Porkie Porridge

I like porridge... do you like it? I remember whenever my mum made porridge, I would put a teaspoon full of marmite. My mum would always say, 'SO salty!!! Afterwards your hair will drop...' But I never listen. It's too good! Having too little of marmite, there's no kick in my porridge.

Anyways, I know that there are different kinds of texture one can make a porridge. Personally, I prefer the thicker version and the smooth version. Not really a fan of the Teo Chew version - watery kind (i think). But I still eat lah, if you serve it to me : P It is still food mah...

Ok ok back to topic... the thick ones tend to be 'chunky' and lots of condiments. I think most home cooking style is this version... or only my mother's : P The smooth version, if not mistaken, has been blended slightly such as those eaten at Dim Sum restaurants or those fancy Chinese restaurants.

So, I thought... 'Hmmm... let's try and make porridge for dinner.' In my mind, I thought, 'How hard can it be? It's just porridge...put rice, add meat / veggies, put more water in rice cooker... On it and done.' And so, I did that for the first time and it sort of worked. The porridge was cooked and it has the thick texture that I liked. However, the drawback was that the rice at the bottom was burnt and got stuck there. We scraped out a lot but the remainder of it was kinda wasted. Plus, the rice cooker was super dirty because the water overflowed from the container. The whole experience of porridge cooking was quite messy and I didn't like the mess (means need to clean more apart from washing the dishes & pots!)

To cut the long story short, I think I've figured out how to cook a porridge that is smooth and it doesn't overflow from the rice cooker. LOL! Probably it was the 5th or 6th attempt only I got it right : P

And so here it goes!

First, wash your rice as though you would normally wash them. If you want your porridge to have the less 'starchy' texture, then I suggest that you 'rub' the rice as you rinse them. When you 'rub' the rice, it removes the starch layer from the rice. Then fill water into the rice container, with double portion volume compared to boiling rice. Sounds a little German? OK, I shall try and break this down alittle bit...

Normally, when we boil rice, the water 'height' should be at the first 'column' of your middle finger. Yep, Chinese people use the agak-agak method, no proper metric measurements ^_^ So for porridge, just ensure the water 'height' is almost reaching to the 2nd column. Don't worry if the water is too much or too little, the solution is simple - Too little water = add more water later; too much water = boil longer : P

Wipe the outside part of the container dry and place it in the rice cooker. When the water starts to boil, place in your veggie. For this round, I use mince pork as meat for my porridge. Marinate the mince with a couple of dashes of white pepper and dollops of oyster sauce. Mix them well and flatten the meat out in a bowl or a plate. While the water is still boiling, use a spoon and gently scrape little chunks of meat into the water. Occasionally, stir the condiments so that they do not get stuck. While you're stirring it, make sure there is no grain of rice get stuck at the base.

Saw this 'method' at the local pork noodle stall : )

Keep repeating the occasional stir for about 20 minutes, with the lid open all the time. The rice should be cooked by that time. Once you're happy with the texture you desired, turn off the switch and close the lid to keep warm.

That's it!

Nice and clean rice cooker.. yes!!!

The outcome of this is that you'll have a smooth porridge. If you wish the texture to be even smoother, I supposed you can scoop some out and blend them in a food processor. Personally, I think the rice will be broken into small bits because of the constant stirring - au naturale! Another point to remember is not to over-marinate your meat, regardless it is chicken or mince pork. I notice that whenever there is 'marinate juice', it will sink underneath the rice and caused the rice to burnt and get stuck. That was my mistake in my first 2 attempts... hehehe. Last but not least, remember to reduce the rice portion when you want to make porridge. This is because the rice will expand due to more water and hence, the portion will be more than the normal rice portion.

TheLoyalFan says: 'This thick porridge was very good comfort food, especially on a cold night. I ate mine at lots of soya sauce. Nom nom nom...'

Mmm... Indeed a very good comfort good. We had this twice this week already : P Yum yums!

Till then, keep nomming!

Fried Rice

You might be thinking of the western version of this dish... rice fried with egg and some mixed vegetables and that's it. But it is not. You see, back in Malaysia, fried rice is considered as an individual meal. Not only it has egg and rice, it has other ingredients too! Prawns, Chinese sausages (lap cheong) and some even have proper chicken meat in it. Needless to say, it is definitely delicious and you'll want more!

Me heart fried rice and I thought of sharing this awesome and easy-to-prepare dish!

First, chop up some garlic and onion if you want some sweetness in it. I prefer garlic and I chopped quite a handful of it : P This dish is really a flexible dish. You can put in any vegetables and any meat as you like. For me, I've chopped up some carrots and french beans into small bite sizes. As for the meat, mmm... luncheon meat! Good and wholesome meat in a can! It is slightly salty and when you fry this together with your rice, it gives a wonderful fragrance that makes you drool... mmm! Boil your rice a couple of hours in advance and place them in the fridge.

Alright, heat up some oil in a pan. Be generous with your oil as you'll be frying lots of ingredients. When the oil is ready, fry your garlic until fragrant. Put in the luncheon meat and followed by the vegetables. Once they're quite properly cooked, push the condiments to one side of your pan. Then break an egg (or 2) onto the empty side. Let one side of egg to be slightly cooked and mix up all the ingredients together. At the same time, try to break up the egg into smaller pieces too.

Pour the rice into the pan and give it a good mix and fry. Season your fried rice with soya sauce, pepper and oyster sauce. For a different twist, you can add HP sauce too! It tastes good too! If you find it difficult to mix the sauces evenly, add in some water to ease it. Make sure all water is completely dried so that your rice will have the "fried" taste instead of the "boiled" texture.

Toss and toss. Fry and fry! Ooo... look so yummy!

Et voila! 

Ready to be eaten! 

Mmmm... the fried rice was really tasty and fragrant. Every grain of rice was coated with oil and somehow I felt the rice was so pretty... hehehe. Although the taste cannot compare with Brickfields Sin Kee's fried rice, this gives us a real homey taste. Really comfort our hearts and stomachs : P

TheLoyalFan says: 'Nom nom nom nom nom noms. Best fried rice I had since we came here.'

Well, that's because we don't eat fried rice from other shops mah! LOL!

Till then, keep nomming!

Steamed Chicken

Steamed chicken is a very 'ching' dish. 'Ching' which literally means, clear in english, doesn't just mean it has clear gravy or a bland taste. To the Chinese, it simply means a simple and tasty dish but its flavour is not too overwhleming. Somehow this 'ching' taste comforts one's soul. Well, for me, 'ching' dishes always make me feel happy and all fuzzy inside : P

There are a couple of ways to make this steamed chicken. One is to marinate the chicken with salt and steam it; the other method will be marinating more than just salt. The Hainanese has its famous steamed chicken method where it is boiled in boiling water and soaking the cooked chicken in icy cold water. But today, I found a recipe that is simple yet very tasty.

Firstly, ensure your chicken meat is completely thawed to room temperature. This is to ensure that all areas of the meat has a consistent texture and the meat will be cooked evenly. Give the meat a good rinse and place it in a plate. Marinating requires only 3 ingredients - Chinese wine, white pepper and light soy sauce. For this, I recommend that the soy sauce and wine should be 3 tablespoon each. Scatter some shredded ginger onto the chicken.

Prepare the pan/wok with water and a steaming stand. Once the water is boiling, place the plate onto the stand and let it steam for about 30 - 40 minutes. Occasionally, use a spoon and drizzle he juice in the plate onto the meat.

Once the chicken is completely cooked, drizzle on some garlic oil and spring onions.

Tadaaa!

Doesn't it look yummy? Well, not only did it look so yummy, I was already drooling when I smelt the aroma of it! *slurp slurp slurp*

The chicken meat was really smooth and tasty. It reminded me so much of the 'pak cham' chicken back home at the chicken rice shop. We didn't make any oyster sauce dip as there were lots of good nutritious chicken 'essence' stored in the plate. The essence was tasty and not too salty. Also, it was really nice with rice too. Ooo... what a feeling! *nom nom noms!*

TheLoyalFan says: 'Super smooth chicken and extremely yummy sauce. Our extra helpings of rice did not last long... hehehe.'

*Blushing* Yea... it was really good and I had second helpings of rice : )

Till then, keeping nomming!

Sweet & Sour Pork with Rice

It is time to celebrate! TheLoyalFan's exam has finished and we can celebrate C.N.Y. without any worries or stress. For that reason, we made one of our favourite dishes back home - 'Kou Lou Yoke Fan' or simply Sweet & Sour Pork with rice.

This recipe was made by Mum when she came to the UK for Christmas last year and I thought we shall give it a try... weeee!

The preparation was split into 2 parts - frying the pork and making the sauce. First, marinate the pork that has been cut into cubes with pepper and soya sauce. Then coat the pork in batter. For this, I put equal amount of plain flour and corn flour onto the pork - malas to make the batter in a different plate (LOL!). Once the pork cubes are coated evenly, deep fry them until golden brown.
Next, fry the onions with the same oil used for frying but just 2 or 3 tablespoons will do. Then stir fry the tomatoes and cucumbers (and capsicums if you want) for a short while. Pour in some water and season with tomato ketchup, vinegar and sugar for the sweet & sour taste. And... voila!

We just LURVE sweet & sour pork! I think it is one of my default dishes when I needed to tapao dinner for myself. Ahhh... I miss Brickfields Sin Kee's food. But now that I know how to make it, it will treat my 'missing Malaysian food' illness. hehehe...
However, one thing to note from this dish was the taste of the sauce should be concentrated and fuller so that when it is mixed with pork and rice, you can still taste the sweet & sour effect.

TheLoyalFan says: 'Very crispy pork... I wish there were more...'

The pork was very crispy indeed! We'll be making more supermarket trips this weekend to look for some ingredients to prepare more Chinese dishes for the C.N.Y. period : )

Till then, have a great weekend and keep nomming!