Air fryer pork chop rice (焗豬扒飯)

This is another favourite with the children which is easy to prepare. It is my variation of the famous Hong Kong pork chop rice. I use tomato rice instead of fried rice therefore no frying is involved especially when using the air fryer. You can choose any type of cheese as there are no hard and fast rules to follow. 

Ingredients

Cooked rice (amount depends on how many people eating)

2 - 3 pieces of boneless pork chops with a little fat on it

2 tbsp tomato ketchup mixed with 1 cup of water
Grated cheddar and parmesan cheese
Minced garlic  

Snip the fat at the edge if you are using loin chops to prevent the chops from curling up

Pound the meat with a meat hammer to tenderise the pork

Marinade

½ tsp sugar

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

Salt and pepper   

½ tsp sesame oil

Combine the chops with the marinade and leave for 1 to 2 hours

Set the temperature to 190 degrees

Set the cooking time to 17 minutes and let it warm up for 1 minute.

Put in the chops and start cooking

Turn the chops over when the 15 minutes are up
Resume cooking for another 10 minutes or until the chops are done

Let the cooked chops cool down and slice into strips

To prepare the tomato rice

Put the following into a bowl and mix well
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
100 ml water
1 tsp salt and pepper 

Put the cooked rice in the air fryer baking dish

Pour in the diluted tomato ketchup and some fried garlic

Mix thoroughly

Place the sliced pork chops on top of the rice

Cover with the grated cheese
Put back into the air fryer for 5 minutes or until the cheese is nicely browned

Non-air fryer method

Pan-fry or grill the marinated pork in the oven

Put the cooked rice in a large bowl and add some fried garlic.

Pour in the diluted tomato ketchup and mix thoroughly

Transfer the rice to an oven-proof dish
Slice the pork chops and place them on top of the rice

Cover with the grated cheese

Place the bowl into the preheated oven  
Bake at 180 Celsius until the cheese has melted and browned

Remove and serve with salad or cooked vegetables

Two ways to serve the slipper fish or sand tongue fish (沙舌鱼)

This fish is very sweet and is so crunchy when deep fried. Another way to cook it is with taucu (bean paste) which goes very well with plain congee.

Tongue soles or sand tongue fish (沙舌鱼) are flat fishes similar to soles. The Malay name is ikan lidah pasir and in hokkien it is called ‘kah teh hoo’ which literally means the sole of the feet fish. I call this fish the slipper fish because it is flat and looks like slippers. The body is flat and oval tapering at the tail like an elongated tear-drop shape. The eyes are on the left side of the body. They often seen buried in sand or hovering over the surface. 

Ingredients

A fish that measures about 6 – 7 inches is best, as it will have more meat compared to smaller ones

Clean the fish and cut into smaller pieces

Season with a little salt

Heat up the oil to fry the fish

You have to be careful when frying because it breaks easily if handled too roughly

Dish up and serve

Cooking with taucu bean paste

Heat up a little oil and fry 2 tsp chopped garlic until slightly brown

Add 2 tbsp tauchew bean paste and ½ tsp sugar

Fry until fragrant

Add 100 ml water and mix well

Put in the fried fish slices

Mix thoroughly

Dish up and serve

During confinement, sprinkle some ginger strips fried with sesame oil.

Alternatively you can fry it whole

Serve it as it is

Cook the taucu sauce and pour over the fish

Garnish with chopped red chilli and spring onions to make it look attractive

Chai poh omelette (菜脯卵)

Chai poh omelette is a very common Taiwan dish which is served with plain congee especially for breakfast. I love it but I find it a bit too salty so I decided to add onion to see how it will taste. It turned out really good because the sweetness in the onion compliments the saltiness of the chai poh. 

Chai poh (菜脯) is salted preserved radish which may be flattened, elongated pieces or shredded. There are two varieties. The more commonly known variety is very salty and has a distinctive and unique salty and slightly pungent flavour. The other variety is less salty and slightly sweetened. It keeps well without refrigeration.

Ingredients 

3 eggs

1 small Bombay onion

100 gm chopped chai poh

Soak the chai poh for about 5 min to reduce the saltiness

Rinse and drain it

Crack the eggs into a bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper

Beat up the eggs and set aside

Slice the onion

Heat up the 2 tbsp oil and put in the onions

Stir until the onions are soft and translucent

Add the chai poh and mix well with the onions

Pour the eggs onto the chai poh and onions

Tip it around to cover the onions

When the bottom is brown turn the omelette over to cook the other side

Break it up into bite size pieces

Dish up and serve with plain congee

Stir fried pucuk paku (过山猫) with sambal

Malaysia is truly a food paradise not only for the various types of cooked food but also for the great variety of green vegetables, herbs and ferns which are good for health. One of the ferns that I really love is pucuk paku which literally translated means nail sprout. It is normally found in local Malay markets and the only Chinese market where I found it is in SS2 in Petaling Jaya. I am sure if you tried it you will be hooked like me.

Pucuk paku in Malay or fiddlehead fern in English is a large perennial fern with long, woody stems and young fronds that are tightly coiled like a paku (nail/screw) while the older fronds are unfurled. The stems at the top are thinner and can snap quite easily and are therefore edible. Pucuk paku are rich in beta-carotene, iron and phosphorus and also a great source of dietary fibre.

Ingredients

2 bundles pucuk paku because it will reduce a lot when cooked

2 big red chillies

4 cloves garlic

6 shallots

3 red chilli padi (optional) if you want it spicier

Pound the sambal ingredients

Remove the leaves from the stems

Cut the tip of the stems in half (this is optional)

Wash and drain the vegetable

Heat up 2 tbsp oil and fry the sambal until fragrant

Put in the vegetable

Mix thoroughly

Dish up and serve

This is the children’s portion which I had fried separately

I always believe that the children should learn to eat the same vegetables as the adults