Belachan (Prawn Paste)

Belachan also known as Prawn Paste, it is commonly used in South East Asia when cooking spicy stir fried vegetable, chilly paste, chilly dip, etc. Taste: - It is very salty with a pungent smell, but it can enhance the flavor in a spicy dish. Some Common Dishes:- Stir fried Kang Kong, Stir Fried Okra (Ladies Fingers), Singapore Chilly Crab Chilly, Paste for Nasi Lemak, etc.

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Braised Pork Belly/Shoulder

Ingredients: -

Pork Belly / Shoulder 1kg

Chopped Garlic 3 tblspn

Sweet Dark Soy Sauce 8 tblspn

Light Soy Sauce 5 tblspn

Sugar 2 tblspn

Rock Sugar 1 tblspn

Water 2 cups

Methods: -

Ask you local butcher to cut two long piece of pork belly at least 3 inches wide.

Clean the meat and place all ingredients in to a deep pan. Slowly braise the meat at medium low heat for 1 hour.

Remove only the meat and cut into 1cm thick, put it back in to the sauce and continue cooking for another 1 hr 30 mins or until there's a layer of oil on top of the sauce.

The objective of the long cooking time, is to tenderise the meat, so it will just melt-in-your-mouth and to melt away the fats, so when you eat the fats will give you soft and jelly-like texture.

If you are using pork shoulder, you may require longer cooking time.

Note: -

This dish is best served with rice or as the filling for Sang Choi Bao (wrapped in lettuce)

Onion Omelette

Really? Onion Omelette? After all it is such a simple dish...I mean who can't cook omelette? Well, who cares...it's just another idea, after all it is still a delicious side dish.



Ingredients: -
Onion 2 large
Eggs 5 (70g each)
Sugar 1/2 tspn
Light Soy Sauce 2 tspn
Salt

Methods -
Light beat the 5 eggs with a pinch of salt.
Heat a non-stick pan with 1 tblspn of oil. Add onion, stir fry and add half a teaspoon of sugar to caramelise to onion.
Once Onion is slightly brown, spread evenly and add the egg mixture.
Turn the omelette over when one side is cooked and add 1 teaspoon of light soy sauce over the omelette.
To enhance the taste, when adding soy sauce on each side of the omelette, turn the egg over each time after soy sauce is added to sizzle the soy into the omelette.



Note: -
Sometime I will replace the onion with chopped garlic and finely sliced cabbage. It taste just as good.

Soy Sauce

I would like to share some of the sauce I use which make my 'cooking' life easier.

Sauce: Dark Soy Sauce

Taste: Slightly Sweet; Great for braising meat.

I love this sauce, it has been around since I was a little girl. I remember my mother use it alot too. It is best use for braised dishes which you would like to have rich thick sauce. You can buy this from most Chinese groceries shop.

Sauce: Light Soy Sauce

Taste: Salty

There are alot of different brands out there, I would recommend that you use one that is superior quality (or the first harvest) because you will get more of the natural taste of the fermented soy and subsequents harvest have more flavoring and salt added to it. The superior Soy are usually dearer by about a dollar, but it's really worth buying a good one.

Stir Fried Cabbage (Vegetarian)

This is a quick and simple dish.

Ingredients:
Cabbage 1/4
Carrot 2
Chopped Garlic 1 tblspn
Sesame Oil
Light Soy Sauce
Sugar
Salt & Pepper


Methods:
Cut cabbage and carrots into strips (as shown in the picture).
Heat frying pan with 3 tablespoon of oil, slightly cook garlic till fragrant.
Add cabbage and carrots, add sugar and gently stir fry till cooked.
Add sesame oil, salt and pepper to taste. Add soy sauce for colour.