fish sauce

Stir Fry Peas and Oyster Mushrooms

Stir fry peas and oyster mushrooms

Stir Fry Peas and Oyster Mushrooms

I hate Peas. There, I said it. Don’t judge me. I am like a kid when it comes to vegetables that I don’t like. It’s like a magical tumble washing time machine spiralling me back to when I was just a kid.

Anyway, it’s not the world’s friendliest vegetable to eat. But my Wife bought it and she bought Oyster Mushrooms as well. And not sure if you have a sensitive palate like myself, but there is this peculiar aftertaste with oyster mushrooms. It’s just me I guess.

I was in the restaurant business a while back, and one of the few things that stood out for me were these oyster mushrooms. They were quite bland in flavour, maybe that’s why they were so easy to control in terms of how you would want to flavour it.

But putting them together with peas, takes it to a whole new level. Okay. I am an innovator in the kitchen, so I will give it a shot.

Ingredients

Peas (just ordinary peas, nothing fancy, one pack will do)

Oyster Mushrooms (just one packet from NTUC will do. Again, nothing really fancy)

Fish Sauce (use any Vietnamese make, although some folks say the “long boat” brand is good)

Olive Oil (just a little oil will do)

Method

1. Debone the Peas. There is a spine that is quite difficult to eat, so best to remove it.

2. Oil in the wok, stir fry some garlic pieces until fragrant, then fry the peas and oyster mushrooms together. Add the fish sauce and cover the lid to steam.

3. It should be done in about 5 minutes. So easy. Surprisingly nice too. 🙂

Bon Appetit!

Thai Style Stir Fry Tang Orh with Minced Pork

Thai Style Stir Fry Tang Orh with Minced Pork

My wife loves Tang Orh and I love cooking Tang Orh, that’s why we love each other so much. We share a symbiotic relationship and this is one of the ways I show love for her. Words mean only so much, I very much also like to express my affections towards her in cooking the foods that she likes. It makes our relationship multi-faceted and interesting.

She loves Tang Orh cooked in a soupy style, like in a steam boat. In fact, that’s one of the better ways to eat Tang Orh, in a soupy broth. This Thai style stir fry is supposed to be mildly dry with little sauce, but I decided to add a little more “soup” to enhance the flavour of the Tang Orh, since in my opinion the Tang Orh is the star ingredient here.

It’s very easy to cook, and Tang Orh generally cooks within minutes. It’s not a hardy vegetable so be sure to cook it quickly and serve as the last dish. The flavour of the minced pork makes it delicious. I have also added generous amounts of minced garlic and chilli padi. Not for the faint hearted, this dish is fiery hot.

Recipe

Ingredients

5 pcs Garlic (finely chop the garlic pieces)
5 pcs Chilli Padi (finely chopped)
500 grams Tang Orh (also known as garland chrysethemuem)
400 grams Minced Pork (make sure it is fatty minced pork, it adds to the flavour)
2 tablespoons Oyster Sauce
1 tablespoon Thai Fish Sauce
2 tablespoons Olive Oil

Method
1. Minced the garlic and chilli padi together and mix it together into a paste.

2. Heat oil in a frying pan and then fry the garlic chilli paste until fragrant. Add the minced pork and stir fry till pork is relatively cooked. To tell the difference is when the colour changes to slightly white.

3. Add the oyster and fish sauce with a little water. Then throw all the Tang Orh into the pan and cover the lid. Let the heat wilt the vegetable for about two minutes.

4. The water from the vegetables will form part of the soup. That’s it. Easy. Serve with steamed rice.

Bon Appetit!

Tang Orh with Minced Pork

Garlic and Chilli Padi mixed into paste

Soupy style Tang Orh with Minced Pork

Crab Bee Hoon

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Crab Bee Hoon

If you have tasted Singapore Chilli Crab and like it, you will most probably love crab bee hoon like you love your mother-in-law. Okay, maybe not a good example, but think of crab bee hoon as a softer option compared to the spicy version.

Cooked in a milky buttery broth and served with bee hoon or white noodles, this masterpiece dish is very easy to cook. I say again, anyone can cook this dish. It’s a walk in the park. Add a little tang-orh vegetables and it is a perfect meal.

We usually go to this place at Ang Mo Kio named Melben for our craving for crab bee hoon, but honestly, they have become quite pricey and sometimes the journey there and the long waiting time just makes the whole experience much to be desired.

So I decided that I would make my own crab bee hoon but make it more fabulous with what my wife and I love to eat. Udon noodles instead of the bee hoon. LOL. In fact, I think it tasted better with Udon.

Recipe

Ingredients

2 “live” Mud Crabs (about 800 grams)
2 packets of Udon Noodles
20 thin slices of Ginger
1 tray of Fresh Clam Meat (NTUC got sell)
1 box Mini Toufu Puffs
60 grams of Unsalted Butter
Half a cup of Evaporated Milk
A pinch of Sea Salt (I use the Maldon Brand of Sea Salt Flakes)
2 tbsp Shao Xing Hua Tiao Jiu
2 tbsp Hakka Rice Wine
1 tsp Castor Sugar
1 tbsp Fish Sauce

Method

1. Boil 1 and a half kettle of water. (1 kettle is about 1.7 litres) Once the water is boiled, pour into a large pot. Turn on fire to a slow boil and add the clam meat and 10 slices of ginger. Boil for about 30 minutes. Then discard the clams and ginger.

2. In another pot, fry the rest of the ginger slices in butter and then add the mini Toufu puffs (sliced diagonally) and continue cooking. Once the Toufu has softened. Add them into the main pot.

3. Turn the heat up to medium. Add evaporated milk. Add that pinch of salt, the fish sauce, hua tiao jiu, hakka rice wine and sugar. Continue to stir. Do a taste test to make sure the it is not too salty, but creamy.

4. Kill the crabs. Using a cleaver, chop right down the belly of the crab. Then remove the pincers and then the body parts. Reserve the eggs (if any) and wash the crabs. After the crabs are cleaned, using the back of the cleaver, break the shells.

5. Once crabs are ready, throw them into the broth. Cook until the colour changes to a hue of red. Add the Udon noodles (or white noodles) and cook for a few minutes. After that serve hot.

6. Prepare and wash the tang-orh vegetables. This is to be dipped into the broth and eaten immediately.

Bon Appetit!

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Boiling broth of Fresh Clam Meat & ginger slices

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Fry the ginger slices in butter

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Fry the mini Toufu puffs in butter

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Substitute bee hoon with Udon noodles

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“live” Mud crabs (about 800 grams)

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Cooked the prepared crabs

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Cooked till a bright hue of red

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Add Udon noodles into broth