Lei Cha is my mother’s favourite Hakka dish. But one that she makes the least due to the amount of work involved. If you’d like to take the challenge to make this from scratch, watch the video to understand the entire process and shortcuts that you can take. If you wouldn’t cook it, I’ll tell you where to get the best Lei Cha in Kuala Lumpur.

1. THAI BASIL In Malaysian supermarkets, Thai Basil is not as common as herbs like mint. That is perhaps because that it’s one of the least used herbs in Malaysian dishes. But this flavour makes the dish.
2. SAWTOOTH CORIANDER The shape of this coriander is very different from that that we get at the supermarket. The leaf is long, flat, and with edges like the teeth of the saw blade. My Mom favour this as the taste is more intense. It’s also because it’s growing wild in our garden!
3. MUGWORT This is another herb that isn’t available at the market.
4. FU YIP SUM/ KU YE XIN (苦力心) Acanthopanax trifoliatus. This is perhaps the rarest of all herbs. We’ve made the recipe without this many times. I believe this is also not used in most restaurants as it’s not widely available for sale.

TOOLS

• Wok + spatula
• Chopping board + knife
• Blender
• Oven (optional)

RECIPE CARD

KITCHEN HACKS

1. Use a spice blender to crush the peanuts and sesame seeds. I am using the Panasonic blender with two attachments – one for blending smoothie/paste, and another for blending things like nuts. The finer it is, the better.
2. Toast peanuts in the oven Traditionally, my mother roast peanuts on the wok. I prefer to use an oven instead to leave it there and cook the many other dishes instead.
3. Freeze blended soup ingredients We like making extra soup paste to freeze. On busy days, we just defrost then put the paste and water into a pot to boil.

Although it’s a lot of work, I love making this with my Mom and keeping the tradition alive. 

The post Hakka Lei Cha Recipe (Tea Rice/ ‘Thunder’ Tea/ 擂茶) appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

So when Nigel suggests that we make Hainanese Chicken Rice together while making our Chinese Roast Pork Siu Yuk recipe – I immediately said yes. Now, I have in hand two Hainanese Chicken Rice variations. An authentic Chicken Rice where we use kampung chicken (free-range chicken), traditional Chinese condiments, and a cleaver to chop; and Nigel’s fusion Hainanese Chicken Rice recipe.

NIGEL’S ANCESTOR EASY HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE

Nigel’s recipe is different in a few ways. It’s easier one for home cooks. A few things that he did differently:

• Dashi base for soy gravy and chili
• Cutting the chicken with a scissors
• Soup with pandan leaves

Nigel is quite a chill cook. I would normally not make this dish without a corn-fed kampung chicken, but he thinks it’s just fine.

TOOLS

• Large 6L stockpot – to poach the chicken and make soup
• Large bowl/pot – to soak the chicken
• Scissors +knife – too carve the chicken
• Blender + grater  – to make chili sauce
• Rice Cooker –
• Wok/pan + spatula – to fry rice

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

POACHED CHICKEN
2 kg chicken 
4 litres water
4 cups of chicken stock from the soup

CHICKEN SOUP
2 kg chicken 
4 chicken feet
4 litres water
1/4 cup (10g) dried anchovies 
1 bulb of garlic
2 pieces of pandan leaves 
60 g of ginger 
1 gizzard

DASHI STOCK
palm-size kombu
1/2 cup bonito flakes 
2 cups of water 

SOY GRAVY
1/2 cup of dashi stock
1/2 cup of soy sauce 
1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil

RICE
2 cups of long-grained jasmine rice
1/2 cups of glutinous rice 
4 cups of chicken stock from the soup or dashi stock
3 tbsp chicken fat/ pork fat
2 pieces of pandan leaves 

CHILI SAUCE
400 – 450 g fresh red chili
4 bird’s eye chili (cili padi)
3 inches (40 g) ginger 
2 shallots
8 cloves of garlic 
1 persian/ key lime 
1 cup of dashi 
1/4 tsp salt 

GARNISH
Coriander leaves
Spring onions

INSTRUCTIONS

POACHED CHICKEN & SOUP 

1. Blanch chicken and feet in 4L of water for about 5 minutes. Pour away the water along with the scumb.
2. Add another 4L of water in the stockpot along with chicken feet, gizzard, anchovies, garlic, pandan leaves and ginger.
3. Place the chicken in and let it cook until the internal temperature records about 70°C. It should take about 40 minutes.
4. In the meantime, cook the rice and condiments.

DASHI STOCK

1. Steep kombu and bonito flakes in 2 cups of water for 15 – 30 minutes
2. Drain with a sieve

SOY GRAVY

1. 1/2 cup of soy sauce  and 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil, into 1/2 cup of dashi stock.

RICE

1. Combined 2 cups of jasmine rice with 1/2 cup of glutinous rice. Rinse until clear
2. Fry rice in 3 tbsp of chicken/pork fat along with pandan leaves
3. Put the rice, pandan leaves, and 4 cups of water into the rice cooker. Cook until rice is fluffy

CHILI SAUCE

1. Chop chili, ginger, shallots, and garlic into small pieces.
2. Zest lime and squeeze lime juice
3. Blend everything together with dashi stock
4. Then season with salt.

I love that Nigel uses the dashi base for the sauces. Not only it gives a different dimension to the usual flavour, it also faster to make than slow-boiled chicken soup.

I grew up with poached or steamed chicken that is chopped perfectly into bite-size pieces with a cleaver. So I never thought to do it differently. Nigel’s method of cutting the chicken is much easier – only with scissors and a knife; and he happily eats the drumstick whole!

If you’ll like Hainanese Chicken Rice with less work, try this!

The post Nigel’s Easy Fusion Hainanese Chicken Rice appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

Traditionally, this rice is made in the claypot. But since Chai Huat Hin who commissioned me to work on a Chinese New Year reunion dinner requested for something easy that anybody can do, I came up with Waxed Meat Claypot Rice recipe using the rice cooker instead.

Why is this impressive dish so easy to make?

• The dish is made in the rice cooker so you don’t have to worry about over/under cooking the rice in the claypot
• The three preserved meat (Chinese sausage, liver sausage, and Chinese cured duck legs) are delicious in itself so you don’t need to work hard to enhance the flavour
• The few skills you need is steaming the preserved meat, mixing the sauce, and using the rice cooker (which is a no-brainer)
• The hardest part is probably chopping the preserved meat which in my opinion is do-able (tips at the bottom)

TOOLS

• Rice cooker
• Wok + Steam rack + cover OR  bamboo steamer
• Plate (to steam cured meat)
• Claypot

RECIPE CARD

VIDEO

COOKING TIPS

1. Place the rice and meat in a claypot for decoration The claypot is just for decoration. If you don’t have one, you can arrange the rice in a large bowl
2. Choose good quality Chinese sausage A good quality Chinese sausage should have about 50 fat:50 lean meat ratio. The sausage has to look slightly oiled. This is the one that I used in this recipe: HK Yongzhou Chinese Sausage
3. Slice sausages at an extreme angle For the dish to look nice, make sure you slice the sausages at a steep angle to make the sausages look longer
4. Use a sharp cleaver to chop the duck legs While the sausages are rather easy to slice, duck legs are tougher and harder to slice beautifully. Use a sharp cleaver to help you do a good job

Why not make this super easy dish to impress your family?

The post Easy Waxed Meat Claypot Rice in Rice Cooker (Lap Mei Fan/ 臘味飯) – 30 Minutes appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

Instead of the usual chicken congee, why not make flower crab congee instead? Unlike mud crabs, flower crabs are not sold alive therefore easier to handle. Chuck the crabs, rice and aromatic ingredients into the PHILIPS All-in-one cooker, cook under pressure and have a sea-flavoured congee in no time!

This recipe is one that I developed for the Philip’s All-In-One Cooker. I tested this recipe again and again for a duration that I didn’t want to eat any kind of congee. I tried once using just water (instead of stock). Despite flavoured with umami-rich fish sauce, something is still missing. So I decided to add some chicken stock powder; it tasted much better. Then I used ikan bilis stock. The results? Awesome!

It’s quite easy with the All-In-One Cooker, or better known as ‘Instapot’. It’s a pot that allow you to do multiple things like frying, pressure cooking and slow cooking. What I did: make ikan bilis stock using the pressure cooking function, scoop ikan bilis out, chuck in all ingredients for the soup and pressure cook. So easy!

I really like how delicious and impressive this dish taste and look, but the fact is it’s incredibly easy to make. As flower crabs are not sold alive, you don’t have to worry about handling a crab with claws that might snip your finger off (I love mud crab but I really don’t look forward to killing it). I like that I can make the stock in the same pot. Then, it’s just a matter of tossing ingredients into the machine, press a button and wait for a little more than 20 minutes. That’s it!

RECIPE CARD

SHORT RECIPE

Toss 2 chopped flower crabs + 1.5 cup rice + 4 pcs scallops + 10 slices ginger + 4 pcs white spring onions + 1.8L anchovies stock. Boil then simmer until rice turns into congee. Season with fish sauce + salt + green spring onions.

COOK IN 20 MINUTES USING THE ALL-IN-ONE COOKER / PRESSURE COOKER

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes: 2 servings

INSTRUCTIONS: USING THE PHILIPS ALL-IN-ONE COOKER

1. Rinse and scrub crab to wash dirt off. Remove the shell and its innards. Break off the claws and crush it slightly with a pestle. Then chop its body into half.
2. Toss in flower crabs, rice, scallops, ginger, spring onions and anchovies stock into PHILIPS All-In-One Cooker inner pot.
3. Close the lid and turn the valve towards the ‘SEAL’ position.
4. Press ‘PRESSURE COOK’ and press ‘START’
5. When ready, wait until the pressure is naturally released and the floater has dropped. Then open the top lid.
6. Dish out crab. Then, season congee with fish sauce and salt. Stir to mix well.
7. Dish out congee and garnish with spring onions. Serve hot.

COOKING TIPS

• Make anchovies stock (50 g of anchovies to 1 L of water) in 10 minutes using the pressure cooker function.
• I can’t stress enough that it is very important to use ikan bilis stock. If you don’t have anchovies stock, add ½ tsp chicken stock granules into water.
• The fish sauce seasoning is also very important; it not only gives the salty but umami taste. Using salt alone is not enough.
• Note: Rice measuring cup is smaller ie. about 180 ml, ¾ of a metric measuring cup (250 ml).
• The ratio of rice to water is 1: 10.

This and many other recipes are available in my cookbook, ‘One Pot Wonders’

The post Flower Crab Congee (Fa Hai Chuk / 花蟹粥) appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

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