young ginger

Steamed Hairy Crabs

Steamed Hairy Crabs

I wished i could say that these beauties were from Yang Cheng Lake, in Shanghai, but guess what? They were from NTUC Supermarket. Surprise surprise.

Hairy Crabs are such a delicacy that most people would go the extra distance and trouble just to take the dish. So I am now presented with the next problem. How to recreate that wonderful dish? Thankfully I have had plenty of experience cooking crabs and I bet this shouldn’t be too different from our local variety.

I say steamed it. Plain and simple. That’s always the best way to cooking anything especially seafood. Add a little cooking wine like Shao Xing Hua Tiao Jiu and you are definitely on your way to a delicious steamed hairy crab – albeit cooked in your very own home kitchen. My place is no Michelin Star, but I have cooked my way into the hearts and stomachs of many.

And for the dipping sauce, I like mine with premium Lee Kum Kee Light Soya Sauce and lots of fresh young ginger slices.

Recipe

Ingredients

Hairy Crabs – you are the one to decide how many you want to eat at a go. (NTUC Supermarket sells them “live” at SGD 5.90 each <<bargain!>> and I got 6 immediately without hesitation – $35.40! wow.)

Shao Xing Hua Tiao Jiu – pour into the tray until the crabs all get their feet drenched (the more they are soaked in the wine, the deeper the flavours when you steamed them.)

Young Ginger – 3 inches would be sufficient (julienne the ginger into paper thin slices so that they would soak in the light soya sauce)

Lee Kum Kee Premium Light Soya Sauce – just enough for dipping (I love this sauce. It goes into everything that I cook.)

Method

1. Wash the crabs, give them a shave if you really want.

2. They are alive, so leave the handcuffs on. Let’s just say they are ready to run if you cut them loose.

3. Place them in a tray or plate, drizzle enough Shao Xing Hua Tiao Jiu (aka Chinese cooking wine) until they all get their feet wet. Be generous, these guys won’t disappoint when they are fully steamed.

4. Steam them for 12 minutes. Not less; not more.

5. Slice the young ginger very thinly, and drop them into the soya sauce. Shiok.

6. Once they are steamed, just eat and dip in the sauce if you like.

Bon Appetit!

Bitter Gourd with Short Ribs

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Bitter Gourd with Short Ribs

I think you would know by now that I love bitter gourd. You can say the love is bittersweet. From time to time I would try and experiment with different recipes just so that I can have my favourite bitter gourd for my meals.

So in this rendition of bitter gourd in black bean sauce, I have decided to try out Beef Short Ribs. These cuts are the nicely marbled slices that you would usually have at Korean BBQ restaurants. When stir fried, these beef slices are tender and flavorful umami.

Best part is, they sold it at an NTUC nearby. As they say, it cant get any better than that.

Recipe

Ingredients

1 whole Bitter Gourd (I usually select the largest one from the wet market. But you can choose a smaller one if you like, medium size is best.)
150 grams Beef Short Ribs (NTUC or Cold Storage sells these, stir fry for 2 persons, this is usually enough.)
4 tbsp Olive Oil (the bigger the bigger gourd, the more oil you need)
2 inches Young Ginger (you can use any ginger, but this is the type that I usually like to work with for a light marination of the beef. It tenderises it nicely.)
1 tsp Sesame Seed Oil
1 tbsp Salted Black Bean Sauce (there are many brands around, I am currently using Tiger Brand and it works out quite well for me.)
5 cloves Garlic (just rough chop The garlic and they are ready, my son loves the chunky bits of garlic.)
1 tsp Kikkoman Soya Sauce (by far the Kikkoman brand of soya sauce is the most flavourful.)
Drizzle of Thai Fish Sauce (I like Thai Fish Sauce for its light flavour and it works well with vegetables especially when you stir fry.)

Method

1. Start off by marinating the beef slices in grated ginger and its juice. Add soya sauce and sesame seed to flavour the beef slices. Leave it in a bowl for about 10 minutes while you prepare the bigger gourd slices.

2. After slicing the bitter gourd thinly so that it would cook faster, soak it in cold water for a while. Prepare the garlic by rough chopping and after that you can fire up the wok.

3. Add the oil, turn it up medium heat. Stir fry the garlic for a while until it slightly browns and then add in the black bean sauce. Fry till you can smell the fragrance.

4. Add the marinated beef slices, juice and all, and continue frying until the meat starts to change colour a little. Then add the washed bitter gourd slices to stir fry.

5. Turn the heat to high, add a little water and then cover the lid to allow it to steam cook for about 5 minutes.

6. Make sure that the bitter gourd slices all turn soft and darker green before serving. It shouldn’t be light green after you are done with it. That’s it!

Bon Appetit!

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Bitter Gourd sliced thinly

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Marinated beef short ribs in grated ginger

Stir Fry Beef and Bitter Gourd

Stir Fry Beef and Bitter Gourd

This has got to be my my mum’s favourite dish amongst all the dishes that she cooks. I know this simply because she cooks it every other week and it is always with my favourite preserved black beans. The sauce is wah shiok!

I think this was also the dish that turned me to love bitter gourd as a child. I never use to like vegetables all that much but overcoming bitter gourd was a milestone in my gastronomic journey. Everything else was palatable compared to bitter gourd.

She likes to stir fry it with beef slices marinated in ginger juice. She would pound the ginger into a pulp and extract the juice. I found a better way to do this and that is to grate the ginger instead. Beef was an essential source of iron and it was great for keeping anemic kids healthy. The tell tale sign would be to look at the palm of our hands and it would be decided that we would have stir fry Beef and Bitter Gourd for that day. Just kidding.

Recipe

Ingredients

200 grams of Beef Flank (NTUC has one of the best beef flank and it is perfect for Stir Fry)
1 tube of Bitter Gourd
3 inches of Ginger
3 cloves of Garlic
1 tbsp Salted Preserved Black Beans
1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp White Pepper powder
2 tbsp Olive Oil

Method

1. First boil a kettle of water. This is for cooking the bitter gourd. Then sliced the beef fillet thinly. Once done put the beef slices into a ziplock bag. Add soy sauce and pepper into the bag. Then grate the ginger into the bag as well. This forms the Marinate for the beef slices to make it tender. Marinate for about 5-8 minutes.

2. Slice the bitter gourd thinly and then blanch in a pot of boiling hot water (pour the kettle in). As the bitter gourd is sliced thinly, it should also cook quite fast while still retaining some crunchiness.

3. Pour the oil into the frying pan and heat it up. Once heated fry the garlic pieces until fragrant. Then add the marinated beef slices and stir fry until semi cooked. Then add the blanched bitter gourd slices and stir fry until the juices come out.

4. Add the black beans and continue to fry until flavours are thoroughly mixed. Once ready, serve with steam rice.

Bon Appetit!