Ngoh Hiang inspired by my late Ah Ma - Recipe in progress

4th quarter of 2014 has been hectic and the 1st quarter of 2015 looks crazy too. I've not been doing much in the kitchen and when I do, it's mostly trying out recipes found in books or online. That's how I unwind from all the crazy 16 hour days.

For this year's Chinese New Year, I'm inspired to cook at least 1 dish from each of the dialect group close to my heart - Hokkien, Teochew and Nonya.

This recipe is inspired by my late paternal grandma, who is a Hokkien Nonya lady who married a true blue Teochew man (my late grandpa) from Swatow. As most Nonyas of her time, her cooking was amazing. Unfortunately, I did not have many chances to be with her when she was in the kitchen. I do not know if able to recreate even a fraction of the taste of  Ah Ma's Ngor Hiang but I continue my research and keep trying. Thus this recipe is a work in progress.

The recipe here is a result of what I heard from my parents, recipes I saw in books and a little of everything I have learn from my own cooking. It has got the stamp of approvals from the picky tasters in my family, namely Dad, Mum and my 2 kids. In addition, Hubby polished off 2 whole Ngor Hiang on his own. That's what makes this recipe a keeper for me.

Ngoh Hiang inspired by Ah Ma for my family
Ingredients A
300g minced pork
20g pork liver (optional)
6-8 prawns deshelled

Ingredients B
1/2 yellow onion - diced
1/2 medium size carrot (optional) - grated
5 water chestnuts - chopped into cubes 0.5cm by 0.5cm
1 egg - save some egg white as glue for the rolls
1/2 tablespoon bread crumbs
2 tablespoon water

Ingredients C 
Oil
Beancurd Skin - Cut into the size you like your rolls. I cut mine approx 7 in by 9 in. One packet gives 9 sheets. Before wrapping, rinse 1 piece in a big container of water and gently wipe.

Seasoning 
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 teaspoon sugar
3 teaspoon five spice powder. Use more or less according to preference
a few dashes of white pepper
a pinches of salt

Method
Stir fry onion in oil til it is translucent and set aside.
Stir fry carrots in oil til it is almost cooked and set side.
Mince ingredients A together on a chopping board til it is finely minced and well mixed together. Place ingredients A into a big bowl.
Add in ingredients B and the seasoning to ingredients A and mix them well. This is our meat mixture.
Prepare the beancurd skin by cutting them to the size required and wiping both sides with a damn cloth.
Place meat mixture near the bottom end of the beancurd sheet, leaving an inch space from the edges. Lift the bottom end over the meat and fold the sides in. Continue rolling and seal the ends with the reserved egg white.
Lightly oil the steaming tray and put the meat rolls in. Do not let the meat rolls touch each other or the sides of the tray. The steaming tray should have holes to allow the cooking liquid to escape.
Steam meat rolls for 10mins.
Let it cool complete on a tray (I used the cooking rake for my cookies).
Deep fry the meat rolls til beancurd skin is golden brown.
Slice and serve with your favorite sauces. I use a sweet flour sauce.

The meat rolls can be frozen for 1-2 weeks. Reheat them using a toaster or over pan.

Corn Onion Soup, Scrambled Eggs and #1's "Chicken Plain"

#1 is 5 and a half and #2 is almost 21 months old. They seem to have exchanged appetites. Ultra Super Duper Fussy #1 is now able to accept a wider range of food cooked in different ways. #2 Food Rader is now anti food, rejecting almost anything anyone makes. Brought it up to the pediatrician 2 weeks back and was given appetite simulators, calorie energy powder and MCT oil. Initially I was against it but she was firm about it. "#2 needs nutrition. It is VERY important for her". When I raised the concern that she will become fat, doc's reply was "She is very tiny, unlikely this will make her fat". And it is true. Even during #2's food rader-eat everything-eat more than her brother stage, she was still tiny - weight under 5th percentile, height 10th percentile. I'm not giving up and hope little #2 will bounce back soon (and #1 not to regress!).

Today's menu is like a reflection of my frustration. The more frustrated I am, the more I cook. (As a FTWM who works from home for 2 time zones, there are tons of frustrations.)

Woke up exceptionally early and decided to cook Corn Onion Pork soup. I bought this at a stall last week when #1 was sick and said "Mummy I want soup". It was very nice and I thought to try making it for both kids.

Corn Onion Pork Soup

Portion size: Family of 4

Pork - size of a 27g froot loops box (I use meat from the Long(2) Gu(4) )

Corn - 1

Yellow Onion - 1

Water 1.2 liters and more to top up

Salt if you like.

Pot used: Thermos Shuttle Chef 3L

Bleach pork and set aside. Remove husk and fiber from corn and chop into 1 inch thick. Cut onion into quarters, removing the dry outer layers. Place pork, corn, onion and water into pot and bring to a rolling boil for 15mins. Lower to a simmer for another 30mins. Place into thermal pot. Ready to be 3hours later. Add salt if you like.

As we are having this for dinner, I took the pot out for another 30mins on the stove after lunch hour. The soup would taste awesome when it's dinner time.

Since dinner is settled, I proceed to make breakfast and lunch for my kids who are still blissfully asleep. As the soup is coming to a boil, I started to prepare ingredients for pancakes, scrambled eggs, "chicken plain" and short grain rice for tuna maki (canned tuna + mayo rolled in nori, #1 new found fav).

Pancakes are out of the box. We love bisquick. Flipped the box over and followed the ultimate pancake recipe plus what we have in the fridge. We had chocolate chip, blueberry and plain. Anti-Food #2 had a few bites before having fun poking and squishing the blueberries. Suddenly-Hungry #1 had 3 whole pancakes on his own. Breakfast done and I'm smiling from ear to ear!

Using the pan from the pancakes, I made chicken plain. Chicken Plain is what my boy calls it. It's really simple, the taste is .... plain. But he likes it so here it is, #1's Chicken Plain.

#1's Chicken Plain

Portion size: 1 kid, 1 toddler

Chicken Breast or Chicken Tenderloin - palm size

Onion Powder - half teaspoon

Paprika - half teaspoon

Garlic Butter or oil 

Cut chicken breast into strips. If using tenderloin, it is not necessary to cut. 

Season chicken with onion powder, paprika and half a teaspoon of either garlic butter or oil.

Add some garlic butter or oil into pan, pan fry til it is cooked. 

At this point, I decided to throw in some sliced white button mushroom that are sitting in the fridge. It would taste wonderful with the scramble eggs that is coming right up..

here...

Scrambled Eggs. This is a recipe I read off my cousin's home econs book 28 years ago. I could no longer remember the portions or the method but what I remembered is wonderfully tasty eggs that stuck to the pot so much my aunt probably grumbled lots when she washed it. After watching way too much FoodAsiaNetwork shows, I've decided to try it cooking it again, this time using a "proper" method. Well, now it is an all time-any time favorite with my family. So here it is, Scrambled Eggs that my family loves.

Scrambled Eggs 

Portion size: 1 kid, 1 toddler and some for mummy

2 eggs

some butter - I use half a dessert spoon.

some milk - around a quarter cup

non-stick sauce pan

Google for Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsay or any decent chef. Watch their video on how to make basic scrambled eggs and follow the method.

Break eggs into sauce pan, add butter and milk. Turn on the heat, set to low. Whisk the egg, butter and milk together. Follow the scrambled egg method that you've seen. If not, the general idea is this - slow. When the egg starts to cook, remove from heat and use a spatula or a wooden/silicon spoon to fold in the eggs. Put it back on the fire and once you see the egg forming a curd at the bottom, remove from heat and fold in. Back on the heat. Repeat this process til you see the eggs are not liquid and is like a big curd. At this point you can serve it to an adult. For my kids, I prefer to have it a little more cooked so I have it on the stove for a min more.

You can add whatever you like with scrambled eggs. My kids love ham, I love mushrooms and they all went into the pot. Yummy! 

Now at this point I am feeling "de-stressed" and ready for another challenging work day. I practice "clean as you go" so wash up is minimal and that can wait. 

Their all time favourite

#2 has arrived at toddlerhood! yeah! she can say more than 10 words with clarity and use them in the right context. She can tell us when she doesn't want something -  "No" or "No No", when she wants something "Yes" or nod head or both and most impressively, when she poos - "Poooooo". She even gives commands and demands entertainment: You Do.

As she grows, her food preference changes. From watery porridge to thick porridge to teochew mueh to soft rice in soup. Feeding her is not as easy as before as she is fussier. 

With 2 kids that likes different textures for their rice, I've decided to rely on my trust electric steamer. In 30mins, I could whip up their favorite lunch, each dish made specific to their needs/preference.

Here's how I make lunch for Preschooler and Baby Toddler in 30mins

Prepare the following:

Rice for Preschooler - 1 Serving

1/4 cup rice

1/4 cup water

Wash rice and put rice with water into bowl for steaming. 

Soft Rice for Baby- 2 Serving

1/4 cup rice

1/2 cup water MINUS 1 tablespoon water for soft rice

Wash rice and put rice with water into bowl for steaming. 

Steamed Egg for Preschooler - 1 Serving      

1 egg  

Soy Sauce 1/2 teaspoon or a pinch of salt

water or dashi - use 4 times of half egg shell water. (this means egg to water ratio is 1:2)

Beat egg, water and soy sauce in chawanmushi cup.       

Steamed Egg for Baby - 1 Serving     

1 egg yolk      

Soy Sauce 2 drops or a small pinch of salt

water or dashi - use 2 times of half egg shell water

Beat egg yolk, water and soy sauce in chawanmushi cup.      

Steamed Ngor He for Preschooler (Threadfin) - 1 Serving 

Ngor He

Oyster Sauce

Ginger 1 slice

Place all into steaming plate

Steamed Ngor He for Baby (Threadfin) - 1 Serving 

Ngor He

Salt a small pinch

Sesame oil 1 drop

Rub salt and sesame oil over fish. Place all into steaming plate

Steamed Baby Eng Chye (Spinach)

Baby Eng Chye

Remove fiber from steam and separate leaves from stalk. Wash thoroughly. Place in steaming bowl 

Here's the timeline:

0min - Place rice into steamer.

15min - Place egg and fish into steamer

20-23min - Remove fish from steamer and put spinach into steamer. If fish is cooked, smash up fish in baby's bowl and flake the fish in preschooler's bowl. Check for bones and remove if any.

26min - Remove egg and spinach from steamer. Finely chop spinach and place in baby's bowl. Place spinach in preschooler bowl. Place steam egg into respective bowls. 

30min - Remove rice from steamer and place into respective bowls. Serve

      

Ngor He and Heng Chye Porridge

My parents have been very excited about feeding #2. My dad, especially, have a good track record in getting #1 and #2 to eat when others have failed. One of the staples for chinese babies in my generation and my children's generation is Ngor He and Heng Chye. In english, Ngor He is threadfin and Heng Chye is spinach. My dad would buy Balai Ngor He and baby Heng Chye. My mum will cook porridge for #2. #2 loves this porridge since she was 6 months old.

Here it is, My Dad n Mom's Ngor He and Heng Chye Porridge

1 spoonful of rice

hot water enough to cover up to 1 inch above the rice

2 fifty cent sized ngor he without skin n bones

8 leaves heng chye

sesame oil

salt

Cook rice with hot water in mini slow cooker for 4 hours.

Chop heng chye very very finely.

Season fish with 1 dab of sesame oil and 1/2 dab of salt

When porridge is done, add heng chye. Cover and cook for 20-30mins.

While this is happening, steam Ngor He til it is cook. This will take 5-10mins depending on the size and thickness of fish. Finely chop the Ngor He.

Add Ngor He to porridge, Mix, dish and serve.

Serves: 1 Baby for lunch and dinner

Time: 4.5hrs cooking, 30mins for preparation.

Macaroni and Cheese

I've always loved Mac n Cheese. So when the time came to test recipes on my picky eater #1, I decided give Mac n Cheese a go. First recipe test was Annabel Karmel's Macaroni & Cauli Cheese. #1 loved it, #2 was allowed a lick n wanted more. But the Daddy refused to touch it, calling it baby food.

So when Ina Garten started cooking her Mac and Cheese on TV, I thought "why not"? I've got the cheese (v expensive!) and #1 did say "I want cheese sauce" for dinner.

I followed Ina's method, added in Annabel's cauliflower and came up with a "Daddy thumbs up" recipe.

Here it is, my Macaroni Cheese with hidden Cauliflower.

250g macaroni (I used chifferi rigati)
handful of cauliflower, cut into florets
150ml milk
2 dessert spoon corn flour
2 dessert spoon butter for the sauce
1 dessert spoon butter for the bread crumbs (optional)
3 slices of white bread, crust removed (optional)
3 oz Gruyere, grated
3 oz Mature Chedder, grated
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Water

Cook macaroni and cauliflower til al dente. While that is happening, grate the gruyere and chedder til you get 2 oz each.
Drain the macaroni and blend the cauliflower with a little water.
Add milk and cauliflower in a saucepan and heat (do not boil).
In a non-stick pan, melt 2 dessert spoon butter and add corn flour. Mix and cook over low heat for a minute. Pour heated milk into the butter/flour mixture and mix over low heat til it is slightly thickened.
Switch off the heat and add grated cheese, salt and pepper. Mix til cheese is melted.
Add macaroni and mix. Put macaroni in a baking tin if you are making the topping. If not, dish and serve.

For the topping, make bread crumbs by adding white bread to chopper/food processor. In a pan, melt 1 dessert spoon of butter and add the bread crumb. Mix and top the macaroni.

Put into oven and set it to grill on high for 2-3mins or til bread crumbs are golden brown. Dish and serve!

Serves: 1 Preschooler and 1 Hungry Daddy
Time: 45mins

Preschooler Rating: Thumbs Up
Hungry Daddy Rating: Thumbs Up

Links to Recipes that inspired me.
Annabel Karmel's Macaroni & Cauli Cheese
Ina Garten's Mac and Cheese