Duck and Chestnut Stew

400g duck, chopped into fairly big pieces

Seasoning:
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
Dash of pepper
Dash of Chinese five spice powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
100g shelled dried chestnuts
12 pieces dried black mushrooms, soaked
12 pieces button mushrooms
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp sesame oil
Cooking wine

Sauce:
I tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp chicken stock granules
500ml water


Season duck for at least 30 minutes. Boil chestnuts for l0 minutes and drain well. Deep-fry chestnuts for two to three minutes. Drain. Reheat oil and deep-fry duck pieces until golden brown.

Heat claypot with oil and sesame oil and lightly brown ginger and garlic until fragrant. Put in soya bean paste and fry until fragrant. Add cooking wine. Add duck pieces and chestnuts. Toss until they are well coated with ingredients.

Pour in sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for one and a half hours. Add both types of mushrooms and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until duck is tender and gravy thickens.

Quail's Eggs with Ginseng Dessert

10g American ginseng
15g dried mushrooms
20g Poria
10 pcs quail’s eggs (cooked, de-shelled)
60g water chestnut powder
Rock sugar according to taste
600ml water


Chop soaked mushrooms and discard tough ends. Place mushrooms, American ginseng, rock sugar, poria and boiling water into a soup pot and steam with small fire for 1 hour.
Add eggs and steam for another 15 minutes. Melt water chestnut powder with some water and add into steamed dessert and stir. Add sugar to taste.

Chinese roast pork "Siew-York"

3kg belly pork with skin
130g coarse salt
A pinch of five-spice powder


Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
Score the inner pork belly with a sharp knife.
Rub the meat with 30g of coarse salt and the five-spice powder.
Pierce metal skewers through the upper and lower portion of the pork belly to prevent it from shrinking during roasting.
Rub the remaining coarse salt on the skin of the pork belly.
Roast the pork for 45 minutes to an hour.
Halfway through the roasting time, remove the roast pork from the oven and rub off all the salt from the skin. Prick the skin all over with a stainless steel tenderiser needle.
Return the pork to the oven and roast it on high heat until pork is blackened and skin is crispy. Remove from oven and scrape off the blackened part.
Return to oven and continue roasting till done.

Barbecued Pork "Char Siew"

1.5kg belly pork (remove skin)

Marinade:
1.2kg sugar
55g preserved soybean paste
55g hoisin sauce
20g fermented bean curd (nam yue)
500ml light soya sauce
250ml dark soya sauce
Red dye (optional)


Method
Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
Mix the marinade ingredients.
Divide pork belly into five strips (about 300g each). Marinate pork belly strips for about 3 hours.
Carefully pierce the marinated pork belly strips vertically with a skewer.
Roast pork belly in the oven for 30 minutes, basting the meat with the marinade every ten minutes.

Braised Chicken with Baby Potatoes

600g chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces
6 smallish dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked to soften
12 baby potatoes, boiled until tender then skinned
50g canned bamboo shoots, sliced
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 Tbsp Shao Hsing Hua Tiau cooking wine (optional)
700ml water

(A)
2 star anise
5 cloves
2cm cinnamon stick
6cm ginger, sliced
1½ tbsp preserved bean paste (tau cu)

Thickening
1 tsp corn flour mixed with 1 tbsp water

Sauce (combined)
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp light soya sauce
1/2 tsp thick soya sauce
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp chicken stock granules
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt or to taste


Marinate chicken with light soya sauce and pepper and leave aside for 30 minutes.
Heat oil and sesame oil and stir-fry ginger, garlic, bean paste, cloves, star anise and cinnamon stick until fragrant.
Add in chicken and mushrooms and toss until chicken change colour.
Sprinkle in cooking wine (optional) and stir-fry briskly until well mixed. Pour in combined sauce ingredients and cook for 10–20 seconds. Add in water and bring to the boil. Cover and cook over low heat for 20–25 minutes.
Add in bamboo shoots and baby potatoes. Thicken with corn flour mixture and transfer to a serving dish. Serve the potato balls with chilli sauce.

Honey And Crushed Coriander Chicken

6 to 8 medium-sized chicken drumsticks
1 rounded tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp finely-grated ginger
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp peanut or other vegetable oil
2 tsp salt


Rinse chicken drumsticks and trim off any excess bits of skin or fat. Pat dry with absorbent paper towels.
Lightly toast the coriander seeds and peppercorns by placing them in a small frying pan over medium heat.
After three to four minutes they will smell fragrant and the coriander will look lightly browned. Immediately take pan off the heat. Roughly crush the coriander and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle. Remove.
Combine the grated ginger, soy sauces, honey, oil and salt in a small bowl. Add the crushed spices. Rub over chicken drumsticks, cover and set aside, refrigerated, for an hour or two.
Place chicken pieces under a preheated grill or roast in a 190 ºC oven for 20 to 25 minutes (depending on the size and thickness of the drumsticks), turning chicken over halfway through the cooking time to help them brown evenly.

Chicken and Bird's Nest Soup

11g bird's nest, soaked until soft
1 small kampong chicken (net weight 550g), cleaned
1 tbsp sweet almonds (lam hung)
1/2 tbsp bitter almonds (pak hung)
5 red dates
20g American ginseng slices
1 litre hot water


Combine all the ingredients (except bird's nest) in a pressure cooker. Bring to a boil over high heat until the pressure indicator is shown.
Reduce the heat to the lowest and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the pressure indicator to return to its original position before opening the lid. Add the bird's nest and pressure cook again for a further 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow the pressure indicator to return to its original position before opening the cooker.

Bird's Nest dessert

15g bird’s nest
100g rock sugar
50g dried magnolia petals (pak hup), soaked for 30 minutes, drained and set aside
400ml water


Soak the bird’s nest in two cups of boiling water for two to three hours. Drain off water. Add clean boiling water again and soak for another hour. Remove the fine feathers and soak in clear cold water for 15 minutes. Drain well.
Put bird’s nest, rock sugar and water into a double boiler. Cover and double boil for three hours over low flame. Add pak hup and continue to double boil for another 15-20 minutes. Serve in a tureen.

Venison in Black Bean Sauce

500g Stir-fry cut venison
1 Green pepper
200g Mange tout
1 Onion
1 Clove garlic
100g Corn flour
1 Bottle of Black Bean Sauce
Salt and pepper


Pre heat deep fat fryer to highest setting. Cut everything into strips/slices. Coat venison in corn flour. Drop the venison in small amounts into fryer for no more than 20 seconds. Take out.
Stir fry vegetables, onions, garlic, peppers, mange tout. Add sauce. Bring to the boil and add venison. Toss for 1 minute and serve.

Chinese Style Beef Steak

Ingredients
3 pieces (600g) Australian beef
tenderloin, cut into 1cm thick slices of
200g each
3 tbsp oil
1 onion, sliced thinly
3 button mushrooms, sliced thinly


Marinade:
1/2 tbsp garlic juice
1/2 tbsp onion juice
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp ginger juice
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp Shao Hsing Hua Tiau wine
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp cornflour

Sauce:
1 tbsp tomato sauce
1/2 tbsp black vinegar
1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp chicken stock granules
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp cornflour
2 tbsp water


Trim excess fat from the beef pieces then pound beef slices with a meat mallet to tenderise. Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add in beef slices and marinate for several hours, preferably overnight.
Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Fry meat slices over medium heat till lightly brown on both sides. Dish up, cut into neat thin slices and place on individual sizzling hot plates.
Fry onion in remaining oil until soft and fragrant. Add button mushrooms and stir in sauce ingredients. Cook till gravy turns thick. To serve, pour gravy over meat and serve immediately.

Sizzling Beef

Ingredients
200g beef (tenderloin), sliced into thin
pieces
25g young ginger, sliced thinly

Marinate beef slices for 1/2 hour with:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce
A dash of pepper
A pinch of salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp tapioca flour
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp chopped garlic
2 stalks spring onions, cut into 3cm lengths
3 tbsp water
1 tsp Maggi beef stock granules

Thickening (combine):
1 tsp cornflour
1 1/2 tbsp water


Fry garlic and sliced ginger in 2 tbsp oil. Add the marinated beef slices and saute over medium-high flame. Add water and beefstock granules. Mix in thickening and stir-fry well. Dish out and leave aside.
Heat a hot plate with 1 tbsp oil until it is very hot. Pour the pre-fried beef dish onto the hot-plate, add some spring onion slices and top up with a dash of sesame oil.

Chinese roast-pork bun "Char Siew Pau"

INGREDIENTS
starter dough
300g pau (or superfine) flour
1/2 teaspoon instant dried yeast
1/2 tablespoon white vinegar
150-160ml water from rinsing
100g rice

dough A
300g Hong Kong flour
60g starter dough
150-160ml water
oil to grease bowl

dough B
500g dough A
100g sugar
150g Hong Kong flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
20g vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon ammonia (chow fun)
25-30ml water

charsiew sauce
110ml oil
4 shallots, sliced thickly
1 Bombay onion, sliced thickly
30g ginger, sliced
4 sprigs spring onion, cut into 10cm lengths
40g smooth peanut butter
40g fermented soy bean paste (tau cheo)
150g sugar
40g oyster sauce
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
300ml water
40g tapioca flour
40g chestnut flour
25g cornflour
75ml water
50-100ml oil

filling
500g chicken charsiew, diced
300g charsiew sauce
20g coriander, chopped
20g sesame seeds, toasted

DIRECTIONS
To make starter dough: Mix all the ingredients into a dough and leave
at room temperature for 24 hours, covered with a piece of cloth. It should become foamy and smell tangy and yeasty.
If the starter dough is not going to be used within the next 24 hours, it will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. To use, remove from the refrigerator 5 hours ahead.

To make dough A: Make a well in the middle of the Hong Kong flour and add in the starter dough. Pour in some water and mix in a circular motion, adding water bit by bit. Knead until smooth. Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl; turn dough so that the oiled surface is facing upwards. Wrap bowl with cling film and keep in a cool place for 10 hours.

To make dough B: Place the dough and sugar in a mixing bowl. Using the dough hook, mix on low speed for 1 minute, or until sugar is dissolved and the dough is smooth. Tip in half the Hong Kong flour and half the baking powder. Mix well. Add shortening and ammonia. Mix for 10 seconds and add the remaining flour and baking powder. Add water and mix until smooth. Set aside, covered. Allow to rest for 1 hour before use.

To prepare sauce: Heat the oil in
a wok and add the shallots, onion,
ginger and spring onions. Fry for about 3 minutes until fragrant and golden. Turn off the heat and strain the oil.
Return the oil to the wok. Over medium heat, stir-fry with the peanut butter and fermented soy bean paste. Add the combined sugar, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Turn up the heat and pour in the tapioca, chestnut and corn flours followed by the water. Keep stirring continuously, as the mixture will thicken very fast. Stir for about 2 minutes until smooth.
Transfer to a bowl and seal top with a layer of oil. Leave to cool overnight.

To make filling: Mix all ingredients together.

To assemble: Roll out the dough to resemble a sausage. Cut into nuggets of 20-30g each. Flatten lightly with your palm. Hold the flattened dough with your thumb and index finger and roll out the dough with a dim sum rolling pin until it forms a circle about 5cm in diameter.
Scoop 1 heaped tablespoon (about 30g) of the filling onto the middle of a dough circle and pinch the edges together. Place the pau on a small square piece of parch

SIEW LOONG PAU Shanghainese meat dumplings

Ingredients
skin
250g Hong Kong flour
120ml water

filling
500g pork loin, minced
50ml ginger and onion juice
100ml superior stock
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 pinch white pepper powder
50g frozen superior stock, cut into 5g cubes

dipping sauce
30g ginger, cut into julienne
3 tablespoons black rice vinegar

Directions
To prepare skin: In a large bowl, mix flour with water and knead into a smooth dough. Cover the dough with a warm towel and leave to rest for 15-20 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a thin sausage shape and cut into pieces, about 7g each. Using a mini rolling pin, roll out each piece into a flat circle.

To prepare filling: In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Cling wrap and store in the refrigerator until needed.

To assemble: Fill each dough circle with a heaped tablespoon of the filling and a cube of frozen superior stock.
Seal the edges with 18 pleats.
Steam for 6 minutes. Serve piping hot with shredded ginger and black vinegar.