Claypot Fish Head

I think I have covered this dish before but as I have used new seasonings and added other ingredients this round, i thought I will blog it down as well. Between this and the last one I blogged, the family preferred today's. 

Ingredients:

- grouper fish head (wash and pat dry)

- corn flour (to powder the fish head)

- roast pork

- long white cabbage (chopped into big pieces)

- cauliflower

- yam (sliced into semi circle)

- bean curd (chopped into rectangular cubes)

- carrot (sliced)

- garlic (chopped)

- ginger (approx. 5-6 slices)

- spring onion (chopped only the white parts)

- others (basically to ur likings. I added Japanese fish cake, crab sticks etc for the kids)

Sauces:

- fish sauce (abt 1 tbsp)

- scallop sauce (abt 1 tbsp)

- oyster sauce (abt 2 tbsp)

- pinch of salt (taste to test the saltiness)

- cornstarch (for thickening)

- water

Early preparation works:

Before we can start cooking, some of the ingredients need to be prepared in advance, like the fish head, bean curd and yam. 

1. Fry the sliced yams and set aside. 

2. Using same oil, fry the bean curds and set aside. 

3. While frying, pat some salt onto the Fishhead and then powder the fish head with corn flour. Set aside for deep frying. 

4.  Once yam and bean curds are ready, pour out the oil and set aside for later use. Add in new oil for deep frying of Fishhead. 

5. Using medium fire, when the oil starts to get hot, (note: not booking), add in the fish head into the oil, with the outer skin facing up. 

6. Using a tong, flip the fish head over after 7mins. Continue to fry again till the fish meat shows traces of brown. Set aside when done. 

At this point, preparation work is over. The actual cooking starts here:

Steps: 

1. Heat the clay pot with 2tbsp of the remaining oil leftover from frying of yam and bean curd. Add in the spring onion, chopped garlic and sliced gingers. Fry till aromatic. 

2. Add in carrot and cauliflower and give a good fry for about 5mins. Add in 1 bowl of water and continue stirring. 

3. Add in the scallop, oyster sauce and the fish sauce. Stir well over high heat. Add a pinch of salt to taste. It should not be too much. We can always add in more towards the end. 

4. Add in the white cabbage. 

5. Add in the bean curd.

6. Add in the roast pork and the Japanese fish cake. 

7. Create a well by pushing the rest of the ingredients to the wall. Gently place in the fried fish head and let it simmer for about 3 mins.

Stir in some cornstarch to thicken the gravy. If the sauce is not salty, add in some salt to enhance the taste. Do rem, saltiness can cause bad health effects. 

8. Add in the crab stick, fried yam and the spring onion last. Close lip to simmer for another 2 min. Off fire, add garnishing and serve. 

Here's the finished product :

Hope you guys will like this one-pot dish. :)

Happy mum

Wongbok Seafood Pork Wraps

GONG HEI FATT CHOY!


hoooohooo.... so I have been busy and lazy.  Its the CNY and its also the pigging out season.  After all the shabu shabus, the luxurious abalone meals, its time to return to something simpler.  But since its still within the CNY period, lets do up something interesting using simple ingredients.

I am using pork ribs and the broth for this.  As the broth used for this dish is actually only about a small bowl worth but I do not want to waste the time and effort, I actually prepared more broth and pork ribs.  The balance meat and broth, I used them to cook porridge for the next meal.  That's like another meal/dish on its own.

Ingredients:
- Pork Ribs Broth (boiled for 1.5hrs or until pork ribs are tender)*
- Pork Ribs (you may substitute for loin meat too, but ribs meat are softer)*
- Yellow Onion (quartered and add into the broth)
- Crabsticks*
- Carrots (shredded)*
 - Spring Onion (chopped lengthwise, approx. 1inch)*
- Scallop Concentrated Sauce (1 tbsp)
- Wongbok (long white cabbage leaves) - leave the leaves in their original forms.

* for the above that I had asterisked, it is really up to you to decide what you wanted to have in your rolls.  Some suggestions: prawns, pork/chicken mince meat,fish paste, scallops etc.  The possibilities are endless.  Let your creativity flows! :)

Steps:
1. Boil the pork ribs, add in the chopped onions.  Boil till the meat are soft.  Estimated 1 hr.  Do not add salt.  Sieve out the pork ribs, remove the bones, slice the meat into chunks.  Set aside.

2. While boiling the pork ribs, set to work on the wongbok.  Using a wide pan, boil with water.  Gently add in the leaves and let it blanched for about 2-3 mins.  Sieve to dry.  Do be gentle with the leaves so as not to break/tear them as they are pretty soft at this stage.

3. Lay the leaves on a clean work station.  Add in one chunk of pork, carrot shreds, spring onion at the thickest part of the leaves, i.e. the stems.  Start to roll inwards.  Continue the next leaf with crabstick, spring onion and carrot shreds.

4. Place the wraps onto a plate and arrange nicely. 

5.  Prepare the Steamer.

6. Using another pan, scoop 1 ladle of pork broth (unsalted still) into the pan.  Add in the scallop concentrate and bring to a simmer.  When the stock starts bubbling, pour over the wraps.  You can now send the plate of Wongbok into the steamer.

7.  Steam for 6 mins.

8. Dish, garnish and serve.

Happy steaming!
Happy mum