Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

This is the one dish I order whenever I patronise a Taiwanese restaurant. Of course the dishes are made slightly differently in one restaurant compared to another. I was tempted to try making it myself when I came across this recipe in A Daily Obsession; or I should say, when I came across the delectable picture of the dish there. I followed her advice and made the soup the day before. The next day, the soup was absolutely heavenly and the beef had absorbed the spices in the soup. The soup is very "beefy" so this dish is strictly for beef lovers. Add in homemade noodles (which is really better than any noodles you can possibly buy outside) and voila! a tasty dish to satisfy your strongest beef craving.

This recipe is adapted. The beef serves about 3 people but the soup will probably feed 4-5 people. You can increase the beef accordingly.

Ingredients:
1/2 kg stewing beef or beef ribs, or mixture of
1 piece ginger (10g), peeled & smashed lightly
1 bunch spring onions, tied
1/4 bulb garlic, peeled
1 piece dried tangerine/mandarin peel, 2 X 2 cm
1/2 star anise
1 stick cinnamon, about 3 cm long
3/4-1 tbsp sugar (to your liking)
3 tbsp dark soy sauce (or more to intensify color)
3 tbsp light soy sauce
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp white rice vinegar (optional)
1 litre beef or chicken stock
Homemade noodles (cut into udon size)
A bunch of bok choy

Garnishing:
cilantro or Chinese celery leaves

Instructions:
1) Cook the soup the day before serving. Cut stewing beef into small pieces, 3 x 4 cm or bigger if like. Beef ribs about 5 X 5 cm. If using ribs, blanch them briefly in boiling water, throw water away.
2) Put everything into a heavy-based pot and add a litre of water and a litre of beef or chicken stock. Boil and simmer for 2-3 hours. Leave it till the next day. Season to taste.
3) Boil a large pot of water and cook noodles, two portions at a time so that you can control the texture of the noodles. Meanwhile, heat up the beef soup.
4) Boil soup and vegetables together. Once the vegetables have cooked to your liking, add cooked noodles and cook for a short while. Quickly pour into serving bowls.
5) Top with some cilantro or chopped Chinese celery leaves. Serve immediately.

Claypot Chicken Rice

Claypot Chicken Rice is one of those dishes which has a recipe that sounds simple enough but if you're inexperienced, proves deceiving. That was what I found out, to my chagrin. First of all, do use Jasmine rice as written. I used calrose rice to little success (please refer to the pictures provided). Second, rice WILL stick to the bottom of your claypot and burn so keep a watchful eye and stir as often as you can. However, even with those little obstacles, the flavour was very good and I will definitely try this recipe again.

This recipe serves 3-4 people.

Ingredients:
1 cup Jasmine rice,washed and drained
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
3 chicken drumsticks,wash and cut into pieces
3-4 pieces shitake mushroom,soaked and cut in half
1 Chinese sausage,soaked ,sliced thin and fried
1 piece thick salted fish,fried
1/2 inch fresh ginger,bruised and sliced

Marinade:
1 tbsp sweet soy sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (shiong hua wine)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp ground black pepper,plus some for sprinkle

Garnishing:
a handful cut scallion/green onion
Soya sauce with bird's eye chilli

Method:

1) Combine cut chicken, mushroom with seasoning and ginger in a medium bowl, marinade for 1 hour or overnight .
2) Wash rice until water clear, drain and add in chicken stock in the claypot, cover and bring to boil at low heat. Cook about 10 minutes or until holes are formed on top. Then stir rice from time to time to avoid sticking or sitting on the bottom.
3) Then spread marinated chicken and mushrooms, Chinese sausage on top, cover and cook with low heat until rice is dry and and chicken pieces are cooked, about 15 minutes. Use a wooden spatula to whip chicken and rice together . Then over again and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove claypot from heat.
4) Sprinkle fried salted fish on top, cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes or until rice is dry and fluffy.
5) Sprinkle some cut scallion and ground black pepper on top. Serve immediately.

Banana Oat Muffins

The best muffin I had was while I was studying in Australia. It was huge and dry, wasn't sweet at all, and so dense it took me quite a long time to finish it. It had some weirdly enticing name which gave no indication as to what the ingredients were. Nevertheless, I bought it at every chance I had and thoroughly savoured it.

I haven't made a muffin to rival that one (yet). However, this recipe is rather good and allows for further tweaks should you feel up to it. Bananas should be very ripe for the flavour to come through. Makes 12 regular-sized muffins.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed bananas or about 3-4 medium-sized bananas

Directions:

1. Whisk flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt together.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg lightly. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla. Add the mashed banana, and combine thoroughly. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper bake cups, and divide the batter among them.
3. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 18 to 20 minutes.

Steamed Spare Ribs with Garlic and Coriander

I started out experimenting with baking because I like that bakers have to follow the instructions given almost precisely lest the baked goods turn out inedible. Cooking is a different story. Much leeway is provided in the execution of the recipes. As I am neither that experienced nor have a knack for mixing up different ingredients by instinct, I tend to follow cooking recipes line by line as well. Simple recipes are great treasures as the dishes are quick to prepare and, with enough herbs and spices, delicious.

Here's a simple recipe I adapted from Piggy's Cooking Journal. Serves 3.

Ingredients:
200g spare ribs
3/4 tbsp chopped coriander
3/4 tbsp garlic
1/2 tbsp chopped chilli
Seasoning:
3/4 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tbsp fried shallot oil
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tbsp corn flour
1/4 tbsp Shao Xing wine

Instructions:
1) Blanch spare ribs in boiling water for 30 seconds and drain well. Cut spare ribs into pieces and season with a bit of salt.
2) Mix chopped coriander, garlic and chilli with seasoning until well combined.
3) Put spare ribs onto heatproof plate, steam over high heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, add coriander and garlic mixture. Continue to steam for 5 minutes until cooked.
4) Remove from heat and serve.

Teochew-style Steamed Fish

I think the best way to cook fresh fish is by steaming. The fish retains its flavour and you're not overly burdened by cooking oil after eating it. Here's a simple recipe for hot and sour steamed fish, adapted from Kuali.

Ingredients
50g salted mustard greens, soaked and shredded
3cm piece ginger, finely shredded
1 pickled sour plum
1 tomato, cut into thin slices
2 black Chinese mushrooms, shredded
Mix with:
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp sugar
Garnishing:
1 stalk spring onions cut into 4cm lengths
1 sprig coriander leaves
1 red chilli cut into strips

Combine:
1 tbsp shallot or garlic oil
1 tsp sesame oil

Method
1) Make two cuts on each side of the fish. Rub lightly with salt and pepper.
2) Put fish on a metal or heatproof dish and scatter salted mustard green, mushroom and ginger slices on and
around the fish. Break up the sour plum and distribute it over the fish and arrange tomato slices around fish.
3) Steam fish over rapidly boiling water for 10 to 12 minutes or until the eyes of the fish pop out. (This is an indication that the fish is cooked.) Pour combined oil over the fish immediately, add garnishing and serve.

Fish and Chips

Yes that's right. I was over-enthusiastic with my deep frying. It is one method of cooking which I seldom use and it was fascinating just watching batter deep frying. I followed a recipe in a website I won't be linking here. The batter was okay but had a baking soda taste and didn't stay crispy for long. In future, I will try out other recipes and if they turn out better, I'll post the recipes.

Cockles

Cockles are of the clam family. They have a unique flavour. They're sort of rubbery in texture and quite salty if they're not washed properly. In Penang, one normally finds cockles fried with char koay teow or cooked together with curry mee. I once had cockles at one of those late night Kuala Lumpur mamak stalls served up with plenty of chilli sauce. However I'm a purist at heart and seldom like dishes which are overwhelmed with condiments.

In my family, cockles are washed well to get rid of the mud and blanched awhile in hot boiling water and drained. They are then eaten on their own. One of the things about cockleshells are that they're tough enough to ruin your fingernails when you pry them open!

Cockles should be cooked right after they're bought from the wet market. If they're cooked when no longer fresh and eaten unawares, I can say from experience that they taste very nasty.