Monday, August 31, 2009

Lomaikai (steam glutinous rice with chicken)

This is my favourite breakfast in Malaysia when I was young. It comes steaming hot from the steamer with other dimsum delights such as BBQ pork buns etc. My father's favourite too.
Marinate chicken with ginger juice, sugar, salt, white pepper, sesame oil, oyster sauce, soya sauce and dark soya sauce for about 30 minutes.
Soak 12 mushrooms in hot water for 2 hours till soft. Alternatively simmer mushrooms for 15 minutes, then cut into half or bite size depending on the size of mushroom. Squeeze out water in mushrooms, marinate with sugar and corn flour.
With some oil in pan, fry Chinese sausages till crispy. Remove and let cool, then cut them into slices.
Cut BBQ pork (you can make your own "charsiew" or you can buy them from a chinese BBQ shop) into bite sizes.
Saute some ginger and garlic in 1 tbs oil and then add marinated chicken, mushrooms, BBQ pork, Chinese sausages. Add about 1 cup of water to get some juice. Simmr for about 5 minutes and then thicken with 2 tsp tapioca flour dissolved in water.
Use 1 kg glutinous rice which I soaked overnight. I sauté some diced ginger and garlic in 1 tbs vegetable oil and 1tsp sesame oil till fragrant, then add the drained glutinous rice and stir for about 2 minutes. Add 1 tbs soya sauce, 1 tbs thick soya sauce and 2 tbs salt and stir till the rice is slightly crunchy. Then transfer the rice into a roasting dish and steam the glutinous rice for 15 minutes with 2 cups of water added to the rice.
Use metal or porcelain rice bowl, brush the sides with oil to prevent the rice from sticking to the side of bowl after it is cooked, place some meat (chicken, mushrooms, sausage, egg, charsiew) at the bottom of bowl and then add rice on top. Press the rice down with the ladel. Steam for 20 mins.
1 kg glutinous rice can make 12 bowls, depending on the size of the bowl. Use about 2 chicken thighs, deboned and cut to bite size, 3 strips (about 3" length) of BBQ pork, 3 sausages, 12 shitake mushrooms.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Pan fried Hapuka

One of my favourites. Fresh Hapuka pan fried and drizzled with soya sauce and crispy garlic flakes.

Use paper towels to dry the moisture thoroughly before sifting cornflour on both sides. Then as it fries in the pan at medium high, grind some salt and pepper on top. This really gives it added flavour. Make sure it is well brown and crisp on both sides, especially the skin. Add more oil as you go along to ensure the part of the skin is immersed in oil. Takes about 4 minutes on each side. Prepare some brown garlic flakes.
To prepare the sauce:
2 tbs soya sauce
1tsp mirin
1tsp sake
1tsp Chinese wine
1tbs red wine
1tsp sugar
1tsp balsamic vinegar
1tsp Worchester sauce
½ tsp corn flour
Heat 1tsp of garlic oil in a saucepan and add the sauce. Simmer over low heat and then spoon onto pan fried fish. Add garlic flakes to garnish.  I will add some ginger juice next time.