Potato Dumplings/Gnocchi

Gnocchi, pronounced as "nyo kee" is one of our favorite Italian dishes. The word, Gnocchi is the plural for the word, gnocco which is the singular form. It is a small dumpling made with potatoes, flour, and sometimes with cheese. The shape of this dumpling is form and cut by hand, and pre-cooked in boiling water. It is served in the same manner as any pasta, favorably with either a white, red sauce, or a simple dressing with your favorite vegetables to bring out the freshness and lightness of these dumplings. I have seen it pan fried in oil and tossed with mixed greens. For this installment, I am going to serve it with a simple tomato sauce with artichokes and basil.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
a pinch of salt
a sprig of sage
¼ cup olive or vegetable oil
Method:
1. In a large pot, steam potatoes until they are tender and soft, about 30 minutes. Drained and mash finely into a bowl or a floured board. (If you have a vegetable mill or potato ricer--this will work nicely)
2. In a large mixing bowl, add egg and salt to the center of the mashed potatoes. Stir the egg into the mashed potatoes and once it is mixed in, add in flour and fold in to mix. When it starts to clump together knead gently to form a smooth dough.
3. On a floured surface, roll and cut the dough into pieces with a floured knife. Using the palm of your hand shape each pieces into a long thin roll and cut each roll into bite-sized pieces (about 1-inch). Lay all the cut pieces of dough on to a floured tray and sprinkle some flour to prevent it from sticking. Using the tines of the fork with the concave part facing up, dip the tips of your fingers with flour; take a piece of the dough and press it down against the tines of the fork. This will form a nice indentation on one side and a ridged surface on the other. You can also press the dough on a cheese grater if you like. Continue in this manner with the rest of the dough.

5. Bring a large pot of water to a fast boil. Add the sage and a pinch of salt. In the meantime, set another bowl of ice water near the stove.
6. Drop pieces of dough into the boiling water and cook until they float. Remove them with a slotted spoon into the ice water to stop the cooking. Let it sit in the water for about 5 minutes, drained and add to a bowl. Toss in the oil and store in a cool place. In the meantime prepare your favorite sauce or vegetables. Serve warm.
Printable Recipe

Almond Flavored Rice Pudding

Rice for dessert, unheard of! Being an Asian or just plain me, I was not accustomed to cooking rice with sugar or milk and eating it as a dessert. Rice to me is commonly served plain with other dishes. Well, I was curious and so I’ve decided to give it a try. On my first attempt, it was so thick and gluey that I can stick a spoon on top of the pudding. After the second and third attempts, it finally comes close to a decent rice pudding---good enough to eat! This version is a simple and delicious alternative to an old-fashioned rice pudding.
Ingredients:
¾ cup short-grain rice, washed and drained
½ cup almonds, chopped
¼ cup brown sugar
1 small piece cinnamon stick (or ½ tsp cinnamon spice)
½ tsp. almond extract
2½ cups milk
¼ cup condensed milk
3 Tbsp. rose or orange blossom flower water (optional)
½ cup dried raisins or currants
4 Tbsp. butter
pinch of salt
ground cinnamon and nutneg for garnishing
toasted slices of almonds for garnishing
Method:
1. Soak rice with some water and a pinch of salt. In a food processor or blender, add the chopped almonds with ½ cup hot water. Process until very fine and strain into a saucepan.
2. Add 1½ cups of water into the saucepan and bring to a boil, then add in the rest of the milks. Drain the rice and add to the milk mixture, together with brown sugar, dried fruits, cinnamon stick and half of the butter, and almond extract. Stir well to mix and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes, adding more milk or sugar if necessary.
3. Continue to cook and stir the rice mixture to prevent burning at the bottom until it becomes thick and creamy. When the rice is of the right consistency, stir in the rose flower water, then season to taste for sweetness.
4. Serve pudding warm with a dollop of butter and sprinkle with sliced almonds, ground cinnamon and nutmeg.
Printable Recipe

Savory Meat Pies

I have some leftovers from making the savory rice dumplings. This gave me an idea for a quick and easy snack.
Ingredients: (makes about 10 pies)
400 gms. chicken thigh meat, cut into small cubes
200 gms. roasted peanuts, grinded finely
100 gms. dried shrimps, presoaked and chopped finely
5-6 dried mushrooms, presoaked and chopped finely
2 tsp. coriander powder
2 medium-sized shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
2 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 beaten egg mixed with some milk
1 box Pillsbury Pie crust, thaw at room temperature
Non-stick baking tray
Method:
1. Heat oil in pan and fry garlic and shallots until soft. Add in mushrooms and dried shrimps and fry until fragrant. Then add the chicken meat and seasonings and stir until cooked. Season to taste with salt and/or sugar. Remove from heat and let cool. When completely cool, add in the peanuts.
2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Roll out pastry and cut into rounds. Put a tablespoon of filling in middle, moisten edges with some water to seal. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds on top. Bake for about 10-15 minutes till golden brown. Serve warm.
Printable Recipe

Savory Rice Dumplings/Nyonya Bak Chang

Rice Dumpling festival or Dragon Boat festival falls on the 5th day of the 5th month on the Chinese lunar calendar. During the Chu dynasty (楚), there was a Chinese patriotic poet by the name of Qu Yuan who served as a minister for the emperor and was well loved by the villagers. However, some court officials were jealous of his popularity and his abilities, they influenced and convinced the emperor to dismiss and exiled him. Feeling desolated and disheartened, of the injustice and corruption he committed suicide by drowning himself in the Mi River. When the villagers found out about his death, they rowed their boats out to the river to look for his body. When they failed to find his body, they started making a racket of noises by beating their drums in hope to scare the fishes and sea creatures away from eating Qu Yuan's body. Yet, some villagers made rice dumplings to throw into the water believing that the fishes and sea creatures will be distracted and feast on the rice dumplings instead of his body. Thus, the Duan Wu festival, or Dragon Boat festival is to commemorates the life and death of this historic figure, Qu Yuan.
Rice Dumplings (Bak Chang in Hokkien) is a four-triangular faces (tetrahedron) of sticky glutinous rice stuffed with savory fillings, wrapped with bamboo leaves and then cook in boiling water. There are many variations to this dumpling. The traditional one has stuffing of pork, beans, salted egg yolks, and chestnuts. I am making the Peranakan, or Nyonya version, that has a salty and sweet savory filling. The bluish color is extracted from the Butterfly Pea flower (Bunga Telang). If this is not available, substitute with blue food coloring instead.

(Cantonese version dumpling)

Ingredients:
500 gms. glutinous rice, washed and soaked overnight
2 Tbsps. cooking oil
1 Tbsp. Bunga Telang juice, or few drops of blue food coloring)
1 packet dried bamboo leaves, presoaked in boiling water until soft
hemp strings, presoaked
3 pandan leaves, cut into 2 inchs lengths
Spices:
2 Tbsp. peppercorns
3 tsp. coriander powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
10 gms. cekur (zedoary) ginger root (substitute with 2 tsp. Sar ginger powder)
1 Tbsp. cooking oil
Filling:
400 gms. chicken, cut into small cubes
100 gms. candied winter melon, chopped finely (optional)
200 gms. roasted peanuts, grinded finely
150 gms. dried shrimps, presoaked and chopped finely
5-6 dried mushrooms, presoaked and chopped finely
5 medium-sized shallots, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Rinse glutinous rice until water runs clear, picked out stones and dirt in the rice. Remove about 200 gms of rice into a bowl and add blue coloring, one tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt. Mix well to incorporate coloring into rice. To the remaining of the rice, add one tablespoon of oil, salt and mix well.
2. Ground all the spices ingredients finely.  In a deep pan or wok, heat oil and fry garlic and shallots until soft. Add in mushrooms and dried shrimps and fry until fragrant. Then add the chicken meat and seasonings and stir until cooked. Season to taste with salt and/or sugar. Add in the candied melons, if using and fry for another minute. Remove from heat and let cool. When completely cool, add in the peanuts.
3. Wipe the bamboo leaves dry and drained. Arrange all the ingredients on the table. How to make a string cradle: Cut strings of 3 feet lengths. Put them together and tie a knot with a loop at the end of the strings or tie it over a chair. The loose ends will be use for tying the wrapped dumplings.
4. How to wrap a dumpling: Overlap 2 slices of leaves with the sharp edges in the middle and fold into a cone from about ¾ of the leaf, making sure there is no hole at the bottom of the cone. Fill cone with 1 heaped spoon of blue colored rice, 1 tablespoon of white rice, followed by 2 tablespoons of filling and another tablespoon of the white rice. Press the ingredients with a spoon to compact it. Place a piece of pandan leaf on the side. Using the right fingers, fold the loose ends of the bamboo leaves over the rice to cover completely. Wrap dumpling into a pyramid shape before securing with strings, making sure the rice is consealed and compact. Repeat this method with the remaining ingredients until you have dumplings tied into a bunch on the string cradle.
4. Bring a big pot of water to a boil, making sure the water is enough to cover the dumplings. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water. Put in the tied dumplings and cook over high heat for 1-1½ hours, until the rice is completely cooked or until the rice shapes has dissappeared and form into a smooth triangle shaped dumpling. Remove, drain and serve warm.
 (Click arrow to view video)

Printable Recipe

Chinese Barbecue Pork/Char Siew

Chinese barbecue pork is an easy dish to prepare and delicious on any occasion. You can either grill it over an open stove or roast it in the oven. Leftovers are perfect stir-fry with rice or noodles, or simply eat it by itself.
Ingredients:
3 lbs pork butt, cut into 1" thick strips
Seasonings:
3 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. five-spice powder
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsp. Chinese wine (Mui Kai Lo, or Shao Xin)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
Glaze:
2 Tbsp. maltose or honey
2 Tbsp. cooking oil
2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
Method:
1. Mix seasonings in a bowl into a smooth texture. Washed and dry pork with paper towels. Marinate pork with seasonings, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
2. In a small saucepan, mix the glaze ingredients and stir to dissolve over low heat. Set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large baking tray with a layer of aluminium foil. Transfer marinated meat on tray and tent with foil. Place an ovenproof bowl with water on the lower tray in oven. This will keep the pork moist. Bake the meat in the middle shelf for about 15-20 minutes.
4. Remove top foil and continue baking until the marinade thickens, turn meat occassionaly to coat on all sides. Continue to roast until meat is slightly charred, but not burned for about 1-2 hours. Remove from oven and brush glaze on all sides. Return to over for another 5 minutes. Note: You can cook the pork on an outdoor grill and brush with glaze at the final cooking time to give it a nice glossy glaze.
Printable Recipe

Country Style Egg Noodle Soup/Pan Meen

 

I remembered fondly how my mother used to prepare the dough and we would gathered around the stove to drop in pieces of flattened dough into the water to cook, while a pot of soup stock of ikan bilies(dried anchovies)simmering on the stove. It is so delicious and comforting! "Pan Mein" is served with "Sayor Manis" (Malaysian-Chinese for sujaichoy) and chilli sauce. It is a native plant in Sabah and is commonly known as Sabah vegetable.I am not sure how and where this dish was originated, and the names vary by ethnic groups. It has been called Mein Fun Goh, Pan Meen, or Meehoon Kuih. It is actually a poor man's food where one can get these items with very little money. I never miss this dish when I visit Malaysia.I've seen the local hawkers in Malaysia made the noodles using the pasta machine and the soup is mostly meat bones and sugar--nothing like preparing it yourself at home. You can get dried anchovies in most Asian or Korean supermarkets and substitute baby spinach or Chinese choy sum for the sayor manis.

Dough:
400 gms. plain flour
½ tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup lukewarm water
Soup Stock:
3 ozs.dried anchovies, heads and guts removed
1 chicken carcass
300 gms. pork bones
300 gms. pork meat
1 medium size jicama, peeled and quartered
10 cups of water
1 small piece of ginger, crushed
2 tsp. ikan bilies stock (if available)
2 Tbsp. oil
Garnishing:
1 packet baby spinach, washed and drained
fried dried anchovies
4 pcs. dried cloud ears fungus, soaked to soften and thinly sliced
8-10 dried mushrooms, soak to soften and thinly sliced
2 Tbsps. oil
2 Tbsps. dark soy sauce
2 tsp. oyster sauce
Chilli Sauce:
5-6 red chili deseeded and minced finely
1 tsp. fish sauce
juice of 2 large lemons
salt, and sugar to taste

Method:
1. In a large bowl, add the ingredients for the dough and mix well to incorporate. Add just enough water to dough to form into a pliable dough. Add more water only if necessary. Note: You can pulse the ingredients in a food processor. Wrap dough with plastic and covered in a warm place for at least an hour, while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. In a pan,heat oil and fry the anchovies till golden and crispy. Remove half of it and drained in paper towels for garnishing. Add the rest of the anchovies,water, chicken, jicama, ginger, mushroom stems, and meat into a large pot. Bring to a boil. Remove any scum floating on top of the soup and simmer soup on medium heat for about an hour. Season soup to taste.
3. Heat oil in a shallow pan and fry the cloud ear fungus and mushrooms till soft and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove and set aside.
4. In a bowl mix chilies, soy sauce, and fish sauce, and lemon juice together. Set aside.
5. Bring another pot with enough water to a boil with a few drops of oil and salt. Remove dough from the plastic wrap, use your thumb and index fingers,tear small chunks of dough into small pieces and flatten it into thin pieces and drop them into the water. Remove pieces of dough as they float up with a slotted spoon into another bowl. Repeat the same with the rest of the dough. Note: You can prepare the dough with a pasta machine or simply roll out on a floured surface thinly and cut into strips with a pizza cutter. Add the vegetables to the water to cook.
6.Arrange some cooked noodles in individual bowl, add some spinach and spoon hot soup into the bowls. Garnish with mushrooms mixture and fried onions. Serve hot with chili sauce or a dash of sesame seed oil.
Printable Recipe

Sweet Potato Galettes

This is a simple dish to prepare and great serve with any meaty dish. I used sweet potato for this installment.
Ingredients:
1 medium sized sweet potato, peeled
3 Tbsp. melted butter
salt and pepper
1 tsp. dried herbs (optional)
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Slice thinly sweet potato with a mandolin or a sharp knife.
2. Line and butter baking pan with aluminium foil. Arrange slices of potato and overlap to form a spiral. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and dried herbs.
3. Bake in oven until golden brown about 20-30 minutes.
Printable Recipe