Loofah N Dried Mussels Soup

Recipe: Loofah N Dried Mussels Soup胜瓜淡菜汤

Serves: 2

Ingredients

250g pork spare ribs or chicken 280g loofah (peeled) ¼ cup dried mussels 750ml water salt to taste 1 century egg (sliced)

Measurements: tsp. = teaspoon | TBSP = tablespoon

Preparation
1. Rinse dried mussels. Peel loofah and cut into chunks.	2. Blanch spare ribs in a small pot of boiling water for about 30 seconds. Discard water in the pot. Set aside spare ribs.	3. Bring 750ml water to a boil in a stockpot or claypot. Add spare ribs and dried mussels, let bring to a boil again over high heat. Then, reduce heat to low, cover with lid, simmer for 1 hour.
4. Add loofah and continue to simmer with lid on for another 20 minutes, or until loofah is tender.	5. Season soup with salt to taste.	6. Crack open century egg and slice with a knife.
7. Add century egg to soup, cover with lid and cook for 3 - 5 minutes over medium heat. Soup is ready to serve.

Daikon Radish Soup

Recipe: Daikon Radish Soup白萝卜汤

Serves: 2 - 3

Fennel seeds and black peppercorns give this simple daikon radish soup a unique flavor. Its aroma reminds me of my grandpa. He used to cook daikon radish soup with beef for us during rainy monsoon in year end, not always but once in a while, a similar taste to this recipe but I don't know if the ingredients he used are just this simple. We never get the chance to taste this soup after he passed away. May be my dad knows what are the ingredients, but I never ask him.

Ingredients

160g chicken bones (chicken, beef, pork, or mixed; I used chicken feet) 100g boneless pork or beef 230g daikon radish (peeled) 50g or ¼ to ½ of a sweet onion 1000ml water ¼ tsp. + 1/8 tsp. salt or to taste

Bouquet Garni 35 whole black peppercorns ¼ tsp. fennel seeds（小茴香） Garnish chopped spring onion 8 sprigs fresh cilantro leaves

Measurements: tsp. = teaspoon | TBSP = tablespoon

Preparation
1. Roughly crush peppercorns with the side of a knife. Put crushed peppercorns and fennel seeds into a tea / cofee filter bag. Set aside bouquet garni.	2. Peel daikon radish. Cut daikon radish into big chunks; straigh cut at one side and diagonal cut on the other side. Cut sweet onion into big chunks.	3. Prepare a big chunk of meat. Slice meat when soup is cooked later.
4. Blanch meat in a pot of boiling water for about 30 seconds, until it changes color.	5. Wash and rinse bones. Put bones and 1000ml water in a medium stockpot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Skim off any scum or froth appears on the surface with a spoon.	6. Add blanched meat, bouquet garni, and sweet onion into stockpot. Bring to a boil again over high heat.
7. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes with lid on.	8. Add daikon radish and continue to cook for 2 hours 30 minutes over low heat, with lid on.	9. Season soup with salt to taste. Let simmer for 3 - 5 minutes over low heat. Then, turn off the heat.
10. Remove cilantro leaves from stem, discard stem. Chop spring onion. Fish out meat from soup and slice.	11. Put meat slices into serving bowl. Ladle soup into the bowl and garnish with chopped spring onion and cilantro leaves. Serve hot.

Homemade Parrot Fish Balls

Recipe: Homemade Parrot Fish Balls(自制鹦哥鱼鱼丸)
Yields: 18 - 20 regular size fish balls (about 1 TBSP each)




Ingredients A

• 330g Parrot fish flesh
• 1½ tsp salt
• 3 ice cubes (about 45g)
• ¼ cup + 2 TBSP water

Ingredients B

• 1½ tsp pepper
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 2 - 4 TBSP water (Add gradually. Stop adding if fish paste is not springy and bouncy)

Measurements: tsp = teaspoon | TBSP = tablespoon

Preparation
How To Scrape Off Fish Flesh From A Fish
1. Clean fish. Scale and gut fish. Place a sharp knife behind the pectoral fin, make a diagonal downward cut to chop off fish head. Run knife along fish backbone from head end, cut as close to the backbone as possible to fillet fish.	2. Repeat step 1 on the revert side of fish.	3. Using a metal spoon, scrape meat off from fish bone.
4. Then, scrape meat off from the skin. Place a knife horizontally in the center of the skin to avoid from sliding.
Fish Ball Making
1. Blend fish flesh, ice cubes and water (¼ cup + 2 TBSP) into fish paste in a food processor, about 3 minutes.	2. Add salt and blend for another 2 minutes.	3. Put fish paste in a medium bowl. Add pepper and oil. Using a pair of chopsticks, stir mixture in one direction until incorporated. Gradually add some water if fish paste is too sticky, combine well before each addition.
4. Knead fish paste with hand for about 1 minute.	5. With one hand holding the bowl and one hand grabbing the paste, lift paste about 12-inch high and throw it back into the bowl. Repeat throwing for about 80 times.	6. Fish paste should be smooth and a little glossy when ready.
7. Shape two very small fish balls and put them into a big bowl of cold tape water. If the fish balls float on the surface within a minute, that means the fish paste is ready. Else continue throwing fish paste for a few more minutes.	8. Prepare a medium stockpot, fill with water about two third full. You will be using this stockpot and water inside to cook fish balls after shaping. Now, moisten your palm with some water. Grab a handful of fish paste in your palm.	9. Moisten a metal spoon with water. Smooth paste in your palm using the moistened spoon.
10. You can start squeezing as soon as the fish paste in your palm is smooth and glossy.	11. Squeeze fish ball out through the space between your thumb and index finger.	12. A closeup view of how the fish paste look like when I half-way squeezing it in my palm.
13. Spoon fish ball with a moistened spoon and drop it into the prepared stockpot. Continue shaping with the remaining fish paste.	14. As soon as you finish shaping, cook fish balls in the prepared stockpot over medium heat.	15. When the fish balls start floating on the surface, reduce heat to low and continue simmer for another 5 to 8 minutes. Turn off the heat and fish out the fish balls.
16. Fish balls are ready. You can serve fish balls with noodle soup, or cook as a dish with sauce.

Notes

Always choose fresh fish to make fish balls. Fish head, fish bone, and fish skin can be used to prepare fish stock. Fish balls can be stored in refrigerator in an air tight container for up to 3 days. The purpose of throwing fish paste is to enhance its elasticity and bounciness.

Red Bean Ice Bars

Recipe: Red Bean Ice Bars红豆冰棒

Yields: 18 - 19 bars

Ingredients

1 cup dry red beans 4 cups water 1 - 2 pandan leaves (tie into a knot) *optional 100g to 150g castor sugar 100g coconut milk powder 100ml whipping cream 3 TBSP corn starch

Measurements: tsp. = teaspoon | TBSP = tablespoon

Preparation
1. Wash and drain red beans. Soak red beans in water for 4 hours. Bring 4 cups of water, soaked red beans, and pandan leaves to a boil in a stockpot. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid and continue to simmer until red beans are tender, about 45 minutes.	2. Fish out red beans and put them in a bowl. Leave 400ml red bean soup in stockpot. Add water if soup is not enough.	3. Add coconut milk powder to stockpot. Whisk mixture until there is no visible powder.
4. Add sugar. Cook mixture over medium low heat until sugar dissolves.	5. Add about 420g cooked red beans back to the mixture.	6. Ladle ¼ cup mixture from stockpot into a large measuring cup. Add corn starch to cup, stir until incorporated.
7. Reduce heat to low. Stir in corn starch mixture to the mixture in stockpot. Keep stirring for about 30 seconds. Then, turn off the heat.	8. Let red bean mixture to cool for 10 minutes before adding whipping cream.	9. Allow red bean mixture to cool completely. Pour red bean mixture into ice bar molds then pop into freezer. Ice bars should be ready after 8 hours in freezer.

Notes

Red bean mixture needs to be sweet so that ice bars will not turn out tasteless.