To Cook
Gather all dried spices ingredients and cook with butter on low heat in a pan for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover with lid and allow to cook for another 15 minutes. Strain butter into a mixing bowl and set aside.
Return the strained spices back to the pan. Add in Shaoxing wine and bring to boil over medium heat, then cover with lid and turn heat down to low and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. to the saucepan and add the wine. Turn heat off and set the pan aside, leaving the spices and wine in the pan.
In a separate pan, heat the strained spiced butter, add in minced ginger. Saute for about 5 minutes before adding in the chopped spring onions and minced garlic. Saute until fragrant then add in the cut dried chillies and Sichuan peppercorns. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes and add the chilli bean paste. Allow to cook over low heat for approximately 10 minutes. Then gently strain the pan of Shaoxing wine into this chilli bean pot and discard the cooked dried spices. Add the rock sugar and allow the pot to cook for a further 30 minutes. The Sichuan spicy hot pot paste is completed here.
Prepare all of the fresh ingredients and plate them around the dining table.
Prepare the an electric hot pot or a hot pot over induction cook top, and place in the middle of the dining table. Turn heat on and add in the chicken stock. Scoop out half of the prepared Sichuan spicy hot pot paste and add to the chicken stock. Then add in the dried shitake mushrooms and dried chillies. Cover with lid and allow to boil. Once boiling, turn heat down, remove lid and add in any of the fresh ingredients, in batches. Cover the pot again with lid and bring it to a boil again. The ingredients should be cooked now and ready to be served. Add water when required as the hot pot will evaporate from cooking overtime.
Seafood
Prawn Beancurd Skin Rolls (Fu Pei Guen)
To Prep
Roughly chop half of the prawns into chunks. Use a food processor to process remaining prawns into a paste. In a large mixing bowl, combine both with ginger, chicken stock powder, salt, egg white, Shaoxing wine, cornflour and sesame oil. Cover in cling film and set aside.
Unfold dried beancurd skin and cut into 16 pieces. Place a damp cloth over dried beancurd skin pieces to soften. Place a spoonful of prawn mixture onto one end of softened beancurd skin. Roll up and seal end with cornflour and water mixture.
To Cook
Heat up oil over medium heat to deep fry. Once oil has come to temperature, carefully place rolls into hot oil and fry each side 2-3 mins or until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel.
Allow to cool slightly, then serve with mayonnaise and sweet chilli sauce.
Sesame Prawn Toast
To Prep
Roughly chop half of the prawns into chunks. Use a food processor to process remaining prawns into a paste. In a large mixing bowl, combine both with ginger, chicken stock powder, salt, egg white, Shaoxing wine, cornflour and sesame oil. Cover in cling film and set aside.
Remove crusts from slices of bread, and then cut diagonally into 4 triangles. Spread a spoonful of prawn mixture onto each triangle, and then coat prawn side with sesame seeds.
To Cook
Heat up oil over medium heat to deep fry. Once oil has come to temperature, carefully place sesame prawn toast into the hot oil prawn side down and fry until prawns have cooked. Turn over and cook bread side until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel.
Cool slightly, and then serve.
Prawn and Ginger Dumplings
To Prep
Roughly chop half of the prawns into chunks. Use a food processor to process remaining prawns into a paste. In a large mixing bowl, combine both with ginger, chicken stock powder, salt, egg white, Shaoxing wine, cornflour and sesame oil.
Place a small spoonful of prawn mixture in the centre of the dumpling wrapper. Brush water on one side of the dumpling wrapper, and then fold the other side up but do not seal. Working from left to right, make small pleats on side closest to you until both sides have joined, and then pinch together to seal the top.
To Cook
Steam dumplings for 6 mins, and then serve immediately.
Dried Scallops and Minced Pork Congee
To Begin
In a bowl, marinade minced pork with soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil. Mix well and set aside.
Place washed rice in a large pot. Add soaked scallops and water. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat to medium and tilt the lid. Allow to simmer while stirring occasionally for 30 mins. If congee becomes too thick at any point, add in ½ cup water and stir to dilute.
Using clean hands, drop in marinated minced pork bit by bit to break into small chunks. Add salt and continue to simmer for 5-10 mins until minced pork is cooked.
Transfer to individual serving bowls and garnish with spring onions, ginger and fried shallots. Drizzle with a few drops of sesame oil and soy sauce according to taste. Add a dash of ground white pepper if desired.
Chinese Shark Fin Melon Soup
To Cook
First prepare the pork by adding to vigorously boiling water for 10 minutes, then discard the boiling water. Then remove any impurities from the pork.
In a large pot, add the blanched pork, shark fin melon, red dates, dried scallops and dried mussels to 2L of water. Bring the water to a boil then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for about an hour.
Add the goji berries to the soup and allow to simmer for at least another hour.
Season with salt to taste. Turn the heat back up and bring the soup to a boil before turning off the heat. Serve hot.
Chinese Radish Soup
To Cook
First prepare the pork by adding to vigorously boiling water for 10 minutes, then discard the boiling water. Then remove any impurities from the pork.
In a large pot, add the blanched pork, cut white radishes, carrots, red dates and dried scallops to 2L of water. Bring the water to a boil then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for about an hour.
Add the dried cuttlefish to the soup and allow to simmer for another hour.
Season with salt to taste. Turn the heat back up and bring the soup to a boil before turning off the heat. Serve hot.
Filipino Stir Fried Noodles (Pancit Bam-I)
To Prepare
Boil 2 cups of water with a pinch of salt. Add the chicken breast and cook until fully done. Remove the chicken and reserve the cooking water. Let the chicken cool, then shred it into thin slices.
Place the pork in a small bowl and marinate it with soy sauce and vinegar for 15 minutes. Heat some oil in a wok, stir-fry the pork for about 3 minutes, then remove. Allow to cool and slice thinly.
Slice the Chinese sausage into small pieces. Stir-fry in the same wok over medium heat until cooked through in its own oil. Remove and set aside.
Add 1 tsp of oil to the wok and stir-fry the shrimp until pink. Remove, leaving the remaining oil in the wok. Chop the shrimp into smaller pieces and set aside.
To Cook
In the same wok, sauté garlic and onions in the leftover shrimp oil over medium heat until soft and fragrant.
Add the shredded chicken and sliced pork, stir-fry for 1 minute, then add bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, snow peas, and cabbage. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes.
Pour in 1 cup of the reserved chicken broth, add soy sauce and brown sugar. Mix well and simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, soak the rice noodles in cold water and cut them in half. Soak the mushrooms in warm water for 2 minutes, then slice. Add the rice noodles and mushrooms to the simmering broth and cook for 5 minutes.
Finally, add the canton noodles, stirring constantly, and cook for 10 minutes until softened.
Return the Chinese sausage to the wok. Season with ground black pepper and soy sauce to taste. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
Prawn and Vegetables in Coconut Milk (Ginataang Kalabasa, Sitaw At Hipon)
To Cook
Heat oil in pot over medium heat. Put in onion and garlic and cook until softened. Stir in fish sauce and cook for 1 min.
Add in coconut milk and chilli, simmer on low heat for 5 mins. Throw in the squash and cook for 5 mins before adding the long beans, cooking for another 5 mins.
Finally, add in shrimps and cook for until pink, about 5 mins. Add salt to taste.
Serve hot over steamed rice.
BBQ Mulberry Moreton Bay Bugs and Lychee Scallops
To Begin
Fire up the BBQ!
Cut the Bugs lengthways with a large sharp knife and clean insides.
Simmer berries with ABC Sweet Soy Sauce Kecap Manis, ginger, diced chilli and half of the sugar in a saucepan until marinade reduces and thickens. Keep some berries intact.
Pour marinade over flesh of bugs, filling the shell with any intact berries. Set the bugs in the fridge for at least one hour to cool.
Blend lychees and remaining sugar then sieve into a saucepan. Simmer until the sauce reduces. Let it cool, then add coriander and the sliced chillies.
Place bugs on grill and grill for 10 minutes.
Place scallops on grill, sprinkle over the spring onions and lemongrass and splash the Obento Rice Wine Vinegar over all the scallops. Grill for 4 minutes.
Auspicious Chinese New Year Pen Cai
To Prep
Soak and prepare all ingredients in advance and based on the time required.
The Broth
Heat the oil in a large heated pot over medium heat.
Add chopped garlic and saute until fragrant.
Add in chicken stock, mushroom, fish maw, cabbage, white radish and all other seasonings required for the broth.
Bring it to a boil over medium high heat then lower the fire to simmer for 30 mins.
Cooking and Blanching the Ingredients
Cook and blanch those ingredients that need to be cooked in the broth (Can be done in batches or add the ingredients that need to cook into the pot all at once and remove from the pot when done)
Estimated Time (Varies based on size): Prawns and Scallops about 3 mins, broccoli about 15 to 20 sec, Carrot about 2 to 3 mins, lobster tails about 3 mins
Remove cooked items from the broth and set aside for layering later. Turn off the heat of the broth while layering.
Ingredients that do not need to cook in broth: Roast pork, roast duck and fat choy
Layering the Auspicious Pot
Start with Napa Cabbage, dried beancurd skin, fish maw, fat choy and white radish.
Arrange mushroom, scallops, lobster tails, prawns, roast meats, broccoli, carrots, goji berries to fill the top layer.
Finishing and Thickening of Broth
Bring the broth back to boil.
Add Hua Tiao Wine and allow it to boil for a min.
Mix the corn flour and water in a small bowl
Slowly pour in the corn flour mixture into the boiling broth and stir while adding.
Ladle the broth over the pot of layered ingredients
Filipino Stuffed Prawn Rolls (Rellenong Hipon)
To Prep
Peel prawns and remove prawn heads, leaving the tail intact. Using a small knife, make an incision all the way down the centre of the prawn’s back, to remove and discard the vein.
Spread open the prawn until it lies flat, belly facing up. Make a small slit across on the belly close to the tail. This is to prevent the prawn from curling up when cooking. Set prawns aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine all other ingredients except for spring roll wrappers, stir well until ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
Place about 1/2 tsp of the meat mixture in the centre of the butterflied prawn, then close around filling by pressing the sides of the prawn flesh together.
Arrange triangle spring roll wrapper with pointed side facing up on working bench. Place a stuffed prawn in the middle of one spring roll wrapper, then fold right side of the wrapper over the stuffed prawn, and then fold the pointed side down. Then roll the wrapper tightly around the prawn, moistening the sides with a dap of water and pressing gently but firmly to seal it. Place the wrapped stuffed prawn on a platter, seam side down and cover with a moist paper towel to avoid from drying out.
To Cook
Heat about 5cm of oil in a deep pot or pan over medium heat. When oil is hot enough and not smoking yet, add in the stuffed prawn rolls, turning sides constantly until rolls are golden and cooked through.
Remove from pan and drain on a wire rack.