Hakka Pestle Tea Rice/Ham Cha Farn/Looi Cha Farn

This dish is from the Chinese migratory Hakka dialect group and is several hundred years old. The Hakkas, especially this sub-group called Ho Poh , have a unique tradition regarding this dish as medicinal, a detox meal which is also reputed to boost metabolism and servet his supersalad, with 7 types of vegetables, on the seventh day of Chinese New Year just like the cantonese tradition of serving Yee Sang which most chinese are accustomed to.

Ham Cha Farn(salty tea), Looi Cha Farn(ground tea) or Thunder Rice, has a lot of variations. The tea used ,be it green or black signifies and determine the flavour and taste of the dish. It is sometimes kept simple by grinding the tea, add salt to taste and hot boiling water, to make a broth. However others may add roasted peanuts, sesame seeds or both together with the tea leaves and herbs like mint, basil, perilla and saw coriander, in the grinding process to make into an almost medicinal tea broth. This alters the flavour of the dish significantly. The taste however, is not for everyone. Some find it enervating and refreshing, others do not like the bitter or strong herbal notes.

The essential ingredients are Farn(Cooked Rice), which can be puffed rice (mee chang) or rice grains fried with garlic and a little oil, prior to cooking and three of the seven ingredients which will determine a good Ham Cha Farn/Looi Cha Farn are dried shrimps, choy poh(preserved radish) and firm tofu. These three are to be sauted and seasoned with sugar and white pepper..

To complement the tea and rice, a wide variety of carefully selected vegetables (including blanched long beans, cabbage, carrots, four-angled beans, chye sim, celery, are used. It should be noted that meat and fish is seldom added to this diah as the the main idea is to eat lots of vegetables, making this dish cheap, hearty , nutritious and a fibre-rich.

Continue for recipe HERE
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Step-by-step Mui Choy Kau Yoke

A task which usually take 5 minutes was not so and it was so frustrating.  Anyway, how difficult or time-consuming it was, i made a promise to post the step-by step on How to make Mui Choy Kau Yoke and .........

the promise is kept

The step-by-step can be found HERE

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Mui Choy Kau Yoke

This is a very popular dish in Asia which appears on the dinning table during any asian festivals.  It is very deliciously sinful, mouth watering. 

Taste the intense flavour and the fats of the pork melting in your mouth.  . The preserved Mui Choy (dried salted veggie but sweet) has a nice balance which is light tasting  and goes well with the meat soft texture.  This dish might not be so acceptable by healthy freaks who shy away from most fat but in this case the fat actually gets soaked up by the 'mui choy'  and become very 'mui', giving glory to it's name.  "Mui" in cantonese means 'soft' . 

Continue for recipe HERE
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Chicken And Wood Ear Fungus Wine Soup

This dish is a confinement dish.  The chinese, especially the cantonese would cook this dish as a post-natal diet for the whole month of confinement after childbirth.  During pregnancy, a woman may feel bloated and feel like there is a lot of gas in the tummy. This is due to the softening of our body ligaments and etc to make way for the baby’s growth. To expel those gas from the stomach, one soothing food we can take is ginger but after childbirth, gas is bloating in abundance, ginger and more ginger in every dish will help, as food prepared with ginger develop a tendency to move outward.  The chinese do not encourage fresh fruits and vegetables, so ginger is the only source of fiber.  After delivery, the body is susceptible to 'cold' and must be kept warm, therefore wine is the best as it moves  upwards and pushes up the energy. Wood Ear Fungus helps to prevent various forms of bleeding and prevents blood clotting   All these practices are considered efficacious for curing the body's imbalance but especially as a preventive therapy against ailments in later years.  I, the renegade must remain cognizant and respectful of the indigenous beliefs and practices linking the events of reproduction and the health status of women.



Ingredients and Method

 
Recipe is the same as Chicken With Stone's Ginger Wine except peanuts are omitted, vegetable oil and glutinous rice wine were used instead of sesame oil and Stone's Ginger Wine.  This dish was cooked for my friends to enjoy the Home-brewed Glutinous Rice Wine. 

 

Serves

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Home Brewing - Glutinous Rice Wine

I have to confess that i have shyed away from brewing glutinous rice wine at home for the longest ever, all because of all the superstitions pertaining to brewing wine at home.  I finally buck up courage together with inspiration from my friend, Claire and tried making 2 batches, one plain and one with red rice yeast.  Claire came to help and all we had to do was to blend the yeast and start assembling the rice for brewing.  I had prepped the rice earlier by cooking it in the rice cooker, so that it will be cooled enough for assembling when Claire arrived.  I was so excited that i forgot to take pictures of the assembling.  I did not take pictures perhaps i was skeptical that the wine will be a success as i know that i will break all rules and superstitions - I did not have a mouthful of sugar when i started making, i talked alot and made it in broad daylight,  i did not leave the pot under the bed with a rusty knife on top, i let the 2 pots(crockpots) sitting on the dinning table, perhaps if you make the wine in a glass bottle, it will be better to put it away from the light.  According to one of the myths - one should leave the pot alone without peeking, i, of course, have been opening the lids of both the pots and checking for green stuff growing and have been tasting the wine as days go by.  Despite of being so rebelious, the wine turned out so sweet and not too alcohlic.  The one with the red rice yeast tasted better than the plain one and had more wine, perhaps the extra yeast present in the red rice gave the extra kick and for the extra wine, i think i had sprinkled in an extra cup of water. The whole process was worth it and now my younger friends can have Rice Wine Chicken during their confinement, just inform me and i will brew some.

Ingredients:

8 cups/2.2 lbs/1 kg long grain white glutinous rice
1 pc wine yeast (bigger kind brought from Malaysia)
1 pc wine yeast (small kind available in any asian stores here in the States)
1 cup red rice yeast (also available in the asian stores here)
2 cups filtered water for sprinkling.

Method:

Wash the glutinous rice, drain, and place in rice cooker with enough water to cover the surface(it is just like cooking regular jasmine rice). Put to cook, and when rice is cooked, remove from the rice cooker, then spread it onto foil covered baking sheets and leave to cool completely.(make sure new foil is used to cover the baking sheets)  Rice must be completely cold before use.

Using a clean coffee grinder, grind the wine yeast and red rice yeast into powder.

To assemble:

Sprinkle a little wine yeast mixture on to a crockpot and then layer with rice(wet hands with the filtered water and flatten a handful and use it for layering). 

Sprinkle with more rice yeast all over the rice and then sprinkle with the filtered water.

Repeat the layering - rice, rice yeast and water until all the rice is done.

Lastly pour the remainder of the filtered water.

Cover crockpot with a clean cloth and then the lid.

Leave it to ferment for 7 days, then open lid and give mixture a good stir with a clean wooden spoon.

Cover crockpot with the clean cloth and lid and leave to brew for another 14 days(the total brewing time is 21 days - if you prefer a stronger alcoholic wine leave for another 7 days).

Wine can be harvested on the 21st or 30th day.

Prepare a sieve or a colander and line it with a clean cloth.  Put it over a pot to catch the wine.

Put the brewed wine mixture onto the cloth and let the wine dripped.(patience in letting the wine drip slowly will result in very clear wine).

When all the wine has dripped and the residue is quite dry, remove the residue and store it in a jar or air tight container for many more other recipes.

Bring the wine to a quick boil (my wine started to boil at 180f and of course it is cos i am one mile above sea-level)

Let the wine cool before bottling.

Wine is now to be enjoyed in any way you wish.

Serves

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Bittergourd Omelette

I like bittergourd but the family don't. I will take the opportunity to cook it when i have company who enjoys the bittergourd as much as i do. This dish must be Hakka cos strangely my friends who love them are Hakka.

There are 2 types of bittergourd, one which is long and the other is a smaller fruit which is very much bitter. In choosing a less bitter fruit, that is the bigger ones, choose one which is pale and has bigger bumps. .

Ingredients:

1 bittergourd - cut into half and remove the seeds.

1 tsp salt

3 large eggs - beat lightly

1 clove garlic chopped

salt and pepper to taste

oil for frying

Method:

Slice the thinly and marinate with 1 tsp of salt. Leave aside for at least 10 minustes.

Squeeze the marinated sliced bittergourd, to remove as much liquid as possible.

Wash the bittergourd under tap water and drain dry.

Heat wok with 2 tbsp oil and when oil is hot, add in the chopped garlic and the bittergourd. Stir fry until bittergourd is cooked.

Add 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper to the beaten eggs.

Pour eggs over bittergourd and fry until eggs are set and brown.

Serve hot.


Serves

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Abacus Beads/Sueen Poon Chee

I love anything cooked with taro and this dish is one of my favorites, perhaps it's in my genes . This traditional Hakka dish is eaten during festive celebrations such as Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival for prosperity. sueen poon chee, or abacus seeds, are springy discs of yam, shaped after its namesake. I have tried many times trying to get the springiness by adjusting the ratio of yam to tapioca starch. I like more springy and have to sacrifice the taste of yam by using more tapioca starch. For this dish, the ingredients cooked with this abacus seeds have to be very flavorful.

Ingredients:

1 lb taro, cleaned, peeled and thinly sliced(i used frozen ones, thaw and slice)

12 ozs tapioca starch

3 tbsp cooking oil

5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup dried shrimp, soak and coarsely chopped

11/4 cup shredded dried squid - soak

6 dried Chinese mushroom, soaked till soft and sliced

1/2 lb ground pork

1/4 lb chinese chives - cut into 1 inch in length

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp fish sauce

1 tsp oyster sauce

1/2 cup chicken stock

Method:

Steam taro until soft and mash.

Place the tapioca starch in a large mixing bowl and add hot taro paste to it, stirring it in well

When the taro and starch mixture has cooled , knead it to form a dough.

Pinch off enough dough to roll into a ball , 1 inch in diameter. Press the ball between your thumb and forefinger so that it is depressed in the middle and shaped like an abacus seed.

Repeat until dough is used up.

Fill a pot with water to the three-quarter mark and bring it to a boil.

Place abacus seeds in the pot and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent the seeds from sticking to the bottom of the pot. When cooked, the seeds will float to the top. Scoop out the cooked abacus seeds and leave them aside to drain.

To a hot wok, add 2 tbsp oil and fry the garlic till golden brown before adding dried shrimp, shredded dried squid and mushroom. Stir fry the mixture , then set aside.

Add the remaining tbsp oil to the hot wok and fry the ground pork until it is cooked and no more pink.

Add in the cooked garlic, dried shrimp, shredded dried squid, mushroom, abacus seeds and the seasonings.

Add in the chinese chives and stir briefly.

Dish out and sprinkle with sesame oil.

Serve hot.

Serves

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Yeong Tofu

Tofu/taufoo, however you call it or in whatever forms is my favorite staple which needs no introduction but just for reminiscing, i miss the tofu from Malaysia, - the 'sang far', 'sui tofu' and 'tau khon/taukuah'.

To 'yeong' in cantonese which means to stuff, Besides all forms of tofu or soy products, any vegetables can be stuffed. Leafy vegetables like 'kangkong' or 'choy sum' can be blanched and twirled up and then a patch of fish paste is added. Blanched Long Beans made into a small bundle is one of the best. The other popular candidates for stuffing are 'red and green peppers', 'fu chuk', okra, eggplant and all types tofus of course. I personally like to stuff 'shitake mushrooms' and cabbage.

The stuffing filling of just fish paste is the most common but the 'hakka' version of adding ground pork and salted fish is very flavorful especially with 'sang far' tofu. In the absence of 'sang far', the silken tofu is cut into squares and using a melon baller, scoop a hole to hold the filling and then steam or alternatively, cut the tofu into triangles and stuff the fish paste on the pointed side of triangle instead of the straight side which is too tricky.

The paste can be made into balls which are then cooked in simmering water/stock or made into a log/disk and pan-fried.

The stuffed tofus or vegetables are pan-fried or deep-fried and is served as is with chilly sauce for dipping. They can be served with a light thin sauce made with 'mein see/tau cheong' or in soups. i especially like the soup that is made with soya beans. At this stage, they can be kept in the freezer but not for the stuffed white silken tofu. They are the best accompaniment for noodles.

Ingredients:

1-1½ lb Spanish Mackerel fillet - using a spoon, remove the flesh from the skin

A
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp light soya sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

1 egg white

a pinch of msg(optional)

B

2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt mixed with 4 tbsp water

Method:

Put the fish fillet in the food processor and pulse until the fish is finely chopped up. The number of pulses depend on the freshness of the fish meat.

Remove from food processor and put minced fish meat in the cake mixer mixing bowl.

Add in the seasonings A and using the paddle, mix to combine

Add in B and turn on the highest speed to create 'kau' , then the paste will have the good crunchy texture

The paste is ready to 'yeong'/stuff whatever.

For Hakka version -

Add to fish paste

1/2 lb of ground pork with considerable amount of pork fat and make sure that it is not ground too fine. The best would be to chop pork with the cleaver

Salted fish - preferably 'mui heong'

To make soup:

Fish bones and skin(after the flesh has been removed for the fish paste)

or

A handful of ikan bilis

1 cup of soya beans - wash and soak for 2 hours, drain

3 - 4 slices of ginger

4 cups water

salt and pepper to taste

oil for frying the fish bones and skin

Heat oil and pan fry the fish bones and skin or the ikan bilis until very crispy

Remove and fill a muslin/cheesecloth bag with the fried fish bones and skin/ikan bilis, then put in the pressure cooker together with the soya beans, ginger and water

Close the pressure cooker and cook on high for 1/2 hour

Release pressure and open the lid Remove the muslin/cheesecloth bag

The soup is then ready for the yeong tofu/vegetables/etc

Add salt and pepper to taste.(Might not have to add so much salt as the goodies might be salty enough)

Enjoy

Serves

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Seremban Hakka Mein

Another Seremban's classic which anyone who have stayed in Seremban before would vouch that once you have tasted this noodle , it can be addictive. It is quite difficult to get close to the Mccoy especially the noodles are homemade, which has a very slight tinge of 'potassium carbonate & sodium bi-carbonate solution(kan sui)' but oh so 'al dente'. I satisfy my urge for it by using any thick wantan noodles, fresh or dried. This is my version of the pork gravy and i hope that whoever has the passion like me. have a recipe of which i can try.




Ingredients:

Thick Wantan noodles - fresh or dried

Pork Gravy:

1/2 cup of chopped garlic
1 lb ground pork - 80/20
1 lb bulk sausage original
2 - 3 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 tsp white pepper
2 cups water.


Method:

Brown the sausage and ground pork until they are no more pink.

Add in the garlic and saute until fragrant.

Add in the rest of the ingredients and simmer at very low fire for 15 minutes.

To serve:

Cook noodles as you would for Kon Loh Mein. Drain well.

Add in pork gravy and chopped spring onions.

Adjust taste with a dash or two of fish sauce.
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Hakka Char Yoke

This is hakka cuisine, that's for sure. Belly pork fried with the nam yee red sauce is very delicious if it has been thoroughly fried, crispy on the outside and meat is juicy inside. Alternatively, making it into a stew with wood ear fungus is the Hakka Classic.



Ingredients:

Nam Yee Red Sauce

8 pieces fermented red bean curd (nam yee)
3 tbsp chopped garlic
3 tbsp chopped shallots
1 tsp chopped ginger
2 star anise
5 cm cinnamon stick
3 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp shao xing wine
500ml water
100ml oil

Method:

1. Heat up oil, sauté chopped shallot and garlic until fragrant. Add in the remaining ingredients and bring to boil until thick. Done.

Note:

This sauce may keep in the fridge for 1 month.

It may also be use in other recipes like fried fish in nam yee red sauce and nam yee spare ribs.

Hakka Char Yoke

Ingredients:

600g pork belly, sliced thickly
100g wood ear fungus, soak and remove woody part.
2 tbsp Hakka Nam Yee red sauce
2 cups water

Marinade:

2 tbsp Hakka Nam Yee red sauce
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp corn flour
1/2 tsp pepper
1 egg
5 cups of oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Combine pork belly with marinade and marinate for 2 hours.

2. Heat up oil for deep-frying, put in pork belly and deep-fry until golden brown, dish and drain. This can be served as is.

3. To stew, put all ingredients, pork belly and water into a stock pot and bring to boil, lower the heat and continue to simmer for 45 minutes or until the pork is tender.

4. Dish up and serve.

Serves
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Woo Tau Kow Yoke

,This is a classic dish which is served on special occasions. I learned to make this dish from a friend who is hakka, so i presume this is the favorite of the hakka clan. Correct me if i am wrong.



Ingredients:

1 lb belly pork
1 lb taro, peeled and cut into thick slices to match the size of a piece of sliced belly pork, rub with 5 spice powder
2 stem spring inions (white part)
1 tbsp cooking wine
1 tsp black soya sauce
1/4 tsp 5 spice powder

Sauce:

2 shallots - peeled and minced
2 cloves garlic - minced
½ tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp msg
1 cube nam yee / red fermented beancurd
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 tsp sesame oil
Dash of pepper
1 cup water


½ tbsp tapioca flour

Method:

1. Parboil belly pork in boiling water together with cooking wine and spring onions for 10 minutes. Remove wash well and pat dry.Rub the skin with black soya sauce and the meat with 5 spice powder.

2. Heat enough oil for deep frying. Deep-fry the belly pork, skin side downtill light golden. Remove and soak for 1/2 hour in cold water to wash off oil and to regain moisture lost in frying. Slice pork into 1/2 inch pieces and dust with tapioca flour.

3. Deep fry taro slices till golden. Drain well and dust with tapioca flour.

4. Heat wok with a tbsp oil. Sauté shallots and garlic, add in nam yee . Add in the rest of the sauce ingredients. let it come to a boil.

5. Using a deep dish or a chinese soup bowl, arrange a piece of pork slice and alternate with a piece of fried taro. Repeat with the rest of the pork and taro. Make sure they are packed snuggly in the dish/bowl.

6. Pour the sauce over the assembled platter.

7. Cover the assembled platter with aluminium foil and place into pressure cooker which has an inch of water. Pressurized for 1 hour. Turn off heat and let pressure released by itself. Carefully remove from pressure cooker and remove foil.

8. Tilt to remove sauce and if sauce is too thin, it can be thickened with tapioca flour.

9. Put serving plate over assembled platter and turn it over. Pour back the sauce and serve hot.

Serves
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