cat versus pig

Mr Piggy (MP) really enjoys a good lasagne. You can always go the quick and easy way by buying pre-made sauce, pasta sheets, even pre-made lasagne, but I think if you have the time then fresh homemade lasagne is worth the effort.

Total time required: ~ 2hrs
- 10mins dough time (with a magimix, probably 20mins by hand)
- 30mins sauce time
- 30mins assembly
- 30-40mins baking

I would normally make the dough (slightly dry) first then, while it's sitting, make the sauce. I like to start with a basic tomato sauce (or you can use a couple of cans of tomatoes) then add lots of meat to it. The Flower Lady (my Italian friend) recommends using three different types of meat to get a really good flavour. I find that leftover roast and bbq meats work really well, but if you don't have any handy, then any meat will do (try to get at least one meat on the bone for added flavour)! Add the meat to the tomato sauce and simmer for at least 20mins; season to taste. Finally, remove the meat and chop finely. Blend the sauce (if you haven't already) before adding back the meat. The sauce is now ready for use!

Tip: keep the sauce on the slightly watery side so that the pasta has something to cook in while baking.



By the time the sauce is done, the dough should be ready for rolling. The last time I made lasagne, I rolled the sheets as I needed them and I found that worked pretty well. This way you won't have any danger of the sheets sticking to the table or each other! On my pasta machine I go to #7, but basically the thinner the sheet, the more layers (and MP likes his layers)!



So the layering process involves alternating sauce, pasta sheets and cheese (I mix fresh mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar). You could also chuck in other things like mushrooms, chorizo, hard boiled egg and whatever else you like to make it interesting. The first layer on the dish should always be a sauce layer, as saucy as can be, to make sure your first sheet doesn't get stuck to the baking dish. Then continue with layers of dough, sauce, cheese (I sometimes don't cheese every layer so it's not too cheesy). Put extra cheese on top of the last layer before baking in a pre-heated oven of 180deg C. If you like white sauce, chuck a layer of white sauce on top of the last cheese layer before baking.

That’s it, eat up!



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One of my favourite foods is this variation on a noodle dish, Meehoonkueh. I'm not quite sure where it originated from, but I know it can be found in Malaysia and parts of China (which makes sense since all Chinese originally came from China anyway).

So to make it? First off, start with the basic dough recipe, slightly wetter for stretch-ability. Let the dough sit for 30mins or so.

In the meantime, prepare your stock. This is similar to the wonton soup base, but dried ikan bilis (a type of anchovy fish) is used to provide the flavour. I've seen it sold in some Asian supermarkets, but if you can't find it you can always substitute with bonito flakes (from the wonton soup recipe). To make the stock, add a handful of the ikan bilis to boiling water (about 1L); simmer for at least 30mins before use.
Note: you can boil the stock with the ikan bilis in a cheesecloth bag or strain it before using for a clear clean soup!



In a separate pot for cooking, bring some of the stock to the boil. Start pulling the dough, stretching it between your hands to a thin sheet. Tear off pieces at a time, dropping into the boiling soup. Add vegetables and fish balls, boil for another minute or two and then serve.

Meehoonkueh can be eaten with an array of condiments - fried ikan bilis, belachan, etc. - but I like it best with just a bit of fried onion and cut chilli.



Enjoy!



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As far back as I can remember (and no, I’m not one of those people who can remember things from when they were two years old, my memory extends back to 6 or 7 years old, but I digress…), Mum would make fresh noodles and meehoonkueh (literally noodle flour cakes in Hokkien, also called Pan Mee). We would ‘help’ her make the noodles – she’d make the dough – and somehow the whole thing would occupy us for hours. Nowadays the process is a lot faster (I think the ‘too many cooks’ saying definitely applied to us as kids).

So the basic recipe for dough is: 3 cups of flour, 4 eggs. That’s it! Simple, huh? You can use that recipe for any dough thing: wonton mee, meepok, dumpling skin, spaghetti, fettucini, ravioli, lasagne sheets, the list is endless!! For Asian recipes I tend to use the recipe as is, but for Italian dishes I have on occasion added herbs (fresh and dried), salt and pepper, and vegies (spinach, beetroot juice for colour). You can either mix by hand (I prefer this myself, but it can be time consuming) or use a magimix or something similar.



When mixing by hand:
1. make a well in the flour
2. add eggs
3. combine the flour into the eggs with chopsticks (or a fork)
4. knead until smooth
5. separate into small fist sized balls to rest



When mixing with a magimix:
1. add flour and eggs to mixer
2. whiz to a crumbly texture
3. remove crumbs from mixer and knead until smooth
4. separate into small fist sized balls to rest

After leaving the dough for at least 30mins (this allows the moisture from the egg to work its way into the flour), you can make it into whatever you like. For noodle-y dishes, make it quite a dry dough so that the noodles don’t stick to each other (if you poke it and it sticks, then it’s too wet). For meehoonkueh it can be a little wetter because you’ll be pulling the dough with your hands. Same goes for dumplings, ravioli and other similar dough ‘packages’ – since you’ll be wrapping things inside, you’ll want the edges to be sticky enough to stay together!



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The classic Chinese dumpling we’re all familiar with. They offer a light burst of flavour in your mouth, just as the name suggests (literally meaning cloud swallow). I can’t quite get the same taste as the ones you get in Hong Kong, but these are pretty darn close.

Ingredients - Wontons
- pack of thin wonton skins
- 250g pork mince
- 6-8 prawns
- a few Chinese mushrooms
- small tin of bamboo shoots
- couple of spring onions
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ½ tsp cornflour
- ½ tsp salt
- dash of white pepper

Ingredients - Soup
- dried fish powder / flakes
- chicken stock



Firstly, work the pork mince by chopping it for about a minute. This rough chopping works the gluten/protein in the meat and you will notice it becomes stickier.

Peel and de-vein the prawns, then chop up along with the mushrooms, bamboo shoots and spring onion. My family likes the ingredients on the chunkier side (except for the spring onion, which should be finely chopped). This way you can feel the different textures and get that burst of sweetness when you chomp down on a lump of prawn. However, I know Cat prefers to mince everything up well.



Mix all the ingredients (except wonton skins) in a bowl and combine well. If your mixture is not combining and holding together, it is probably because your pork lacks gluten/protein - this can happen if the pork mince is overly lean or has been frozen. You can solve this by introducing extra protein with a little bit of raw egg.

Wrap your wontons by placing a lump of the mixture into the centre of the wonton skin. Then fold in half so one set of corners diagonally across from each other meet. Seal around the lump of filling, trying to get as much air out as possible (leaving too much air inside can burst your wontons during cooking). Finally, gather up the other two corners so they all meet in the centre, crimping and pinching firmly to seal.



Now to make a soup to go with the wontons. In Hong Kong, the soup served with wontons is nearly always made from a dried fish powder. Boil a few cups of water and add in a couple teaspoons of dried fish powder. Add in a cup of chicken stock to the boiling fish stock. This will round out and mellow the flavour of the soup; otherwise you may find it can be a little fishy.

The powder in the photo above is mum’s homemade stuff, which she grinds herself. It is made from the dried flesh of a fish similar to flounder. Alternatively, use dried bonito flakes, which are available at supermarkets these days (most likely along with the other Japanese goods).

Now in a separate pot (separate from the soup), boil water and cook the wontons for roughly 5 mins. Alternatively, cook until the wontons float to the top and then boil for another minute (the wontons sink initially but float as they are nearly done).

Serve the cooked wontons with the soup.

Here I’m having it with noodles, char siew pork and snow pea sprouts.





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Ever had salt and pepper squid at a Chinese restaurant? Or the squid tentacle version at yum cha (dim sum)? Have you tried cooking it but just doesn't taste the same? This mixture is probably the missing link.

Ingredients
2 tbsp salt
1 tsp five spice powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp msg
a dash of white pepper

You can omit the msg if you have an aversion to it or you don't have any lying around, however I don’t think it tastes the same without it. Mix all the ingredients together and heat a pan on medium heat. Place the mixture into the pan and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

The cooking process is not necessary but it does develop the flavour and helps prevent the mixture from becoming one solid mass (memories of clogged salt shakers anybody?). Also make sure the pan is scrupulously clean, free from any water or oil.

Just toss through dishes like salt and pepper squid and fried chicken for the taste you’ve been looking for!



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These pearl-like dumplings, literally translated as soup balls (glutinous rice balls), are a traditional dessert that I grew up eating. They are usually served with a syrup-based broth and their sweet gooey centres are hidden by a soft chewy shell.

Ingredients
200g glutinous rice flour
½ cup black sesame mix
1½ tbsp sugar
a few slices of ginger
2 tbsp of brown sugar

This should make up 15 to 20 balls, depending on how large you make them.



The first step is to mix the black sesame with the sugar and a little water. Mix until a dry playdoh-like consistency is formed. The black sesame can be purchased in most Asian grocery stores. Roll the sesame mixture into balls, roughly the size of a small marble (you may want to use rubber gloves for this as the mixture is sticky).

Next mix the rice flour with water to form a dough. Unfortunately there were no instructions on the packet as to how much water, but the resulting consistency should be smooth and not too wet (start with a couple of tablespoons full of water and go from there).



Separate the dough into equal portions, roughly the size of large marbles. For each portion, squash out the dough to about a 5mm thickness (too thin and they may break during cooking) and place a black sesame ball in the middle. Then wrap the sesame ball with the dough and roll between your hands to form a ball shape and seal it.



Boil 2-3 cups of water and add in the slices of ginger (a couple of thin slices will suffice). Add in the brown sugar and then gently place the dough balls of encased sesame filling into the sweet broth. The balls will take roughly 3-5 minutes to cook (depending on the size).



Presto! Ladle the little beauties into bowls, along with some of the syrupy broth and enjoy.



If black sesame isn’t your thing, then you can try other fillings like chocolate, crushed peanut or red bean for some variety.



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This is more on the vegie patch. Here’s a look at the Chinese vegies we have growing in the garden...



Choysum is a common Chinese vegie. I think of it as a bit of a staple veg because it’s easy to find and quite versatile in use. It looks a little bit like bok choy, but has a greenish stalk while bok choy has a white stalk. Choysum and bok choy are both common vegies, but I don’t think they are all that good for you – high water content, no great nutritional value. They do turn up quite a bit though; go to any ‘roasting house’ and you’ll get a little bit of choy sum or bok choy with your ‘roast duck noodle soup’ or ‘bbq pork rice’.



If you've ever had 'Such and such with salted vegetable' at a Chinese restaurant, then you've most likely eaten this. Kai choy can be eaten fresh – Piggy makes a soup of it with a dried scallop base – or preserved to make salted vegie (or haam choy, lit. salty vegie). You can buy cans or sealed packets of salted vegie from your local Chinese shop for cooking with.



Tong ho is another vegie good in soup, very popular for steamboat. It’s generally eaten quite ‘raw’ and only needs about ½ minute (or less) in boiling soup as it is pretty much all leaf.
I find tong ho has a faint bitter taste, which is perhaps why I think of it as one of the more Asian vegies. Asian vegies to me are vegies which are good for you and taste good for you, but don’t necessarily taste good. I remember being told tall tales when I was younger to try to get me to eat my Asian vegies – “It’ll make your hair long and shiny”, “It’ll make your hair curly”, etc. Rubbish!



Watercress (sae yong choy, 西洋菜) is really lovely in soup; actually I’ve never had it any other way. I especially like it with meehoonkueh (I’ll leave this a mystery for now because I’m planning on doing a post on it in the near future).



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