ROAST WHOLE CHICKEN LEGS

Original Recipe By Amy Beh

4 whole chicken legs (1.2kg)

1 lemon, grated

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 tbsp olive oil

A dollop of ghee

½ tsp Ajinomoto salt for taste

¼ tsp pepper for taste

Dash of coarsely ground black pepper

3 tbsp honey

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce

Accompaniments

2 carrots, peeled and sliced lengthwise thinly

1 sprig rosemary, use leaves only

Some roasted chestnuts, skinned

Mix honey, Ajinomoto salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, oyster sauce, light soy sauce and rosemary.

Marinate chicken legs in this mixture for several hours or preferably overnight in the refrigerator.

Arrange the chicken legs on a roasting pan. Add a dollop of ghee. Roast in a preheated oven at 180°C for 15-20 minutes. Baste every 5-10 minutes with remaining marinade.

Turn chicken, meat side up and add the slices of carrot and remaining marinade and extra rosemary leaves. Toss the vegetables in the pan and continue to roast for 5-8 minutes, basting once halfway through.

Before serving, pour off excess oil from the pan and arrange the chicken on a serving plate. Sprinkle with extra ground black pepper and add extra Ajinomoto salt and pepper. Serve with the accompaniments.

STIR-FRIED ASSORTED VEGETABLES WITH FISH AND PRAWNS

Original Recipe By Amy Beh

150g garoupa fillet, cubed

4 medium large prawns, shelled and cubed

100g chicken fillet, diced

5 water chestnuts, cubed

5 button mushrooms, cubed

40g celery, cubed

100g carrot, cut into desired shapes, blanched

4 baby sweet corns, cubed

1 tbsp young ginger, minced

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp oil

1 tbsp Shao Hsing wine (optional)

Seasoning (A)

1 tsp salt

Dash of monosodium glutamate

1 tsp corn flour

1 egg white

Sauce (B)

1 tbsp abalone sauce

¼ tsp sugar

¼ tsp pepper

1 tsp cornflour

125ml fresh chicken stock

Combine fish and prawns with seasoning (A). Mix well then leave aside for 30 minutes. Heat oil and sesame oil in a wok, fry ginger for a while. Add marinated seafood ingredients and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add celery, water chestnuts and carrot to mix and stir in sauce ingredients. Bring to a quick boil.

Splash in Shao Hsing wine if using and add a little more sesame oil to glaze the dish.

Transfer to a serving plate and serve immediately.

PRAWN AND SCALLOP OTAK WRAPS

Original Recipe By Amy Beh

Spice ingredients

6 fresh red chillies, seeded

5 dried red chillies, soaked and seeded

Prawn and scallop otak wraps

1.5cm fresh turmeric

10 shallots

3 cloves garlic

2 stalks lemon grass, use white part only

2cm galangal

3 candlenuts

15g belacan, toasted

Coconut milk custard ingredients

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

150ml thick coconut milk (from 1 grated coconut)

1 tbsp rice flour

1 tbsp corn flour

5 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded

Seasoning

¾ tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

¾ tsp ikan bilis stock granules

¼ tsp pepper

8 fairly large whole prawns

8 fresh scallops

24-25 kadok leaves

1 banana leaf

Cut banana leaf into 18cm x 15cm rectangles. Scald the leaves to soften.

Shell the prawns, leaving tails intact. Make a slit on the back of each prawn and de-vein. Press out flat and open up butterfly style. Set the prawns aside. Blend the spice ingredients in a food processor into a fine paste.

Combine coconut milk with rice flour, corn flour and seasoning ingredients. Add beaten eggs and kaffir lime leaves. Stir well to mix. Add prawns and scallops to the spiced custard mixture.

Take a piece of banana leaf, form a box-like shape by folding the sides and secure with bamboo toothpicks or staples. Line the base with two kadok leaves. Put a prawn and a scallop on the kadok leaves and spoon over 2-3 tablespoons of custard mixture; cover with another kadok leaf. Steam the bundles of otak for 12-15 minutes over rapidly boiling water or until custard sets.

Simple Sponge Cake

2 eggs

60g castor sugar

½ tsp vanilla essence

60g self-raising flour

1 tsp milk

1 tsp corn oil

Line and grease base and sides of a 20cm round cake pan. Preheat oven at 190°C. Whisk eggs, sugar and essence until pale and thick. Sift in flour and fold in quickly using a metal spoon. Stir in corn oil and milk to combine.

Turn batter into a prepared cake pan and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Leave to cool in the pan for 2-3 minutes before turning out to cool completely.

Carefully peel away the lining paper.

Assam Fish Curry

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

Tantalising dish: Try this Asam Fish Curry, made with ikan kembong.

1kg mackerel (ikan kembong)

250g ladies fingers

1 tomato, quartered

3 sprigs polygonum leaves (daun kesum)

4 tbsp tamarind paste (asam jawa) mixed with 500ml water

1 wild ginger bud, halve and smash stem

2 pieces dried tamarind skin

5 tbsp oil

Ground ingredients

12 shallots

8 fresh red chillies

4 slices galangal

1cm piece fresh turmeric

2cm square belacan, toasted

2 stalks lemon grass

Seasoning

¾-1 tsp salt or to taste

½-1 tsp sugar or to taste

Heat oil in a deep saucepan and sauté ground ingredients and wild ginger bud halves and polygonum leaves until aromatic and the oil rises.

Add asam jawa juice and bring to the boil. Add ladies fingers, dried tamarind skin and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Put in mackerel and cook for 10 minutes. Add tomato and adjust seasoning to taste. Dish out and serve with hot plain rice immediately.

Meatless Soup

Original recipe by amy Beh

1 medium-size green radish (cheng lor pak), cut into wedges

1 medium-size carrot, cut into wedges

250-300g burdock, remove the skin and cut into thin slanting slices

4 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked to soften

200g vegetarian chicken

15 Chinese red dates, seeded

20g kei chi

2 litres water

1 tsp salt or to taste

Bring water to the boil. Add in all the ingredients and simmer over low heat for 1½ hours. Add salt to taste and serve the soup hot.

Nam Yee Spareribs

Original Recipe By Amy Beh

1kg spareribs, chopped into serving size

3 cubes preserved red beancurd (nam yee)

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp water

Marinade

5-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp Shao Hsing wine (optional)

1 tbsp Chinese five spice powder

1 tsp pepper

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp plain flour

3-4 tsp cornflour

1 tsp sesame oil

1 egg

Combine preserved red beancurd, light soy sauce, wine and water in a small bowl. Use a spoon to mash the red beancurd into a paste. Mix with the rest of the marinade ingredients. Add the spareribs and stir well to mix evenly.

Arrange the marinated spareribs in a large plastic container. Close and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Heat oil in a wok. When the oil is hot, add in the marinated spareribs. Reduce the heat and deep-fry until meat is cooked through, golden brown and tender. Remove the spareribs, reheat the oil again until hot but not smoky. Add in the ribs and allow it to sizzle for a minute. Dish out and drain from oil. Serve immediately.

Red Bean Alkaline Dumplings

Original Recipe By Amy Beh

500g glutinous rice, rinsed and soaked for at least 4 hours

1¼ tsp alkaline water (kan sui)

Dried bamboo leaves, boiled till soft and wiped dry

Red bean paste filling

250g red beans, washed and soaked overnight

200g castor sugar

150ml oil

To prepare red bean paste

Comfort food: Have some chocolate cake and brewed coffee to wind down. – Filepic

Cook beans in a pot of water till soft. Drain off the liquid and blend or process the cooked beans to form a smooth paste.

Put the bean paste in a non-stick saucepan and cook until dry. Add sugar and stir until sugar dissolves, then add in oil. Stir slowly until the mixture turns into a smooth paste. Remove the paste and allow it to cool completely. Divide the red bean paste to make very small balls.

For the dumplings

Mix the glutinous rice with the alkaline water for about 15 minutes.

Take 2 bamboo leaves and fold into a cone. Put a tablespoon of rice in the cone and add a ball of red bean paste. Cover with more glutinous rice. Shape the cone well and secure with hempstring. Repeat the process to make more dumplings.

Boil the dumplings in rapidly boiling water for 3½-4 hours. Drain the dumplings well before serving.

Poached Pears in Champagne

Original Recipe By Amy Beh

4 pears
1 bottle Champagne
50g caster sugar
3cm cinnamon stick
Rind of 1 lemon, sliced thinly

Peel, halve and core the pears, leaving the stalk intact.

Put the Champagne, sugar and cinnamon stick in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat and bring to a boil.

Add the lemon rind and pears and cover the saucepan with a lid. Simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until the pears are tender.

Take the saucepan off the heat and leave to cool. Transfer the contents to a glass container and refrigerate overnight.

To serve, put the pears cut side down on a plate and slice from the stalk to the bottom. Press down slightly to fan out the slices.

Pineapple Chutney

Original Recipe By Amy Beh

1 ripe pineapple
1 onion, cut into wedges
4 red chillies, halved, seeded and sliced
500ml water
2 tbsp oil
4–5 dried chillies, rinsed and cut into pieces
2 sprigs curry leaves
3cm cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp halba seeds

Ground ingredients

10 cloves garlic
2.5cm ginger
2cm fresh turmeric

Seasoning

Salt and sugar to taste
Pinch of monosodium glutamate

Slice and core the pineapple, then shred. Combine pineapple, onion, red chillies, ground ingredients and seasoning in a non-stick saucepan. Add water and bring to a boil until pineapple is tender and the gravy is thick.

Heat oil in a clean saucepan and fry remaining ingredients until fragrant. Pour this into the simmering pineapple mixture. Stir well to combine and cook for five to six minutes.

Dish out and serve with chapatti or even with plain hot rice.

Salt Baked Chicken

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

1 whole kampung chicken, about 1.5–2kg
3kg coarse rock salt
2 large pieces of greaseproof paper

Seasoning (A)

1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp Shao Hsing wine

Herbs

20g tong sum
10g tong kwai
1 tbsp kei chi

Clean the chicken well and rub the skin and cavity with seasoning (A). Push the herbs into the cavity and use a small toothpick to hold the skin together to close the cavity.

Wrap the chicken with a double layer of greaseproof paper.

Stir-fry the coarse salt in a stainless steel wok for four to five minutes until the salt is hot. Make a well in the centre of the salt and put in the chicken parcel. Cover the parcel with the surrounding salt. Close the wok with a tight fitting cover. Cook for 20 minutes over a low heat.

Remove the parcel and stir-fry the salt again until it is hot. Repeat the cooking process for another 20 minutes over low heat. Remove the parcel and serve immediately.

Yet Tuen Wor Hei (Togetherness in Happiness)

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

300g sea cucumber, sliced

2 thin slices old ginger

1 tsp Shao Hsing wine (optional)

3 pairs pre-fried chicken feet, chopped into halves

8 dried mushrooms, soaked

50g dried fish bladder (yi peow), soaked until soft

3g fatt choy, soaked

2cm piece young ginger, sliced and cut into desired shapes

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 tsp oil

1 tsp sesame oil

700ml chicken stock

Seasoning (A)

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1/8 tsp salt or to taste

¼ tsp pepper

½ tsp sugar or to taste

¼ tsp thick soy sauce

1 tbsp Shao Hsing wine (optional)

Thickening (combined)

2 tbsp sweet potato starch

2 tbsp water

Heat wok and fry sea cucumber with old ginger till fragrant. Splash in a teaspoon Shao Hsing wine, if using. Dish out sea cucumber and discard the ginger.

Heat a clean wok with oil and sesame oil, add seasoning (A) and put in mushrooms and chicken feet. Stir-fry well. Pour in chicken stock and add sea cucumber.

Braise for 10 minutes. Remove sea cucumber from wok and add fish bladder and fatt choy. Continue to simmer for 20 minutes.

Return the sea cucumber to the wok and add thickening to the gravy.

Chok Shan Guo Teem Nin (A Lovely Sweet New Year)

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

1 lohan guo (Buddha’s fruit), broken into pieces

15g yongsum soe (hair of ginseng roots), rinsed

15 red Chinese dates, seeded and rinsed

25g dried longan

30g chook shan (dried bamboo pith), soaked and both ends trimmed

50g fresh prepared lotus seeds

100g rock sugar

2 litres water

Combine lohan guo, yong sum soe, dates and water in a cooking pot.

Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 35-40 minutes.

Add rock sugar, dried longan, bamboo pith, lotus seeds and continue to simmer for15-20 minutes. Serve hot immediately.

Moon Tei Kam Ngan (Carpetful of Gold and Silver)

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

100g presoaked shark’s fin

100g crabmeat, steamed and shredded

4 eggs

2½ tbsp oil

1½ tbsp sesame oil

1½ tbsp Shao Hsing wine (optional)

½ cup beansprouts, both ends trimmed

Seasoning (A)

½tsp salt or to taste

¼ tsp pepper

½ tsp sesame oil

(B)

300ml water

2 stalks spring onion

1 tsp chicken stock granules

3 thick slices ginger

Lightly beat the eggs and add seasoning (A). Set aside.

Combine ingredients (B) in a saucepan and bring to the boil for a minute. Add shark’s fin and boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove spring onion and ginger and drain the shark’s fin well.

Mix crabmeat with the eggs. Heat oil and sesame oil in a wok until hot, pour in egg and crabmeat mixture. Stir-fry at high heat until almost cooked.

Add shark’s fin and splash in Shao Hsing wine, if using. Toss well for a while. Dish up and serve with beansprouts.

Spicy Lala

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

300g lala
1 tbsp oil
2 stalks curry leaves
1 tbsp cornflour

Chopped

2 cloves garlic
2 shallots

Coarsely chopped

1 tbsp dried prawns
3-4 bird’s eye chillies

Seasoning

1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
½ tsp sugar
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp turmeric powder

Soak the lala in salted water for 15-20 minutes. Wash and rinse the lala, then drain well on a plastic colander.

Heat oil in a wok. Fry curry leaves, dried prawns, garlic and shallots until fragrant. Add bird’s eye chillies and continue to fry until aromatic.

Add seasoning ingredients to mix. Add lala and stir-fry well. Stir in cornflour and fry until all the lala shells open.

Honey Sauce Char Siu

Original recipe by Amy Beh

600g belly pork

Marinade

20g oyster sauce
1½ tsp salt
1 tbsp light soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp thick soy sauce
1 tbsp rose wine (mei kwai loe)
1 tsp colouring (optional)

Honey or sugar syrup

200ml water
110g malt (mak ngah tong)

Rinse pork and pat dry completely with several pieces of paper towels. Cut the pork into long strips of 4cm thick. Marinate for several hours, preferably overnight in the refrigerator.

Cook the syrup ingredients until thick.

Place the marinated pork in a preheated oven at 170°C. Grill for 12-15 minutes. Remove the meat and turn it over. Pour the syrup over the meat. Increase the heat to 190°C and return the meat to the oven to grill for about 5-6 minutes. Cut the meat into thin serving slices.

Nuoc Cham

Living

Tuesday February 5, 2008

Vietnamese dip

CULINARY QUERIES with AMY BEH

Nuoc Cham, a dip with a fish sauce base, can be served with Vietnamese spring rolls.

3 fresh red chillies, seeded
2 cloves garlic
2 limes, squeeze for juice
2 tbsp grated gula Melaka
90ml fish sauce
1 tsp rice wine or vinegar

Put chillies and garlic in a food processor. Add 2-3 tablespoons lime juice. Process into a coarse paste. Remove, transfer to a glass jar and add sugar, remaining lime juice, fish sauce, and rice wine or vinegar. Stir, then put on the cap and screw tight. Shake until sugar dissolves. (If it is too sour or salty, just add 2-3 tablespoons cold water.) Serve with Vietnamese spring rolls.

Durian Butter Cake

Original Recipe By Amy Beh

180g butter

175g castor sugar

100g durian flesh, mashed

3 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

125g self-raising flour

60g plain flour

Grease and line a 20cm round or square cake pan. Preheat oven to 180°C.

Beat butter and sugar until pale. Add durian and essence. Continue to beat until mixture is light and creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift both the flours and fold into the butter durian mixture. Stir to mix.

Turn out batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the cake is done when tested with a wooden skewer.

Stir-fried Spicy Balitong

Stir-fried Spicy Balitong

300g balitong (sea-snails)

2- 2½ tbsp oil

1 tbsp dried prawns, soaked

Spice ingredients

1 tbsp chilli paste

1 shallot

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp fish curry powder

1 tbsp tom yam paste

Seasoning

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ikan bilis stock granules

1-2 tbsp water

Blend the spice ingredients in a food processor into a fine paste.

Blanch sea-snails in boiling water for a minute. Drain. Heat oil in a wok and sauté dried prawns and blended spice ingredients until fragrant.

Add the sea-snails and fry well to combine. Stir in seasoning and bring to a quick rolling boil. Dish out to serve.

Thai Pandan Leaf Chicken

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

Deep-fried Thai pandan leaf chicken.

400g chicken drumsticks, chopped into bite-sized pieces

15 large screwpine leaves (pandan leaves)

Marinade

40g shallots

2 cloves garlic

2 stalks coriander roots

2 stalks lemon grass

3/4 tsp pepper

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp meat curry powder

1 tbsp cornflour

Dipping sauce – (combined)

4 tbsp Thai sweet chilli sauce

3 tbsp coarsely ground roasted peanuts

Combine all marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend into a fine paste. Season chicken with marinade for several hours.

Take a screwpine leaf and fold into a small cone. Add 2 pieces of marinated chicken and wrap up neatly. Secure well with a sharp toothpick. Deep-fry the pandan leaf chicken over medium heat until the leaf turns light brown.

Remove and drain from excess oil.

Serve with the dipping sauce.

CHICKEN AND CABBAGE SALAD

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

1 cup shredded cooked chicken

½ cup shredded white cabbage

½ cup shredded purple cabbage

½ cup shredded carrot

2 tbsp thinly sliced bird’s eye chillies

3 shallots, thinly sliced

2 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded

Dressing

3 limes, squeezed for juice

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp sugar or to taste

Garnishing

Some mint leaves

1 tbsp toasted peanuts

Combine chicken, both cabbages, carrots, bird’s eye chillies, shallots and kaffir lime leaves in a mixing bowl.

Add combined dressing ingredients and mix well.

Dish out and serve with garnishing.

ABALONE LOE SUNG

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

1 piece fresh New Zealand abalone, cleaned

Freshly shredded ingredients (A)

50g carrot

70g white radish

100g yam bean (sengkuang)

50g unripe green mango

40g pickled leek (kew tou)

40g pickled sweetened cucumber

30g pickled ginger

30g pickled sweetened red ginger

3 kaffir lime leaves

Garnishing (B)

2 tbsp roasted peanuts, coarsely blended

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

½ a small bowl of thinly sliced deep-fried yau char kwai (Chinese cruller)

½ a bowl of pomelo pulp

Dressing (C)

3 tbsp plum sauce 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 tbsp lemon juice 1½ tbsp sugar or to taste

Seasoning (D)

½ tsp Chinese five spice powder

1/8 tsp pepper

Dash of salt

1 tbsp orange oil

1 tbsp peanut oil

Soak shredded carrot and white radish in ice-cold water for a few minutes. Drain and squeeze dry in a piece of clean muslin cloth.

Lightly blanch abalone in hot water (do not over-boil water as it will destroy the texture of the abalone). Remove and soak in ice-cold water for 10 minutes. Slice the abalone thinly.

Arrange all shredded ingredients around a serving plate. Add garnishing ingredients.

Pour dressing sauce over and sprinkle with dressing (C) and seasoning (D). Toss well to mix and serve in individual salad bowls.

TANGY MANGO AND CUTTLEFISH SALAD

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

½ cup peeled and shredded green mango

1 green papaya

3 shallots, thinly sliced

300g processed cuttlefish, score the inner body and cut into thick slices

¼ tsp sugar

A dash of pepper

5 bird’s eye chillies, chopped

2 pickled leeks (kew tou), sliced

Dressing

2 tbsp local lime juice

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp Thai chilli sauce

1 tsp fish sauce

Garnishing

1 tbsp deep-fried anchovies

2 tbsp toasted peanuts

Spread shredded mango on several layers of absorbent kitchen paper to remove excess moisture.

Peel the papaya and halve it lengthwise. Remove the seeds and slice off the soft centre. Grate the papaya.

Lightly season the cuttlefish with sugar and pepper, then scald in boiling water for 40-50 seconds. Drain and set aside.

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and add dressing ingredients. Toss well to mix. Add garnishing, then adjust seasoning before serving.