COPYCAT SALTED BLACK BEAN FISH

豆豉鲮鱼

Canned Fried Dace With Salted Beans

is

a traditional dish,

popular among the Chinese.

It is best served with a bowl of steamed rice

or porridge.

I name this 

Copycat Salted Black Bean Fish.

If you would like to try making, these are the ingredients:

Copycat Salted Black Bean Fish

4 fish, palm size, cleaned & marinate with a little salt

oil for deep frying

2 Tbsp hot oil
2 Tbsp garlic, minced

1 Tbsp old ginger, minced

3 Tbsp sugar

1-2 Tbsp dark soya sauce (depend on your liking)

100g salted black beans, rinsed once

water, enough to cover the fish

Method:

1. fry fish until crispy and nice, remove & place in a pressure cooker

2. remove the hot oil from the kuali and leave 2 Tbsp oil to cook the sauce

3. add ginger & garlic to fry until fragrant

4. add black beans & some water

5. add the rest of the ingredients & enough water to cover the fish

6. when it starts to boil, remove from heat & pour onto the fish

7. make sure you have enough water to cover the fish

8. pressure cook until ready

NONYA OTAK-OTAK

Nonya Otak-Otak

This Traditional Peranakan Otak-otak

(Fish Cake)

is shared by Molly Leong @Bishan

This otak-otak is cooked over a stove,

with a simple wok or pan at home.

Although the method of cooking has been simplified,

its flavour has not been compromised.

If you doubt, make some to proof it!

Ingredients:

1 kg mackerel / ikan tengerri / ikan Ba-Tang

6 pcs banana leaves

2 eggs

1 thick coconut milk extracted from 1 coconut

Seasoning:

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp cornflour

2 tsp salt

Chilli Paste:

10 red chillies

10 dried red chillies

10 slices galangal (I used 1/2 tsp galangal powder)

2 stalk lemongrass, sliced thinly

50g belachan (I used 35g belachan powder)

8 candlenut

2 big onions

10 shallots

2" turmeric (I used 2 tsp turmeric powder)

Method:

1. Prepare the banana leaves

    -Run banana leaves over medium-low fire on the stove to soften it.

    -cut into 6"x6" squares. wash & set aside

2. Fillet the fish

    -using a spoon to scrape the fish meat from the skin. 

    -divide the portion into 1/2

3. Prepare the chilli paste

    -Into a food processor, all ingredients for chilli paste and seasoning, chop finely

    -add 1/2 portion of fish, slowly drizzle in the coconut milk. 

      DO NOT POUR in the coconut milk all at once!

      You should get a smooth paste, not watery!

      You may not use up all the coconut milk.

4. Using a spatula mix in the eggs & the remaining fish.

    if the mixture is too dry, can add coconut milk by the Tablespoon at a time.

5. wrap & grill the otak

  -scoop 50-100g otah into each banana leaf

   -secure with a toothpick on both ends

6. heat up a flat frying pan. 

    - grill the otak for about 10-14min, 

    - flip over occasionally until the leaves have browned.

    - the meat is cooked when the otak is firm to the touch

Feedback:
Loke Peng, Jo Lim and Carolyn Chan suggested to use
Daun Kaduk or Kah Lau Yip to
1) line the banana leaf before putting on the otak paste
2) if steaming in a tray, line the tray & cover the paste with daun kaduk
Thank you my friends, I appreciate your feedback.

DARk SOYA FISH

Dark Soya Fish

is familiar to many of us.

I like the mixture of sweetness from the onions
 and sour from added vinegar,
not forgetting the cut chillis and scallions.

Dark Soya Fish

1 pc cut fish, fried to cook

1 large onion, sliced

few slices of old ginger

1 chilli, sliced

1 scallion, sliced

Seasoning:

1-2 tsp dark soy sauce

1 Tbsp soya auce

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp vinegar

1/2 cup water

salt & pepper to taste

Thickener:

1/2 Tbsp corn flour mixed in

2 Tbsp water

1) heat a little oil in the pan, fry onions and ginger pieces until fragrant

2) add fish & water & seasoning to cook

3) stir in chillis & scallion

4) add thickener to the required consistency & dish up

YAKITORI SALMON

YAKITORI SALMON

Many do not like salmon because of its fishy smell.

This is a way you may overcome its fishy smell

        with added flavour from YAKITORI Sauce.

I love my Salmon cooked

 but 

not over cooked!

To achieve this, remember to cover the fish while frying.

Here is the recipe if you are interested...

Yakitori Salmon

1 large piece of salmon fillet, cleaned and halved

Salt and pepper

Some corn flour to coat

Oil for pan frying

Sauce- mixed together

1 Tbsp Yakitori sauce 

3 Tbsp boiled water

1/4 tsp sugar 

Method:

1) marinate salmon with a little salt and pepper

2) heat up some oil in the frying pan 

3) coat the salmon fillet with corn flour

4) fry salmon skin side on the pan, cover and allow to cook

5) when brown, turn the salmon over and cook the other side. Cover too

6) when done, turn off heat and pour away the oil, leaving the fish in the pan

7) drizzle the sauce over the fish and dish up to serve.

SAMBAL BELACAN FISH

Sambal Belacan Fish
can be easily cooked if you have Sambal Belacan in hand.

Simply blend some shallots
and
mix it with some Sambal Belacan
to stuff into the fish.

Fry until fragrant!

CLEAR SOUP ASSAM FISH

Clear Soup Assam Fish

is my favourite.

I love this Assam Fish because I can drink as much soup I want.

The soup is flavourful,

a mixture of sweet, sour, salty and a little spicy

in just the right combination for me

because I cannot take very spicy food.

It is so yummy to go with white rice.

I like to cook this with kampong fish.

Sometimes, I will add some okra if available.

If not, plain is just as good.

Here are some of the ingredients:

4 slices old ginger
1 Tbsp garlic, sliced thinly
2 Tbsp shallots, sliced thinly
2 lemongrass, smashed
1 bunga kantan, sliced lengthwise
3 limau perut leave
3 slices dried assam
1-2 Tbsp cooking oil
4 bowls of stock, adjust according to size of fish
2 fresh chilli, large
2 chilli padi, can add more if you prefer spicy
2 Tbsp chilli oil, I made my own
2 Tbsp thick assam juice, extract from paste
salt & sugar to taste

2 kampong fish
5 okra
1 small tomato, quartered

1. heat up cooking oil a pan

2. add ginger, garlic, lemongrass and shallots, fry until fragrant

3. pour in 4 bowls of stock, add assam pieces & bring to a boil

4. once boiled, add chillies, chilli oil, assam juice, okra & tomato, cook for 5 min

5. add fish, salt & sugar to taste

6. do not over cook the fish. Once cooked, serve hot!

CARAMELIZED ONION FISH

A mixture of sweet, sour & slightly spicy 

fish slices

or

whole fish 

simple and nice

Caramelized Onion Fish

fish slices 

1 large onion, shredded

2 slice ginger

1 chili, cut

spring onions

seasoning: vinegar, salt, sugar & pepper to taste

colour: dark soya sauce

thickener: 1/2 Tbsp corn flour+1/2 Tbsp water

1. marinate fish with some salt

2. pan sear the fish slices until brown, push to the side of pan

    If use whole fish, fry the fish in more oil until dry

3. add onions, ginger and fry until soft & fragrant 

4. add some water, seasoning & dark soya sauce

5. add spring onions & thickener 

6. dish up, enjoy

FOOCHOW FRIED MUANG NGI

Foochow Poo Muang Ngi

Fuzhou people like to eat shark and sea eel, better known as Muang Ngi

These are sometimes 

salted and used in Foochow Delicacies, usually soups

As such,

many of the local Foochow also cook these,

especially those elder generations

Muang Ngi is yellow in colour

 as shown in the cut chunk in my photo below.

As the name implies

these sea eels are long & weigh from 4-10 kg.

So, normally they are sold in chunks in the market.

Muang Ngi is meaty,

with a lot of bones.

Fortunately, these bones are long and can be easily removed.

Foochow people in China

scrape the meat from the sea eels to make into paste.

Thereby, use it to make the famous 

Foochow Fish Balls 

These Fish Balls are special

because it has pork filling inside!!

Another popular way of cooking the sea eel 

is to fry it in rice wine residue or 'chow'.

If you are lucky

you may still be able to order it,

 in a few of the restaurants in Sitiawan

A simple dish

but loved by many of us.

Poo Muang Ngi
1 chunk muang Ngi
chow (rice wine residue)
salt & pepper to taste
corn flour for coating

1. remove the centre bone. Slice the muang Ngi lengthwise so that you will not
cut across the bones. This way the bones will remain long and can be easily removed
while eating. Cut into the size of your fingers.
2. marinate fish with chow, salt & pepper to taste, leave aside.
3. heat up 1 cup oil for frying
4. coat fish pieces with corn flour, shaking off the excess flour. Fry in hot oil,
    turning to make sure it cooks evenly.
5. remove when cooked, serve.

BRAISED FISH BELLY WITH YAM

Yam is well loved by many, especially the

Foochow people

I remember when I was in Fuzhou 

I saw the yam there as big as my head, some even bigger!

They said,

yam takes one whole year to grow to that size!

So,

yam can be expensive at times.

The various dishes prepared by the Foochow people in China 
with yam includes;

1) sweet yam paste dessert

2) yam paste stuffed in sweet glutinous rice bowls

3) fried yam rings/flowers

4) braised yam

5) yam noodles

To prepare braised fish belly yam you will need the following ingredients:

200g fish belly (from big fish), sliced into big pieces

200g yam, cut into thick pieces

1/2" ginger, smashed

salt, pepper, oyster sauce & soya sauce to taste

1) deep fry fish & yam pieces (half cooked)

2) fry ginger in some oil until fragrant

3) add fish pieces & yam

4) add water and cook until boiling

5) add seasoning according to own liking

6) it is ready when gravy becomes slightly thicken

7) garnish with some cut spring onions & serve

STEAMED FISH HEAD

Fish is my favourite

and I do not bother much about the fishy smell

My favourite way of cooking fish

is steaming

4-5 pieces fish head

1/2" ginger, sliced & shredded

1/2 chilli, shredded

2 stalks spring onion

1/4 tsp salt

Sauce: 

(mix together all ingredients & leave aside)

1 Tbsp soya sauce

2 Tbsp hot water

1 tsp garlic oil

1 tsp fried garlic

1/2 tsp sugar

salt & pepper to taste

rice wine (optional)

1) marinate fish head with salt

2) place spring onion stalks at bottom of steaming plate

3) add pieces of fish head

4) arrange ginger & chilli slices on the fish

5) steam while cooking rice

6) when cooked, pour away the water from the fish

7) season with the prepared sauce 

Notes:

1) Can replace fish head pieces with sliced fish or whole fish. In this case, care must taken not to overcook the fish. So, better to steam it separately rather than cooking together with the rice in the rice pot.

2) must pour away the water from the dish after steaming to get rid of the fishy smell.

NONYA ACAR HU OR PICKLED FISH

Acar Hu

Nonya dishes are known for the tedious preparation

of cutting, pounding & slow frying.

It is indeed time consuming

but the end result is satisfying in both, presentation and taste!

I love Nonya dishes.

This is the one that I tasted once, and asked for more.

It is not easy to come by so I decided to learn to cook it,

and now happily sharing the recipe with you. 

Hope you like it as much as I do. 

Ingredients:

A) 500g ki-ya fish-cleaned,

                            marinate with 1 Tbsp tumeric powder

                                                  1 tsp salt & left for 60min

     3 cup oil

B) 4 Tbsp oil

    100g fresh tumeric-shredded

    50g ginger-shredded



C) 300ml vinegar

    100ml water

     6 Tbsp sugar

D) 10 pips garlic-finely sliced 

     3 red chillies-finely sliced

     3 green chillies-finely sliced

    

E) 2 Tbsp sesame seed-roasted

Method:

1) heat oil in A & deep fry fish until crispy, drain

2) leave 4 Tbsp oil in wok and saute shredded tumeric & ginger

3) when fragrant, remove & leave to cool

4) Cook ingredients in C in a saucepan until boiling, let cool

5) blanch garlic & chillies in D, in boiling water for 1/2min & drain

6) mix A, B, C, D & leave overnight

7) to serve, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds

Tips: prepare B & C one day ahead so that they are totally cooled

        before adding in fish & D (The dish will keep longer this way!)