Lam Yu (Fermented Beancurd) Chicken

Looks like ordinary chicken recipe but in fact very yummy. I bought 15 pieces of mini drum sticks. Marinated with 2 pieces of fermented bean curd, 2 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 teasp sugar and dash of pepper. Let it marinated in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Then coat the drum sticks with a thin layer of corn starch and let them stay in room temperature for few minutes. Airfry in the basket for 12 min at 200 degree. As usual, give turns in midway.

< Coating with corn starch is not a must, depends if you want to have the crispiness. With or Without, same delicious! >

Philips Airfryer

So, I bought the Philips Viva Airfryer, digital version, at last. It was on promotion in Harvey Norman at RM1,200 with a free double rack, 2 baking pans and 1 grill pan. I wanted white but after some warning on discoloration, I decided to be practical.

It took me a lot of research to decide on this one instead of the Tefal Airfryer. I reckon Philips won because the Tefal paddle had too many bad reviews and the baking capability of the Philips. My decision to buy or not reached a point where even hubby could not keep track if I wanted it anymore or not.

The first thing I did when I brought back my Viva was to put away the toaster oven I had. That space is now consumed by my Viva.

The first thing I cooked with my Viva was roti prata and banana. It did not turn out as well as expected. And as advised, I will need to get to know my Viva better before I get thumbs up results.

My 2nd dish from the Viva was fried fish. I halved my fish length wise so I had only one side of skin to crisp. Worked well with the Viva since I could put it on the grill pan (the grill pan giving more allowance to space within the fryer) and oil and salt only the top part of the fish. I put it at 200 degrees for 15 min. Flesh turned out still moist, skin was paper crisp. And near the fish stomach area, I could even munch through the fish bones.

What I loved best about my Viva is that it allows me to put the dish in and walk away. I don't have to contend with the heat and standing there to watch the dish cook. So, in the 15 minutes, I managed to at least get my washing chores done and then enjoy dinner.

Now....what else is on my list to cook? Let me see....

'Kak sam tau' pork shoulder

Learnt another new part of a pig.

Normally to make pork chop, people use the tenderloin. However for my kids, it is pretty lean and without the fat, the chop is not that aromatic.

Learnt recently that the shoulder is also a great place to use for pork chop. It has a layer of fat on top and slightly in between. My mum takes the pork fat to extract the oil to make rice more aromatic for the kids.

This new part of the pig is the shoulder - 'kak lei' next to the 'sam' heart and 'tau' head. The skin has to be taken off.

That is how I remember this part.

The meat seller told me this part of best used for char siew. I can imagine....

Yummy!!!

Arrowhead vs Arrowroot

Hubby's aunt is going through chemo.

She told us that day that someone bought a tuber for her called 'fan kok' which according to her helped increase her red blood count. She asked me to get some for her if I can.

So, I went to the market and asked the vege man for some fan kok.

It is arrowroot in English. Not the arrowhead (nga ku) which is used to make chips.

The chinese claim it is to remove body heat. There was other benefits to it found here:

http://blog.morethanalive.com/arrowroot-powder-and-its-benefits/

NOTE:

After some research, found there are some other tubers that are beneficial for cancer, like these:

http://www.naturalnews.com/031524_burdock_root_herbal_remedy.html
This seems to be the real cancer healing tuber

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioscorea_opposita
And this can be eaten for general building up.

Burger grandma style

My grandma used to make the loveliest burger patties. It's different from the way my mum makes it. Hers is:

Minced pork (about 250gm)
Dark soya sauce
Light soya sauce
Sugar

The minced pork has to be marinated for a few hours. I used about a teaspoon of dark sauce, 1 and a half tablespoon of light soya sauce and 1 tablespoon of sugar.

The patties has to be thin, not those thick kind with juicy centres.

I used my Happy Call pan and it filled it up from end to end at about 1 cm (to 1 and a half cm) thick.

Hubby says it tastes like bak kua. Christopher LOVED it and ate up more than his share.

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.