This is one of my favorite dim sum dumpling recipe because you can get two different dumplings with one recipe!  If you wrap it potsticker half-moon style (see jiaozi recipe’s for folding method), and just stop at the steaming step below, you get a steamed chives and shrimp dumpling.  If you follow this recipe, you get the pan fried chive and shrimp dumpling recipes.  They do taste somewhat different.

Chef’s tip: You only need to pan fry the presentation side of the dumpling

Dumpling Dough:
1/2 cups wheat starch
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons tapioca starch
3 cups boiling water (MUST BE BOILING)
3 Tablespoons vegetable shortening

Sauce:
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
2 Tablespoons Chinese rice wine or pale dry sherry
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper, ground

Filling:
2 Tablepoons canola oil
8 oz raw shrimp, shelled and deveined, roughly minced
16 oz Chinese chives, green parts only, chopped ¼ inch length

Paper steamer liner or napa cabbage leaves

Canola oil for frying

Preparing the dough:
1.     Whisk together the wheat starch and the tapioca starch. Form a well in the center. Gradually add the boiling water, stirring until a ball forms.
2.     Cool a little, while still warm, incorporate the shortening, a little at a time.
3.     Transfer to a lightly floured board and knead for a few minutes until dough is soft and smooth.
4.     Divide the dough into 4 balls. Roll each piece of dough into a 2-inch cylinder.  Cut each cylinder into 6 pieces. Roll pieces into a ball. You should have about 24 pieces. Cover as you work.  Cover dough with a damp tea cloth for 15 minutes.
Preparing the filling
5.      Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a bowl.  Set aside.
6.     Heat a wok with the canola oil  Add the minced shrimp and saute 30 seconds.  Push to the side of the wok.  Add the chopped chives and cook till just wilted.  Pour in the sauce mix, mix in the shrimp and cook till sauce coats, about 1 minute.

Assembling
7.     Take a dough portion, work into a round ball, flatten it into a 5 inch round, about 1/8 inch thick with a rolling pin. Place a heaping Tablespoon of filling into dough.  Pull the sides to meet at the center, making a ruffled fold as you work.  Pinch the top together and give it a twist to seal.  Pinch off any extra dough at the top.  Place upside down onto a piece of waxed paper.

Steaming the dumplings:
8.     Transfer dumplings and place upside down onto a steamer that is lined with cabbage leaves or steamer liners. Steam over simmering water for 6-8 minutes or until the dumplings are translucent. Add water if necessary so that wok is not dried out.  Let cool.
Pan frying the dumplings:
9.     Once dumplings are cooled, heat a pan over medium heat, then add oil to coat.  When oil begins to smoke, place the dumplings, smooth/top side down to the pan and let fry undisturbed for 2 minutes or until a golden crust forms and releases the dumpling from the pan.  Serve immediately.

Serves: 24 pieces

Crispy rolls filled with chicken, mushrooms and glass noodles, with characteristically- Thai flavors of lemongrass and fish sauce.  This spring roll differs from their Vietnamese counterpart as it is sweeter and uses eggroll wrappers instead of rice paper.

Chef’s tip: Cutting off an edge of the spring roll wrapper means less pastry around the filling, and would allow the spring roll to thoroughly cook through faster.

2 Tablespoon canola oil
4 small garlic cloves, minced
3 coriander roots, about 2 Tablespoons, scraped and finely chopped (substitute: stems)
3 small shallots, minced
1 lemongrass, white part only, finely minced
1 Thai bird’s eye chili, seeded, finely chopped

6 oz ground chicken
4 oz shrimp, peeled, cleaned, chopped into ½ inch pieces
2 Tablespoons fish sauce
1 Tablespoon palm sugar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 large egg

1 cup wood ear mushroom, fresh or reconstituted, tough stems removed, sliced thinly
1 cup shiitake mushroom, stemmed, small diced
½ yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 stalk green onions, thinly sliced
½ carrot, peeled and grated
2 oz cellophane mung bean noodles, reconstituted in water, cut into 2 inch length

20 pieces 8×8 inch egg springroll wrapper

8 cups canola oil

1.     In a sauté pan. heat oil over medium heat and sauté the garlic, coriander roots, shallots, lemongrass and chilies until fragrant, about 4 minutes.  Let cool.  Set aside.
2.     In a large bowl, add chicken, minced shrimp fish sauce, palm sugar, black pepper, and egg and mix to combine.
3.     Add cooled sautéed garlic mixture, chopped mushrooms, onions, green onions, carrots and bean thread, Stir until just combined.  Do not overmix.
4.     Cut off one corner of a springroll wrapper.  Moisten uncut edges with water.  With the cut corner closest to you, place about 2 Tablespoons of the filling on the bottom third of the wrapper.  Shape the filling into a cylinder, about 3-inches long.  Fold the left and right side over the filling. Holding the sides in place, fold the bottom flap up and roll the roll up into a tight cylinder.  Lay the rolls flap side down on the moistened towel and cover with another moist towel.  Repeat folding the remaining rolls.
5.     Frying the spring rolls:  Heat canola oil till 330F.  Drop several spring rolls into the oil and fry till golden brown, about 5 minutes each.   Do not overcrowd. Immediately drain on a wire rack over a baking sheet.  Bring the oil back up to temperature and continue until all the spring rolls have been fried.

Serves 10

Gluten-free option: Replace springroll wrappers with rice paper wrappers for Step 4

1 lb package 8 inch round Vietnamese rice paper wrappers

3 Tablespoons sugar

4.     Line a baking sheet with a damp tea towel and have another damp towel ready to cover the rolls. Line a cutting board with a third damp towel.  Fill a large sauté pan with 2 inches of water. Add sugar, bring water to a boil, then turn heat to very low. Working with one sheet of rice paper at a time, dip half the disc into the hot water, holding one corner with your fingers or a pair of chopsticks. Let it sit for about 5 seconds. Quickly dip the other half and remove and spread out flat on lined cutting board.    Place about 2 Tablespoons of the filling on the bottom third of the rice paper.  Shape the filling into a cylinder, about 3-inches long.  Fold the left and right side over the filling. Holding the sides in place, fold the bottom flap up and roll the roll up into a tight cylinder.  Lay the rolls flap side down on the moistened towel and cover with another moist towel. Patch any broken areas with small pieces of soaked, rice paper.  Repeat folding the remaining rolls.

THAI SWEET & SOUR DIPPING SAUCE

1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons Sriracha
2 Tablespoons fish sauce

1 Tablespoon ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced

To make dipping sauce, place water, sugar, vinegar, and Sri Racha and fish sauce in a small saucepan. Heat over high heat until mixture boils, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling until sauce is reduced by half, about 8 to 10 minutes, and the sauce has thickened to maple syrup consistency.   Stir in the ginger and garlic.  Cool.

Here is another mango salad recipe.  A Malaysian Nyonya version.  The key flavoring here is belachan.  Now, the following paragraph may scare you away from this recipe, but do trust me, once the belachan is roasted and mixed into the sambal, the salad is just absolutely scrumptious!  Ask any Malaysian, and they will surely defend the belachan.

Belachan is to Malaysian cooking what fish sauce is to Thai cooking.  To get the full, sweet flavor of belachan, buy a block of it, slice it up and dry toast it in a skillet.  Just be aware that your neighbors may not be liking it too much!  When I lived in Guangzhou about 20 years ago, I toasted some belachan and thought I was smart to leave the windows opened….after all, I was in US consulate housing and I don’t think my neighbors really dig the smell!  Before I knew it, every fly in Guangzhou decided to join me in the cooking!  After a humourous battle tracking down the flies and shooing them away, I was able to get all but one fly out of the apt.  To get the last fly out, I placed my bottle of now sweetly toasted belachan by the window sill.  The lone fly decided to come out of hiding and follow the waft of the belachan by the window sill.  At that point, I turned on the fan, and off he went out of the window!

Chef’s tip: You can also roast the belachan in an oven.  400F.  Chop up the belachan, spread it on a baking sheet and roast about 7 minutes.  Using a wooden spoon, break up the pieces further till crumbs form.  Return to oven for another 5 minutes.  Store leftover roasted belachan in an airtight bottle for future use!

Sambal Belachan:
6 Fresno/ red jalapeno chilies
1 Tablespoon belachan, more if desired

Dressing:
2 Tablespoon prepared sambal belachan
3 Tablespoon lime juice
2 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 Tablespoon dried shrimp, soaked
2 Tablespoon dessicated shredded coconut, toasted
2 green mangoes, peeled and shredded
2 shallots, finely sliced
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely chiffonaded

1. In a food processor, finely grind the red chilies into a paste. Mix with belachan.
2. Make kerabu dressing – mix together sambal belachan, lime juice, sugar and salt.  Set aside.
3. Soak dried shrimp in water until soft.  Drain and pound coarsely with a mortar and pestle or pulse with a food processor.  Set aside.
4. Toast desiccated coconut in a pan till golden brown.  Pound coconut lightly.  Set aside.
5. Shred mangoes, cut shallots into thin slices lengthwise.  Slice kaffir lime leaves finely.
6. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients with the dressing. Serve immediately.

Note: Mangoes must be green, unriped firm mangoes

Serves: 6

During the first dotcom days, when I was working in a super cool start-up South of Market, I ventured out to Tu Lan on 6th and Market with my fabulously-dressed colleague, Pam, to check out their spring rolls.  The experience was savory, and I don’t mean the food.   We just had to try the spring rolls!  After all, Zagats gave them a 22 or was it 24 then on their food rating.  I don’t think that place even knows Zagat has them rated!  Their food was too greasy for my liking.  The local residents thought we were too out of place for their liking.

So, here is a clean tasting recipe for you to make in the peace and safety of your home.

Chef’s tip: As with any deep frying, controlling the temperature is key to making your deep fried morsel crispy and not greasy.  To get the olden hue on the rice wrapper, dipping in a sugary water gives it a coat of sugar to caramelized in when deep fried.

6 oz shrimp
6 oz ground pork
2 Tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 small eggs or 1 large

1 small carrot, grated coarsely
2 cups fresh shiitake, thinly sliced
2 cups wood ear mushroom (from about 3/4 cup dried, reconstituted in water), thinly sliced
2 large shallots, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced, soaked in water, and spun dry
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup mint, chopped
1 stalk green onions, thinly sliced
2 oz cellophane mung bean noodles, reconstituted in water, cut into 2 inch length

1 lb package 8 inch round Vietnamese rice paper wrappers
3 Tablespoons sugar
8 cups canola oil

1 bunch green leaf or butter lettuce, ribs removed

Nuoc Mam Cham dipping sauce ingredients:
1 red Thai chile, finely minced or 1 teaspoon sambal olek
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons sugar
1 lime, juiced to make ¼ cup
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
½ cup water

1. Preparing the sauce: Mix all dipping sauce ingredients together (chile, garlic, sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, vinegar and water).  Set aside.
2. In a food processor, pulse shrimp till coarsely chop, add pork and give it a pulse or two.  Add fish sauce and black pepper, and egg and pulse to combine.
3. Add the rest of the vegetables ingredients and bean noodle and toss to combine.
4. Line a baking sheet with a damp tea towel and have another damp towel ready to cover the rolls. Line a cutting board with a third damp towel.
5. Fill a large sauté pan with 2 inches of water. Add sugar, bring water to a boil, then turn heat to very low. Working with one sheet of rice paper at a time, dip half the disc into the hot water, holding one corner with your fingers or a pair of chopsticks. Let it sit for about 5 seconds. Quickly dip the other half and remove and spread out flat on lined cutting board.
6. Place about 2 Tablespoons of the filling on the bottom third of the rice paper.  Shape the filling into a cylinder, about 3-inches long.
7. Fold the left and right side over the filling. Holding the sides in place, fold the bottom flap up and roll the roll up into a tight cylinder.  Lay the rolls flap side down on the moistened towel and cover with another moist towel. Patch any broken areas with small pieces of soaked, rice paper.  Repeat folding the remaining rolls.
8. Frying the spring rolls:  Heat canola oil till 375F.  Drop several spring rolls into the oil and fry till golden brown, about 5 minutes each.  Immediately drain on a wire rack over a baking sheet.  Bring the oil back up to temperature and continue until all the spring rolls have been fried.
9.  Wrap each spring roll with lettuce and serve with Nuoc Mam Cham dipping sauce.

Serves: 8

Radish cake is eaten during Chinese New Year as a symbol for togetherness.   My friend, Ophelia, made the dish this year again….I wish she lived closer coz I would love to get together and have a slice delicious law bak goh!  She shares the secret from her mom — the oil keeps the batter together.  In addition, she recipe-tested my recipe and this is what she says:  “I added one cup less water than your [original] recipe – I judged it by the consistency … when it looked too watery, I added a little more rice flour.  It was 11pm by the time I was done steaming.  I decided to put the whole pan outside the door, and by the Monday it was nice and firm, ready to be fried for New Year breakfast! “  Looks like the 2010 Washington DC snowmageddon did come in useful afterall!

Anyways, I promised her if she shared the picture, the recipe will be on the blog forever so she needn’t search high and low for her copy each new year!  Here we go! Do note to add more water/ rice flour as needed.

2 lbs Chinese white radish, grated
1 cup water + about 1  1/2 cups water

4 Chinese sausages, finely diced
1/4 cup dried shrimps*, soaked in warm water with 1 tablespoon sherry, drain and chopped roughly
2 + 2 tablespoons oil
4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked, or use fresh, finely diced
2 cups rice flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon five spice powder

1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon scallion, finely chopped

1. Peel and grate radish. Place shredded radish in a small pot or saucepan with 1 cup of water. Bring mixture to a boil, than reduce the heat to a low and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Let cool.  Drain radish.  Save cooking liquid.
2. Pour cooking liquid into a measuring cup. Add remaining water to make 2 1/2 cups of liquid.
3. Start a steamer over a wok of boiling water.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in wok. Stir-fry sausage, 1 minute.  Add the shrimp; fry 30 seconds and mushrooms, 1 minute.  Remove from heat. Set aside.
5. To the cooking liquid mixture, whisk in rice flour, sugar, salt, pepper, 5 spice powder and reserved radish and mix until consistency of thick oatmeal.  You may need to add more water or rice flour.  Add remaining 2 tablespoons of oil.
6. Add in sausage & mushroom mixture, scallion and cilantro.  Mix well.
7. Line a 6 inch by 9 inch (or a 9 inch diameter) cake pan with parchment paper and grease with oil liberally. Pour mixture into it. Place on rack in steamer. Steam over briskly boiling water 1 hour.  The cake is somewhat gooey at this stage.
8. When cold, refrigerate overnight to firm up the cake.
9. To serve, slice 1/4 inch thick, 2 inches wide, and 3 inches long. Fry slices in 1 tablespoon canola oil until golden brown. Serve hot.

Serves: 6-8

Yum! Another dumpling to add to your repertoire.  This dim sum uses store-bought siu mai skins.

Chef’s tip: You can use the potsticker skins (which is thicker) or just wonton skins (which is thinner) depending on your preference.  I find that placing the dumplings tightly together holds the shape better.

1 package of siu mai round wrappers, about 30 pieces
2 salted duck egg yolk (optional)

Filling:
4 oz raw shrimp, shelled and deveined, chopped (about 10 size 31/40 shrimp)
8 oz ground pork
1 cup / 5 oz canned water chestnut, chopped finely (about 10 water chestnut)
3 tablespoon scallions, white part, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger (bottled)
3 tablespoon soy sauce
4 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or pale dry sherry
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
A twist of black pepper

1 large thick carrot, cut into thin rounds

Preparing the filling
1.    Mix all the ingredients together.
Assembling
2.    Place the wrapper in your palm. Place 1 teaspoon of filling into wrapper.
3.    Gather up the edges of the wrapper.  Hold the dumpling between your thumb and your fingers, lightly squeezing it to form a cup.  Squeeze with your index finger to form a waist.  Use a spatula to push the filling down.
4.    Flatten the base by tapping on a floured surface. Smooth the top with a knife dipped with water.
5.    Top with a small dot of duck egg,
6.    Placed onto a steamer, setting each dumpling on a slice of carrot rounds.
Steaming
7.    Steam over simmering water for 15 minutes. Add water if necessary so that wok is not dried out.

Serves: 6

The “har gau” shrimp dumpling is the all-time favorite dim sum dish and a must at any yum-cha.   The “crystal” skin is made from wheat starch (not flour), which you can find in Asian grocery stores. Look up our series of dim sum recipes to make a fun variety of these little small plates.

Chef’s tip:  It is essential to use *boiling* water when making the dumpling dough.  The boiling water cooks the starch which acts as a binder when kneading in the rest of the flour.  Work quickly.  It may be hot, so use a wooden spoon when you mix the starch and shortening to form a ball.

Dumpling Dough:
1 1/2 cups wheat starch
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

Filling:
¼ cup / 2 oz canned bamboo shoots, rinsed and minced
½ lb raw shrimp, shelled and deveined (about 20 size 31/40 shrimp)

2 tablespoon scallions, minced
2 tablespoon cilantro, minced
½ tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or pale dry sherry
½ tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
A pinch of white pepper

Napa or savoy cabbage leaves

Preparing the dough.
1.    Combine the wheat starch and the tapioca starch. Form a well in the center. Gradually add the boiling water, stirring until a ball forms.
2.    Cool a little, while still warm, stir in the shortening, a little at a time.  Transfer to a lightly floured board and knead for a few minutes until soft and smooth.
3.    Divide the dough into 2 balls. Roll each piece of dough into a 1 inch cylinder.
4.    Cut each cylinder into ¾ inch pieces. Roll into a ball. You should have about 30 pieces. Cover as you work.
5.    Cover dough with a damp tea cloth for 15 minutes.
Preparing the filling
6.    Cut half the shrimp into 1/3 in cubes, and mince the rest
7.    Mix all the ingredients together.
Assembling
8.    Take a dough portion, work into a round ball, flatten it into a 3 1/2 inch round, about 1/8 inch thick with a rolling pin.
9.    Place the wrapper in your palm. Place 1 teaspoon of filling into dough.  Spread a little water on the edge. Fold into half to make a crescent moon.
10.    Using your thumb, form little pleats the top edge, and press the two layers together to seal.  Gently tap the bottom of the pouch make a little purse.
11.    Placed onto a steamer that is lined with cabbage leaves.
Steaming
12.    Steam over simmering water for 6-8 minutes or until the dumplings are translucent. Add water if necessary so that wok is not dried out.

Serves: 6

Chef’s tip: Starch cooks translucent.  The minute it turns clear, it no longer taste powdery.

6 eggs
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Batter
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese wine
½ teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoon tapioca/ potato starch
1 tablespoon rice flour
8 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup cilantro leaves
White pepper

½ cup green onions, chopped
12 oysters, shucked, drained
1 Tablespoon fish sauce

1.    Whisk the eggs with salt. Set aside.
2.    In another bowl, whisk batter ingredients together.
3.    Heat a large non stick pan over medium heat until hot.
4.    Add  2 tablespoons oil, followed by the batter and cook for a  minute until translucent, stirring continuously
5.    Pour in the eggs, allow the eggs to cook for half a minute, then stir inwards to let the runny eggs go to the bottom of the pan to make an omelet
6.    When eggs have somewhat thickened, make a whole in the center
7.    Add 1 tablespoon oil, the minced garlic and fry for a 10 seconds until the garlic is fragrant
8.    Add in the oysters and the seasoning mixture.  Sprinkle in chopped green onions.
9.    Stir the eggs over the oyster mixture.  Drizzle on fish sauce.
11.    Garnish with cilantro leaves, sprinkle with more white pepper and serve with Chili Garlic Sauce

Serves: 6

There are two must-try dishes when you are in Singapore.  One is the Chili Crab, the other is the Black Pepper Prawns, which is sometimes cooked with crabs, too.  You read the recipe right, yes, it does require half a cup of black pepper.

Chef’s tip:  You will need to cook the prawns in its shell to get the full flavor for this dish.  To devein the prawn, use a sharp knife and split through the back of the prawn to remove the black vein.

Ingredients

½ cup whole black peppercorns, ground till a sandy finish, but not fine

2 Tablespoons canola oil
2 lbs jumbo shrimps, skin-on, tails-on, heads-on preferably, too

1 stick butter
20 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3 inch ginger, peeled, sliced thin
4 Tablespoons oyster sauce
1 Tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 Tablespoon light soy sauce
¾ cup water
Coriander leaves to garnish

Prep
1.    In a small skillet, toast the black pepper for a minute till fragrant.  Remove.  Set aside.
Preparing the dish
2.    In a large wok, heat 2 Tablespoons canola oil.  When hot, add prawns and fry till prawns turn bright red.   They need not be cooked through. Turn down heat and remove prawns from the wok.
3.    Reheat a wok on medium high.  Add butter.   When butter begins to bubble, add the minced garlic and sliced ginger.  Fry till fragrant, about 3 minutes.
4.    Add in the oyster sauce, soy sauces and water.  Bring to a boil.
5.    When it comes to a boil, add in the black pepper, stir to mix.  Add in the prawns and toss to mix.  Cover and steam 2 minutes.

Serves: 8

This week, I got a big box of spices from my friend, Karina, from Singapore.  She sent me a kilogram of dried “bunga telang” – blue pea flower, a type of tropical morning glory. It’s an edible flower and we use its brilliant indigo blue pigment as a natural food dye.  See the pictures below for a view of the brilliant blue color!   You can’t imagine how excited I was.  Even when I lived in Malaysia, bunga telang is hard to come by.  If we see it on vines by the roadside, we would stop the car to pick some.

So what do you do with these blue flowers?  Nasi Ulam or in the East Coast of Malaysia, sometimes refered to as Nasi Kerabu.  “Ulam” means a medley of herbs.  The rice salad is tossed with, yes, a medley of Asian herbs, dried coconut and dried fish flakes.  If you want to keep it vegetarian or serving the rice to less adventurous palates, just skip the dried seafood part.  It tastes just as yummy.

Chef’s tip: Toasting coconut is just as easy on the stove top as in the oven.  Coconut burns really fast, so remove it from the heat source a tinge below your desired color, and it will continue cooking on its own.

3 Tablespoons dried bunga telang, soaked in 1½ cup water
1 cup Jasmine rice
1 cup Jasmine rice + 1½ cup water

2 oz salt cod, soaked 10 minutes, drained, optional
¼ cup dried shrimp, soaked, drained, optional

1 cup shredded, unsweetened desiccated coconut

Herb mix
½ cup mint leaves, chiffonade
½ cup Thai basil leaves, chiffonade
½ cup Rau Ram leaves, chiffonade
½ cup cilantro leaves, chiffonade
¼ cup perilla/shiso leaves. chiffonade
½ cup Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
¼ cup sorrel leaves, finely chiffonade
2 tablespoon kaffir lime leaves, chiffonade
½ cup shallots from 2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 inch fresh tumeric, thin juliennes
1 inch galangal, thin juliennes
1 lemon grass, white only, finely sliced
1 ginger flower, finely sliced
Note: You can use any fragrant herb, if you cannot find all the herbs listed, or try new ones

½ cup roasted peanuts, chopped
1 Tablespoon roasted belachan, optional

Preparing the 2 types of rice:
1. Rinse 1 cup of  rice until the water runs clear.  Then soak rice in 1½ cup water with the blue flowers (in a tea ball or wrapped with cheesecloth) for at least 1 hour.  Remove flowers just before cooking.
2. In a small pot, bring the soaked rice and blue soaking liquid to boil. When it comes to a boil, cover the pot, turn to low simmer, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and let it sit, still covered for 10 minutes.
3. Rinse the other 1 cup of rice till the water runs clear.  In another small pot, bring the white rice and 1½ cups of water to boil. When it comes to a boil, cover the pot, turn to low simmer, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and let it sit, still covered for 10 minutes.
4. Fluff the rice and toss together into a large bowl to cool.
Preparing the coconut and seafood, if using:
5. Toast the coconut till golden brown. Add to the big bowl of rice.
6. Soak and drain salt cod and dried shrimp.  Place salt cod in food processor and grind coarsely.  Set aside.  Repeat with dried shrimp.
7. Heat a sauté pan with 1 tablespoon of canola oil and fry the salt cod till fragrant.  Add to the rice.
8. Toast the dried shrimp till fragrant.  Add to the rice.
Preparing the herbs
9. Finely chiffonade all herbs.
Assembly:
10. Toss all ingredients – salt cod, dried shrimp, coconut, herbs – together with the cooled rice.
11. Sprinkle with chopped roasted peanuts and roasted belachan.  Serve at room temperature.

Serves: 8

Shrimp and banana – not your typical pairing.  But in this case, the flavor profiles of the shrimp and banana work really well together!  Although, I have to admit — put anything into a fryer and it will taste yummy!

Chef’s tip:  When deep frying, fry small batches at a time to keep the temperature at a constant high of 375.  The more spring rolls you crowd into the fryer, the quicker the temperature will drop (the law of thermodynamics!), thus, the soggier your spring rolls will be.  And always, always use a fry thermometer.

Filling:
1 lb raw shrimp, shelled and deveined, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 ripe bananas, peeled, halved lengthwise from top to bottom, then cut into a 1/2-inch dice
½ cup canned bamboo shoots, rinsed thoruoghly and minced
½ cup water chestnuts, drained and chopped
½ cup scallions, green and white, chopped finely
½ cup cilantro, chopped finely
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or pale dry sherry
1 teaspoon kosher salt
A pinch of white pepper

24 square spring roll wrappers – 6 x 6 inch
1 large egg beaten with 2 Tablespoons water (egg wash)
6 cups canola oil for frying

Sauce:
½ cup sake
2 Tablespoons mirin
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 Thai chilies, seeds optional, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 Tablespoon finely chopped cilantro stems

Preparing the filling:
1.    Cut half the shrimp into 1/2 in cubes, and mince the rest. Mix shrimp with sugar, cornstarch and sesame oil.
2.    In a medium bowl, toss together the remaining filling ingredients. Divide into 24 portions.
Assembly:
3.    Cut off 2 inches off the corner of the stack of spring roll wrappers –  the one end pointed towards you.  Cover wrappers with a damp tea towel.
4.    Take one wrapper and place the cut end closest to you.  Brush uncut ends with egg wash. Place 2-3 Tablespoons of the shrimp mixture closer to the cut end. Fold the left and right side over the filling.  Holding the sides in place, fold the bottom flap up and roll the roll up into a cylinder.  Place spring rolls, on its seam, on a baking sheet that is slightly floured with cornstarch.  Repeat folding the remaining rolls.
Frying the spring rolls:
5.    Heat canola oil till 375F.  Drop several spring rolls into the oil and fry till golden brown, about 5 minutes each.  Immediately drain on a wire rack over a baking sheet.
Preparing the dipping sauce:
6.    Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.  Serve with hot spring rolls.

Serves: 24 portions

Kobis Masak Lemak is a “comfort food” Malay dish.  A simple cabbage stew mainly consisting of coconut and cabbage.  This dish makes a great complement to the spicier curries.

Chef’s tip: Finishing with coconut cream lends a rich gloss and flavor to the sauce. It’s like monte-au-beurre, Malay-style.

Ingredients
1 head of savoy cabbage, torn into large pieces
3 red jalapenos, seeded and julienned
4 shallots, sliced finely
2 cloves garlic, sliced finely
½ cup dried shrimp, soaked and chopped

3 Tablespoons canola oil
2 cups coconut milk, reserve half cup thick cream
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon sugar
1-2 Tablespoons kosher salt, to taste

Preparation:
1.    Separate cabbage leaves and tear into large pieces
2.    Julienne the red jalapeno, slice the shallots
3.    Chop the soaked dried shrimp
Cooking the dish
4.    In a large pot, heat the oil.  Add shallots and fry till the shallots in limp, about 3 minutes.
5.    Add the garlic and dried shrimp and fry for another minute.
6.    Add the cabbage, jalapeno, coconut milk, water, sugar and salt.
7.    Bring to boil.  Partly cover the pot and simmer on medium for 30 minutes until the cabbage becomes very soft. Add the remaining coconut cream.
8.    Let sit at least 15 minutes before serving

Serves: 6

Potstickers are real easy to make. Part pan fried, part steamed, the dumplings have a crisp base and a soft top. In this recipe, we have filled the dumplings with crabmeat and chives, but you can also fill the dumplings with pork or chicken, or just a mushroom medley.

The aromatic dipping sauce (adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop’s “Land of Plenty”) is a full flavored sauce that stirs up all your tastebuds – sweet, sour, salty, hot and the numbing, tingling and buzzing feel of Sichuan peppercorns.

Chef’s tip: It is important that the seams are tighly sealed so that the steam is trapped to cook the filling. In addition, when you pour the water into the pan, drizzle in a little at a time and never soak the dumplings. We want steamed dumplings, not boiled!

Aromatic Soy Sauce:
1 inch ginger, crushed
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 whole star anise
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn
Cheese cloth with kitchen twine
1 cinnamon stick
½ cup dark soy sauce
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup water

Dipping Sauce:
6 Tablespoons sweet, aromatic soy sauce
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon chili oil
1 Tablespoon Sichuan peppercorn oil
1 Tablespoon Chinkiang vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ginger juice
2 Tablespoons cold water

Filling:
1 lb fresh crabmeat (from 1 large  2½ pound cooked Dungeness crab)
1 egg white
4 Tablespoons chives, chopped finely
2 Tablespoons cilantro leaves and stems, minced
2 Tablespoons carrot, grated
2 Tablespoons water chestnut, chopped finely
1 Tablespoon ginger, grated
1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
3 Tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Dumpling:
30 wonton wrappers, preferably square
1 Tablespoon cornstarch for dusting
½ cup water for brushing
2 Tablespoons peanut oil
Black sesame seeds, toasted
Chives

Preparing the sauce
1.    To make the aromatic soy sauce, place ginger, fennel, star anise, and Sichuan peppercorn in a cheesecloth and bundle tightly together with kitchen twine. Place spice bag with cinnamon, dark soy sauce, brown sugar and water in a small pot, bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove all spices.  The sauce can be kept for 6 months in a glass jar without refrigeration.
2.    To make the dipping sauce, mix all dipping sauce ingredients (aromatic soy, soy, chili oil, peppercorn oil, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger juice and water) together.  Set aside.
Preparing the dumplings
3.    Pick over the crabmeat to remove any bits of shells.  Mix all filling ingredients (crabmeat, egg white, chives, cilantro, carrot, water chestnut, ginger, vinegar, sesame seeds, salt)  together.
4.    On a lightly floured surface, brush edges of the wonton wrapper with a little water (just slightly damp).  Mound about 1 Tablespoon of the filling in the center of each wrapper. If using square wonton skins, gather four corners of each wrapper and seal into a point.  If using round skins, fold into a half moon, and make three small pleats over the top piece of the skin and press to seal. Make sure seams are well-sealed and place on a tray dusted with cornstarch.
Frying the dumplings
5.    In a large nonstick pan, heat 1 Tablespoon oil over medium heat until hot.  Place pot stickers leaving ½ inch space between them.  Fry until undersides are lightly golden, about 1 min.
6.    Slowly drizzle ¼ cup water down the side of pan.  Water should barely cover the pan, and not soak the dumplings.  Cover pan and steam pot stickers over moderately low heat until cooked through, about 2 minutes.  Remove lid and cook pot stickers until water is evaporated, and wonton skin is translucent.  Add more water if skin is not translucent and repeat the process
Serving:
7.    Sprinkle dumplings with black sesame seeds and serve with dipping sauce

Serves: 6

Chinese restaurants in America really give the fried rice a bad rep.  It really should be in the same class as paella, risotto, and all the other wonderful one-dish rice meals.

Chef’s tip: Heating a pan before adding oil, will make food stick less to a pan.

Ingredients

Meat:
6 oz small shrimp, shelled, peeled, deveined
3 tablespoons dried shrimp, soaked for 10 minutes
2 Chinese sausage, diced small
4 oz Chinese BBQ, char siu pork, diced small

Vegetables:
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, sliced thinly

4 Tablespoons canola oil
3 cups cooked jasmine rice, forked to break up lumps
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup frozen peas

2 red jalapenos red bell pepper, deseeded, diced small
1 sprig green onions, diced

Directions:
1.  Heat a wok on high heat
2.  Add Chinese sausage and sauté for 1 minute till fragrant.  Push to the side of the wok.
3.  Add 1 tablespoon oil, sauté 1 teaspoon garlic with the dried shrimp for 30 seconds, add fresh shrimp and sauté until shrimp turns bright red.  Toss in BBQ pork.  Push to the side of the wok.
4.  Add 2 tablespoons oil, add garlic and onions.  Fry till fragrant and vegetables are tender – about 1 minute.  Toss in sausage, shrimp and pork to mix.
5.  Add cooked rice.  Drizzle in soy sauce.  Stir fry for another two minutes.
6.  Add the peas and toss to mix.
7. Make a well in the middle, add ½ tablespoon oil.  Break in the eggs, let it cook like a sunny side up till firm but still slightly runny, then scramble the eggs into the rice mixture.
8.   Toss in the red jalapeno and green onions.  Serve immediately.

Serves: 6

A true fusion of Malay, Chinese, Indian and Western flavors.  It is highly advisable to fry the shrimps with shells on to capture the full flavor of the shrimps.

Chef’s tip: If you prefer to have your dish without the prawn shells, follow these steps: Remove head and shells, leaving tail-on. Separately, fry the shells and heads in a cup of oil. Pass oil through a sift to make a scampi oil. Fry the peeled prawns as main recipe above, however, substitute half the butter with 3 tablespoons of the scampi oil. Reserve remaining delicious scampi oil to toss with pasta or drizzle on fish.

Ingredients

2 cup of desiccated coconut

1 teaspoon kosher salt
5 tablespoon sugar
2 Tablespoons light soy sauce
2 Tablespoons Chinese rice wine or sake

2 lb large shrimps, shells on, heads on, deveined
1 cup of canola oil for deep frying

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 red jalapeno chilies – sliced
10 sprigs of Indian curry leaves*
4 cloves of garlic – minced
Cilantro

Preparing the mise en place
1.    In a clean pan over medium heat, dry fry coconut till golden and fragrant.  Set aside.
2.    Mix salt, sugar, soy sauce and rice wine together.  Set aside.
Preparing the prawns
3.    Clean prawns – trim legs and tentacles, deveined.  Keep shells and heads on. Pat dry thoroughly.
4.    Heat about ½ inch oil, and fry the prawns in small batches.  Drain and set aside.  Remove all but 3 Tablespoons of the shrimp oil.
5.    Add butter to the pan high heat.  Add chilies, curry leaves, garlic and salt and fry for 1-2 minutes.
6.    Add sauce mixture.  Toss in coconut.  Toss in fried prawns.
7.    Stir fry over high heat for another 1 min.
8.    Garnish with cilantro.

Serves: 6

The Singaporeans claim the Chili Crab as their national dish. As a good Malaysian, this was ^our^ dish! But since my good friend, Karina Lee, gave me the original recipe for the dish, which I have now adapted to the abundance of this side of the Pacific pond, and she lives in Singapore now, I will gladly attribute this dish as Singaporean.

When you fly into Changi, after a grueling 16 hour flight, your food obsessed Singaporean friends (every Singaporean is a foodie) would say “Let’s go for Chili Crabs” and before you can say no as you struggle with your jet-lag stupor, you are already at one of the outdoor, jumbo seafood restaurants on East Coast Road!

Chili Crabs are finger lickin’ good. With the meaty Dungeness crab, you will have a little bit more crab meat to soak up the wonderful sauce and not be tempted to eat your fingers, too. Serve it with a loaf of baguette or horrors! toasted white wonderbread.

Chef’s tip: You will need live crabs for this dish. Some stores like Wholefoods will take orders ahead, otherwise, many Asian fishmongers carry live crabs.

Ingredients

Sauce:
6 tablespoon Asian sweet chili sauce
10 tablespoon ketchup
4 tablespoon vinegar
2 cups of water

2 egg white, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

3 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons water

5 tablespoon canola oil
2 Dungeness crabs (2 ½ lbs each)
10 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
10 slices of ginger, julienned finely

4 tablespoon sugar (to taste)
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup of cilantro, cut into 2 inches sprigs
1 cup of scallions, sliced into 2 inches strips

Preparing mise-en-place
1.    Mix chili sauce, ketchup, vinegar and water together; set aside
2.    Beat egg whites with water; set aside.
3.    Mix cornstarch with water; set aside.
Preparing the crab
4.    Ask your fishmonger to kill and clean the shellfish for you, but you must cook it within 2-3 hours of killing.  Remove gills and innards.  Clean and pat dry shellfish.  Crabs should be cut into 6 pieces each.  Keep the crab roe.
5.    Heat 4 tablespoon oil in wok.  Fry shellfish including crab roe till bright vermillon red and fragrant.  Remove crabs from wok.  Do not wash the wok!
6.    Using same wok, brown garlic, ginger with the rest of the oil till fragrant; about 2 minutes.
7.    Add chili-ketchup sauce mixture.  Add more sugar and salt to taste.
8.    Add egg white, wait half a minute then stir to get silky threads of whites.
9.    Add cornstarch mixture and stir to thicken.
10.    Add back the crab.  Mix well.
11.    Toss in the cilantro and scallions, leaving a small handful for garnish.
12.    Serve immediately garnish of cilantro and scallions.

Serves: 6

A favorite street food in Malaysia. When I used to wait for my fried kuey teow at my favorite kuey teow hawker stall, I was always fascinated by the lightning speed that the dish is prepared in. The trick is to wok fast and use high heat. The kuey teow master wok so much, his spatula was ground down to the shape of the wok.

Chef’s tip: It is very important that the dish is cooked one serving at a time for maximum “wok hay” (wok’s breath).

Ingredients:

Sauce:
6 tablespoons dark soy sauce
9 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
9 tablespoons water

4 lb fresh flat rice noodles
10 cloves of garlic, minced to make about 10 teaspoons of minced garlic
20 oz shelled uncooked medium-sized shrimps
12 oz Chinese chives
12 oz / 4 cups bean sprouts
4 Chinese sausage, thinly sliced

20 tablespoons/ 1 ¼ cup canola oil, in a squeeze bottle
Sri Racha chili sauce (optional)
10 eggs

Preparing the ingredients:
1.    Mix soy sauces and water together.  Transfer to a squeeze bottle.  Set aside.
2.    Place the remaining ingredients mise-en-place, and roughly divide each ingredient into 10 portions
Cooking the dish – 1 serving at a time:
3.    Heat a cast iron pan or a wok on high heat
4.    Add 1 tablespoon oil, add 1 portion (1/10th of the ingredient) of Chinese sausage and sauté 1 minute till fragrant.  Push to the side of the wok.
5.    Add ½ teaspoon of garlic and a portion of shrimp and saute until shrimp turns pink. Push to the side of the wok.
6.    Add 1/2 tablespoon of oil and another ½ teaspoon of garlic and for spicier option, add ½ teaspoon Sri Racha.  Sauté 30 seconds, add 1 portion of noodles.   Drizzle 2 tablespoons soy sauce mix over the noodles, toss on high heat till noodles are well coated. Push to the side of the wok.
7.    Make a well in the middle, add 1/2 tablespoon of oil.  Break in an egg, drizzle in a teaspoon of soy sauce mix, let it cook like a sunny side up, until eggs are whit but still slightly runny, then scramble the eggs into the noodle mixture.
8.    Add 1 portion each of bean spouts and chives.  Toss to mix.
9.    Serve immediately.

Repeat for each serving.

Serves: 10

There are many different kinds of laksa.  Generally speaking, laksa is a spicy broth, frequently made with a coconut cream base, served with a variety of meats and herbs.  In this simpler version of curry laksa, more commonly found in the hawker centers of PJ, it’s usually just chicken and “kerang” cockles.  I have substituted the blood-y shellfish with oysters or shrimp to be more acceptable to folks this side of the Pacific!

I always like my laksa noodle “yin yeung” ie a mix of egg noodles and rice noodles.

Chef’s tip: The last drizzle of coconut milk gives a smooth, rich flavor to the broth.

Ingredients

Topping:
1 large boneless chicken breast or thigh, about 1 lb
8 pieces of shucked oysters or shrimp
2 hard boiled eggs, quartered

Spice Paste:
10 dried chilies or about 5 fresh red jalapenos
10 shallots
2 cloves garlic
2 lemongrass
2 tablespoon roasted belachan (substitute 2 tablespoon fish sauce)
1 tablespoon mild curry powder
1 inch of galangal
1 tablespoon dried tumeric powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup of canola oil for frying

Broth:
2 cups coconut milk, reserve ½ cup of cream
4 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of water
Salt to taste (at least a few pinchfuls of salt)
12 fried tofu puffs

6 oz egg noodles
6 oz rice vermicelli

Vegetables:
1 cup mung bean sprouts
Cilantro

Preparing the meat:
1.    Steam chicken breast until cooked, about 20 minutes. Tear or cut into ½ inch thick slices
2.    Drain the oysters, keep refrigerated.  If using shrimp, blanch shrimp.
Preparing the spice paste:
3.    Grind together spice paste ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Set aside.
Preparing the laksa soup base:
4.    Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat until just hot.  Stir in spice paste. Cook, stirring constantly, until the red oil separates from the spice paste about 8 to 10 minutes.
5.    Lower the heat, slowly add coconut milk, tofu balls, chicken stock and bring to a slow simmer, stirring constantly.  Simmer for at 20-30 minutes.  Salt to taste.
Preparing the noodles:
6.    Bring a pot of water to boil.  Add salt and oil.  Blanch rice vermicelli till tender.
7.    Using the same water, blanch egg noodles.  Reserve.
Assembly:
8.    Place a serving of noodles and rice vermicelli, vegetables, chicken, and oysters in bowls and ladle laksa broth over.  Drizzle a teaspoon of coconut cream.  Garnish with cilantro.
9.    Serve with quartered limes and sambal.

Serves: 4