of the mixing bowl to incorporate any splashed cream back. Change to low speed once the cream starts to break down and buttermilk released from the cream and starts splattering  the sides of the bowl. 

4. Drain the buttermilk, store in a clean airtight container and keep in fridge for use in other recipes.

5. Remove the butter fat from the whisk and wrap it in a cheese cloth (or any cloth filter). Submerge the cheesecloth in a bowl of ice water and gently squeeze/knead the butter to release remaining buttermilk. The cold water will turn cloudy. Discard the cloudy water and repeat the squeezing /kneading in a fresh bowl of ice water.

6. Remove the butter from the cheesecloth, shape into a rough ball and place it on a baking parchment paper. Wrap the butter and shape it into rectangular form. Freeze the butter immediately.

Herbal Chicken Soup

炖鸡汤

This is a classic herbal soup which is nutritious and nourishing for the body. You can either buy the Chinese herbs individually and put them together or buy a packet of ready herbal mix from supermarkets. 

Ingredients (you can double the quantity of herbs for a stronger herbal taste)

1 chicken

1 litre water

2 dried ginseng roots

1 slice Indian bread

2 tablespoon lotus seeds

2-3 pieces Chuanxiong rhizome

2-3 pieces Chinese angelica root

4-5 pieces Liquorice root

1 tablespoon wolberry fruit (Goji Berry)

1 Honey date

1 Jujube

Method

1. Cut off the chicken feet, wing tips and tail. Remove excess fats around the chicken. Rub 1 tablespoon of salt all over the chicken to clean it and wash the salt away under running water. Blanch the whole chicken with water to remove impurities and scum. Rinse the chicken and set aside.

2. Put the chinese herbs except Goji Berry into a pot with 1 litre water. Add the chicken and bring the water to a boil. Then lower heat and simmer for 1 hour.

3. After 1 hour, take out the ginseng roots, slice and return them to the soup. Simmer for another 1 hour.

4. Add Goji Berry and season the soup with salt. Simmer for another 15 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and serve warm.

Three Cups Chicken

三杯鸡

This is a Taiwanese dish and "Three Cups" in the name of this dish refer to the seasoning used, which is equal proportions of Chinese rice wine, sesame oil and soy sauce.

Ingredients (serves 3-4 pax)

4 chicken thighs (de-boned and cut into bite size pieces)

3 tablespoons sesame oil

3 tablespoons Chinese rice wine (I use huadiaojiu)

3 tablespoons light soy sauce

3 inch ginger (cut into thin slices)

6 garlic cloves

1 bunch of spring onions (cut into 5cm strips)

Method

1. Heat up sesame oil in a wok. Add the ginger slices and garlic cloves into the oil and fry over low heat until the edges of ginger slices crisped up and garlic cloves are light brown. Remove the ginger slices and garlic cloves and set aside.

2. Heat up wok until smoking. Add the chicken pieces and sear/brown them over high heat.

3. Turn heat down and mix in the light soy sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Drizzle the Chinese wine onto the chicken and stir to mix in. Simmer for 5 minutes. 

5. Add the spring onions, fried ginger slices and garlic cloves and mix in thoroughly.

Serve hot!

Pizza Crust (Improved)

Pizza 

This pizza dough will yield a pizza crust that is crispy on the outside and soft inside. As the amount of liquid is high, it is best made using a stand mixer with a dough hook. Of course you can knead by hand too.

Ingredients:

500g bread flour

10g semolina flour

1 tsp yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

15g olive oil

1 tsp salt

330g / 350ml water (room temperature)

1. In the mixing bowl, combine the bread flour and semolina flour, add the salt on one side of the bowl and yeast and sugar on the other side. Pour water and olive oil into the bowl and start to knead on slow speed until the dough comes together. Then increase the mixer speed to medium and knead until the dough comes away cleanly from and flaps against the sides of the mixing bowl.

2. Turn the dough onto the table. Use the scrapper to quickly gather the dough together, then work the dough by stretching and folding a few times to trap as much air as possible inside the dough. Use the dough scrapper to gather the dough into a ball.  Lightly oil the mixing bowl and place the dough ball into the mixing bowl, cover the bowl with a plastic/cloth and let the dough rest for 45minutes or until double in size. For better crust and flavor, rest the dough in the fridge and leave it overnight (or up to 48 hours - bring the dough to room temperature before using it). 

3. Mix a tablespoon of bread flour with a tablespoon of semolina flour. Turn the dough (weight, around 830g) onto the table. Divide into 4 (around 200g each), roll into a ball and lightly coat each ball with bread and semolina flour mixture. Cover the dough balls with cloth/plastic and rest the dough balls for up to 1 hour (or overnight in fridge - bring the dough to room temperature before using it). 

4. Preheat oven to 230 deg celcius (or as high as it will go).

5. Lightly dust the baking tray with bread and semolina flour mixture, and place one dough ball on it. Shape the dough by using your fingers to push/stretch the dough from the center towards the rim until you have a rough circle of about 20cm in diameter with a 1 cm rim.

6. Drizzle a little olive oil over the pizza and spread one tablespoon of tomato sauce evenly over the pizza. Bake the pizza for 5 minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven and add toppings. Then continue to bake the pizza until the edges become golden brown and crispy.