Garlic Chives Mee Hoon Kueh

The Hokkiens call it Mee Hoon Kueh, the Hakkas know it as Pan Mee. These are easy handmade noodles that can be prepared anytime using basic ingredients that are found in most Malaysian households.

Garlic Chives Mee Hoon Kueh

Generally, the Hakkas' method of making this is to cut the noodles into straight flat strands using a wooden block. Hence, the name Pan Mee (Board Noodles). This was how it was done in the old days. Fast forward now, the term is used less strictly with Pan Mee sellers offering a choice of hand-torn noodles too.

Wikipedia provided an excellent answer to my curiosity :
"The current style is a mix between the traditional methods of Hakka and Hokkien. The Hakka initially made the noodle by shaving off a dough, whilst the Hokkien would roll the dough into a flat piece then hand-tear into bite-size."

I learnt to make these hand-torn noodles through an old home cooking magazine I was subscribing to in the 1990s, adding my own twist with chopped garlic chives. Lack of a perfectionist state of mind leaves my mee hoon kueh less prettily shaped. However, there was no compromise on the texture and the taste. I conclude - don't worry about how it looks!

Garlic Chives Mee Hoon Kueh
2-Person Portion

For the noodles
Ingredients:
- 165g Tesco enriched wheat flour
- 1½ tbsp chopped garlic chives / kucai
- 1 egg (lightly beaten)
- ½ tbsp corn flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 60ml water

How-to:
1) In a bowl, mix flour, corn flour and salt together.
2) Add the wet ingredients, that is, the egg and oil.
3) Knead into a dough, adding just enough water for all the ingredients to come together.
(I added about 60ml water).

4) Rest the dough for ½ an hour.

Optional: Immerse the dough in water for about 4-5 hours to remove some of the gluten in the flour.
Pour the water away and rinse the excess flour out by kneading the dough under light running water (no need to be thorough). The dough will be wet and springy.

5) Knead the chopped garlic chives in. The mee hoon kueh is now ready for use.
6) Blanch the mee hoon kueh in hot water before adding it into soups.

Boil a pot of water. Oil or wet your fingers. Pinch a small portion of the dough into the pot of hot water. Cook for a couple of minutes or more until done. Strain the water away and add the noodles into soup of choice. Alternatively, just cook the noodles together with the soup.

1) Flour, corn flour, salt, egg and oil. 2) Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients.
3) Use your hand to bring the dough together. 4) Knead.
5) Immerse in water. 6) Add in garlic chives.
7) Springy dough. 8) A cooked mee hoon kueh.

Tip: Soup isn't the only way to enjoy mee hoon kueh. It can be 'dry' (as we call it), flavoured with a mixture of soy sauces and chilli..

I had my mee hoon kueh the typical way, that is, with anchovies soup. For the greens - since I was growing some Pak Choi in my little garden, I plucked a few leaves to go with it.

For the soup
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup dried anchovies (Bilis Jepun/Japanese Anchovy. Rinsed.)
- 2 dried black fungus (Soak in water until rehydrated - about 30 mins. Slice thinly.)
- 3 dried mushrooms (Soak in water until rehydrated - about ½ day. Slice thinly.)
- 6 Pak Choi/Bok Choy leaves or more
- A pinch of Knorr Ikan Bilis stock cube
- Salt and white pepper to taste
- Water

Garnish:
- A handful of crisp fried onions
- A handful of crisp fried anchovies
- 1 red chilli (sliced thinly)

How-to:
1) In a deep pot, bring 1.5L water to a boil.
2) Add mushrooms, black fungus and dried anchovies along with a pinch of anchovies seasoning cube. Cook on medium heat for at least 5 minutes. Taste and season accordingly with salt and white pepper. Cook for a further couple of minutes or so to allow the flavours to come together.
3) Finally, stir the pak choi greens in.
4) Place the cooked mee hoon kueh into serving bowls. Pour the anchovies soup in along with mushrooms, the greens and black fungus. Garnish with fried anchovies, slices of red chilli and fried onions.

Note: The soup was done in about 10 minutes.

1) The ingredients for the soup. 2) Boil it all. Easy-peasy!
3) Serve garnished with fried onions, chilli and ..

Garlic Chives Mee Hoon Kueh topped with Crisp Fried Anchovies!

There are several mee hoon kueh recipes on the net with small variations in the method and ingredients, mostly made through a perspective of personal preference. This is a recipe I tried and tweaked out of a magazine and am pleased to report that it rocks!

Garlic Chives Mee Hoon Kueh. Eat!

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Sweet Corn And Pork Soup (Slow-Cooker)

We're going through a heat wave. Water rationing has started in several places. The haze is also back.

In the news! Haze hits KL, Selangor as heatwave continues to grip Malaysia: As Malaysia continues to be in the grip of the hottest weather it has ever experienced, parts of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur have now been hit by the haze.

Things are looking pretty gloomy down here but as they say, 'life goes on!' ; it's better to stay focused on drinking more water and at the same time do our best not to waste any, than on moping around.

In this household at least, there is always soup to look forward to. It's one way of staying hydrated and to me, it's pick-me-up food. You don't need a whole lot of ingredients to make a delicious pot of clear soup. Sweet corn, red dates and onions is my favourite way of going about it along with either chicken or pork. With a slow-cooker, this is an effortless meal. 

Sweet Corn And Pork Soup (Slow-Cooker)

I add a dash of soy and sliced chilli onto the meat, spoon it up with rice and be like, "Gosh, this is soooo satisfying.."

Sweet Corn and Pork Soup
Ingredients:
- 380g pork ribs
- 1 sweet corn (slice into 4)
- 1 yellow onion (cut into large slices)
- 10 dried red dates (make a small cut in the middle)
- 1.4L water
- 1/8 tsp salt as a start, and then to taste
- Ground white pepper
- Spring onion to garnish (chopped)

How-to:
1) Place all the ingredients into the slow-cooker. Add water. Season with some salt and pepper.
2) Cook on high for 5 hours. Taste (the soup should be sweetish at this point). Season with more salt (optional) to get a savory flavour.
3) Serve garnished with spring onions.

Place all the ingredients into the slow-cooker.
Add water, season and voila!

Sweet Corn And Pork Soup (Slow-Cooker)

 Best eaten on its own or with plain white rice.

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Tomato Pork Stew With Pasta

The wet season is here, making my days .... brr! I keep warm with cardigans, bowls of hot soup, and can't imagine how I would survive in a place where there's winter seeing that I run for a steaming cup of tea and snuggle up under thick blankets the minute it gets a little cold. It's no surprise that my meals lean toward spicy or soupy recently!

Tomato pork stews show up regularly on my rainy-day menu. I go by the agak-agak (estimate) method when I cook this, throwing whatever I fancy into the mix according to my mood, along with a dollop of tomato ketchup, canned tomatoes or a tablespoon of puree. For this recipe, however, I skipped the bottled stuff and stayed on the path of using fresh ingredients.

Tomato Pork Stew With Small Shells Pasta

It turned out really yummy. Not that I had expected otherwise. The tomatoes I used were bought from the mini-mart downstairs at the apartment where I live, which is supplied by a small-time local farmer.

This is a meal for three.

Tomato Pork Stew With Pasta
Ingredients
- 400g soft pork ribs (rib tips)
- 1 cup Small Shells pasta
- 3 large tomatoes (cut into medium cubes)
- 1 red capsicum (cut into cubes)
- 1 carrot (cut into medium chunks)
- 1 large red onion (chopped)
- 5 cloves garlic (chopped)
- ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (chop extra for garnishing)
- ¼ cup Chinese cooking wine (rice wine)
- ¼ cup cooking oil
- 1 tsp ground oregano
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 4 dried bay leaves
- Black pepper (about 5 dashes)
- Salt
- Water

How-to:
1) Heat cooking oil in a large pan or pot.
2) Saute onions and garlic for about half a minute. Then, add bay leaves and pork. Stir-fry for a bit.
3) Add chilli flakes, black pepper and ground oregano. Stir to combine.
4) Put the tomatoes, carrots, capsicum and parsley in. Season with ½ tsp salt (or to taste). Mix well.
5) Pour in cooking wine, along with 3½ cups water. Cook covered and allow to come to a slow boil.
6) Reduce heat to maintain the slow boil. Leave to cook for at least an hour, until the meat is tender.
7) Taste and season further with salt, if necessary. Finally, add the pasta and cook until done.
8) Garnish with chopped flat-leaf parsley.

1) Ingredients needed. 2) Chopped ingredients.
3) Sauteing the onions and pan-frying the pork. 4) Add all the vegetables in.
5) Stir, then pour the wine in. 6) Add water and leave to cook for an hour.
7) Once the meat is tender, throw the pasta in. Cook until done!

Yummy Tomato Pork Stew With Pasta

Tomato Pork Stew With Pasta

There you go - delicious pasta in a stew of tender pork ribs. Slurp!

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Cream Corn And Minced Pork Soup

Do you remember comfort foods from your childhood? This soup is that for me. It was a popular dish for working mothers in my kampung because it was quick to make and oh-so-easy to get kids to finish their meals off.

Fast forward today, it's something I hardly make as my preferences lean toward clear soups. However, I don't want to lose my roots completely. So, here it is on my blog today.    

Cream Corn And Minced Pork Soup

I add quite a bit of white pepper to make it peppery. This is because I love a little spice in my soup. It's a personal preference.

Cream Corn and Minced Pork Soup
Ingredients:
- ½ can of 425g whole sweet kernel corn
- ½ can of 425g sweet corn cream style
- 100g pork meat (chopped/minced)
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 2 eggs
- 2 stalks spring onions (chopped)
- ¼ tsp white pepper (or flavoured pepper)
- A dash of black pepper (optional)
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- Salt to taste
- 3 cups water

How-to:
1) Heat oil in wok. Saute garlic until lightly browned.
2) Add minced pork, along with ½ cup water. Stir furiously (to keep the meat from lumping up).
3) Then, add both the corn and remaining water. Wait for it to come to a boil.
4) Once it's boiling, season with salt and pepper.
5) Stir the eggs in, then switch the fire off.
6) Serve garnished with spring onion.

Best eaten with white rice or on its own, as a starter.

1) Garlic, Corn, Minced Pork, Egg. 2) Cook the pork.
3) Add water and corn. 4) Flavour and add the egg.

Corn Soup Garnished with Spring Onions

Yum-yum Corn Soup

The easy way of doing this soup : Add water into a soup pot, along with the corn. Stir to combine. Then, wait for it to boil. Stir the minced pork in. Once it's cooked, season with salt and white pepper. Finally, stir the egg in. That's it!

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Winter Melon Pork Soup (Slow-Cooker)

It is always a good day for soup, so people say, and I agree. Chilled soups for humid season, hot soups for cold nights.

Admittedly, I've only ever been a fan of hot soup. Dunk in some bread and I have all the juice I need to vacuum the entire house before I start thinking about ..grilled steak, teriyaki chicken, Abbe's chocolate cupcakes, Shirley's pasta and the sort.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication ~ Leonardo da Vinci

Winter Melon Pork Soup

This is clear soup, made the the slow-cooker way. Long hours of cooking breathe a lot of flavour into soups. For me, very little seasoning is required. Some may find the taste too light but I enjoy plain soups as much as rich ones.

Ingredients:
- 2 cups of pork ribs
- 6 dried mushrooms (soak in water to rehydrate, this can take 1-2 hours or more)
- 1 cup winter melon (cut into cubes)
- 5 baby carrots (halved)
- 4-5 cups water
- 2 stalks spring onion for garnishing (chopped)
- Pinch of salt and pepper

Ingredients: Spring onions, Pork ribs, Dried mushrooms, Winter Melon
...oops, where's the carrot?!

How-to:
1) Place all the ingredients into the slow cooker.
2) Season with a just pinch of salt and pepper.
3) Add water.
4) Set cooker on "high" and cook for 3 hours.
Taste and season further, if required. Cook for another 30 minutes to infuse the flavour. 
5) Serve garnished with chopped spring onions.

Toss all the ingredients into the slow cooker

Add water and carrots (I forgot these), season!

Winter Melon Pork Soup garnished with spring onions

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Soup : For variety sake

Soup day in, day out. Don't you find it a challenge putting something fresh on the table daily. I do. It doesn't help when people go, "This soup again..?" *roll eyes*

I'm that ordinary cook who doesn't have a whole lot of fresh food ingredients stocked up in her little fridge, and cabinet space that will make most chefs cry. I'm that person who dream of having a Nigella Lawson kitchen one day. But for now, I make do.

One soup, one vegetable and one meat - That's my cooking rule. It's what I tell myself every time I plan the day's meal. Sometimes I make it a one-plate thing but mostly, it's two or three separate dishes with white rice.

Along the way, I've learned some simple tricks to deceive the fussy eater. It helps that I'm a genius...kidding.

This is what I do to clear the week's ingredients from my fridge especially when I have more than necessary the food items I need. I cook the same dish twice in  a week, one with a small twist to give the illusion that I'm making something totally different from yesterday.

I'm going to share with you how I handle soups. I often make clear soups intending to repeat the dish a couple of days later with only one difference. I stir in a tablespoon of evaporated milk.

Example: from clear fish ball soup, it becomes "milky" fish ball soup. Not ... same! *grin*

And that, ladies and gentleman, is my one-tip wonder. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this. I bet you have something up your sleeves too when it comes to making daily meals a less boring affair.

Fish ball soup ~ from clear to milky

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Old Cucumber and Salted Kohlrabi Chicken Soup

Old Cucumber and Salted Kohlrabi Chicken Soup

 
It was in our Facebook group that I'd first heard of salted kohlrabi. Kohlrabi - what was it...german turnip, cultivar of cabbage ..according to Wikipedia.

Salted Kohlrabi

I've so far only included it in soups but I'm guessing it'll go great in braised dishes as well. 

It wasn't easy trying to find this ingredient. Partly because I had no idea how it would be packaged for the supermarket. I took some time reading the labels for each salted vegetable I picked up and it would have been easier to spot had it not all been compressed in little clear plastic packets. But joy, I found it!

AndDdDDdddd.. so was born this easy soup recipe.

Ingredients:
- 2 pcs whole chicken leg
- ½ medium old cucumber (remove seeds and slice)
- 1 medium red onion (quartered)
- 1 slice salted kohlrabi (rinsed and sliced into smaller pieces)
- 4 pcs dried black fungus (medium variety, soaked for 30 minutes, remove hard parts, slice into smaller pieces  if you wish)
- 1 medium carrot (cubed)
- 1- 1.5L water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 stalk spring onion (chopped, for garnishing)

The ingredients

How-to:
1) Lay all the ingredients in the pot. Pour water in.
2) Boil until chicken is tender. (One hour on medium heat did it for me.)
3) At the last stage of cooking, taste and season with salt (if necessary) and pepper. Cook for awhile longer.
4) Serve garnished with spring onions.

Slow boil

Tadaaa! Tender chicken with salted kohlrabi and old cucumber

Soup of the day..slurp!

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Lala (Clam) Soup - A Spicier Take!

Lala Clam Soup

Lala, the Asian soft-shelled clam - one of my favourite seafood. I've often wondered how it got its name..just as hubby's often wondered what isn't my favourite food. Aahh.. I am so easy to please, food-wise.

If I had to use a song to describe this soup, it would be Kylie Minogue's ♫ La la la la lalala la ..can't get you out of my head ♪ for obvious cheesy reasons.

Lala clams cooked in a ginger based soup isn't something new but it is exciting on the taste buds. Ginger is often used to cover up that "fishy smell" of seafood. In this recipe, it also compliments the soup with a more robust flavour.

I  would say that this soup has a deep gingery, sweetish and spicy taste to it. The spiciness comes mainly from the chili and ginger. 

It's a simple recipe, using ingredients commonly found in Malaysian supermarkets.
 

Ingredients:
- 160g lala clams
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 2 thumbs fresh ginger (julienned)
- 2 pc black fungus - medium variety (soak until soft - about 30 minutes, remove woody part and slice if you wish. I left it whole)
- 1 tbsp dried wolfberries or more (soak in water until soft - about 5 minutes)
- 5 green bird's eye chilies (seeded and sliced in half)
- 5 medium grey oyster mushrooms (halved)
- 1.5L water
- 1 stalk coriander (chopped, for garnishing)
- Cooking oil
- Salt and white pepper to taste

The Ingredients

How-to:
1) Heat pot with oil and saute the garlic until lightly browned.Then, add the ginger and green chilies. Stir it about and add water. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

2) Allow the water to boil for just awhile longer to get that ginger taste out before adding the black fungus, mushrooms, wolfberries and lala clams.

3) Once all the ingredients have been added into the pot, let it cook for a few minutes further. Taste, season accordingly and it's done!

4) Serve garnished with coriander.

There she boils..

There you have it - lala clams in hot, hot soup! Prepare to tissue it out.

Lala Clam Soup - Hot stuff!

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Fish Maw Soup

Fish maw, otherwise known as dried swim bladders, is perfect in stews, soups or braised. It is good with wet dishes largely because it easily absorbs flavour from other ingredients it is cooked with. On its own, it is tasteless.

It is said that fish maw is rich in collagen but whether this is scientifically proven is beyond me. The ones I use for cooking are, after all, dried products.

Fish Maw Soup - Garnished with Spring Onion

Fish Maw Soup happens to be a household favourite, a potful easily gulped away in one dinner sitting! I usually cook this with a lot of pepper. It gives this simple dish a lot of punch.

Here's the recipe, if you're keen to try.

Ingredients:
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 70g / a small bowl of spongy fish maw
(Pre-soaked in water an hour or two until spongy. Rinse away as much oil as you can and then, slice into pieces)
- 200g chicken bone parts (I opted for chicken feet and neck)
- A handful of sliced cabbage
- 1.5L water
- Salt and pepper to taste (Optional: a pinch of chicken stock granules)

How-to:
1) Boil all the ingredients together, until the cabbages are really limp and soft.

2) Season to taste with salt, but be generous with the pepper (optional- a pinch of chicken stock granules). It is fine if you don't want it too peppery, but as we Malaysians say it, "No kick-lah" (No oomph!).

The four ingredients

All in the pot

Peppery Fish Maw Soup - Yummy!

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Hot and Sour Seafood Soup

The wet weather has been prompting cravings for hot soup to alleviate the chilliness I feel.

I have kiam chye boey, that sour spicy "leftovers" stew, on my mind but cooking that would take three hours at least! Surely too long a wait for this poor soul....and so came about the inspiration for a shortcut, using only some of the key ingredients from the traditional kiam chye boey dish and without the long stew.

Here's what came out of the pot at the end of it all - a clear sour and spicy soup with robust flavours that zapped my senses alert. This was so delicious that I had seconds...SECONDS! Just the perfect thing to have in this cold weather. BrrRrrr...no more!
    

Hot and Sour Seafood Soup

Hot and Sour Seafood Soup

Ingredients :
- 3 pcs asam keping (tamarind peel)
- 2 pcs sour plum (bottled) 
- 6 green bird's eye chili (seeded and halved)
- ½ large carrot (cut into medium cubes)
- 1 large tomato (quartered)
- 1 rib celery (chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (chopped)
- 1.5 L water
- 1 tsp cooking oil
- Fried fish cakes (2 varieties - the kind for soups)
   ~ 1 palm-sized flat square piece (cut into smaller squares)
   ~ 1 rectangular roll, about 3 inches long (sliced)
- 10 baby squids  
- Salt to taste

How-to:
1) Heat oil in electrical cooker (that's what I'm using). Add garlic and give it a quick stir-fry.

2) Add tomatoes, carrots, bird's eye chili, tamarind peel and sour plums. Mix well.

3) Add water and bring to a boil. 

4) Once it boils, add the ribbed stem parts of the celery into the pot (leave the leafy parts for last).

5) Cook covered until tomatoes and carrots are tender (which was between 30-45 minutes for me because I wanted more flavour in the soup). 

6) Then, add fish cakes and the remainder of the celery. Season with salt and stir well. Lastly, add the squid. You are done when that is cooked.

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