Stuffed Veggies With Meat/Fish Paste

Sometimes when I harvested just a few strings of longbeans and a small bittergourd  from the garden, not enough to cook a dish on its own, I will just stuff them with meat paste. Braise the stuffed veggies with a savoury sauce of fermented bean paste and preserved plum and tada.... I have a delicious savoury dish for dinner. The most important element in this dish is the meat paste. A combination of minced meat with fish paste with added chopped onions and white pepper will make a delicious fillings for the homegrown veggies. All the work involved in preparing this dish is worth it when you whip up a dish that is almost as good as the Hakka Yong Taufu.

first give the long beans a quick blanch (just to lightly

soften it so that it will not break when

you coil it into a loop and tuck in the end

stuff the longbeans , bittergourd slices and red chillies

with the seasoned filling of meat/fish paste

once the veggies are stuffed, prepare the

non stick pan for pan frying the stuffed veggies

add a few tbsp of veg oil and pan fry the veggies till 

lightly brown and the meat fillings are cooked thru

prepare the fermented bean paste and plum sauce

for light braising of the cooked stuffed veggies

this is so worth the effort of preparing this dish

yumm!

Stuffed Veggies With Meat/Fish Paste

Ingredients:

8 strings of longbeans - blanch and coil into a small loop
1 bittergourd - cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
4 red chillies - slit and deseed

fillings -  use a pair of chopsticks and stir till paste is sticky
300gms minced meat
50gms fish paste
1 tbsp chopped spring onions
1/8 tsp of ground white pepper
pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp of corn starch
1/2 tsp of sesame oil

a few tbsp of cooking oil for pan frying

Sauce:
1 tbsp of chopped garlic
1 tbsp of fermented bean paste ( tauchu)
1 piece of preserved plum - mashed
1/2 tsp of preserved black bean
1/2 tbsp of corn flour +  2 tbsp of water - thickening

Method:
Stuff all the veggies with the above meat filling paste. Add a few tbsp of cooking on a non stick pan and when oil is hot, gently place piece by piece of the stuffed veggies onto the pan and pan fried till the filling is golden brown . Dish up all the cooked stuffed veggies and keep aside

Using back the same pan, add in chopped garlic and saute till fragrant. Add in the fermented bean paste, mashed preserved plum, and preserved black bean and continue to stir fry till fragrant. Add in 1 cup water and thickening and add in the pan fried stuffed veggies and braise them in the sauce cover with lid till the sauce has thicken . Dish up and serve with rice.

Braised Stuffed Potato With Sour Plum Sauce

Potato is the family's favourite food.  Today I want to share this easy to prepare dish, something very different from the usual way of cooking. It is braised stuffed potato with sour plum sauce and fermented bean paste.  Simply delicious.  The filling is made up of a few ingredients namely minced pork, chopped beancurd puffs, bonito flakes, chopped spring onions, chillies, cornflour, and sesame oil. I added the chopped bean curd puffs to the minced pork is to add character and keep the meat filling moist.  I will definitely make this dish again as braising the stuffed potato in sour plum and fermented bean paste truly allowing the bland potato to absorb the flavors.  I allowed the sauce to thickens and the sauce is enough to coats each stuffed potato . 

Slice the potato into 1 cm thickness, after which slice the 1 cm thick potato in the center but do not cut through. Stuff the filling into the potato like how you make Yong Tau Foo. 

fillings consists of minced meat,  bean curd puffs, spring onions

chillies, bonito flakes, sesame oil, cornflour - stir together

till the meat mixture is sticky

to prevent the potato from turning dark, soak in lightly salted water-

drip of excess water before stuffing in the filling

make sure to dust cornflour before stuffing in the fillings

so that it acts as adhesive or the meat fillings will drop off

deep fried the stuffed potato till cooked and lightly

browned

lightly braised in sour plum sauce till the flavorful

sauce is absorbed into the potato

Braised Stuffed Potato With Sour Plum Sauce 

ingredients:

4 med sized Holland Potato -

Filling ingredients
250 gm minced meat - pork or chicken
2 bean curd puffs - chopped
1 tsp of soy sauce
some bonito flakes
some chopped spring onions
chopped bird's eye chillies - amount depends on individual taste
1/2 tsp of sesame oil
1 tsp of corn flour

extra corn flour  for dusting

1/2 cup vegetable oil for deep frying the stuffed potatoes

sauce
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
2 tbsp of sour plum sauce
1 tbsp of fermented bean paste ( tau cheong )
1/2 cup water

thickening
2 tsp of corn flour
2 tbsp of water

Garnishing
coriander leaves

Method:

1. Scrub , clean and peel potato. Slice them into 1 cm thickness.  Cut a slit in the center of the 1 cm thick slices but do not cut through. Soak in lightly salted water for 5 mins to prevent darkening. Pour off water and place the sliced potato in colander to drip dry while preparing the filling.

2. Put all the filling ingredients in a deep bowl and using a fork , stir them together till sticky and well mixed.

3. Take a sliced potato , open up the center slit, dust with cornflour and stuff with the prepared filling, like how you make Yong Tau Foo. Repeat the process till all the sliced potato are used up.

4. Heat up 1/2 cup of vegetable oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, gently add in the stuffed potatoes and deep fry them till cooked and slightly browned.

5.Dish up and keep aside . Pour out the oil into a bowl, leaving just  a tsp of oil in the pan, add in chopped garlic and stir fry over medium heat till fragrant, add in the sour plum sauce and fermented bean paste and continue to stir fry till well mixed. Add in water and give it a quick boil. Add in all the deep fried stuffed potatoes, cover with lid and let it braise under medium low heat for 15 mins.  Add in the thickening. Once the gravy has thicken and all the stuffed potatoes is coated with the thick gravy, Off heat and dish up. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Note: if you want  more gravy, adjust water and add another 1/2 tbsp of sour plum sauce, 1/4 tbsp of fermented bean paste .

Enjoy!

Masak Lemak Chili Padi Ikan Senangin

I could not believe  that I seriously cooked this dish for dinner.  I would normally order this dish from my office canteen when I was still working then.  This is not a planned one.  It was a moment craving and by being adventurous enough to try cooking this dish, it has taken my homecooking to another level. I seldom cook malay dishes besides nasi lemak. And having said that, I was happy that I cooked this dish.  Googled internet for a good one and found most of them doesnt have shallots .  So I prepared my own list and added shallots to it. Because I believe that shallots will add flavor and sweetness to the gravy.

I bought a lot of Ikan Senangin ( Threadfin Fish ) when it was in season the past one month and have stored them in the freezer. Ikan Senangin is perfect for this dish.  Homegrown turmeric made it even more special and delicious .  I have no regrets cooking this dish. It was awesome in taste and so appetising, even my Wildboar loves it.  That speaks volume as WB is not into fish. He is more a meat person than a fish person.  He loves the gravy which is tasty and delicious.  Will be trying out other Malay and Indonesian dishes in the future :)  

Ikan Senangin ( threadfin fish )

tip: add in salt before the gravy boils

to prevent the coconut milk from separating into oil 

( pecah santan )

just a few ingredients and a flavorful and

delicious dish for dinner

love it and will definitely cook this dish again

glad that Wildboar loves the gravy so much that

he asked to cook again, and more gravy since he doesn't eat fish.

I can cook this using chicken, it will be awesome too for sure.

Masak Lemak Chili Padi Ikan Senangin

ingredients: 

1 whole Ikan Senangin -  cut into few pieces, rub salt on pieces

(A)
1/2 tbsp of  pounded fresh turmeric 

1 stalk of lemongrass - take the white part and crush it

2 pieces of tamarind slices

1/2 cup santan mix with 2 cups water

1 or 2 tsp of sea salt

3 shallots -pound

10 chili padi - pound

Method:

Put ingredients (A) into wok and simmer under medium  low heat.  Once the gravy boils, put in the pieces of fish and continues to simmer till the fish are cooked through.  Off heat and  serve hot with rice.

Enjoy!