'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.

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.