Suki Jezz 's Mom Home Cooked Food during CNY

8 Feb 2016 - The reason why we must go back home during CNY is to have the reunion dinner together as a family. A reason to gather, the reason to share stories, to laugh, and to enjoy a good family meal.

I was surprised that my mom decided to cook during CNY Day 2. Normally we just eat takeaway food that are packed outside. She claimed she is busy. *eyes rolling. Actually, she is busy with her WeChat and karaoke gang.

However, I myself is not a great cook, normally I will just do the 'rojak' style, mixing all ingredients and make porridge or soup, or simply pan fry some vegetables. I have phobia in steaming fish always, probably I am afraid of the fish will be overcooked.





So these are the dishes of the day :



Chinese Ginger wine soup with chicken and ginger.

Ginger Wine Chicken Recipe
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 3

Ingredients:

• 500g chicken breast
• 120g old ginger
• 4 cloves garlic
• 150ml water
• 150ml ginger wine
• 3 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp salt

Cooking Instructions:

1. In a large wok, heat sesame oil over high heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant.

2. Add the chicken and cook for 2 minutes, till the chicken has browned slightly. Add water and cover the chicken for 3 minutes.

3. Then, pour in the ginger wine and place the cover back on and cook for another 5 minutes.

4. Season with salt and serve immediately. you can enhance flavors by preparing chilli padi in soy sauce.




Fried You Mak vegetable and white cut chicken.


Stir Fry You Mak Recipe
Ingredients:

• 1- 2 packet of Romaine lettuce (you mak) for two pax
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 2-3 spoons of cooking oilCooking Instructions:

Cooking Instructions:

1. Heat up cooking oil in medium heat and fry garlic till fragrant.
2. Add in lettuce.
3. Fry until vegetable is soft, add 1/4 cup of water or soup stock in case it is too dry.

White Cut Chicken/ Chinese Poached Chicken, originally from Cantonese cuisine, referred as cold dish. It is different with the cooking way of Chinese steamed chicken.

White Cut Chicken/ Chinese Poached Chicken Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken 
• 4 ginger slices
• 2 green onions. tie knot.
• 1 tablespoon cooking wine
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper/ Sichuan peppercorn seeds (optional)
• sesame oil for brushing
• coriander (for decoration)

To prepare ginger and scallion oil as a dipping sauce:

• 2 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green part scallion
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander stems
• 4 scallion whites, cut into pieces
• 2-3 tablespoons cooking oil
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons from chicken broth. you may use back the same water which you poach the chicken.

Cooking Instructions:

1. Clean the chicken and remove feet and head. 
2. In a large pot, add chicken, green onion, pepper/ Sichuan peppercorn (optional) and 3-4 slices of ginger and cooking wine. Then pour enough water to cover the chicken. 
3. Switch into medium fire and continue let it cook for 8 minutes (see note 1 for the adjusting of the time needed). Turn off the fire, cover the lid and let the chicken stay for around 20 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, prepare enough iced water. Transfer the chicken out and soak it with iced water. Turn over the chicken several times until the chicken is completely cooled down. 
5. Brush some sesame oil on surface and then cut into chunks and lay in the serving bowl.

• To make the ginger and scallion dip sauce:

1. In a small bowl, mix grated ginger with chopped green onion and coriander. Heat up 2 to 3 tablespoons cooking oil in wok or deep pan. Add scallion white to fry over low heat fire until the scallion white becomes slightly brown and you smell a strong fragrance.
2. Pour the hot oil into the small bowl with other seasonings. Add 2 tablespoons water from the chicken broth (water which you poach the chicken). Add a pinch of salt. Mix well.
3. Put the dipping sauce next to the chicken. Dip as desired.

Steamed chinese sausages Recipe:

Ingredients

• Chinese sausages
• 1 table spoon of soy sauce and 1 table spoon of sesame oil as seasoning

Cooking Instructions:

1. Remove the Chinese sausages from string and thin plastic layer. Put the sausages in pot along with boiling water that is enough to cover. boil it for 10 minutes. This is to remove all the excess fats.
2. Drain the sausages aside. slice the sausages at a diagonal into 1/4" thick slices. place the sausage slices onto a plate that you can steam.
3. Steam the sausage for another 10-15 minutes, or till it is soft for you to poke the sausage using chopsticks.
4. Turn off the heat, and place the dish aside. Pour some soya sauce and sesame oil sauce as seasoning. Serve.

Steamed Chinese sausage and preserved duck leg rice

There are many different ways of cooking Chinese sausage rice. Some prefer to use overnight rice, as it won't be sticky. Some prefer to fried chinese sausage rice. If you prefer to steam the sausage without mixing it into rice cooker: Cook the rice until the water is almost absorbed, place the sausage gently on the surface of the rice.

Steamed Lap Cheong Rice Recipe 蒸臘腸飯
Ingredients:

• 2 cups rice (for 2 pax), depending how many pax
• 2-4 Lap Cheong
• 1 preserved duck
• 2 cups water (approx)
• Rice Cooker

Cooking Instructions:

1. Rinse the rice with water until the water runs pretty clear. This rinses the starch out, allowing the final rice to be fluffy with each grain of rice separate. *By the way, if you don't want to waste the starch water, you can use it to water the plants.
2. Add water using the measurement markings on the inside of pot. If you have 1 1/2 cup rice then add water to the 1 1/2 mark, etc. Very easy!
3. Remove Lap Cheong from the strings and the thin plastic wrap. Rinse off briefly. Add the lap cheong and preserved duck into the rice cooker pot. Put the pot into the rice cooker and press the rice cooker cook button. 
4. When the rice is cooked, remove Lap Cheong and slice at a diagonal into 1/4" thick slices . Chop the preserved duck into cubes. Put back the lap cheong and preserved duck leg into the rice, and stir all up. You can add in some soya sauce to enhance the rice color into brownish, but it is not necessary, because the lap cheong gives you sweet flavour, and the preserved duck leg is very salty.
5. Serve hot with your bowls of fragrantly flavored rice!

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So probably you come to this blog because you miss your home-cooked food, looking for recipe or looking for inspiration what to cook for yourself or your family today or this coming weekend. Have fun cooking in the kitchen, or harsh those who stay with you to learn to cook, so you can eat delicious food at home, cheers!