Simple Cooking Ideas

Fish is nutritious and easy to cook. Chinese, especially, must have a fish dish during special occasion meals, such as reunion dinner during the Chinese New Year. Fish, in Chinese is pronounced as “Yu”, which means “abundance”. Well, eventhough preparing a fish dish is simple, you have to know the methods of preparing the freshest dish possible.

First of all, knowing how to choose a fresh fish is important. It is easy. Basically, there are 3 easy ways. First, look at its eyes. Choose the fish with crystal clear eyes instead of blurry ones. Next, open the fish gill and see if it is bright red. Dark red or greyish indicates the fish is not fresh. Lastly, just gently press on the fish body. You would want to choose the fish with a firm body. I prefer to prepare the fish steamed simply because it brings out the freshness of the fish and healthier. White pompret, for example, is best eaten steamed. However, sometimes the fishy smell can put one off. To get rid of the fishy smell, just squeeze some lime juice and rub it all over the fish. Then, scour the fish with boiling water. Quicky drain the fish and place it on a plate. Put some seasoning and ginger over the fish and steam it. Please refer to my steam fish recipe.

There are some bigger fish variety which is great for steaming as well, such as threadfin (ma yau) or snapper. These fish is usually sold in cut slices. Since the fish is cut, how do you know if the slice is freshly cut? Easy. Look at the flesh of the fish, it should be firm to the touch and has a glazed surface.

If you prefer to fry, why not try shallow fry instead of deep fry which consumes more oil? With shallow fry, the fish is as tasty and cripsy. Just fry with less oil in a non stick pan. Pour the oil just to over the surface of pan. Make sure the oil is hot, so that it will not stick on the pan when turn over to fry the other side of fish. Fry both sides till golden brown.

This recipe is seldom found in recipe books. It is handed down from mother to daughter. Thus, the ingredients are in approximate quantities. Yambean is a type of turnip, it is called “sar kot” in Chinese. In Hokkien, it is called “Ju Hu Char”.This dish is traditionally served at Chinese New year Eve for a reunion feast.

Ingredients:

1 yambean, shredded about 500 gm.
1 carrot, shredded
50 gm dried cuttlefish, shredded finely
1 cup water
300 gm streaky pork meat, cook in hot water and cut, shredded
1 cup dried prawns, washed clean.
3 pips garlics, minced
1 tablespoon chopped spring onion and chinese celery (optional)
3 tablespoon oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat oil and fry garlic till lightly brown in the wok. Add cuttlefish and dried prawns. Fry well until romatic. Add meat and fry another 3 minutes.

Put in the yambean and carrot. Stir-fry and continue stirring till well mix. Add water and cover the wok. Continue cooking over low heat until vegetables are tender. Add salt and pepper.

Dish out and garnish with chopped spring onion and celery. Serve hot with lettuce and chilly sauce and plain rice.

There are basically 2 types of pomfret, the white and the black variety. The white one is best when steamed with ginger and soy sause. However, the black pomfret tastes best when fried and top with sauce. This fish is a common fish in the South East Asia.

Ingredients:

1 medium size black pomfret, cleaned.
300 ml oil
1 teaspoon salt
a dash of pepper
2 tablespoon of cornflour
1 tablespoon chopped spring onion and parsley

Sauce

3 tablespoon tomato sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon soya light soya sauce
1 teaspoon cornflour with 2 tablespoon water to mix

Method:

Make a diagonal slash across both sides of fish. Dry the fish with kitchen paper. Rub salt all over the fish. Dust the fish in cornflour and set aside. Meanwhile, heat oil in a wok or deep frying pan. Whe the oil is hot, gently put in the fish to fry.

Fry the fish until both sides are golden brown. Dish out and put on the serving plate.
Then pour the oil on to a bowl and leave 1 teaspoon in the wok. Add in the mixed sauce and simmer 2 minutes in low heat. Drizzle the sauce on to the fish.

Garnish with chopped spring onion and parsley. Decorate with tomato slices at the sides of the plate. Serve with rice.

Here is the recipe that my daughter, Bernice, requested. Now, before you go, “Chicken Feet? Yucks!”, this is actually a common dish among the Chinese. Chicken feet is not dirty if you clean it properly. Usually those sold in markets are cleaned and ready to be cooked. Chicken feet is good for our joints as it is rich in cartilage.

Ingredients:

300 gm chicken feet
50 gm dried mushrooms
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
3 tablespoon soya sauce
1 tablespoon thick soya sauce
salt and pepper to taste
5 slices ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 litre water
1 tablespoon cornflour with a little water to mix

Method:

Cut chicken feet into smaller pieces. Rub salt to clean chicken feet and then scald in boiling water for 5 minutes. Meanwhile soak the dried mushroom till soft. Clean and cut into halves.

In a pot, fry ginger, garlic and cinnamon stick. Add in the chicken feet and the mushrooms. Stir-fry awhile and put in the two soya sauce, oyster sauce and water.
Stew the chicken feet and mushrooms till soft. Thicken the gravy with cornflour. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with rice.

Prawns are favourites for my family.  It is a very versatile seafood too.  This dish is easy to prepare and can really brings out the prawns distinct flavour.

Ingredients:

500 gm medium size fresh prawns
3 pips garlic minced
2 tablespoon oil
half cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoonful oyster sauce
1 tablespoon black soya sauce
1 tablespoon light soya sauce
1 tablespoon corn flour mixed with 1 tablespoon water
1 stalk spring onion and 1 stalk chinese parsley, cut into one inch

Method:

Clean prawns and season with black and light soya sauce , oyster sauce and sugar. Put aside.

Add oil in a wok. When hot, saute the garlic and add prawns. Keep stirring awhile. Add water and cover the prawns for three minutes. Take out the cover and stir in corn flour to thicken the sauce. Dish out and sprinkle with spring onion and parsley.

Serve while is hot.

The Tilapia fish is a very common fish and easily available in the markets in Malaysia. It is a fresh water fish.  It is delicious when it is steamed.  This recipe is great for any type of fresh water fish.

Ingredients:

1 kg tilapia (kam foong yee)
20 gm ginger, minced
1 stalk spring onion, cleaned and cut into parts

For the sauce:

A
15 gm red chillies
15 gm big onions
10 gm garlic
10 gm ginger
5 chilli padi (small type)
Minced A together
B
1 tablespoon chilli sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
1 teaspoon chicken stock (concentrated)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon vegetable oil

Method:

Clean fish thoroughly by rubbing salt and lime juice. Run hot water over fish and drained. Put on the plate. Stuff the minced ginger and spring oinions in the fish. Mix sauce A and B together. Pour the mixed sauce evenly on to the fish.

Steam the fish over rapidly boiling water for 20 minutes.  Serve hot.

As rice is our staple diet, we cook rice every day.  Most of us pour the water away without thinking.  Do you know that you can recycle the rice water?

Use the rice water to soak fruits and vegetables. The rice water can effectively remove the chemicals in fruits and vegetables. After soaking the vegetables for at least half an hour, you can then rinse them in clean water before cooking or eating.

If the fruits and vegetables are to be eaten raw, extra care must be taken to wash them clean and rinse them in filtered water, befor chopping or cutting into cubes. Then they should not be washed or soaked again as vitamin c would be destroyed.