A little tutorial for myself on my second attempt ( 2 days ago being the first attempt, and yet the first attempt turned out better. boos,prolly cos le bf was there to help)
Oh wells, at least lesson learnt!(:
Following the steps from Eric teo's poon choi recipe-double boiling of the abalone for 2 hours. Instead of putting the whole can in to double boil as per the recipe, I poured it out on a bowl since my pot wasn't deep enought. I might eventually skip in the future as double boiling the abalone didn't seem to help in the texture or taste. And I nearly made it a disaster.oops
Making of the oyster sauce stock from Lee Jin ji's premium oyster sauce, chicken stock, abalone stock from the canned abaloned, and water from soaking the scallop and oyster. It's approx 3/4 pot of stock with 250g of oyster sauce, ( ok I didn't measure) oyster sauce. I basically just added in the oyster sauce til I felt that the taste was satisfactory :D Afterall, what's better than the tastebuds as the judge? (;
Simmering the pork leg. After pouring in the can of pork leg, bring to boil and after which bring it to simmer for 30 mins so the meat is tender enough and the sauce is thick, gooey and goooood.
What is simmering? Simmering basically is bringing the food to boil first, and later reduce the heat till minimal bubbles are formed. In contrast of what the bf told me- Heat it till it boils, cover it and switch off, letting the remaining heat simmer the food inside. wrong! no wonder the pork leg didn't seem very different from the original contents during our first poon choi attempt :p
After cutting the yam into smaller sizes, double boil it till its soft. Poke a chopstick through it, and if it makes a hole, yay, its done! Instructions as per le bf chef
Prepared some button mushrooms and dried chinese mushrooms (soaked in water)
Add some oil and ginger, fry till golden brown, and throw in a mushrooms to give them a good stir. Lazy me didn't add in the oyster stock to let them simmer prior putting into the poon choi. But maybe next year I'll be a good girl and do that (;
About 300g of five flower pork (literal translation from 五花肉), marinated with some salt and soya sauce. Fried with ginger till approx 80% cooked since it's gonna go into the poon choi later on to continue its simmering journey.
Disaster!
);
I know right...): the result of insufficient water to double boil the abalone for 2 hours. Luckily it wasn't that bad. But the abalone had a tad of burnt smell and taste. boos.Smoked abalone maybe?
But nonetheless, the pot was ruined and have to be dumped. But, maybe its not a good thing cos this gives me an excuse to dispose of the pot. Too many pots at home!
Fish maw that my auntie helped to soak in water to soften it and cut into smaller pieces
Time to throw stuff into the pot. YAY! no more hassled cooking!
Fry the yam with some oil to make it fragrant.
Add in oyster stock added earlier on. Note to self, perhaps I should add more stock. Since, after simmering for some time, the stock below would be used up and the yam at the bottom will be abit burnt.
Throw in the fish maw and add more stock. Love adding in fish maw cos it absorbs all the goodness of the stock. And it becomes really soft and flavourful.
*drools*
In goes the 五花肉
Blanch broccoli for 5 minutes in boiling water. Since it's gonna sit into the poon choi for some time, you don't need to cook it for to long else it will 'disintegrate'
Note: turn the cover of the poon choi inwards so that the steam will not scald your hand when you lift the cover up ( of cos with your gloves ;p)
Double boiling of the scallop for 20 minutes before adding it into the pot of poon choi. Ensure there is enough oyster stock to cover the oyster so that it becomes soft enough.
Tadah! its done! To mask the slight burnt taste of the abalone, I immersed it into the oyster stock for more simmering. And last note to myself.
Add in the broccoli last! ): see from the picture above, all my broccoli disintegrated. boos.
In my first attempt (as seen below), I added it last after all the ingredients were sitted nicely. This time, I added them in first (I don't know why, maybe i was lazy and wanted to clear a step first) and my broccoli was floating around furiously in all that empty space. And as a result of trying to rearrange them, they protested and disintegrated.
But at least, now I know! (;
After lunch, its time to head over to le bf's grandma house
Happy new year everyone!
HUAT!!