Fish porridge

Fish porridge is good for children and those recovering from illnesses or surgery. The best fish to use for cooking this porridge is golden snapper - Ang Cho (Hokkien).

The first version is of my mother teaching me how to cook the porridge. 

Ingredients

2 medium slices of the fish

A piece of young ginger (sliced finely)

Preserved tong chye

1 packet of vegetarian soup stock

Cook the plain porridge first.

When the rice grains have opened, add the tong chye and soup stock.

Preparing the fish

Slice the fish into fairly big chunks.

Make sure to separate the bones from the meat.

Remove the skin

Season the fish with a dash of pepper, light soy sauce and sesame oil. Leave aside for about an hour.

Add the seasoned fish slices to the cooked porridge.

Simmer for about 20 minutes or until fish is cooked.

Serve with thinly sliced fresh ginger and fried shallots.

Below is my lazy version of cooking the porridge

Ingredients

1 large piece of fish fillet (no bones)

A piece of young ginger (sliced finely)

Preserved tong chye

1 packet of fish or vegetarian soup stock

Just slice the fish into fairly big chunks

Season the fish with a dash of pepper, light soy sauce and sesame oil.

Leave aside for about an hour.

Wash and put the rice in the rice cooker.

Use 3 x the amount of water for cooking rice.

Add the tong chye and soup stock. Press start. 

It will take about an hour for the porridge to be ready.

Add the seasoned fish about 20 minutes before the porridge is cooked

Mix thoroughly and let it finish cooking.

Add a little more water if the porridge is too thick.

Dish up and serve children without garnishing.

Fried bitter gourd with salted eggs

Most people especially children won’t eat bitter gourd because of the bitter taste. However, they will eat it if fried with salted eggs.

Bitter gourd or bitter melon is actually a member of the squash family and resembles a cucumber with bumpy skin. The big Chinese variety is less bitter and the small Indian variety is slightly more bitter. According to Chinese tradition, food that is bitter is good for reducing body heatiness.    

Ingredients

1 medium sized bitter gourd

3 salted eggs

Chopped garlic

Halve the melon and remove the seeds

Slice fairly thinly

Hard boil the salted eggs so that when cooked the egg white will not look slimy

Separate the yolk from the white

Use all the egg yolks but only half the egg white

Mash both the yolk and the egg white

Heat the oil in a wok till hot and add the chopped garlic and some salt

Stir briskly and add bitter gourd.  

Sprinkle warm water once in a while to keep bitter gourd moist and cook until bitter gourd is soft

Add the egg white and mix thoroughly for about 2 minutes

Add the egg yolk and continue stirring

It is ready when oil from the egg starts to bubble

If desired sprinkle some fried shallots on it and serve with steamed rice

Chicken in rice wine (姜酒雞)

Chicken cooked in rice wine is a must during confinement and is best eaten during the first 2 weeks of the confinement period. However, nowadays we don’t have to be in confinement to eat this dish. All we have to do to enjoy confinement food is to use less ginger. It is best cooked with glutinous rice wine. If you cannot get this wine than you can substitute with Shaoxing wine which is made from fermented rice and is less sweet.

Glutinous rice wine is made from fermented glutinous rice which is rich in iron therefore it is popularly used for postnatal nursing mothers to replace blood loss during delivery of the baby. It is slightly sweeter and smoother compared to normal rice wine. It is low in fat and free of cholesterol with high dietary fibre to reduce risk of heart attack and diabetes. It promotes blood circulation, expels cold energy and speeds up the effects of herbs.  It contains 10 to 20 percent alcohol. The recommendation is that the new mother should consume about 12 bottles of rice wine during the confinement month. This is not difficult to achieve because almost every dish will have the wine in it. 

Ingredients for sweet version

½ chicken cut into small bite size pieces

1 medium sized old ginger  

Rice wine (1/2 bottle)

Brown sugar

Sesame oil

Cut the ginger into fine strips

Heat the sesame oil in a wok then add the ginger

Fry the ginger until light brown and fragrant

Add the chicken and a little wine and mix thoroughly

Cover and simmer over low fire until the chicken is cooked

In the meantime break the sugar into smaller pieces

 

Once the chicken is tender, lower the fire and gently pour in the remaining rice wine so that it does not evaporate too quickly. Add the brown sugar, more if you like it sweeter.

Dish up and eat with rice or on its’ own.

Egg and rice wine

If you are tired of eating chicken you can use eggs instead. I actually prefer eating this dish more than the chicken.

Ingredients

2 eggs

1 medium sized old ginger sliced finely

Rice wine

Brown sugar

Sesame oil

Break the eggs into a bowl and beat up lightly

Heat the sesame oil in a wok and add the ginger and fry until light brown and fragrant

Pour the beaten egg onto the ginger and stir gently until cooked

Lower the fire and gently pour in the rice wine so that it does not evaporate too quickly

Add the brown sugar, more if you like it sweet. Mix thoroughly.

Dish up and eat with rice or as it is.

In case you don't like the sweet version then you can try the salty version which is equally delicious. This version uses black fungus and less wine. If I am not mistaken it is a Hakka dish. 

Black Fungus (Mok Yee) is sometimes known as wood ear or cloud ear. It is an edible jelly fungus or mushroom that is dark brown to black. It is rich in iron, vitamin K as well as cellulose and a special plant collagen. Regular consumption can help prevent atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.
Ingredients for salty version

Half a chicken cut into bite size pieces

5 pieces of wood fungus soaked until soft and cut into smaller pieces

1 medium sized old ginger sliced finely

Rice wine

Fry the thinly sliced ginger in sesame oil until lightly brown and fragrant

Add the chicken pieces and fry until meat changes colour

Add the wood fungus and some rice wine.

Mix thoroughly, add some hot water, cover and simmer until the meat is cooked

Add more rice wine and bring it to the boiling point for 1 minute.

Dish up and serve with rice.