Traditional Fish

(From Y3K Recipes Issue No.5 – March/ April 2002)
Copyright of Y Three K Publisher. All rights reserved.

Ingredients:
1 mackerel fish
2 stalks of Chinese celery (minced)
6 shallots (minced)
3 red chillies (minced)

Seasoning:
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp light soy sauce
3 tbsps corn flour
A little sesame oil
A little pepper

Method:
1. Slit open the fish from the belly to the tail. Remove bones. Scrap the flesh with a spoon (be careful not to damage the skin).
2. Keep the skin aside for later use.
3. Mince the fish flesh. Add in other ingredients and seasoning. Mix well. Beat to a sticky paste.
4. Roll (3) into a long strip. Stuff it into the fish skin. Secure the opening with some corn flour solution.
5. Heat up a lot of oil. Deep fry the fish till crispy and golden in colour. Remove from the wok and sliced. Serve hot.

Beggar’s Pig Trotter

(From Y3K Recipes Issue No.5 – March/ April 2002)
Copyright of Y Three K Publisher. All rights reserved.

Ingredients:
1 pig’s trotter (request butcher to debone it)
20 pips toasted garlic (leave skin on)

Seasoning:
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp superior quality dark soy sauce

Chinese Herbs:
4 pieces Dang Sheng
4 slices Dang Gui Tou
10 red dates (soaked, pitted)
1 tbsp Qi Zi (soaked)
4 pieces Huai Shan
5 pieces Bei Qi

For Wrapping:
1 piece cling film
2 pieces grease-proof paper
1 raffia string
Clay (stiff tenacious soil)

Method:
1. Clean trotter. Blanch in boiling water for 5 minutes to remove unpleasant smell. Remove and keep aside.
2. Rub the trotter with seasoning.
3. Clean Chinese herbs and stuff into the trotter.
4. Wrap with cling film. Follow by a layer of grease-proof paper. Tie with raffia string.
5. Mix water with yellow soil to form clay.
6. Spread out a piece of grease-proof paper on the floor. Apply a layer of clay. Place (4) onto it. Cover with clay and wrap up.
7. Bury the trotter into the hot ash for 4 hours.
8. Unwrap and knock off the crust. Serve hot.

Remarks: For homemakers to prepare this recipe, substitute the wrapping ingredients with aluminium foil. Bake in oven at 180 degrees celsius for one and a half hours. However, the taste will be different from the original recipe.

Beggar’s Chicken

(From Y3K Recipes Issue No.5 – March/ April 2002)
Copyright of Y Three K Publisher. All rights reserved.

Ingredients:
1 kampong hen (approx. 1.5kg)

Seasoning:
1 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp superior quality dark soy sauce
1 tbsp Shao Xing wine/ Chinese Cooking wine

Chinese Herbs:
4 pieces Dang Sheng
4 slices Dang Gui Tou
10 red dates (soaked, pitted)
1 tbsp Qi Zi (soaked)
6 pieces Yi Zhu
4 pieces Huai Shan
5 pieces Bei Qi

For Wrapping:
1 piece cling film
2 pieces grease-proof paper
1 raffia string
Clay (stiff tenacious soil)

Method:
1. Clean kampung hen. Mix well seasoning. Rub seasoning all over the chicken (internally and externally).
2. Clean Chinese herbs and stuff into the chicken’s cavity.
3. Wrap chicken with cling film. Follow by a layer of grease-proof paper. Tie with raffia string.
4. Mix water with yellow soil to form clay.
5. Spread out a piece of grease-proof paper on the floor. Apply clay and place (3) onto it. Cover with clay and wrap up.
6. Bury the chicken into the hot ash for 4 hours.
7. Unwrap and knock off the crust. Serve hot.

Remarks: For homemakers to prepare this recipe, substitute the wrapping ingredients with aluminium foil. Bake in oven at 180 degrees celsius for 1 hour. However, the taste will be different from the original recipe.

Fried Spicy Pucuk Paku

(From Y3K Recipes Issue No.5 – March/ April 2002)
Copyright of Y Three K Publisher. All rights reserved.

Ingredients:
600g pucuk paku

Sambal ingredients for blending:
1 tbsp dried shrimps (soaked till soft)
1/2cm belachan
8 dried chillies (soaked till soft)
5 shallots
5 pips garlic

Seasoning:
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chicken powder

Method:
1. Pick only the soft tips of pucuk paku. Rinse and set aside.
2. Plain fry the belachan without oil. Pound into a powder form.
3. Heat up 3 tbsps oil. Saute dried shrimps and belachan. Add in dried chillies, shallots and garlics. Fry till fragrant.
4. Add in pucuk paku and seasoning. Stir-fry over high heat till cooked. Dish up and serve.

Sambal Petai Prawns

(From Y3K Recipes Issue No.5 – March/ April 2002)
Copyright of Y Three K Publisher. All rights reserved.

Ingredients:
250g shrimps (shelled the centre part)
100g petai (halved)

Seasoning:
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

Sambal Ingredients:
5 red chillies (seeded)
5 dried chillies (seeded)
2 cm fresh turmeric (kunyit basah)
5 shallots
5 pips garlic
1/2 tbsp tamarind paste
90ml water
1 cm belachan
1 stalk lemon grass/serai (shred finely)

Method:
1. Mix well tamarind paste with water and sieve. Blanch petai with boiling water.
2. Peel shallots and garlic, then blend them. Add in red chillies and dried chillies. Blend till fine. Add in turmeric, belachan and lemon grass. Blend till it becomes a smooth paste.
3. Heat up 4 tbsps oil. Saute (2).
4. Add in prawns and petai and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Add in tamarind solution, simmer till it boils. Add in seasoning and serve.

Ince Kebin

(From Y3K Recipes Issue No.5 – March/ April 2002)
Copyright of Y Three K Publisher. All rights reserved.

Ingredients:
1/2 chicken (cut into large pieces)

Marinade:
8 shallots
2 lemon grass (serai)
2 candle nuts (buah keras)
1/2 cm belachan
1 tbsp chilli giling
1/2 tsp salt

Special Sauce:
10 chilli padi (minced)
2 shallots (minced)
2 tbsps Lea & Perrin sauce

Method:
1. Blend the marinade ingredients.
2. Marinate chicken for 2 hours.
3. Heat up 500ml (2 cups) oil. Rinse the chicken and wipe dry. Deep fry the chicken till it is crispy. Remove and drain off excess oil.
4. Serve together with special sauce.

Chicken Pongteh

(From Y3K Recipes Issue No.5 – March/ April 2002)
Copyright of Y Three K Publisher. All rights reserved.

Ingredients:
600g chicken (cut into 10 pieces)
300g yambean (cubed)
A few pieces cekur leaves/ kencur leaves
250ml water

Spices (pound ingredients)
10 shallots
2 cm galangal (lengkuas)
1 cm turmeric (kunyit)
4 candle nuts (buah keras)
4 cm cinnamon bark (kayu manis)
4 pips garlic

Seasoning:
2 tbsps tauchu
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dark soy sauce

Method:
1. Heat up 3 tbsps oil. Saute spices till oil surfaces.
2. Add in chicken and yambean. Stir-fry over high heat till it becomes dry. Add in water and cekur leaves.
3. When it boils, add in seasoning and serve.