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Wishing all readers a very Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Video : CNY dish: Deep Fried Vegetarian Goose

Bika Ambon

Recipe By Amy Beh

330ml thick coconut milk

100ml lukewarm water

50g plain flour

1 tsp instant yeast

150g rice flour

100g tapioca flour

250g castor sugar

180ml coconut water

5 egg yolks

½ tsp vanilla essence

¾ tsp salt

Put thick coconut milk in a small saucepan and bring to a low boil over very low heat. Remove and leave aside to cool completely.

Combine lukewarm water, flour and instant yeast in a small bowl and leave aside to froth.

Mix both flours, sugar, coconut water, egg yolks, essence and salt in a mixing bowl.

Add fermented yeast mixture and the cooled coconut milk to mix.

Leave mixture aside, covered with a damp tea towel to ferment for 2-3 hours.

Turn batter into a lightly greased tray and bake in preheated oven at 200°C and grill until the top of the cake is golden brown.

Ayam Golek

Ayam Golek

1.5kg chicken

1 tsp salt

200ml thick coconut milk

Ground spices

200g shallots

4 cloves garlic

3 stalks lemon grass

20g galangal

15g ginger

20g fresh turmeric

120g fresh red chillies

1 tsp white peppercorns

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp fennel

Seasoning

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp monosodium glutamate

Chop the chicken into 4 quarter pieces and 7score a few diagonal cuts on each piece. Rub with salt.

Combine coconut milk with the ground spice ingredients in a saucepan over a medium low heat. Bring to a low simmering boil. Add seasoning.

Dish out and combine with the chicken pieces. Leave aside to marinate for at least 1-2 hours.

Grill the chicken pieces (for an authentic taste, grill over burning embers) and brush with remaining marinade when grilling, until meat is cooked through and lightly browned.

Vegetarian Soup

Meatless Soup

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.

Prune Muffins

300g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

105g caster sugar

50g pitted prunes, chopped

15g raisins

2 eggs

105g melted butter

210ml UHT milk

¾ tsp vanilla essence

Grease a 12-hole muffin pan and preheat oven to 200°C.

Combine melted butter, eggs, milk and essence in a small bowl. Put sifted dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Add prunes and raisins. Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix with a hand whisk until ingredients are well combined.

Spoon batter into the muffin moulds (it will fill only 10 holes). Bake for 25 minutes or until well risen and lightly golden.

Oxtail Soup

Recipe By Amy Beh

Oxtail Soup

600g oxtail, chopped into sizeable pieces
2 litres chicken stock / water
1 whole bulb garlic, unpeeled
40g ginger, lightly bruised
100g onion, quartered
20g galangal, bruised
35g leek, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
2 coriander roots
100g carrot, cut into wedges
100g radish, cut into wedges

Ingredients (A)

2 star anise
5 cloves
4cm cinnamon stick
5 cardamoms
1 nutmeg, cracked
1 tsp white peppercorns
1 tsp black peppercorns

Seasoning

1 tsp thick soy sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp rock sugar
½ tsp salt or to taste

Garnishing

Chopped coriander leaves and spring onions

Trim off any excess fat from the oxtail and blanch in boiling water for 5-6 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Bring chicken stock or water in a deep pot to a boil. Put in ingredients (A) and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Add oxtail, garlic, onions, ginger, galangal, leek, celery and coriander roots. Bring to a boil again then reduce the heat and simmer the soup over a gentle low heat for an hour.

Add carrot and radish and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes or until meat is tender. Adjust seasoning to taste and dish out to serve immediately with the garnishing.

Tangy Thai Soup

Recipe by Amy Beh

Tangy Thai Soup

½ a kampong chicken (about 750g), chopped
¼ tsp salt
1 litre coconut milk
5-6 kaffir lime leaves
2 stalks lemongrass, smashed
4cm knob galangal, lightly smashed
10 bird’s eye chillies, lightly smashed
½ tsp white peppercorns
½ tsp black peppercorns
2 shallots, peeled and keep whole
3 coriander roots
100g hon shimeji mushrooms, trimmed
100g abalone mushrooms, torn into pieces
50ml thick coconut milk

Seasoning

3-4 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp chicken stock granules
1 tbsp Thai tom yam paste

Lightly marinate chicken with salt. Arrange on a heatproof dish and steam over high heat for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Combine coconut milk, lemongrass, galangal, bird’s eye chillies, kaffir lime leaves, shallots, coriander roots, and black and white peppercorns in a pot. Bring to a boil over medium low heat for 10-15 minutes.

Add pre-steamed chicken and the stock to the soup stock. Add all mushrooms, thick coconut milk and seasoning. Stir well and cook for 4-5 minutes. Dish out soup into individual bowls and serve hot.

Stir-fried Pig’s Liver

200g pig’s liver
50g old ginger, sliced
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp oil
2 stalks spring onion, cut into 4cm sections
100ml water

Marinade (A)

½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
1 tbsp ginger juice
½ tsp sesame oil

Sauce (B)

1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp Chinese rice wine
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
¼ freshly ground black peppercorns

Wash and slice liver into thick slices. Season with marinade (A) and leave aside.

Heat oil and sesame oil in a wok. Fry ginger until fragrant. Add water and stir in combined sauce (B). Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add marinated liver and stir-fry briskly for about a minute or until liver is cooked through. Splash in a little extra rice wine, then dish out, garnish with spring onion and serve immediately.