Steamed Chicken with Kei Chi

After cooking fish consecutively for a few sessions, it's time for a change of menu. Instead of frying chicken, I'm steaming it. Also, to cater to different preferences, I am using both fillet and bony chicken as I am the bone-eater (not the bone but the fleshy/bony part of the chicken) whilst my son prefers the fleshy parts.

I am adding some wolfberries or kei chi 杞子 to enhance the chicken with its sweetness. The kei chi is used in traditional Chinese medicine to improve eyesight, boost energy levels, combat chronic fatigue, fight cancer and chronic illnesses.


Steamed Chicken with Kei Chi



5 pcs chicken fillet
2 chicken thighs, skinned
1 tsp kei chi 杞子 (wolfberries)
1/2 tsp shredded ginger
1 stalk spring onions, cut to 1 inch length
salt, sesame oil

1. Remove excess fat from chicken and cut to smaller pieces.
2. Marinate with some salt and place in serving plate.
3. Add kei chi and ginger with a dash of sesame oil.
4. Place onto the steaming tray and cook with the rice in the rice cooker. (Otherwise, steam over boiling water at medium heat for about 15 minutes)
5. Garnish with the chopped spring onions.
6. Serve hot with rice.

Marrrow Soup

The hairy marrow is known by numerous names; hairy gourd, fuzzy gourd, hairy cucumber, hairy melon, whatever. The Cantonese call it jit kua.



It is a long light/dark green gourd with a downy, hairy skin, narrowing in the center and fattening at the end. It can either be stir fried or used in soups.


Marrrow Soup



1 pc marrow
100 gm lean pork, sliced
50 gm toong fun (冬粉), soaked and drained
1 thumb-sized ginger, smashed
1 stalk spring onion, chopped
1 tsp tapioca flour
1 tsp toong choy (preserved cabbage)
1 egg, slightly beaten
salt, pepper, soy sauce

1. Peel and cut the marrow into shreds.
2. Place toong choy, ginger and water into the pot and bring to boil.
3. Add in marrow and cover till boil.
4. Marinate the pork with salt, pepper, soy sauce and toss in flour.
5. Stir into soup, ensuring the meat does not stick together.
6. Add in the toong fun.
7. Break the egg into the soup.
8. Add spring onions and season to taste.
9. Serve hot with rice.

Stir fried Long Beans with Fish cake

My eldest son loves to eat long beans or dau gok as they are very crunchy. The long beans as a vegetable is quite versatile. It can be cooked in many ways, as omelette, in curry or stir fried or eaten raw as in ulam.

They are a good source of protein, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, iron, phosphorus, and potassium as well as vitamin C, folate, magnesium, and manganese.

I experimented growing the long bean creeper in my garden and managed to harvest a few strands of long beans recently. Hubby reminisced that his mum used to cook the leaves in her home-made pan mee soup.

Stir fried Long Beans with Fish cake



300 gm long beans, cut to 1 inch long
2 pieces fish cake, sliced
1/2 tsp ginger, shredded
2 shallots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp oil
salt, water
1 tsp Cosway Delichef Crispy dried shrimp readymix chilli

1. Heat oil in the wok.
2. Saute the ginger, shallots and garlic till fragrant.
3. Fry the fish cake for a minute and push to the side.
4. Add the long beans and stir fry with some salt, sesame oil until they change color, adding in water when necessary.
5. Mix in the readymix chili.
6. Serve hot with rice.

Herbal Tea

Looks like the rainy season has just left and the hot spell is now upon us. Gosh, daytime temperatures are as high as 35 degrees Celcius! Time for the Leung Cha or herbal tea which can be drunk either hot or cold.



There are many different ingredients that we can mix and match for the herbal tea. The Chinese normally drink this mixture of herbal tea to fight off "the heat" accumulated in the body; especially after eating fried or spicy food and during the hot season.

This morning the herbalist recommended me a packet of bark ji chou (北子草) and ha fui chou (夏枯草) or Common Selfheal Fruit-spike as the base for the herbal tea. I've added the Buddha fruit and winter melon which reduces coughing and phlegm.


Herbal Tea



1 pc dried Buddha fruit (lo hon gor)
1 pkt bark ji chou/ha fui chou
130 gm rock sugar
300 gm winter melon
5 liter water

1. Peel and cut the winter melon into bite size pieces.
2. Break the lo hon gor into a smaller pieces.
3. Rinse all the ingredients lightly and put in pot with water.
4. Bring to boil and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
5. Serve hot or cold depending on preference.

FriedTenggiri with Fuchok

The Spanish Mackerel or ikan tenggiri (Malay) or kao yu (Cantonese) is a regular feature on my dinner menu as the hubby loves it, cooked whatever style.

I usually ask the fishmonger to slice the fish into nice cutlets for easy cooking. Since this fish has very few bones which can be easily removed, it is one of the rare fish which I can persuade my son who is not a fish-eater to take.

Fried Tenggiri Fuchok




3 cutlets ikan tenggiri
2 pieces bean curd or fuchok
1 tsp carrot, shredded
1 tsp ginger, shredded
2 shallots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk spring onion, chopped
salt, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper, water
8 tbsp oil

1. Marinate the fish with some salt for 20 minutes. Rinse it slightly before patting dry for frying.
2. Heat half the oil in wok.
3. Fry the fish till golden brown. Remove and set aside.
4. Wipe the fuchok clean and break into smaller pieces.
5. Fry each piece individually, dishing out as soon as it turns crispy. Add oil when necessary as the fuchok tends to soak up oil pretty fast.
6. Use remaining oil to saute the ginger, shallots and garlic till fragrant.
7. Add the carrot and stir fry with salt and sesame oil for a while.
8. Pour in 1/2 cup water and 1 tbsp soy sauce and cover to boil.
9. Add back the fried fish, fuchok and spring onions.
10. Add sugar and pepper to taste.
11. Serve hot with rice.