Chinese New Year

This year, Chinese New Year fell on February 10. We had a family lunch at 東方小祇園齋菜 (Tung Fong Siu Kee Yuen) in Wanchai, a well-known old vegetarian restaurant that's been around since 1905. "China was still in the Qing Dynasty when this restaurant started", my dad mentioned as we sat down to our first meal of the new year. This restaurant has seem the fall of Chinese emperors, the rise of Communism, the Japanese WWII occupation, the Tiananmen 6/4 protests, the retreat of the British empire, and the rise of the Chinese 21st century. Through it all, I'd wager that the food at Siu Kee Yuen hasn't changed very much at all.  Food for thought...

A Hong Kong institution since 1905

Veggie feast

As it was new year's, there were no a la carte dishes available; only various set menus on offer. The food was pretty good, if slightly heavy with corn-starch-thickened sauce. Highlights included peppery stir-fried rice noodles, mushroom braised soy e-fu noodles, fried taro puffs and fried honeydew melon fritters, mock duck (tofu skin), wheat gluten mix, etc. Chinese Buddhist vegetarian can be heavy on the fried foods and gloopy sauces, so I normally avoid it. I prefer the Shanghainese vegetarian cuisine which tend to include more steamed and fresh vegetables, rather than tofu/gluten dressed up as mock "meat". 

After the meal, Jon and I decided to walk off the feast. We ended up walking from Wanchai to North Point! In actual terms, it's only about two miles or three km, but it seems much further due to the incredible urban density of Hong Kong island. Wanchai District houses more than 150,000 people in less than four square miles, while Eastern District (which includes North Point) squeezes around 600,000 people in 7.3 square miles. I've always thought that there's as much life in one Hong Kong block as there is in three New York blocks. 

We ended up at North Point, where there is an outdoor market every day, and an informal flea market every Sunday that caters both to the local ethnic Chinese, but also to the larger Southeast Asian and South Asian diaspora. This is the place to go if you're a bargain hunter who loves to unearth hidden treasures...or just like digging through random crap. 

Oranges and other citrus are commonly gifted during their new year, as their round shape and golden color signify wealth and prosperity in the year ahead. 

Jon found a Sega Megadrive (16-bit), mint in the box! 

I found a box of tools (note the French packaging).

Here's the Doctor Who Dalek toy that I picked up for US$2 at the same market during the Chinese New Year holiday in 2010. (Cat not included.)

Fishcakes (from leftover tuna rice salad)

I made a giant bowl of tuna rice salad for a BBQ this weekend and had a lot left over...what to do? Instead of eating the same thing several meals in a row, I was inspired by risotto cakes and fish cakes to make: Tuna cakes!

Tuna rice cakes - a simple Monday night dinner

Ingredients

• leftover tuna rice salad, risotto or fried rice
• 1 egg (or 2 if you have a lot of leftovers) to bind
• Parmesan or other shredded cheese
• salt, pepper to taste
• olive oil or neutral oil for pan-frying

Method:

1. Beat the egg(s) in a bowl.
2. Add to the leftover tuna rice salad and mix well.
3. Stir in the shredded cheese
4. Add in a bit of salt and pepper (put less if your original tuna rice salad was already well-seasoned/salty). 
5. Using a large spoon, shape into patties.
6. Heat 2-3 tablespoons oil into your frying pan.
7. Scoop the patties onto the oiled frying pan and flatten slightly with your spatula.
8. When the bottom is crispy and golden brown, gently flip the cakes and brown the other side.
9. Remove from pan and serve immediately. 

These rice cakes go well with a simple green salad. 

Chicken pot pie

Step 1: Make the filling. I used chopped pea shoots, carrots, potatoes, chicken breast, and onion in a bechamel sauce. I lightly cooked the vegetables in a saucepan until soft before adding to the filling.



Step 2: Make the shortcrust pastry ahead of time (you need to chill it before use) and place on top of the filling. Brush with beaten egg.



Step 3: Bake at 200°C for 50 - 60 minutes until golden brown.



Step 4: Serve hot and enjoy. It keeps for a couple of days in the fridge (just reheat in the oven or microwave before serving).

Shredded chicken, bok choi and Korean vermicelli in chicken broth

雞絲白菜韓國粉絲（金華火腿瘦肉清雞湯）
Shredded chicken, bok choi with Korean potato vermicelli in a clear broth made from two whole chickens, lean pork, and salty Jinhua ham.

The fat is skimmed off the top of the soup so this dish is almost fat-free but still very flavorful. The soup is a simpler, homemade free-style adaptation of Chinese "superior stock" (上湯). This dish is all about the soup. Soup is important in Chinese culture - it's comfort, medicine, culture and history in one steaming pot.

While I don't cook traditional Chinese food often, sometimes I like to experiment. This noodle soup turned out very well: it's my own customized mix of Shanghai vegetable noodles and Cantonese/Hainan chicken soup. The great thing about this recipe is that you can add whatever toppings or accompaniments that you like. The only drawback is that making the soup requires time and patience, but you can make ahead and put it in the fridge or freezer.

Soup recipe:
1 x chicken carcass (old chicken)
1 x old chicken (for soup)
chunk of lean pork (about 200 g)
a few thick slices of Jinhua ham (more if you're splurging)
several sprigs of spring onions
3 to 4 inch-long chunk of fresh peeled ginger
sea salt or other good quality salt
shiitake mushrooms or oyster mushrooms (optional)

1. Rub in a good amount of salt into the chicken and pork (pretend you're exfoliating /giving it a facial). Rinse chicken and pork under running water briefly to get rid of any dirt and "frozen" flavor (you should be using fresh chicken too if possible but I am too cheap and lazy to get fresh sometimes and it works out ok, but if using formerly frozen then make sure you thoroughly rinse the meat so you don't get the "freezer chill" taste).
   NB: For the chicken, you can remove the skin and most of the fat in advance (leave a few bits of fat to give the soup flavor). If possible, keep the (thoroughly cleaned) chicken feet and head/neck: the collagen/gelatin gives the soup more umami flavor and that lip-smacking unctuousness. I usually remove the skin and fat from the neck and the butt area, deskin most of the chicken torso, but leave the harder-to-remove skin on the wings and drumstick areas.
2. Chop chicken into bits so that both birds can comfortably fit into your pot. I get the butcher to do this; otherwise if you have whole birds, you can put one bird in at first, then put the other bird in at step 4. Using whole birds makes the removal process easier later.
   
3. Clean and slice spring onions in half. Remove any withered parts. You can remove the roots if it's easier than cleaning the bottom.
   
4. Put meat, ham, spring onions and ginger into pot. Salt generously, depending on how much of the salty Jinhua ham you put in. Bring to a boil, then turn to low heat and simmer until the meat and bones are almost falling apart. Skim off fat, scum and other stuff floating on the top at regular intervals.
   
5. When soup is done, remove as much of the bones and meat as you can with tongs/spoon and then pour through a large strainer into a large bowl or container.
   
6. This soup will freeze well or keep in fridge for a week or two. Once chilled and solidified, it's easier to remove the top layer of chicken fat. It should be a clear jelly once chilled due to the gelatin/collagen.
   

Chicken and bok choi noodle soup recipe
Shredded chicken meat
Fresh mushrooms (shiitake, oyster, shimeiji, etc.)
Bok choi or other vegetables (Napa cabbage, choi sum, spinach, etc. would be nice)
Chicken stock (see above recipe)
Korean vermicelli (or rice noodles, mung bean vermicelli, pho noodles....)
dash of salt/soy sauce/rice vinegar/lime juice

1. Put chicken stock in saucepan. I tend to stretch the use of the chicken stock by using a 50:50 chicken stock and water combo (in this case, add enough salt to make up the taste).
2. Add your chosen noodle and toppings. I used mushrooms and the leftover soup chicken meat, which was a bit tough but I didn't want to see it go to waste, together with bok choi. I used Korean potato vermicelli because I like its texture and taste but feel free to experiment.
   
3. If the soup is lacking a little je ne sais quoi, add the following to taste: salt, soy sauce, vinegar, lime juice. (I think the slight sourness of vinegar or citrus juice really helps this soup, though).
   
4. When toppings are cooked through, serve this dish in large bowl, piping hot.