Love...

“We cannot do great things on this Earth, only small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

HBH's Pork Ribs Soup

When I got home from an outing, mentioned to HBH that I was not having dinner due to a heavy lunch with my friends from the Book Club.
I had prepared Chilli con Carne for his dinner. Feeling tired and lethargic due to the past few days activities, I decided to lie down for a while. My senses were awakening by the smell of cooking permeating upstairs from the kitchen. When I entered to the living room, I found the table was laid for my dinner, chopsticks and all, should I happen to fancy some soup.

The pork ribs soup was robust and delicious without feeling heavy and was a good marriage with the ingredients combined. When asked how he went about preparing it, following was what HBH had to say:

Quote:
Last night at about 7 pm HB said that she was “just going to lie down for 15 minutes” and that she “did not want anything at all to eat.” From years of experience I knew immediately that I had plenty of time to cook something for her when she woke up.
Now when it comes to cooking I model myself on that Canadian guy on TV who cooks without recipes, and I work very much on the TLAR/TSAR/TTAR principle (That Looks About Right/That Smells About Right/That Tastes About Right).
So the following was what I cobbled together during the two hours that HB was lying down for 15 minutes.

Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 50 – 60 minutes

Serves: No idea. Depends on how hungry everybody is and the size of the bowls you serve it up in. However, as a guide the maximum number of servings should equal the number of pork ribs.

Ingredients:
1. About four pints water
2. Pork ribs (in this case there were 6 in the packet but put in as many as you want)
3. Two potatoes, about the size of a man’s fist, cut into 1¼-1½ inch pieces
4. One white radish (about the size of a peach) cut into similar sizes as the potatoes
5. Two large onions cut into 12 portions each
6. 6 cloves of garlic cut into slices
7. Pinch each of salt, ground black pepper, dried chilli flakes and dried coriander
8. Tablespoon each of chilli oil, light soya sauce and EVO
9. Chicken stock cubes or powder (in this case powder).
10. Two carrots diced into approximately ½ inch pieces
11. Large tablespoon of caramelised onions
12. Couple of dried bay leaves (You can use fresh ones – we just have the dried variety)

Method:
1. Put water in a large saucepan on a high heat.
2. Add onions, garlic, bay leaves and pork ribs.
3. Bring to the boil and skim off the scum. It will probably be necessary to do this from time to time during the entire cooking process.
4. Turn heat down to a rapid simmer and add all the other ingredients.
5. After about 10 minutes taste the soup and add more salt/pepper/dried chillies/chicken stock according to taste.
6. Stir occasionally and remove any accumulated scum (although by now there should be very little).
7. Test the vegetables and when they are ready the soup is.

Note: I would have preferred to use chopped up fresh chillies instead of the dried ones. I know we have some in the freezer but I have a suspicion that HB has a secret compartment in it where she keeps all the things I need.

As an alternative to pork ribs, roasted chicken can be substituted. I prefer to take it off the bone but that is a matter of personal preference. It is a good way of using up the remains of a roast chicken dinner as the carcass will add flavour to the soup. When ready to serve remove any of the bones from the soup

The amount of any or all of the ingredients can be varied according to taste. We like to eat spicy food but if you don’t then omit the chillies and the chilli oil.

Unquote:
The only available photo I had was from lunch the next day.

Love .....

“A woman knows the face of the man she loves like a sailor knows the open sea.”

Assam Curry Fish

My friend, Isabella loves fish, appreciates tangy flavours and also likes chillies. With this in mind, I was geared up to prepare Assam Fish Curry for her lunch today.

The following is not my recipe but I can’t remember where I got it from in the first place.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:
1½ lb/750g ikan tengiri/Spanish mackerel or ikan merah/red snapper
½ coconut milk and 1½ cups/375 ml water – mix together
½ inch/120 ml tamarind juice
Salt to taste
4 tablespoons cooking oil

Pounded Ingredients:
8 dried chillies
4 stalks serai/lemon grass
1 inch/2.5 cm kunyit/tumeric
6 cloves garlic
1 thumb size piece ginger

Method:
Wash fish in salt water and drain dry. Cut fish along the length into ½ in/1.3 cm slices.
Heat cooking oil in a pan. Fry fish till slightly brown on both sides. Remove
Put in more oil if necessary. Fry pounded ingredients until fragrant. Add santan (coconut milk), fish and salt to taste. Bring to the boil.
Add tamarind juice and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
Dish up and serve hot.


Note some changes I made to the recipe:
I have included red onions, kaffir lime leaves and two tablespoons of my own home cooked chilli sauce into the pounded ingredients. It's vital that oil seeps to the surface of rempah (pounded ingredients) before proceeding to add in the liquid components. This is instrumental to the success of any curry dishes.

Semi-skimmed milk was used as I did not have any coconut milk.
A pinch of sugar and tamarind juice was incorporated into the sauce, adjusted for seasoning BEFORE the fried fish was added.

Fried White Radish Cake with Prawns

The yearning for fried radish cake is overwhelming again but the problem is in getting fresh radish. The kind available here is of a smaller version but hey, that will have to do. Beggars cannot be choosers. A radish is a radish regardless of the shape and size.

I have never cooked and am not exactly keen on the white version of radish cake but hmmmmmmm, why ever not try experimenting?

I am trying to reproduce this from memory so please advice if I am wrong. Many thanks.

Ingredients:
1. Cooked radish cake, portion for one, sliced lengthwise.
2. Three pieces preserved radish or more, depending on taste, chopped into small pieces.
3. One egg beaten well with a teaspoon of water.
4. One stalk of spring onion, finely sliced.
5. Two cloves of garlic, roughly sliced.
6. Three tablespoons of lard, onion oil or oil of your choice.
7. Eight pieces of medium sized cooked prawns, more/less according to taste.


Method:
1. Medium heat, when pan is hot, add lard, when lard is hot, add sliced up white radish cake.
2. When it's heated through (and optionally cut up into smaller pieces in the pan), push to side of pan. Add preserved radish and when preserved radish starts to 'pop' around, add garlic. When garlic is aromatic without browning, mix mixture well together.
3. Increase heat, add prawns to fried radish cake, stir well and pour egg over mixture. Leave it for a few seconds before flipping cake over. You may need to add more oil around edges of mixture before flipping over. Let mixture set for a few seconds.
4. Garnish with sliced spring onions and serve hot.

Note: No seasoning added as the preserved radish I have in stock was very salty.

Squash with Dried Prawns and Kek Zi

When I was warded in hospital for a major operation two years ago, my friend, Isabella insisted in staying the night over with me in the hospital as she said it would be comforting should I wake up in the middle of the night and see a familiar face and in addition, she was there should I need help in the middle of the night.

I have never forgotten her kindness and it was a blessing to have a friend to care enough to do so unconditionally.

Isabella was in the hospital for an eye operation and I was so blessed to be in a position to reciprocate.

I was wondering what I should cook for her and knowing that we have the same taste, it wasn't much of an issue at all. Green vegetables were not an option as I was clueless as to what time she was allowed food.

The safest bet would be vegetables that can be re-heated without marring the nutrient values which are beneficial to her health.

With this in mind, I decided to cook squash before her scheduled operation.








Ingredients:
1. Four cups of squash, sliced in wedges
2. Two or more cloves of garlic, slightly bruised but left whole
3. One small onion, sliced
4. Two tablespoons of dried prawns, sieve off the impurities
5. One stalk of spring onion/coriander, sliced
6. Dash of white pepper
7. Few drops of sesame oil
8. One teaspoon of corn flour, mixed with two tablespoon of water
9. One cup of chicken stock
10. Two tablespoons of Kek Zi, rinsed and patted dry (optional)
11. Three tablespoons of onion oil or oil of your choice
12. Pinch of sugar
13. Pinch of sea salt

Method:
1. Heat pan and add oil. When pan is hot, lower heat to medium, add garlic, fry still lightly golden, and add dried prawns. Fry till fragrant without burning.
2. Add onion slices and fry till aromatic. Add squash and dash of white pepper. Mix well and fry for about three minutes.
3. Add chicken stock, stir well and leave it to simmer till pumpkin is tender or soft according to your taste. Add more stock if necessary.
4. Add corn flour/potato mixture, kek zi, spring onions and dash of sesame oil. Mix well
5. Serve hot.

Note: Kek Zi aka known as Wolfberry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfberry

Love ....

“Love keeps the cold out better than a cloak.”