Braised Sweet Sour Fish Maw (Ko Rue Foo Chow Style)

 

Having grown up in Ayer Tawar, Sitiawan (Perak), where the majority of the Chinese in Manjung are Foo Chows or Hock Chews, our lifestyle, more or less has been influenced by the Foo Chows, no doubt I am from a Hokkien family.  Foo Chow style sweet sour fish maw is a must during Chinese New Year and it is no doubt one of the best dishes we love.   Initially, my hubby could not get used to the sweet sour dish.  He used to be curious why most of the dishes in Manjung's restaurants are sweet and sour; be it fish maw, sea cucumber, etc.  After so many years, he has got used to it and in fact quite like the sweet sour fish maw.  As far as I know, only the Foo Chow style fish maw is cooked sweet and sour.  Do correct me if I am wrong.

What is fish maw?  Fish Maw 花膠/鱼鳔 is an internal gas-filled organ found in most fish and is commonly used in Chinese cooking. Fish maw is believed to be an excellent source of collagen. Dried fish maw is hard, solid, hollow, translucent and must be soaked to soften before cook. Some may prefer to deep-fried it or boiled it in water with ginger and spring onions to get rid of the fishy smell. When cooked, it has soft texture.

We cooked this Sweet Sour Fish Maw on the 3rd day of the Chinese New Year.

Ingredients :

(A)

- 1 pack of fish maw (deep fried, soaked in water, rinsed and squeezed out the water and tear into pieces)

- 1 bowl of fresh bamboo shoot (finely sliced)

-  1/2 bowl of shredded carrot

-  1 bowl of mixed minced pork and small shrimps

-  few dried mushrooms (soaked and finely sliced)

- 1 can of button mushroom (washed and sliced)

- 4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

- 1 thumb sized ginger (finely chopped)

 (B)

- White vinegar and/or plum sauce (to taste)
- Tomato sauce (to taste) I used about 1 bottle!
- Garlic chili sauce (to taste) I used  1/2 bottle of Kampong Koh chili sauce

- sugar to taste

- soy sauce to taste

- salt to taste

(C)
-  2 eggs (beaten)
- cornstarch with water for thickening

- cooking oil

- water

Method :

1)  Heat oil in a wok or pot and saute garlic and ginger until aromatic.  

2)  Stir in  minced meat and shrimps until fragrant.

3)  Add the rest of the ingredients (A).  

4)  Stir and mix well. Add enough water.  Let it simmer  until all the ingredients are cooked.

5)  Add ingredients (B) according to taste.  For those who like the dish to be spicier and more sour, add extra garlic chili sauce and white vinegar or plum sauce.

6) Keep stirring while adding the beaten egg and thicken the gravy with constarch.

7)  Serve hot.

* I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover *

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Fake green peas (kacang hijau)

I received this info from a friend via e-mail and feel that I must blog this so that the public would be more careful when buying green peas.  Whether the article is true or not, it is still no harm to take extra care when buying any food stuff.

#Green peas are green rounded pea seeds that are sweet and starchy in taste. Green peas contains twice the protein of most vegetable, so they are a healthier substitute for meat. Three quarters cup of peas provides 6 grams of protein, plus thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium and 645 units of vitamin A. Unfortunately most of food industries in developing nations cheating the customers with fake greens peas which are prepared from toxic chemicals (dyes). These industries preparing the green peas from brown peas (cheaper) by soaking them in dye solution for overnight.    

All these chemicals have been banned by US food and drug administration in 1974 itself. Frequent consumption of fake green peas leads to colon and bladder cancer. All these fake green peas banned in US, Canada, all European countries and other developed countries.

Identification of fake green peas: 

1. Put the peas in boil water for 30 seconds. Water turns to green color. 

2. After consumption check your tongue to observe green color stains and light bitter in taste. 

Symptoms 

1. Stomach irritation, pain or acidity. 

2. Urine turns to light green color. 

3. Mild head ache. 

Case study: 

I am a common person too and not aware of these things. After consumption of fake green peas, I got stomach pain, with a little bit common sense, I observed my tongue which was having green stains. The following packet bought from Tesco, Penang on 4th July 2010.

 

As a responsible chemist, I started analysis of the above mentioned peas in laboratory. I find the toxic chemicals (green dyes). Newspaper reference: China daily http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-03/31/content_9664992.htm D. Bharath Reddy Research scholar Centre for drug research USM, Pulau Penang Malaysia 11800. 

Please share, it costs nothing.#

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King of Soy Sauce Prawns

Prawns symbolize happiness for Chinese especially when it is cooked during Chinese New Year. When pronounced in Cantonese, it is “haa” which of course sounds like laughter! So, let's ha...ha...ha...ha... over this King of Soy Sauce Prawns which I adapted it from Nasi Lemak Lover. I cooked this yesterday; the 6th day of Chinese New Year when my good friends came to visit me.

Ingredients :

- 1Kg large prawns (cleaned and deveined)
- 1 bowl of cloves garlic (minced)
- 2tbsp of light soy sauce (to taste)
- thick caramel sauce (to taste)
- 2tsp sugar (to taste)
- 1 small bowl of dried shrimps (washed and minced)
- Few stalks of spring onion (washed and cut into 1" length - separate the white part and green part))
- 1 red chili (washed and shredded)

Method :
1. Heat oil in a wok over high heat. Saute garlic, dried shrimps and white part of spring onion till fragrant.

2. Add in the prawns and give it a quick toss. Then, add in light soy sauce and sugar, mix well and give another quick stir.
3. Then, add in green onions, mix well and dish out.

4. Garnish with shredded red chili and serve hot.

* I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover *

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Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving me comments.. I really appreciate all your visits and comments! Have a nice day :)