Saturday 8 July 2017

Assam chye (Chye Boey 菜尾)

My family calls this dish “Chye Boey” (Hokkien). When I was young, we only get to eat this dish after the Chinese New Year reunion dinner or after a wedding banquet. It is actually made from all the leftovers such as chicken, pork, etc. The chili and sourish taste make it a great appetizer. It is important to get the right balance of spiciness and the sourish taste. Nowadays we can eat this dish anytime even in restaurants or kopitiams. I will cook this dish when I have enough leftover bones of roast chicken, pork, duck or turkey in the freezer.

Kai Choi also known as Mustard Greens is a member of the mustard family. Kai Choi is more pungent and has a slightly bitter taste than the closely related (kale, cabbage, collard greens). Mustard greens are also extremely high in Vitamin A and Vitamin K. The leaves are grass green in colour and have a slightly bitter taste. 

Ingredients


How much kai choi to use will depend on how many people are eating it but I like to have a lot of vegetables



Leftover roast duck, roast chicken and roast pork.
Preferably the carcasses of the chicken and duck or the bony parts with skin 



Chinese roast pork which is a must-have ingredient for me




Cut the pork into bite-size pieces




Today I am adding leftover suckling pig from a wedding dinner





Aromatics

Dried red chili (amount depends on how spicy you want)
A few chili padi
Assam (tamarind) slices. It is better to use assam slices instead of the paste as it is gentler for the stomach


Put enough water to fill ½ the pot. Do not put in too much water otherwise, the soup will be too diluted
Wash and put the chilli and asam slices into the boiling water.
Lower the fire and simmer until the water has absorbed the chilli and assam flavour (about ½ hour)




Wash the vegetable





Separate the leaves from the stem





Cut the stems into fairly big pieces





Tear the leaves along the ridges into fairly big pieces





Put the bones into the soup and simmer over low fire for 1 hour





Check the taste and add more chili and assam slices if needed
Put in the vegetable stems and roast pork






The stems will be soft after ½ hour





Add the leaves and simmer for another 1 hour





The soup is ready. However, this soup tastes even better the next day

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