Deep Fried Beancurd Skin With Nestum Cereal Flakes

Each time I tasted something nice in a restaurant or any food stall, I will want to replicate it.  I find it more challenging than to just follow a recipe from my wide collection of  cookbooks.  Able to taste it and come back home to try replicate the dish to near 90% is an accomplishment for a home cook like me. I once ate this deep fried beancurd skin with nestum cereal flakes at a noodle shop and I loved it so much so that I came back home, tried a few times but was not happy with it and yesterday I managed to get it correct or at least 90% near to the original :)  This is an easy to make finger food that has to be consumed fast or it will turned soft. Eat it within 30 mins, it will still remains crispy and crunchy.  But not to worry, it finishes fast when it comes to this kind finger food.  Hubby loves it too and we will be fighting for the last piece LOL!  This will be another popular request from the hubby  :)

 beancurd skin for making lobak

prawn, minced meat and fish paste

spread a thin layer of prawn and fish paste on the  

surface of the beancurd skin

after applying a layer of paste, coat the surface with nestum cereal

 then deep fried in oil till crispy and golden brown

Deep Fried Beancurd Skin With Nestum Cereal

 ingredients:
1 piece of beancurd skin ( for making lobak ) - cut into 3"x 3" squares
100 gm prawn  , mince meat and fish paste  - ready made fish paste (40 gm ) minced meat (20 gm) from fishmonger + fresh prawns (40 gm) chopped finely
1 cup of nestum cereal flakes
1 egg - beaten - add a pinch of salt, a shake of pepper

oil for deep frying

Method:
Prepare the prawn and fish paste .  Add finely chopped prawns (30gm) to the ready made fish paste (50gm ) mix together with chopsticks till well blended. Leave aside.

Open up the beancurd skin and cut into 3" x 3" square.  Spread a thin layer of prawn and fish paste on surface. Apply beaten egg on top of prawn fish paste layer, then coat with nestum cereal flakes till it is well coated.  Deep fry on medium heat till golden brown.  Place on paper towel to absorb excess oil.

* note: oil must be hot before putting in the beancurd skin. Use a wooden chopstick to test out, If there is bubble around the chopstick end. It is ready for deep frying. 

Prawns Fritters

I fried some prawn fritters for my Wildboar as he can eat seafood because his cholesterol and blood pressure reading is good . So he can still enjoy some prawns ,unlike me, I have to be careful as I tend to over indulge where seafood is concerned :p His dad, my father-in-law made the most delicious prawn fritters but alas I did ask him for the recipe when he was alive.  So I have to guess how he did it.   I remembered he said something like 3 types of flour - rice flour, corn flour and all purpose flour, but the ratio of the flour I am in the dark.  I just simply add the ratio of 3 part all purpose flour, 2 parts rice flour and 1 part corn flour. I added 1 tsp of baking powder for a fluffier texture.  It turned out not bad, soft on the inside and crisps on the outside.  Nice !  I added chopped spring onions and chopped chillies for some heat and some Maggi chicken granules for taste. I did not measure the water, just add to the right consistency, not too watery neither too thick.  Added an egg too .  I guess this is an old fashion method of making the batter for the prawn fritters :) but on a healthier note as I fried them in a few tablespoons of rice bran oil in a non stick pan.  Anyway it taste good ( how I know coz I stole a piece to taste the texture of the batter ! ) and Wildboar loves it though it may differs a bit from his dad's preparation.  I kicked myself for not asking him to give me his exact recipe!!!

fresh sea prawns makes the best prawn fritters

smell good and have a firm texture

I add only just enough oil to make the prawn fritters as you can see

in the picture above.  The inside is soft and the edges are crispy

healthy way to fry prawn fritters

thai chilli sauce as dip for the prawn fritters

crisps edges, hubby loves it ! and that is all that matters :)

 Prawns Fritters

ingredients:

18 pieces of sea prawns - medium size , remove shells and deveined
marinate deveined prawns with 1 tsp sugar and a pinch of salt

batter:
(A)
150 gms of AP flour
100 gms  of rice flour
50 gms of corn flour
1 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp of Maggi granules * to taste
2 tbsp of chopped spring onions
1 tsp of chopped 's eyes chillies
1 egg
water at room temp - add in slowly to the flour ingredients to make the right consistency

rice bran oil for frying the prawns fritter

Method:

Place ingredients (A) in a small bowl and give it a quick stir so that the ingredients are well mixed together- add in water slowly to flour mixture.  Add just enough water to get the right consistency. Leave the batter aside for 15 minutes before adding in the prawns .

Heat up just a few tablespoons of rice bran oil in a non-stick pan.  Once the oil is hot, scoop a small ladle of batter plus two prawns and gently place them on the pan, leave a space for the next scoop and repeat till the pan is filled with dollops of batter/prawns.  Once the bottom sides are crisps, turn them over and once the other side is brown, dish out and place on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Repeat till all the batter and prawns are used up. Serve with chilli sauce of your choice.

Enjoy!

Deep Fried Gyoza With Century Egg And Pickled Ginger And Meat Fillings

Gyoza are mostly pan fried but for this once, I decided to deep fried them because I have been craving for deep fried stuff of late.  I used rice bran oil for the deep frying . The fillings for the gyoza are special and I replicate it from the ' Pei Tan Quinn ' ( beancurd rolls with century eggs and pickled ginger ) from the dim sum shop.  Instead of using beancurd skin, I made my own gyoza skin. I find making my own gyoza skin is fun and therapeutic  :)  I had fun making them and I succeeded in making gorgeous looking and tasty deep fried gyoza.  To get good pleats, lots of practices are needed as the saying goes practice makes perfect :p

I love the fact that century egg and pickled ginger is added to the meat and prawns fillings lifting it to the next level of taste and sophistication.  These deep fried gyoza are flavor packed and may involved a bit of work especially if you have to make the gyoza skin yourself.  But of course, there are ready made ones from the supermarket.  I prefer to make my own gyoza skin  :) and make my own pickled ginger (young  ginger are home grown too )

easy to make gyoza skin

minced meat and minced prawn mixture, century egg and pickled ginger

make up the fillings for the gyoza

love the fact that century egg and pickled ginger

are added to the meat mixture before wrapping

and pleating the gyoza

make sure to dust potato flour on the gyoza before

stacking them together

you can freeze the gyoza for keeping

the century egg and pickled ginger, they add extra punch to the flavor

Homemade Gyoza Wrappers - adapted from JustOneCookbook

Ingredients:

240 g all purpose flour or ( 120g bread flour + 120g cake flour )
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup or 120g just boiled water plus more if necessary ( 120g - 150g )

potato starch for dusting
3" (8cm) cookie cutter


Method:

Stir the flour in the bowl, scoop it up with a spoon into the 1-cup measuring cup, and level off the top. Put the flour into a medium bowl. The amount of flour shoud be close to standard 4.25 oz (120 g) per cup.

Sift the flour into a large bowl.

Add salt to just-boiled water and mix until completely dissolved.

Add the just-boiled water into the flour little by little, stirring with a rubber spatula. You will eventually need to use your hands to form the dough into a ball. If the flour is still separated, add ½ Tbsp. water at a time till you can form the texture into a ball.

Transfer the dough to the work surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, the texture of the dough will be much smoother. Cut the dough in half.

Shape each half into a long log, about 1½ inches in diameter (it doesn't have to be perfect if you’re going to use a cookie cutter later). Wrap each log with plastic wrap. Let it sit for 30 minutes.

Unwrap the dough. Sprinkle a little potato starch on the work surface and cut each log crosswise into about 12 pieces (may vary depending on the log length and width). Since we’ll be using a cookie cutter, don’t worry if each piece of dough has slightly different size.

Cover the dough with damp kitchen towel at all time to prevent from drying.

For each piece of dough into a ball shape.

Press the ball onto the work surface.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough, but DO NOT roll out (flatten) the TOP and BOTTOM edge. This is a trick to make a nice round shape.

Rotate the dough 90 degrees and repeat rolling the dough to make a nice round shape. Try to roll out the dough to a thin circle. The size should be bigger than 3” (8 cm) cookie cutter.

Press down the cookie cutter and remove excess dough. Cover the scraps with the damp towel. Later combine all the scraps as long as they still squish together and haven’t dried out too much. Re-roll the scraps and repeat the process.

Sprinkle each wrapper with potato starch and stack the gyoza wrappers. Make sure to the wrappers covered with damp kitchen towel. Once all the dough is used, wrap the gyoza wrappers with plastic wrap and freeze or refrigerate until you’re ready to use. You can keep gyoza wrappers for about 3-4 days in the refrigerator and up to a month in freezer. Defrost in the refrigerator prior to use.

Note: Different brand of flour will absorb water differently.

Fillings:

200 g minced meat
100 g minced prawns
1tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp corn starch

mix the above ingredients together in a bowl and using a pair of chopsticks stir till the mixture become sticky

1 century egg - shelled and cut into bite sizes
pickled ginger

To wrap the gyoza

Scoop a heap tbsp of the minced meat fillings together with bite sized centruy egg and a few slices of pickled ginger on to a piece of gyoza pastry skin, and fold over and pleat the edges. Repeat till all the gyoza skins and meat fillings are used up.  Heat wok with rice bran oil ( amount enough for deep frying ). 
When oil is heated, gently drop wraped gyoza into hot oil , 3 pieces at a time, under medium heat till both sides are brown and crispy.  Take out and place them on paper towel to absorb excess oil. 

Serve hot with mayonaise dip or chilli sauce.

Enjoy!

Tempura Seafood And Vegetable

I remembered I still have a packet of Korean tempura powder in the fridge and it is 6 months to expiry. I know I have to use it before it expired.  I bought  it from a Korean grocery in Singapore when I visited my son and wifey last year.  Time flies and now that packet of tempura powder  has a shelf life of another 6 months...trust me to buy and buy and forget.  Okay , so I whip up the tempura batter and fried some squids and sea prawns and I even tempura the homegrown brazilian spinach besides brinjal, homegrown okra  And guess what ? the brazilian spinach tempura is the star !   It is so crispy and remained crispy till the last bite.

It is so much easier to use the ready store bought tempura powder.  Once this batch is used up, I will ask the kids in Singapore to get me another packet...maybe a Japanese tempura powder this time so that I can compare and see which is better :p 

this is the Korean brand of tempura powder

1 cup of  tempura powder to 1 cup of cold water

serve the tempura with wasabi and soy sauce

this is the star of night.....the homegrown brazilian spinach tempura

so so crispy :)

gosh... I am going make more the next time...

Tempura Seafood And Vegetable

Ingredients :

10 pieces of sea prawns - shell and devein and butterfly cut , season with

salt and pepper to taste

1 large squid - clean and cut into 1/4 inch thick rings

1 japanese brinjal - cut at a slant of 1/4 inch thick slices

2 okras - cut at a slant of 1/4 inch thick slices

a bunch of brazilian spinach - wash and pat dry with paper towel

tempura batter

1 cup of store bought tempura powder

1 cup of ice cold water

enough rice bran oil/ vegetable oil for deep frying

Method:

1.  Shell and devein and butterfly cut the sea prawns, season with salt and white pepper . Clean and cut the squids into rings of 1/4 inch . Pat dry prawns and squids. Put aside.

2.  Cut brinjal and okra at a slant of 1/4 inch thick slices.

3. Wash and pat dry the Brazilian spinach. Use the young leaves with stem attached.

4. Mix 1 cup of tempura powder with 1 cup of ice cold water and using a whisk, give a quick whisk. It is okay to have a lumpy batter.  Coat all the sea food and  cut veggies with the first coat of batter and leave on a plate for 3 mins.  Meanwhile , heat up oil in wok.  Dip a wooden chopstick into the hot oil, if there is bubble at the end of chopstick, it means the oil is ready for frying the tempura.

5. Dip all the ingredients  a second time in the tempura batter before putting them into hot oil. Working in batches, using tongs or chopsticks dip shrimp and vegetables into batter and fry, turning occasionally, until golden, about 1 min for brazilian spinach , 2 mins for seafood and other vegetables.  Transfer to paper towels to drain. Return oil to 325 F between batches and, using slotted spoon, remove any residual bits of batter from oil before adding next batch. 

Serve tempura immediately with dipping sauce.

Enjoy!

1. 
   

Beer Battered Anchovies

Finally, I managed to get the fresh anchovies from Jusco fish section, it is also known as Ikan Bilis Bought half a kilo back ! After cleaning them up, the guts and head goes to making Fish Amino Acid (fertiliser ) for the plants. This delectable finger food is a keeper.  Great accompaniment for chilled beer !  This is the second time using Pharmaskitchen 's Beer Batter.  The first time I tried his recipe was a few weeks ago ,using the silver baby pomfrets.  Now I can really taste his batter recipe using fresh anchovies.  Crisps and crunchy and flavorful !  Even the Wild Boar loves it, for a man who doesn't like to eat fish.  He ate the whole anchovy , the bones are crunchy too. Kruup kruup kruup and down it with a chilled beer. A must try recipe :) or you will miss something good!

mix the dry ingredients with a chilled beer till you get

the right consistency to coat the anchovies

put in the cleaned and wiped dry (with paper towel)

fresh anchovies into the beer battered

before deep frying them in rice bran oil or vegetable oil

look how light and crunchy the anchovies are....

this beer battered is commendable

I deep fried some Japanese pumpkin slices too with the remnant

beer batter

you can serve this as a stand alone dish for dinner or lunch

or as a finger food

Beer Battered Anchovies - adapted from Pharma'sKitchen

ingredients:-

12 Anchovies - remove head and guts

5 tablespoons of Rice Flour

2 tablespoons of Glutinous Rice Flour

1/2 teaspoon of Baking Powder

Salt

Pepper

Smoked Paprika Powder

1 can of Beer

Rice Bran Oil or vegetable oil

Preparation:

First, rinse and pat dry the fresh anchovies with a kitchen towel. Place the anchovies in a bowl and add some salt, pepper and smoked paprika to marinade them. Leave to marinade for 10-15 minutes.

To the bowl containing the anchovies, further add the rice flour, glutinous rice flour, baking powder, more salt and pepper. Lastly, a generous amount of smoked paprika powder and mix well. The flour mixture should be slightly red due to the paprika powder.

In a deep pan or a small frying pot, heat up some sunflower oil. While the oil is heating up, open your can of beer and pour about a quarter can of beer into the mixture. Mix well and add the beer in small amounts until the mixture is well incorporated into a thick but smooth batter. (You can always opt for water is you are do not have beer at home).

Check on the oil, and if the oil is ready, place the anchovies into the frying pot and fry until they are golden brown. Once golden brown, remove from the pot and place the anchovies onto a plate lined with kitchen towel to remove the excess oil.

Enjoy!

Korean Fried Chicken -yangnyeom-tongdak

After having tasted "Four Fingers" (crispy and crunchy Korean fried chicken ) in Singapore,I knew I had to try making my own 'four fingers '!  yea I am greedy Oink :p  I googled for Korean fried chicken and I found one that is quite near to the one I tasted in Singapore.  I tweeted the recipe a bit to get the taste as near to the original Four Fingers...believe me, it is quite near to it :) ok ok ...I don't want to exaggerate the taste but it was FABULOUS ! 

The chicken wings were well marinated and the 3 types of flour used and the double frying made the wings really crispy and crunchy and needless to say the special sauce to coat the fried chicken is truly awesome.  A mixture of gochujang paste , ketchup , apple cider vinegar and a dash of gochugaru make up the awesome sweet spicy sauce coating for the crunchy chicken.  The fried chicken wings remains crisp and crunchy  We ate using four fingers until the last piece wamoosh from the plate..WB and I fighting for the last piece..you guess who won ?

 

the sesame seeds added flavor to the already flavor packed fried chicken

marinate the wings with ginger juice, ground black pepper and salt,

best to marinate it over night

add baking soda,  rice flour, potato flour and multi purpose flour, 1 egg to

the marinated wings until the thick batter coats the wings evenly

double frying will make the wings crisp and crunchy

ingredients for the sweet and spicy sauce

sauce comprises of thai chilli sauce, gochujang paste, ketchup,

apple cider vinegar, gochugaru and chopped garlic

throw in some toasted white sesame seeds...

it tasted fabulous!

Thanks YC ( my son's mom-in-law) for these fine ceramic dishes for sides

love the different shapes and sizes

just nice for my kimchi and other korean side dishes

I love them all :)

Korean Fried Chicken- yangnyeom-tongdak  - adapted from Maangchi 

ingredients:

7 chicken wings - cut off tips, use only the flat wings and drummets 

salt,

ground pepper

ginger juice from 1" inch ginger

ingredients for batter :

1 tsp of baking soda

1/4 cup rice flour

1/4 cup multi purpose flour

1/2 cup potato flour

1 egg

6 - 7 cups of canola oil or  vegetable oil for deep frying

sauce for coating the fried chicken :

1 tbsp of canola oil

4 cloves chopped garlic

1/3 cup tomato ketchup

1/4 cup sweet thai chilli sauce

1/4 cup gochujang paste

1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp of toasted white sesame seeds

Method:

Marinate the flat wings and drummets with salt, ginger juice, ground black pepper for 3 hours or over night in fridge.

Add all the 3 types of flour and baking soda onto the marinated chicken. Add in 1 egg and mix well with the hand until the wings and drummets are completely coated.

Double frying method:

Heat 6-7 cups of canola oil in a wok or deep pan.  When the oil is heated , slowly add in the coated drummets and wings and deep fry them for 7 mins.  Take them out of the oil and shake them off in a strainer. Let them sit for a few mins.  Fry them again for another 10 minutes until all pieces look golden brown and are crunchy outside.

When you are frying, you can prepare the sauce :

Put 1 tbsp of canola oil and minced garlic into a heated non stick pan, add in 1/3 cup tomato ketchup, 1/4 cup gochujang paste , 1/4 cup sweet thai chilli paste and 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar and simmer the mixture for 7 mins under low heat.  Off heat.  When the wings and drummets are done..quickly coat them with the sauce while still hot or the sauce will not stick to the drummets. Throw in the toasted sesame seeds.

Serve as a snack/finger food or a stand alone dish.

Enjoy!

Oven Baked Spring Roll

I saw this healthy version of crispy spring roll from MyKitchenSnippets.  Baking them is much more healthier as not much oil is used, just a drizzle of oil on the surface.  The disavantage is,  it doesn't keep its crispness for long and it doesn't brown evenly.  But I still prefer this version though the fried ones would be crunchier. The chinese turnips filling is .packed with flavors and the wood ear fungus give the rolls the crunch it deserved :)  If you are making this as finger food for a party, it is adviseable to deep fried them so that they retain their crispness longer.  I finished them all within minutes and for once I don't have to feel guilty...nom nom away :)

Oven Baked Spring Roll - adapted from My Kitchen Snippets with some alterations

Ingredients:

1 medium size jicama/bangkuang/yam bean
1 small onions – slice thinly
2 carrots – julienned
6 pieces of dried chinese mushroom – slice thinly1 big piece of wood ear fungus - soak and slice thinly
3 cloves garlic – finely chopped
a few sprigs of coriander – chopped up coarsely

1 egg - beaten
1 packet of spring roll wrappers

Seasonings:

1 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp of sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup of water

Method:

1. Thaw the frozen spring roll wrappers.
2. Heat up the frying pan with a tbsp of olive oil. Add in chopped garlic, onions and stir fry until fragrant.  
3. Add in jicama and carrots and wood ear fungus. Stir fry for a few minutes and add in all the seasonings and 1/2 cup of water. Continue cooking for another 7 minutes or until the jicama is soft. Check seasoning and lastly add in the chopped coriander leaves. Set aside to cool.
4. Prepare a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Lightly brush it with some vegetable oil.
5. Peel off a piece of wrapper and place it on a flat surface. Place some cooked filling in the center of the wrapper, pull over both ends and roll up the wrapper. Brush the end with some egg to seal.
6. Line all the spring rolls on the baking sheet. Lightly brush the spring roll with some vegetable oil.
7. Bake in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 25 minutes or until lightly brown. Serve warm or room temperature with some chili sauce.

Enjoy !

*                 *               *