Shark Fin Melon Soup

If I say the art of boiling soup plays a big role in the Cantonese food heritage, I don't think you will have any objection on this. Recall the very motherly roles in Hong Kong series, they are good in boiling soup.

Being a Cantonese who got married to another Cantonese, don't think our home will ever lack of soups. I make it a point to have at least two simmered soups (煲湯, 'bao tang') and two quick boiled soups (滾湯, 'gun tang') every week. I have heard from mothers that it is difficult to make their kids drink soup but thank God, I don't have this problem with Jeriel. Probably he is so used to having soups since he started taking solids.

Today's recipe is a real simple one. I am not sure how difficult it is for you who are staying in overseas to get hold of shark fin melon （鱼翅瓜）but you can always replace it with winter melon （冬瓜）.

Shark Fin Melon Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients:

500g pork ribs or bones

900g shark fin melon (鱼翅瓜), skinned, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces

50g red dates

10g dried squids

100g salted vegetable (大头菜）

2.5L water

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Clean pork bones/ribs. In a pot, add water enough to cover the pork bones or ribs; bring water and bones/ribs to a boil. Continue to boil for 2-3 minutes to get rid of impurities and blood stains. Wash bones again under running water.

2. In another pot, combine all ingredients except salt, including the cleaned pork bones/ribs. Bring to a boil, lower heat and continue to boil for 2 hours.

3. Season with salt, if necessary.

Love,

Aubergines in Hot Bean Sauce (辣酱茄子）

The meat and vegetable supplies were running low before the Hari Raya holiday but I couldn't drag myself to the fresh market or Carrefour (my usual grocery shopping place). I was simply lethargic. This happened to me pretty frequently indeed. I could get really lagging in shopping for food at times.

So, I was looking at the vegetable tray of the refrigerator for inspiration, or rather what ingredients could be put together for just another dish. There it was, the mini aubergines. I like aubergines but prefer to deep fry them to get rid of the 'green' smell. Sauces like yellow bean sauce, sambal or hot bean sauce are normally what I opt to go with the deep fried aubergines. Today's recipe is a typical way of how I like to cook aubergines.


Aubergines in Hot Bean Sauce (辣酱茄子）
Serves 2

Ingredients:
5 mini aubergines, cut lengthwise into 4
1-2 tsp salt for coating

2 tbsp dried shrimps, soaked till soft, chopped
3 shallots, chopped

Oil for deep frying

Seasoning:
2 tbsp hot bean sauce
3 tbsp water
1 tsp sugar or to taste


Method:

1. Put all aubergine slices into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle salt, give them a rough mix to make sure all aubergine slices are coated with salt. Set aside for 10 minutes. Drain juice of aubergines. Pat dry with kitchen towels.
2. Heat oil in wok. Deep fry aubergines until soft and golden brown. Dish up and drain oil well.
3. Saute chopped shallots and chopped dried shrimps in 1 tbsp oil until fragrant. Add in bean sauce, water and taste with sugar. Bring it to a boil.
4. Add in aubergines. Give contents a quick stir to make sure all aubergines are coated with sauce. Dish up and serve hot.

Easy Sweet & Sour Chicken (简易糖醋鸡）

The first time I came across chicken popcorns was at a dinner at my brother-in-law's place. My sister-in-law cooked them the simple way; just deep fried without having any sauce to go with them. First bite and I liked it straight away. There were not as meaty as chicken nuggets neither they were too battery with just flour.

I have always liked to pair these chicken popcorns with sweet and sour sauce. This dish has never failed to be the winner on our dining table. I hope it will the same case on yours too :)

Easy Sweet & Sour Chicken (简易糖醋鸡)

Ingredients:

1 packet (400g) chicken popcorns

Sauce:

2 medium size onions, cut into wedges

1 tomato, cut into wedges

3-4 tbsp cooking oil for stir frying

2-3 tbsp tomato sauce

100ml water

1/2 tsp rice vinegar (optional)

2 tsp sugar

Cornstarch + water, as thickener

Method:

1. Deep fry chicken popcorns according to direction on packaging.

2. Heat oil in a work/pan till smoky hot. Fry onion till fragrant, add in tomato wedges and continue to fry for about half a minute.

3. Add water, bring to a boil. Cook until tomato is soft. Taste with vinegar and sugar.

4. Add in cornstach solution to thicken the sauce. Return fried chicken popcorns to wok and give it a quick stir such that all chicken popcorns are coated with sauce.

5. Serve hot with white rice or fried noodles.

Notes:

1. To enhance flavour and color of sauce, add in canned pineapple slices, red and green capcicums instead of just tomatoes and onions.

Chicken popcorns

Merdeka Open House 2008: Pan Mee

I have to thank Babe for picking my idea, fixing the theme of this year's Merdeka Open House event as Mee and My Malaysia.

I am actually away from Kuala Lumpur, blogging all the way from my hometown, Sandakan. Yes, I am a proud East Malaysian, Sabahan to be specific, coming back home for the National Day long weekend break. I am not quite sure why but I am prone to raised-eyebrows whenever I mention that I originate from Sabah. Then, the conversation would proceed to questions like, 'Do people in Sabah still live on trees', 'Do you people travel in boats (luckily not sampan)?', 'So you are surrounded by refugees?', etc..... Oh my, I wonder how well school sujects like Geography and History actually help.

Despite the suggestion of submitting something that could be the comfort food of one's family, I've decided to do it a little differently. My submission for this annual event is actually a one-bowl noodle dish which I was not familiar with as a child and teenager. It was not until I left home for KL for my studies that this dish became one of my favourites.

Pan Mee, or literally means 'Sheet Noodles' owing to the flat, thin shape of the noodles, is believed to originate from the Hokkian province of China. As Sabah is basically dominated by the Cantonese and Hakka , it's not surprising that this dish is not popular in this part of the country. So, my ignorance as a child is excusable, I believe :). So, I brought back the idea, and made this noodle dish for my parents today. An aunthetic version, at least to my knowledge, and here it is.


Merdeka Open House 2008: Pan Mee
Serves 6

Ingredients:

(A) Noodles:
300g all purpose flour
200g high protein flour
1.5 tsp salt
3 eggs
8-10 tbsp water
2 tbsp corn oil
Tapioca flour for dusting

(B) Minced meat:
400g lean pork meat, minced
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
Few drops of sesame oil
Dash of pepper
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Oil for frying

Seasoning:
1.5 tbsp oyster sauce
1-2 tbsp dark soy sauce
Salt & pepper to taste

(C)
30g black fungus, soaked till soft and shredded
5 chinese mushrooms, soaked till soft and sliced
50g ikan bilis (anchovies), deep fried till crispy
3L chicken broth
30g leaves of sayur manis
Fried shallots



Method:

1. To prepare handmade noodles, please refer to an old recipe of mine here.
2. Marinade minced pork in light soy sauce, cornstarch, sesame oil and pepper in (B) for at least 1 hour. Heat oil in a pan, fry chopped garlic till fragrant. Add minced meat and fry till half-cooked. Add in mushroom and continue to fry. Add a little water if too dry. Season with oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, salt and pepper.
3. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add 1 tsp salt and few drops of oil into water. Blanch noodles in boiling water until cooked. Remove and soak in cold water. Remove noodles from cold water and drain. Divide into bowls.
4. Bring chicken broth to boil. Add black fungus and sayur manis; continue to boil for a while but not to overcook vegetable.
5. Pour soup into bowls of noodles. Top with minced meat mixture, deep fried anchovies and garnish with deep fried shallots. Serve immediately.

Left: Raw pan mee from pasta mchine; Right: Boiling chicken broth

Deep frying sliced shallots

Taiwanese Stewed Chicken, with a twist (三杯鸡）

This week of mine started with a sprained shoulder. My back was not feeling right throughout the night which resulted in a really bad rest. When I woke up on Monday morning, the pain got worse and the neck was stiffer and stiffer until I could barely turn my head. I knew it came back again. This was not my first time spraining the same spot. Still feeling pain after 2 days but it is a lot better now.

Today's recipe is a Taiwanese dish which I think almost every Taiwanese family knows how to prepare. I have never tasted the authentic 三杯鸡 so this is my version after referring to a few recipe books. Accoridng to a Taiwanese friend whom I shared the same apartment with during the university days, there were many versions of 三杯鸡 but the traditional way of making 三杯鸡 was to cook the chicken in 1 cup of sesame oil, 1 cup of Chinese cooking wine and 1 cup of light soy sauce (hence 三杯 which means 3 cups) together with other ingredients like ginger, spring onions and basil leaves until the gravy thickened. Guess mine is a simplified version.


Taiwanese Stewed Chicken, with a twist (三杯鸡）
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 kampung (free-range) chicken, chopped into pieces
2 chili, seeded and sliced
3 slices ginger
3 stalks spring onions, cut into 3-4 cm lengths
3 tbsp cooking oil
200ml water
20g Thai basil leaves

Marinade:
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp Kikkoman Soy Sauce (or other brands)

Seasoning:

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

1 tbsp black vinegar

Sesame oil to taste

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt or to taste



Method:

1. In a bowl, marinade chicken with cornstarch and soy sauce for at least 1 hour.
2. Heat oil in a wok or pan until smoky hot. Fry chili, ginger and spring onions until fragrant.
3. Add in chicken and continue to fry. Add Chinese cooking wine.
4. Pour in water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until meat is tender. Add water if required.
5. Add in black vinegar, sesame oil and taste with sugar and salt.
6. Add basil leaves and give the dish a quick stir. Dish out and serve hot with white rice.

American Ginseng & Lotus Seed Soup (花旗蔘莲子瘦肉汤)

I had a chance to visit my boss's family in Toronto last year. I managed to do some shopping although it was not really a long trip, as the idea was actually to meet her up at Toronto before flying together to Omaha, USA to attend the annual ICES exhibition.

I guess the first thing one could think of bringing back from Canada as souvenir is its maple syrup. So apart from bringing this, I did grab some newly discovered asian sauces, different varieties of BBQ sauces, nuts, dried berries, interesting kitchen gadgets, and not forgetting the famous American Ginseng. If you ever consider buying ginseng in bulk, you may want to bring it back in its original root form and store it air tightly in the freezer. Chopping it into thin slices encourages moisture loss. What I normally do when I need to use the ginseng is, take the amount of ginseng (still in its root form) enough for 2-3 times of soup making and get it chopped for RM5 at the herbal shop opposite of my office.

Today's recipe is a simple way of boiling tonic soup with American Ginseng. As a matter of fact, I am in the mid of clearing my pantry, especially the old 'stock'. You will see more recipes from me.


American Ginseng & Lotus Seed Soup (花旗蔘莲子瘦肉汤)
Serves 4

Ingredients:
15g American ginseng
40g lotus seeds
160g lean pork, sliced
2L water
Salt to taste


Method:

1. Clean ginseng and lotus seeds thoroughly. Soak them till soft.
2. Including the water for soaking ginseng and lotus seeds, except salt, combine all ingredients in a pot and bring it to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and keep simmering for 1 hour. Taste with salt. Serve hot.

The Art of Boiling Soup

A lot of us claim that boiling soup is the easiest thing to do in the art of cooking. It looks like boiling soup is just a matter of combining all ingredients in to a pot, bring it to a boil, lower the heat and simmer or double boil for 2-3 hours. It is not difficult, really, but if we were to get hold of the little tricks in making soup, our soups will turn out to be better, in terms of taste and nutritional value.

1. Selection of ingredients - Meats and vegetables used for boiling soup have to be as fresh as possible. To cut down oiliness, pick only parts like lean meat, chicken breast, pork bones, ribs, chicken feet, chicken wings etc. In the case of using chicken carcasses, trim all fats. Point (2) below also helps in getting rid part of oiliness of meats.
2. Pre-treatment of raw ingredients - Clean all meats, bones, vegetables and herbs thoroughly. Ingredients like bones/ribs/carcasses and preferably also herbs have to be boiled and removed their fats and impurities. Follow Step 1 of below recipe for pre-treatment of meats and bones. Take note that water must not be brought to a boil before meats or bones are added. The temperature of the hot boiling water causes a sudden shrinkage at the outer layer of the meat, forming a 'skin' that prevents juices of meats from loosing into the water. This is not desired in soup boiling as what we want is the essence of meat in our soup.
3. Addition of ingredients - The addition of ingredients, including meats, vegetables, herbs and other dried ingredients into the soup has to be done when the water is still cold due to the same reason as mentioned in Point 2 above.
4. Boiling time - Boiling time defers according to the ingredients being used. Soup that contains pork bones has to be boiled longer while fish soup can be ready within 1 hour.
5. Impurities and oil - Despite the pre-treatment in Point 2, there will still be impurities and oil in the soup due to the long boiling process. Use a fine strainer to remove these.
6. Seasoning - Salt can only be added at the end of the boiling process, before serving. Addition of salt at the begining of the boiling will cause contraction in the meat protein, making it difficult for juices/essence of meat from penetrating into the soup. Soup that contains seafood is normally seasoned with ginger (shreds or juice) and group black pepper to rid the strong smell of most seafood.

Sweet Corn & Pork Bone Soup

Ingredients:
500g pork bones or ribs
2 sweet corns, halved
2 carrots, cut into sections
2 candied dates (金丝蜜枣）
2.5L water
Salt to taste (I needed only 1/2 tsp)


Method:

1. Clean pork bones/ribs. In a pot, add water enough to cover the pork bones or ribs; bring water and bones/ribs to a boil. Continue to boil for 2-3 minutes to get rid of impurities and blood stains. Wash bones again under running water.
2. In another pot, combine all ingredients, including the cleaned pork bones/ribs. Bring to a boil, lower heat and continue to boil for 2 hours.
3. Season with salt, if necessary.

Reference:

http://www.ytower.com/

Shanghai Red Bean Pancake

For all who loves Shanghai Pancakes like I do, this is for you....


Shanghai Red Bean Pancakes
Makes 6

Ingredients:
180g all purpose/plain flour
375g water
2 eggs
220g red bean paste (optional: lotus or red date paste)
Oil for frying


Method:

1. Add flour into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre; add in water and eggs. Use a hand whisk to mix well.
2. Heat a non-stick pan. Pour approx. 1/2 tsp oil in to pan. Lower the heat and wait for approx. 30 sec for the temperature of the pan to reduce. (Note 1)
3. Pour in batter. Swirl the pan to form a thin pancake skin. Continue to cook on low heat on just one side of the pancake until just cooked/set.
4. Remove from pan. Be careful not to break the pancake skin when transferring it to a plate/chopping board. Let cool. You should have some batter left over after making 6 x 10 inch pancakes. Set aside for sealing later.
5. Spread red bean paste thinly on half of the pancake. Brush edges with left-over batter, fold into half to enclose paste. Seal tightly. Roughly prick pancakes with toothpick/skewer (Note 2).
6. Heat a little oil in non-stick frying pan. Fry both sides of pancakes until golden brown and crispy. Dish out, let cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut into desired shapes.
   

Notes:

1. Too hot a pan causes the batter to cook fast as soon as it is poured in. When the batter has set, it doesn't allow the extras to be swirled to the sides of the pan, often results in thicker skin. If this is your first time making Shanghai pancakes, try using the first few pancakes to find out the right heat control and the right amount of batter for your frying pan.
2. For air to escape during frying.

Special Feature: Nutritious Tonic Soups I

I know how hectic life can be for a full-time working mom, because I am one. We are constantly struggling in balancing our time between work and family. We want to excel in our career and at the same time trying to do our very best as a wife and a mother, to allocate time for our family. How many times you wanna cook a delicious and nutritious meal for your family, but ended up having to scrap the idea because you couldn't get back on time before dinner? Or, you simply do not have any idea where to start planning your menu?

Lately, I have been going through books and webpages to find out new recipes on soup. I have been boiling the same old soups all these years. It's time to have a revamp in my soup menu since Jeriel is fully on solid now. The first few years of life are extremely important to the growth and development of a kid. A child's diet in the first few years are of vital importance, as this is the crucial time when the foundations for future good health are laid. It matters for a lifetime.

This is going to be the first in this series of my soup recipes. I am going to first introduce the slightly time consuming 'simmered' soup (煲湯, 'bao tang') then it will be the 'boiled' soup (滾湯, 'gun tang') in my next feature. Since these soups are meant for busy working moms, even the so-called 'simmering', it shall not take more than 1 hour. I truly hope you will find these recipes useful. Have fun making soup!

Recipes coming soon.........

1. Apple Seaweed & Pork Rib Soup
2. Chicken & Mixed Vegetable Soup
3. Apple & White Fungus Soup

Yam Rice (Taro Rice 芋头饭)

Taro, is more commonly referred as Yam by the Malaysian although scientifically, they are not considered the same thing. I try to use the term Taro as much as I can whenever I am sharing recipes on the internet, I still tend to feel more comfortable using Yam instead of Taro for goodies made from this root. Thanks to my truly Malaysian origin ;)

I had a chance trying Yam Rice at a real popular shop in Kluang, Johor recently. Hot boiling Bak Kut Teh (literally means meat & bone tea) served with yam rice, it was just so good. I have heard about yam rice some time ago but have never had any chance tasting it until this trip down to Kluang. This dish left me some yam so they were transformed into real tasty Yam Rice, served with a huge bowl of Bak Kut Teh, as our lazy Sunday dinner. Little Jeriel liked the rice very much but he ate it the strange way though, with tomato sauce

Yam Rice (Taro Rice芋头饭)

(Adapted from Kuali.com)

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

2 rice cups(300g) of rice, washed and drained

4 shallots, sliced

20g dried shrimps, soaked and chopped

6 mushrooms, soaked and diced

300g yam, diced

4 tbsp oil for frying

Seasoning:

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tsp light soy sauce

Few drops of sesame oil

Dash of pepper

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp concentrated chicken stock

4 rice cups water

1.5 tsp dark soy sauce, for color when necessary

Garnishing:

Chopped spring onions

Method:

1. Prepare all the ingredients as directed above.
2. Heat oil in a wok. Fry shallots till golden brown.
3. Add dried shrimps and fry till fragrant. Add in yam and mushrooms. Continue to fry till half-cooked.
4. Add rice and seasoning. Stir-fry to incorporate well.
5. Dish out to rice cooker, add water and boil rice as usual.
6. Serve rice hot with chopped spring onions spinkled on top.
   

Stir-Fried Pork Shreds with Szechuan Pickle (榨菜炒肉丝)

This is a traditional Szechuan dish. There is another version of this dish that involves much more ingredients than today's recipe. Apart from the main ingredients lean pork shreds and Szechuan pickle, it also contains shreds of chilies, capsicums, onions, and sometimes shredded carrots and even dried shrimps.

There are only pork shreds and Szechuan pickle in this recipe of mine. This dish has been served in my own family for as long as I could remember. My mom is very good at cooking this, easy to prepare and yet so appetising due to the salty sourish pickle. I could finish a bowl of rice by just having this dish alone. Any left over could just be popped on to a bowl of ramen (noodles), in soup or in soy sauce mixture, and you will have a bowl of yummilicious Szechuan Shredded Pork Noodles (榨菜肉丝面).


Stir-Fried Pork Shreds with Szechuan Pickle (榨菜炒肉丝)

Ingredients:
150g lean pork, cut into long thin shreds
1 packet Szechuan pickle (Note 1)
3 slices of ginger, cut into fine shreds
2 tbsp chopped garlic
Oil for stir-frying
1/2 cup water

Seasoning:
1.5 tsp Shaoxing cooking wine
1 tsp sugar (Note 2)
1 tsp light soy sauce (Note 2)

Marinade:
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp light soy sauce
Dash of pepper


Method:

1. Marinade shredded pork with marinating ingredients for overnight in the refrigerator (for better taste), or at least for 1 hour at room temperature.
2. Remove Szechuan pickle from its packet in to a bowl. Soak for 15 minutes. Wash and drain well. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok/pan until smoking stage. Add ginger and garlic, fry till fragrant.
4. Add marinated pork and fry for just a while until the outer part of pork is cooked.
5. Add wine from the sides of the wok and let the wine flows down to the dish. Heat of the wok will evaporate the wine to create nice aroma.
6. Add in pickle now and continue to fry until pork is 50-60% cooked. Pour in water. Lower the fire, cover with lid and let it simmer for about 1 minute. Add more water if required. Stir once in a short while.
7. Season with sugar and soy sauce (Note 2). Dish out and serve with white rice.

Notes:

1. I stick to this brand of Szechuan pickle as it is the least salty, need very little pre-treatment prior to cooking. Anyhow, it is suggested to still give it a quick soak to get rid of more of its saltiness.
2. The amount of sugar and light soy sauce is very much dependent on the type/brand of Szechuan pickle you are using. Please adjust these two ingredients accordingly.
3. Left over of this dish can be used to top noodles for a quick Sunday brunch or supper.

Does this sound attractive enough for you to pick the ingredients and start cooking now?

Braised Pork Rib & Taro in Claypot

It may not look nice in the photo, but this dish is absolutely delicious! This dish has been in my must-try list for quite some time. During weekdays when I need to rush to work before 10am, meal must be cooked in 45 mins after sending Jeriel to school. Due to the slow braising process, I had to cancel the plan of cooking this dish several times. I am on leave today so had a little extra time to execute the plan. Do try this out, highly recommended.

Braised Pork Rib & Taro in Claypot
Serves 4

Ingredients:
500g pork ribs, chopped into 3 cm lengths
200g taro, cut into rectangular pieces
5 dried mushrooms, soaked till soft and cut into halves
2 stalks spring onions, cut into 5 cm lengths
3-4 tbsp oil for frying
Water

Marinade:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp cornstarch

Seasoning:
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp Shao Xing cooking rice wine Dash of pepper

Method:

1. Marinade pork ribs with marinade ingredients.
2. Heat oil in claypot. Fry spring onions until fragrant.
3. Add ribs and fry for approx. 1 min. Add wine and continue to fry.
4. Add taro and mushrooms. Fry till ribs are half cooked.
5. Add water enough to cover the content. Seasoning with seasoning, cover and cook on low heat for approx. 30 minutes or until ribs are tender and taro has turned mashy.
6. Serve hot with chopped spring onions and coriander sprinkled on top.

Braised Yee Mee in Claypot

I was on leave yesterday as I needed to bring Jeriel to the Orthoptist. Thank God everything was fine. Jeriel was free from serious visual disorder at the moment. (There is family history on Daddy's side). We just need to go back for check-up when Jeriel is 4.



So this was our lunch, Braised Yee Mee in Claypot.

Recipe to come later.

Chinese New Year Series - Hong Kong Style Radish Cake

It is really not that popular for the Malaysian Chinese to have radish cake for Chinese New Year (CNY). I know it is almost a practice to have it during the CNY in Hong Kong though. The main difference between the radish cakes in Hong Kong and Malaysia is that, the chopped ingredients like chinese sausages, mushrooms, dried shrimps and shallots are mixed into the batter before steaming while the Malaysians prefer to first steam a plain radish cake and then the chopped ingredients are sprinkled on to the cooked radish cake before serving with some tim jiong, literally means 'sweet sauce' to the Malaysians or more commonly known as hoisin sauce. These are more like a garnishing although they are actually the heart of the radish cake. During the normally days, you can easily find almost everywhere at the hawker stalls plain steamed radish cakes cut into cubed and fried with preserved radish and eggs.

Hong Kong Style Radish Cake
Makes one 7 inch square

Ingredients:
1 radish (approx. 500g)
2 cups water
2 nos. chinese sausages, skinned then diced
4 nos. chinese mushrooms, soaked till soft then diced
20g dried shrimps, soaked till soft then roughly chopped
2 nos. shallots, sliced
3-4 tbsp oil, for frying
Extra oil for greasing
150g rice flour
30g wheat starch (tung min flour)

Seasoning:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp chicken granules (optional)
Few drops of sesame oil
Dash of pepper

Hoisin sauce to serve

Method:

Refer to step-by-step photographs here

1. Skin and cut radish with a knife to long thin strips. Place radish with 2 cups of water in a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until radish is soft. Let cool.
2. Clean and grease 7 inch square pan with oil.
3. Clean and soak oth dried shrimps and dried mushrooms until soften. Chop dried shrimps slightly. Cut mushrooms into small cubes.
4. Soak chinese sausages in water to ease the removal of casing. Cut sausages into small cubes.
5. Heat oil in a pan/wok. Fry shallots until fragrant. Add in chinese sausages, mushrooms and dried shrimps and continue to fry until fragrant. Season with the seasoning ingredients. Set aside to let cool a little.
6. Drain cooked radish well. Save and obtain approx. 200ml of the juice from the boiling of radish. Pour away the excess or top up with water if not sufficient.
7. Combine rice flour and wheat starch in a large mixing bowl. Pour radish juice and mix with a hand whisk to obtain smooth batter. Add cooked radish and the rest of the fried ingredients into the batter. Mix well. Pour mixture into the greased pan.
8. Steam over rapid boiling water for 1 hour or until chopstick inserted into radish cake comes out clean.
9. Remove from steamer and let cool completely before slicing. Reheat in steamer or microwave. Serve with hoisin sauce (tim jiong). Alternatively, pan fry with some oil until golden brown.

Notes:

1. The portion of water to radish is important in determining the texture of the final product. I always give flexibility to my students when I teach so I will do the same here. The above suggested amount of the water serves as a guide for a texture that I think is good. Try it out and adjust to your family's preference. At the end of the day, your family members will be the ones who are going to appreciate your goodies :)
2. Add cooked radish to form a batter while it is still hot so that a thick nice paste is formed before steaming.
3. To save time, it is actually a more common practice to shred the radish with a shredder. Cutting, instead of shredding, the radish does improve the texture of the radish cake. Again, cutting is an alternative way from me for your consideration.