Bah Kut Teh Strikes Again!

Lately, I have been extremely fond of Bah Kut Teh. Maybe because it is simple to make and need no cooking experience at all. I have tried many types of BKT herbs from the chinese medical halls to the pre-packed packets on the supermarket shelves. All have their own speciality tastes but so far, I find this one very authentic indeed.

First of all, it consists of 2 packets of dried herbal spice mix and 1 packet of dark colored soya sauce-like substance. Aha! that sauce-like substance it the secret! and it is MSG free. Superb! I really have a distinct dislike towards MSG, just can't stand that stuff. The address on the box says, the 'One Fine Shop' is located at 79, Jalan SS25/32, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Tel : (03) 7729 4771. Please don't get me wrong, they did not pay me to sell their products but I must take a trip there to purchase the BKT soup mix for myself. This is solely for self gratification only.

To cook is so simple, just open the box and put the 2 packet of herbal spice mix (uncut) into 1600ml of boiling water and dunk in 2 bulbs of garlic with the bottom sliced off (for a better aroma and the garlic will not melt into the soup). Simmer for 1/2 hour.

Wash the meat and boil it for 8 minutes in a pot of boiling water (to rid the meat of impurities), I especially like offals but I decided to stay with the spare ribs (500 gms) and a 400 gm piece of pork shoulder (uncut) this time round. Put them in the simmering soup for 1 hour.

At the same time, cut open 1 packet of tofu puffs and cut them into halves, blanche them it boiling water for 5 minutes and dunk them into the simmering soup.

Open 1 can of large button mushrooms, rinse them and put them into the simmering soup about 10 minutes before we put in the special sauce. This sauce is added 5 minutes before the dish is ready to be served. This one pot dish goes very well with steamy hot fluffly rice and some blanched leafy vegetables with garlic oil and a drizzle of light soya sauce.

Smoked Oyster Fried Rice

Every housewhole would have their own favourite style of frying rice. I accidentally stumbled upon a can of S&W fancy whole smoked oysters in my larder and huge bowl of left-over plain rice in the fridge. Put them together and what have you got? Bippity Boppity fried rice!

1 can of S&W fancy whole smoked oysters
10 prawns (peeled and deveined)
3 black chinese mushrooms (sliced thinly)
some leafy choy sum (short sprigs)

some long beans (diced)

1 egg

sesame oil

2 shallots (chopped)

2 clove garlic (chopped)

Seasoning :-
dark soya sauce
light soya sauce

salt and pepper

accompaniment:-

3 bird eye chilis (sliced)
2 large red chilis (sliced)

light soya sauce

Drizzle a wok with olive oil and sesame oil, throw in the chopped garlic and shallots, then add black mushrooms, oysters and prawns. Sautee till fragrant, beat in an egg and add in the vegetables and rice. Drizzle in all the seasoning and fry.

As for the sliced chilis, just add light soya sauce and eat as a tastebud appetiser.

Sticky Chili Pork Ribs

I once tasted a very well roasted pork ribs while vacationing in Sydney, Australia and it tasted so good, I couldn't resist and asked for the recipe from the proprietor. Surprisingly, he recited the recipe to me and I tried it at home and it tasted almost like the real deal. Maybe the difference lies in the piece of ribs itself. Australia has really fresh produce, from vegetables to all sorts of meat, even the spices are excellent. No wonder Kylie Kwong always insist on the freshest of everything, lucky her.

1 kg of baby pork ribs (soft ribs) - washed, pat dry and uncut.

Marinate with;

5 Tbsp sweet chili sauce (I use Lingam's - not very spicy)

3 Tbsp honey

a dash of dark soya sauce

ginger juice (2")

2 Tbsp apple cider (Braggs)

sea salt and black pepper

a dash Lea & Perrin sauce

1 Tbsp custard powder

Pre-heat oven at 200 degree celcius. Drizzle some olive oil on the ribs, put 2 small cubes of butter on top and pop it into the oven. Roast the ribs for 40 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of the ribs, basking it with its own drippings every 20 minutes. Turn down the heat after 20 minutes.

Leave ribs to cool for 15 minutes before cutting them into sticks. If serving adults only, add a few dashes of brandy, left-over red wine or even Jack Daniel.

Easter Sunday

As a matter of sequence of events, the passover dinner is followed closely by Good Friday, which by right is called God's Friday. This is the day that Jesus was crucified on the cross where he shed his blood to cleanse us of our sins, even before we were born. I am actually totally blown away by the fact that who on earth or in heaven would died for us? Who are we anyway? 'For God so loved the world, He gave his only begotten son, whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life'. John 3:16. That is how much God loves us. Good Friday is a day to bring to remembrance of this day.

On the 3rd day Jesus rose to heaven and is seated on the right hand of God the Father. Mark 16:19. This is the ressurection of Christ, the son of the living God! we greet this day with feasting and triumphant celebration for God has overcome death and is alive in us today. Romans 3:23-24, 'for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus'.

Many celebrate Easter just like any other festivals but for me personally, would like to make this day a memorable one for my family. I choose lamb because of the term 'sacrificial lamb'. People then expected a messiah or saviour to come with a loud bang just like our super heroes saving the world but none knew Jesus choose the come in total humility, as a lamb of God.

Easter is in Spring where spring lamb is in abundance. Tender and succulent meat slightly lower in fats makes a wonderful grill or roast. Lamb cutlets is my choice of the day served with a ragout of portobello and white country mushrooms, fresh crispy curly salad, french loaf and a glass of full-bodied red wine.

This photo shot on the right is spring lamb cutlets, I hunted all round, from Mr Ho's fine food shop to the cold storage supermarket, nobody seem to have spring lamb instead only New Zealand or Australian lamb cutlets were on sale. So, let's just make do with these cuts I have bought (below).

I guess it's almost there but slightly heavier on the fats and may taste different.

The marinate for the cutlets are kept plain and simple with some sea salt straight from the mill, organic black peppercorns which I just purchased a week ago, drizzle of some olive oil and sprigs of fresh rosemary herbs. Heat oven at 210 degree celsius and roast the lamb cutlets for 30 - 40 minutes uncovered. This is to allow all the fats to melt away from the cutlets and the blend of fats, butter and olive oil will flavour the cutlets as it cooks. Take the cutlets out of the roasting pan with a pair of tongs. Cutlets should be crispy and very aromatic when done.

As for the mushrooms, a ragout seems fine. Cut portobello into small uneven chunks with a paring knife, do the same with the white mushrooms, heat a saucepan and drizzle olive oil and a small cube of butter (butter on its own burns easily). Chop some garlic and sautee in the saucepan. Throw in the mushroom chunks and stir until its juices comes out. Add 1 tsp balsamic vinegar and season with sea salt. Serve on a bed crispy curly salad.

Dessert is some crackling top cupcakes with fresh strawberry jam oozing out (named blood of christ) and chocolate cupcakes covered with icing sugar which I nicknamed them Mt Sinai.

Butter a loaf of french bread and throw it into the oven just 10 minutes before the lamb is done. You will then get a wonderful flavourful crispy loaf. Open a bottle of red wine and ........

A simple Easter dinner is served!

Passover Dinner

People around the world celebrate Christmas, believers and non-believers enjoy this festive season alike. There are many more christian celebrations besides christmas and this weekend is one of them. It is my heart's desire to share a little about this weekend's christian celebration with all my faithful bloggers. As widely celebrated like any festivals eg. Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, Deepavali etc, this weekend starts with the 'Passover Dinner' which is a requirement for the Jewish people (Ex 12:14) and we believe that Jesus observed the feast in what we know as the 'Last Supper'.

As Christians and people of the new covenant in Christ, we have no obligation to observe this Old Testament feast. However, this feast is significant to our understanding of God's redemptive purposes (1 Cor 10:11).

The proceedings of this symbolic dinner is outlined as follows; 2 candles are lighted at the start to remind us that we are not here to feast but to observe and remember what Jesus has done for us. To get our hearts ready to celebrate and tell the story of deliverance, freedom and redemption.

In the days preceeding the Passover, it is tradition to clean the house thoroughly and the evening before the passover all trace of leaven/yeast is removed from the house. In removing the leaven, we symbolize our willingness to obey God in preparation for celebrating the deliverance He has already brought to his people. This meal has no leaven, it signifies the attitude of penitence, the willingness to remove any corrupting influence in our lives and submit to God in obedience. We are suppose to search for any hidden sins in our hearts that might prevent us from celebrating the joy of this festival.

God gave promises of freedom to His people with 4 cups from the fruit of the vine (wine) to celebrate what we call God's promises to Israel and to us. In the 4 cups we drink, celebrates the 4 'I will' promises of God; Freedom, Deliverance, Redemption and Thanksgiving.

Food on the dinner plate are as follows;

Matzah - unleaven bread reminds them (the Israelites) of the haste in which they left Egypt.

Maror - a bitter herb usually horseradish reminds them that they were servants to slavery.

Karpas - a sprig of vegetable (parsley or celery) dipped in salt water symbolises the coming of spring which brings hope and the salt water are the tears they cried in Egypt.

Charoset - is a sweet desssert made from apple, nuts, spices and wine has the appearance of straw in remembrance of the mortar used to build ther treasure cities for pharoah. It is a symbol of hope of freedom that enabled their ancestors to withstand the bitter slavery.

Zeroa - the shankbone remind them that there has to be blood sacrificed to save their lives.

Our Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, Holy is your name! Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, adn forgive us our trepasses, as we forgive those who trepass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For yours is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Semi-Soupy 'Bah Kut Teh'

When we speak of bah kut teh, a delicious pot of porky herbal soup comes immediately to mind. The herbs used to make the soup has its own medical values not to mention sumptous to gobble down. It was only recently, I realised that there is another way to cook bah kut teh. This style is more gravy like instead of soupy. Both ways appeal to me just as well. I would like to post this gravy like bah kut teh cos I believe not many people have tried it this way. It's slightly more complicated then the soupy one but worth a try for all the die-hard 'Bah Kut Teh Fans' out there!

1 packet of claypot brand herb and spices mix
15 black chinese mushrooms (presoaked in hot water and stems removed, drained)
1 packet of brown top shimeji mushrooms (roots trimmed and washed lightly)
1 can of baby corn (optional)

2 rack of baby pork ribs (approx. 500 gm each)
1 whole pork shoulder including the fats and skin

tofu puffs (cut in half, boiled in hot water and drained)

Marinate the pork with the below:-
dark soya sauce
light soya sauce
oyster sauce
brown sugar
sea salt and pepper
cornflour

Boil 1 litre of water in a huge claypot together with the herb and spices mix, 2 bulbs of garlic (sliced at the bottom) and a portion of the above marinate. Simmer the pot for 40 minutes on low heat.

Heat the wok and drizzle with olive oil. Throw in some crushed garlic cloves and drained chinese mushrooms. Sautee till fragrant and sear the pork one by one. Careful not the burn, adding a little stock from the huge claypot if needed. Put the pork shoulder, ribs and chinese mushrooms into the claypot to simmer for 1 hour. Turning the meat and stirring the pot from time to time. When the soup is slightly thicker off the heat, put in the tofu puffs and let it sit until ready to eat. Take out the pork and cut into bite size pieces and place them on a serving dish. (I just served it straight from the claypot) Bring the gravy to boil again and add the shimeji mushrooms and baby corn. Stir 30 seconds, pour over the cut pork and to serve. This recipe serves 6 persons.

To compliment the aromatic bah kut teh, I served it with plenty of blanche crispy iceberg lettuce drizzled with garlic oil, light soya sauce and pepper. Not to forget a pot of hot oolong tea served in those tiny teapot and cups to wash down all the grease. Take note : - Do not take a medical examination (blood test) after this meal. Your cholestral will definitely be pretty top notch!

Careful what recipes you follow from now on cos I am on a weight gain project!

One pot dinner

Well, well, isn't it pouring again. With this kind of weather, I just like to take it slow and easy. Maybe that's why I have a fairly large pantry. In fact, if space permit, I would prefer to have a walk-in pantry just like the one Nigella Lawson owns. Dream on, baby! What goes well with pouring rain would probably be a one pot of hot steaming stew. Tonite, I will be making a simple garlic sausage hot pot. Recipe as follows :-

3 garlic sausages (cut into 3 pieces each and peel off the skin)
200 gm minced beef (marinated with Lea & Perrin sauce, salt and pepper)
2 chopped garlic
2 peeled tomatoes (leftovers from pizza making)
2 Tbsp tomato sauce
1 can button mushrooms
1/2 can baby corn

Sautee garlic and minced beef in a saucepan drizzled with olive oil.
Add in the sausages, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Bring to simmer for 8 minutes.
Put in the mushrooms and baby corn and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Served with bread or plain pasta and a glass of red wine.