Char Yoke (Hakka Braised Pork)

■250g lean pork cut into pieces
■3-4 pieces of wood ear fungus soaked
■2 cloves of garlic chopped
■1 piece of fermented beancurd (“nam yue”/ “tau ju”)
■Dash of oyster sauce
■Water
How to:

1.Marinade the pork with 3/4 piece of the fermented bean curd and a dash of oyster sauce. Set aside for at least half an hour. Half a day would be better.
2.Wash and soak the wood ear fungus (mu er – Mandarin or mok yue – Cantonese or bok nee – Hokkien) then when rehydrated, slice it into thin slices or into small pieces according to taste.
3.Saute the chopped garlic in a pan with some oil. Then, add the marinated meat and stir fry gently until the meat is semi cooked.
4.Pour some water in the pan to cover the meat halfway, and add the wood ear fungus. Add the remaining bit of fermented beancurd, stir through and then cover and simmer on low heat.
5.Stir occasionally and ensure that the water does not dry out. Add more water of necessary. Braise for about 1 hour until meat is soft.
6.Dish out and serve with hot white rice

Chicken in Spicy Tamarind Sauce

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (approximately 1.5 to 2kgs, chopped into large pieces)

Marinade (blend together)
200 grammes shallots
3 tablespoons ketumbar (coriander) powder
225 grammes tamarind (asam jawa) mixed with 350 ml water (squeeze the juice and remove tamarind seeds)
10 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons dark soya sauce
1 heaped teaspoon white pepper powder

Method

Wash chicken pieces thoroughly. Marinade chicken overnight or for at least 10 hours.
Transfer chicken and marinate to heavy bottomed aluminium saucepan and boil for 20 minutes over a moderate heat.
Turn the chicken pieces, reduce heat to low and boil for another 20 to 30 minutes or until chicken is very tender.

note : originally meant for duck since the duck meat is tougher and would withstand the sour marinade better.

Link to find Cantonese herb name

Always at a lost as to what the cantonese name or mandarin name is for a herb which you have googled and found its english name ?

Found a site that has worked pretty well for me so far. Hope it helps you too!

New soup for cough

I went to the herbal shop today since my son showed some symptoms of a dry cough.

Wanted to get some yuk chuk but the herbal lady told me that yuk chuk may be a little too cooling for cough.

She recommended this herb (note : she showed me the packet and told me the name. And based on what I remember of the name, I googled it and found this:) - Asparagus Tuber.

To be boiled with wai san kei chi and red dates. Added in RM10 of soup pork to sweeten the whole pot.