Fried Chicken with Spicy Mayonnaise Recipe | Easy Asian Cooking

Fried chicken with spicy mayonnaise, as its name suggests, is a very typical affair, and you can pretty much figure out what I did by just judging from its name or looking at the plate. Fried chicken is dressed in a mix of savory and sweet sauce from thick, creamy, golden-hued mayonnaise, tomato sauce, chilli sauce, lime juice and sugar. A smear of this garlicky spread transported the ordinary fried chicken into something spectacular and lift the dish to the next level. It's a perfect balance of flavors and an utter delight to the taste buds.

Here's the recipe for fried chicken with spicy mayonnaise. 美奶滋炸鸡食谱

Ingredients :
2 chicken thighs, cut into pieces
5 cups oil for deep-frying

Marinade :
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp corn flour (粟粉)
1 tbsp plain flour

Sauce Mixture :
4 tbsp mayonnaise (美奶滋)
1 tbsp tomato sauce (番茄酱)
2 tbsp chilli sauce (辣椒酱)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp lime juice (酸柑汁)

Method :

1. Combine chicken with marinade and marinate for 30 minutes. Deep-fry in hot oil until golden brown and cooked. Dish up and drain with paper towels.

2. Heat up 1 tbsp oil in a heavy skillet, sauce mixture and chicken are poured into the skillet, toss and mix well. Dish up and ready to serve.

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Prawn In Spicy Milk Sauce Recipe | Easy Asian Cooking

Prawns are deep-fried and then coated in a sweet sticky glaze of evaporated milk and given depth of flavor with the addition of butter, curry leaves, curry powder and bird's eye chillies. Mouth-wateringly different, it's a harmonious blends of  'chilli hot' with subtle additions of aromatic curry leaves and sweetness of milk to lessen the 'bite'.

Moving beyond a big dose of fatty pork dishes, we are now shifting the attention to seafood treat, which is also calorie-laden. Sorry for those weight watchers, you have to temporarily endure the temptation that the dish induced.

Aromatic in nature, fresh curry leaves lend an irreplaceable fragrance to this dish and is enhanced by the sting from the bird's eye chillies and the lovely sweetness from the evaporated milk and sugar. Curry powder is thrown in to impart a little bit of local flavor, making this shrimp course bursting with flavors and unique on its own.

If you wish to lay your hands on the dish in your very own kitchen, here's the how-to recipe. 奶香虾食谱

Ingredients :
600g medium to big prawns, slit back and deveined
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp curry leaves
2 tsp chopped bird's eye chillies (cili padi)
100ml evaporated milk

Seasoning :
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp curry powder

Method :
1. Heat up oil in a large non stick skillet, when the oil turns hot, deep-fry prawns until cooked. Dish up and drain in paper towels.

2. Melt butter in a skillet, saute curry leaves and bird's eye chillies until fragrant. Add in evaporated milk, seasoning and bring to boil.

3. Add in pre-fried prawns and stir-fry at high heat, toss to mix well. Dish up and serve immediately while hot.

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Steamed Pork with Pumpkin and Yam Recipe | Easy Asian Cooking

This is a variation of Hakka dish with assemblage of sliced pre-fried pork belly, yam and pumpkin that are steamed in a full-bodied gravy sweetened by sugar and shaoxing wine and balanced by a savory counterpoint of fermented red beancurd (南乳) and fermented soy bean paste (豆酱). This savory sauce thoroughly infuses all three layers of pig skin, fat and lean meat after long hours of steaming that elevates this classic to new gustatory buds.

Here's another recipe for pork belly, so my poor reader, you will just have to 'pig out' with me! The picture above may not justify how flavorsome this pork dish is, but I'll wager it's among the most delicious.

The ingredients of steamed pork with pumpkin and yam (南瓜芋头扣肉) have some resemblances with Hakka steamed pork belly with yam (客家芋头扣肉), with additional pumpkin and fermented soy bean paste, but omitting Hakka nam yee red sauce. The pork belly is gelatinously tender, reminiscent of Hakka steamed pork belly with yam. The texture of the pumpkin is cooked just to tender, soft but not beyond mushiness, in contrast to the yam, which is way too much mushy after long steaming. Both pumpkin and yam add hint of sweetness to the dish, complement well with the savoriness of pre-fried pork slices which are smothered in the bath of fermented red beancurd (南乳) and fermented soy bean paste (豆酱) sauce mixture.

So, why still waiting? Get ready to pig out with this easy steamed pork with pumpkin and yam recipe (南瓜芋头扣肉食谱).

Ingredients :
5 cups oil for deep-frying
150g yam, peeled and cut into thick slices (芋头)
150g pumpkin, peeled and cut into thick slices (南瓜)
500g pork belly (五花肉或三层肉)
1 tsp dark soy sauce (黑酱油)
1 tbsp chopped garlic
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves (芫茜)

Seasoning :
3 cubes fermented red beancurd (南乳)
1/2 tbsp fermented soy bean paste (豆酱)
1 tbsp light soy sauce (生抽)
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp shaoxing wine (绍兴酒)
1 tsp dark soy sauce
250ml water

Method :
1.  Heat up oil for deep-frying, deep-fry yam until golden brown. Dish up and drain.

2. Rub pork belly skin with 1 tsp dark soy sauce and marinate for a short while. Deep-fry in hot oil until golden brown. Dish up and drain. Leave it to cool down and cut into thick slices.

3. Leave 1 tbsp oil in wok, saute chopped garlic and chopped coriander leaves until aromatic. Add in seasoning and bring to boil. Dish up.

4. Arrange pork, yam and pumpkin repeatedly in sequential order into a steaming bowl. Pour over the prepared sauce (from method 3) and steam over high heat for 1 1/2 hours or until pork belly is tender. Before serving, you may want to invert onto a serving plate lined with lettuce with sesame oil drizzled on top. To do this, place the serving plate over steaming bowl, then invert it quickly.

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Stewed Hakka Fried Pork Belly with Black Fungus Recipe | Easy Asian Cooking

This Hakka dish is a perfect mingling of chewy pork belly morsels and crunchy black fungus, slowly stewed in low heat in the bath of Hakka nam yee red sauce to please discerning appetites.

Once you laid your hands on Hakka nam yee red sauce (客家南乳酱) and kept it refrigerated, you just simply can't stop making a series of Hakka cuisines before the storage period of nam yee sauce due. After making Hakka Steamed Pork Belly with Yam (客家芋头扣肉) (Cantonese "khau yoke"), it seems like trigger an avalanche of desires to get my hands on its "cousin dish" - Stewed Hakka Fried Pork Belly with Black Fungus (客家炸肉) (Cantonese "zhar yoke"), which I'll lay out here. Here comes a good dose of Hakka fattiness. :-)

Similar to "khau yoke", the soul ingredient that make this "zhar yoke" an unforgettable flavor is five spice powder, but with a somehow stronger hint of five spice powder and more stew-meat in texture than in the "khau yoke". My mother-in-law usually deep-fry the sliced pork belly and store in fridge before Chinese new year and this makes the dish really easy by just stewing with the rest of the ingredients for reunion dinner.

Here's my in-law's Hakka "Zhar Yoke" Recipe (客家炸肉食谱). This legacy divulged by my sister-in-law.

Ingredients :

600g pork belly, wash and drain well, then slice thickly into an inch each or bite-sized pieces (五花肉或三层肉)

100g black fungus, soak in water till fungus soft and cut quarterly (木耳), pat dry with kitchen towels

1 egg (beaten), 4 tbsp plain flour (面粉) - for coating meat slices before deep-frying

5 cups oil for deep-frying

800ml water
1 tbsp chopped garlic

Seasoning :

4 tbsp Hakka nam yee (fermented red beancurd) red sauce (客家南乳酱)

1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce

light soy sauce to taste

Marinade :

4 tbsp Hakka nam yee (fermented red beancurd) red sauce (客家南乳酱)

1 tsp five spice powder (五香粉) - to make the meat more flavorful in addition to nam yee sauce

Extract of ginger+shallots+garlic in proportion of 2:1:1 tbsp (See method 1 below)

Method :

1. Blend ginger, shallot and garlic finely (approximate proportion should be 2:1:1) to become paste and extract out the juice mixture, set aside for marinade.

2. Combine pork belly with all the marinade above and marinate for at least 2 hours. Preferably marinate overnight in the fridge (wrapped with cling wrap) to allow sliced pork belly to absorb the marinade well.

3. Heat up oil to deep-fry black fungus (to exude aromas for the dish).  Dish up and sieve excess oil or drain with kitchen towels.

4. For marinated pieces of pork belly, dip in the beaten egg and then followed by plain flour, deep-fry until the pork belly slices become golden brown and crispy. This is to prevent the meat pieces from being too dry after deep-frying. 

5. Heat up 2 tbsp cooking oil in a wok or stock pot, saute 1 tbsp chopped garlic, add in 4 tbsp Hakka nam yee red sauce (客家南乳酱), 800ml water and bring to boil. Add in pre-fried pork belly pieces and black fungus, stir to mix well. Cover, simmer with low heat for 45 minutes or stew until the pork is tender. Add dark soy sauce and light soy sauce to taste. Garnish with coriander leaves before serving.

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How To Make Hakka Nam Yee (Fermented Red Beancurd) Red Sauce | Easy Asian Cooking

Fermented red beancurd (南乳 in Mandarin, "nam yee" in Cantonese or "ang tau ju" in Hokkien) has a distinct flavor that is often used in Hakka cuisine to impart saltiness and to assuage greasiness associated with massive consumption of multiple super fatty meats, such as Hakka steamed pork belly with yam (客家芋头扣肉) , stewed Hakka fried pork belly with black fungus (客家炸肉), nam yee spare ribs (南乳排骨), nam yee fried chicken wings (南乳炸鸡翼), fried fish in nam yee sauce (南乳酱干烧鱼) and etcera. You can find here how fermented red beancurd looks like, it's usually sold in glass jars in Asian market. Differ from typical fermented white beancurd (beancurd that have been fermented in rice wine) that goes well with porridge, fermented red beancurd made with red yeast rice (紅糟) and commonly used in cooking.

Many hawkers' stalls in Malaysia usually prepare Hakka nam yee red sauce in advance by combining fermented red beancurd with other pungent spices in order to cope with hoards of patrons with the rumbling stomachs. Similarly for home cooking, Hakka nam yee red sauce can be prepared prior to cooking Hakka cuisine, with storage period up to one month if it's kept refrigerated properly.

Variations to Hakka nam yee red sauce and cooking methods :

(i) Fried fish in nam yee sauce (南乳酱干烧鱼)

• Pan-fry fish until cooked and dish up. Heat up a dab of oil, stir fry minced meat until fragrant. Add in nam yee red sauce, water, fish and cook until the gravy thickened.

(ii) Nam yee spare ribs (南乳排骨)

• Mix spare ribs with nam yee red sauce, water and egg to marinate for three hours. Deep-fry in hot oil until golden brown and cooked.

Learn how to make Hakka nam yee (Fermented Red Beancurd) red sauce with below ingredients and spices, with truely simple steps providing you offer all the trimmings!

Ingredients :
8 pieces fermented red beancurd ("nam yee" 南乳)
3 tbsp chopped garlic
3 tbsp chopped shallots
1 tsp chopped ginger
2 star anise (八角)
5cm long cinnamon stick (桂皮)
3 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp shaoxing wine (绍兴酒)
250ml water
50ml oil

Method :
1. Heat up 5 tbsp oil, saute chopped shallot and garlic until fragrant.
2. Add in the remaining ingredients and bring to boil until the sauce thicken.

After cooling down, Hakka nam yee red sauce can be kept refrigerated until one month for cooking use to create a versatile of dishes.

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Pork Belly Stewed in Dark Soy Sauce (Tau Yew Bak) Recipe | Easy Asian Cooking

Pork belly chunks is braised in an aromatic dark sauce flavored with star anise, cinnamon, white pepper and whole bulbs of garlic. Pork belly stewed in dark soy sauce (Tau Yew Bak) is a memorable nostalgia Chinese provincial dish that went on national scale. Though simple, it never disappoints our tastebuds with its intense flavors and spice.

When talking about nostalgic country style homecooked food, this comfort homey dish - pork belly stewed in soy sauce (Tau Yew Bak in Hokkien) will naturally comes into my mind. This is part of my mum's legacy and I must say I grew up with this. Pork belly stewed in dark soy sauce is a very Penang Hokkien dish and its popularity has even reached our Teochew kitchen. The dish may vary in every Chinese kitchen with different cooking styles, as cooking this family tradition dish is intuitive, liberating and improvisational instead of following a set of strict instructions from a recipe.

Learning how to cook can be a daunting task, but not with this how to recipe. Whilst some Hokkien homes like to use five-spice powder for marinade, I prefer star anise and cinnamon stick. You can add in some amount of fried bean curds (tau kua in Hokkien) and Chinese mushrooms to have a more substantial dish. For those weight watchers, this sinful and cholesterol laden pork belly can be substituted with chicken or lean pork.

Ingredients :

600g pork belly with gelatinous skin, cut into 1 inch length or bite-sized pieces (五花肉或三层肉)
4 whole bulbs of garlic, keep whole with papery skin peeled off
1 piece of star anise
1 piece of cinnamon stick, roughly 5cm in length
4 hard boiled eggs, with shells removed
Some water

Marinade :
4 tbsp of soy sauce
4 tbsp thick dark soy sauce
1/2 cup of rock sugar (can be substituted with brown sugar or 3 tbsp castor sugar)
1/2 tsp white pepper

Method :

1. Marinate pork belly slices with soy sauce, thick dark soy sauce, rock sugar and white pepper for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight in refrigerator. 

2. Heat up a claypot. Without adding any oil, pour the marinated pork and the excess marinade into the claypot, keep stirring the pork to prevent scorching. Add in in the whole garlic, keep stirring until the gravy is thickened and the pork belly slices are tender.

3. As soon as sugar begin to caramelize, add just enough water to cover the pork and garlic. Bring to boil, reduce to low heat and stew for 40 minutes (with the claypot lid covered) or until the liquid is reduced to about half its amount. Stir occasionally to ensure even cooking.

4. Add in hard boiled eggs (with shell removed). Coat the eggs with sauce mixture and toss frequently. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Add some water (if required) to prevent the sauce from drying up. Taste and add additional soy sauce or salt as desired.

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Yong Tau Foo Recipe | Easy Asian Cooking

This is a Malaysian famous Yong Tau Foo recipe that hubby and I made another day with a twist to traditional Yong Tau Foo dishes (Yong Tau Foo is stuffed tofu, chilli, eggplant and okra with fish paste). Instead of using fish mousse or fish paste as stuffing ingredients, our home-made Yong Tau Foo are customized to use grounded pork belly meat which replaced the fishy taste to earthy flavor of pork. While traditional Yong Tau Foo usually drenched in a clear and soupy broth, we have our Yong Tow Foo deep-fried until the grounded meat turned to brownish color (with bitter taste of bitter gourd and aubergine removed) and later brought to steam to ensure the stuffing ingredients are thoroughly cooked, excess oil removed and the textures of chilli, eggplant and okra are soften.

Learn how to make a simple homestyle Yong Tau Foo (tofu and vegetables stuffed with grounded pork Meat) using recipe below.

酿豆腐食谱

Ingredients :

3 large okras (ladies fingers), slit lengthwise in the middle, remove seeds and veins (for stuffing later), do not slice all the way through
3 large red chillies, slit lengthwise in the middle, remove seeds and veins (for stuffing later), do not slice all the way through
½ bitter gourd, cut into ½ inch thick slices, remove white core
½  large Chinese eggplant (aubergine or brinjal), remove stem, cut into 1½ inch slices
1 piece firm tofu (soy bean curd), slice horizontally into halves to form a pocket
2 cups vegetable oil

Ingredients for Stuffing :

400g grounded pork belly meat
1 tbsp cornstarch
½  tsp salt mixed with 2 tbsp water
1 tsp soy sauce
½  tsp freshly-gounded white pepper
½  tsp sesame oil

Method :

1. Using a blender, grind 400g pork belly meat while adding a bit of salt water slowly. In a mixing bowl, add sesame oil, soy sauce, white pepper and corn flour, stir well in one direction to combine and mix into a sticky paste with a springy texture. This forms the stuffing paste for Yong Tau Foo.

2. For vegetables and tofu preparation :

• Slice firm tofu (bean curd) through the center to form a pocket to tuck in the stuffing paste later.
• Slice bitter gourd into ½ inch thick slices, remove white core. This leaves an empty ring in the middle to be stuffed with stuffing paste later.
• Cut Chinese eggplant [aubergine or brinjal] into 1½ inch slices. Then cut across in the middle with even thickness to form an opening for stuffing later, be careful not to slice all the way through .
• Slit ladies fingers and red chilies lengthwise in the middle, remove seeds and veins (for stuffing later), be careful not to slice all the way through.

Pat dry with paper towels for stuffing and deep-frying later.

3. Stuff with grounded meat paste using a butter knife but make sure that you do not over-stuff them. Else the stuffing ingredients will disassociate and fall off the vegetables and tofu during deep-frying.

4. Add 2 cups of vegetable oil in a large heavy skillet, when the oil turns hot (make sure oil starts to bubbles), deep-fry the stuffed Yong Tau Foo until the grounded pork meat turns into brownish color on both sides. Dish up and drain on paper towels to discard excess oil.

5. Transfer to a steaming plate for steaming. Steam for 5 minutes to ensure all the stuffing ingredients are well-cooked and to soften the textures of chillies, okras and sliced eggplants. Yong Tau Foo are now ready to be served with Thai chilli dipping sauce and they go well with white steamed rice.

Cooking Tips :

• Chinese eggplants are available in several varieties. They are long, curved and slightly wider at one end. Choose Chinese eggplant that are firm with bright shiny skin.
• Any vegetable suitable for stuffing can be used, such as squash, zucchini, baby eggplant, peppers and tomatillo.
• Instead of steaming, alternatively you can prepare gravy and simmer for 5 minutes before serving. Saute some minced garlic, chillies, shallots and preserved beans (taucu). Then add in pre-prepared fish stock (boil fish bones with big onions in some water). Add pepper, sugar and soy sauce to taste. Lastly Yong Tau Foo added in and simmer for 5 minutes.

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