Crispy Batter Nian Gao

I was goggling for Nian Gao Batter recipe and come across a website stating Crispy Batter Nian Gao. I decided to give it a try and it is indeed crispy.

Recipe adapted from: https://dayre.me/coasterkitchen

Ingredients:
Nian gao, 年糕
Yam (i did not use)
Kumara/ sweet potatoes( i did not use)

100g rice flour
50g potato/ tapioca starch
25g corn starch
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cooking oil
1/8 tsp salt
100 - 125ml cold water
1 tsp castor sugar ( I added sugar apart from the website)

Method:
1. Cut the nian gao into equal squares and thickness of about 1cm each. Set aside.
2.  To make the coating batter, add rice flour, potato/ tapioca starch, corn starch, cooking oil, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Mix it evenly.
3.  Then add in the egg and half portion of the water. Mix it well until it becomes a thick yet a little runny batter.
4. The batter should not be too thin until it is not able to coat the nian gao.
Add more water, little bit at a time, to the batter if needed.
5. Heat up pan with oil. Coat the nian gao with the batter and deep fry till golden brown.

Steamed Radish Cake 萝卜糕

This is definately super yummy that I made it for continuous two day.  I made half recipe on the first day.  After steamed and cool it completely, I chilled it in fridge for few hours then sliced it and pan fry it.  It is so delicious that I regretted for not making full recipe.  The next day I bought another white radish and made the radish cake again.  Thank you Christine's recipe for sharing your recipe.

Recipe adapted from http://en.christinesrecipes.com

Ingredients: 

(Full recipe)

1 kg Chinese Radish 

170 gm rice flour

4 Tbsp wheat starch

40 gm Chinese sausage (臘腸)

45 gm Chinese bacon (臘肉) - I replaced with 45g Chinese sausage as I do not have chinese bacon

55 gm Chinese dried shrimps

60 gm salted radish (cai por)

2 shallots, minced

180ml cup unsalted chicken broth

pinch of grounded white pepper

Method: 

1. Steam Chinese sausage for 5 minutes for easy chopping. Let it cool then diced it coarsely. 

2. Peel the skin of radish and grate into strips.

3. Soak the dried shrimp for 5mins separately then drain and set aside. Coarsely chop them (if you buy smaller ones, you don’t need to chop them then.) 

4. Soak salted radish, rinse well and finely chop.

5. In a big bow, mix the rice flour with wheat flour well.

6. Add some oil in a non-stick wok, fry Chinese sausage over medium heat. Add in dried shrimps and salted radish, continue to fry until aromatic.  Set aside

7. In same wok, add another some oil, fry sliced shallots till it turn soften. Add grated radish.Sprinkle white pepper to taste. Pour in chicken broth, bring to a boil, cover and cook until tender and translucent. Remove from heat. 

8. Add rice flour and wheat starch, quickly combine all ingredients into a thick batter.

9. Add in chinese sausages, salted radish and dried shrimps and mix well. Pour the mixture into a greased pan, 8-inch square. 

10. Steam over high heat with cover, about 45 to 60 minutes. Check the water level and replenish, if necessary, with boiling water. Insert a chopstick into the middle part. If it comes out clean, the cake is cooked through. Let cool and refrigerate with cover for 4 hours.Cut into pieces, fry both sides until golden brown. Serve hot, accompanying with chili sauce and dark sweet sauce of your choice.

Nai Bai with Abalone

Another Vegetable with abalone tonight.  This CNY period, I have cooked few dishes with abalone.  This is the last dish with abalone for this year.

Ingredients:

Nai Bai Vegetable, soak with salted water to remove any dirt inside.

1 Abalone, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

Cooking oil

Sauce: (mix together)

2 tbsp gravy from the can of abalone

3 tbsp water

1tsp oyster sauce

1tsp hua tiao wine

dash of pepper

cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce

Method:

1. In a pot of boiling water, blanch abalone for few seconds. Set aside.

2. Using same pot of boiling water, add some oil and salt in it and blanch the veg. Set aside.

3. In a small pan, heat oil and fry garlic till fragrant. Pour in the sauce mixture and bring to boil.  Add in cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce gravy. Off heat.

4. Assemble the veg, abalone on a serving plate and pour gravy in.

Fu Gui Cai with Abalone

I love to cook this vegetable during CNY period.  This year I cooked it with abalone and serving this dish on the dinner table, it look so pretty and delicious.

Ingredients:

1 Fu Gui Cai

1 can of abalone

some wolfberries

1/2 cup of abalone stock

300-400ml water

1tsp chinese cooking wine

1tsp oyster sauce

some minced garlic

2 slice ginger

Cornstarch for thickening

Cooking oil

Method:

1. Soak vegetable in salt water to get rid of any tiny dirt.

2. In a pot of boiling water with some oil, blamch the vegetable and drain it. Put in on serving plate and set aside.

3. In a pan, heat oil and fry garlic and ginger till fragrant.

4. Add water, stock, oyster sauce, cooking wine and wolfberries. Put in abalone and blanch it for awhile. Then remove abalone and sliced it.

5. Add in cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce.

6. Place the sliced abalone around the vegetable.  Scoop the wolfberries and place it on top. Slowly pour the gravy over the veg and serve.

Lucky Koi Fish Pudding

Simple dessert I made during CNY.  This is the 2nd year I made the same dessert simce last year.  This year I only use premix pudding powder to do all the job.  For the eyes, I used raisin.  With the reminding pudding mixture after I do the koi fish pudding, I also made some ingot pudding.

Ingredients:

1 box of Mango Pudding Mix

A drop of Orange Food Colouring

Fish mould and Ingot mould

2 Raisin(for eyes)

Method:

1. Boil the mango pudding mix with water according to the instruction on the box in a pot.

2. Scoop some boiled mixture in a small bowl and dip the raisin then stick it on the eyes area on the mould. 

3. Drop abit of food colouring into the small bowl mixture and mix well.

4. Using a teaspoon, scoop the orange mixture on the some part of the fish mould.  You can give some blow to let it semi dry and settle on the mould. Leave it for few minutes.

5. Slowly add in the pot of mango pudding mixture into the mould using a scoop.

6.  Leave it to cool down then transfer to fridge.

7.  After 3 - 4 hours, your lucky koi fish pudding is ready to serve as dessert.

Note: I still left some mango pudding mixture so I pour into Ingot mould too.

Nian Gao

Fried Nian Gao is another snack that some household will fried during Chinese Lunar New Year.  It is consider good luck when you eat during CNY period.  I preferred fried type than steam type(coat with grated coconut).  Again, this year I deep fry one piece of nian gao together with one piece of sweet potato.  Some people deep fry nian gao with sweet potato and yam so it is up to individual preference.
Recipe adapted from a website 2 years ago.

Ingredients:

Nian Gao, (sliced)

Sweet Potato, (remove skin and sliced)

Batter coating:

1/2 cup rice flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2tsp baking powder

100-115ml water

1/2 egg

1/2 salt

Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Combine all flour, baking powder, egg, salt and water together.  Whisk till smooth batter formed.

2. If batter too thick, add in some water little by little at a time.  Do not make the batter too watery as it cannot hold nian gao later.

3. Place 1 piece nuan gao and 1 piece sweet potato together and dip into the batter.  Then put into hot oil and deep fry using medium slow heat till it turn golden brown.

盆菜 (Pen Cai)

My first lunar new year dish for year 2015 will be Pen Cai (盆菜)。This is my simple homecooked version.  Hope my hubby and my kids like it.

盆菜 
Pen Cai
Ingredients:
Abalone
Roasted Chicken thigh
Prawns
Mushroom, soak in some water to soften the mushroom and remember to trim off the middle hard portion.
Straw Mushroom
Dried Scallop
Cabbage
Brocolli

Soup Base:
250 ml Swason Chicken Broth
Water from soaking mushroom
300ml Water

Recipe for roasted chicken: Roasted Chicken Thigh


Method:
1. Boil soup base in a pot. Add mushroom and dried scallop in it and let it slowly simmer/ braised for abt for 45min to 1 hrs.  Take out and set aside. Then blanch brocolli using the soup base.
2. In a claypot, lay cabbage in it. Add some soup base in it and simmer for few mins till cabbage is cooked.
3. Then arrange the roasted chicken thigh, brocolli, straw mushroom, mushrooms, prawns, dried scallop, abalone on top of the cabbage.
4. Scoop the remainder soup base in it and simmer for few mins.
5. Serve