Friday 8 April 2011

做自己喜欢吃的菜

当然不是叫你做自己不喜欢吃的菜。。。

像我们这些家有幼儿的家庭煮妇,做菜时一般上都会以孩子的胃口为大前题。

你一定有听过那个“爱”吃鱼骨头的妈妈的故事吧?孩子将妈妈无私的爱误解成了妈妈的喜好。真是欲哭无泪! 我家那两个愚钝的儿子,如果没有预先声明,真的会以为他们的妈妈爱吃儿童餐! 搞不好将来赚了钱可能会请我吃一桌子的kids meals!

妈妈们都会做孩子爱吃的菜,不过有时妈妈还是应该宠宠自己,做一道自己爱吃的菜,管他们喜不喜欢 ;)

上回在北京呆了一阵,爱上那里的凉菜。。。比如凉拌脆黄瓜,黑木耳,凉拌皮蛋豆腐,等等。不说你不知,那里的餐馆。。。菜单里都会有一部份是凉菜,一部份是热菜哦!回来后,看了好多凉拌菜食谱,却只会看不会做。。。厨艺不精的我迟迟不敢动手(^^')

纵里寻'它'千百度,终于有一天, 让我找到一个看起来还不太难的食谱。。。就这样做了这道凉拌皮蛋豆腐。


剥开皮蛋,这颗还有松花呢!可有听说过'蛋好松花开,花开皮蛋好'吗? 我不知道这算不算优质皮蛋,总知二话不说拿起相机咔嚓咔嚓几下才甘愿,呵呵!


虽然这是一道凉菜,不必烹煮,不过我还是把嫩豆腐蒸了三分钟,放凉了才吃。酱汁是用蚝油,酱油,麻油,鱼露,一点辣椒酱,和水一起煮沸,调制而成,还蛮简单的。

豆腐会出水,蒸过后一些水份会蒸发掉,比较不会出水。如果敢生吃, 或是用上等日本豆腐(可以贵上好几倍!我去survey过了,一盒要差不多九元新币! 晕!),要等上菜前才从盒子取出摆盘,酱汁可以预先准备好。记住皮蛋剥开后不能放多过两个小时。这些小贴士食谱都没有注明hor,都是我这里那里搜集到的小知识哦。

这道凉拌皮蛋豆腐和我在北京吃过的,味道不太一样,摆盘也不一样,那里的也没有加肉松。我做的酱汁也比较浓,比较粘稠。不过味道还不错,卖相还可以吧?

姐姐妹妹们,今天你煮了你自己爱吃的菜了吗? 还没? 那你还等什么呢?!


As much as I like to broaden my kids palettes, certain food simply do not appeal to them or they have yet to acquire the taste of some ingredients. As such, I usually end up cooking meals that suit their appetite but which may not necessary be the kind of food that I crave for. Lately, I have come to term with the fact that it is perfectly alright for me to prepare food which I could be the only one who enjoys eating it. There is nothing wrong with me putting my needs and wants above my children's, at least, occasionally ;)

When we spent almost a month in Beijing two winters ago, I have grown to like several cold dishes that I get to eat at the local restaurants. The range is so wide that most restaurant menu would devote one section just on cold dishes. One of my favourate is none other than this cold tofu with century egg (or preserved egg). It was after many many months that I finally found a suitable, or rather, simple and easy recipe for me to follow.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the clear 'snow-flakes' or 'pine-branch' patterns on this century egg I bought from the wet market. I couldn't help but took out my camera and started clicking away.

Unless you are using high quality silken tofu such as those from Japan, I would recommend steaming it over high heat for 3 mins and leave it to cool off. The sauce is prepared by boiling a simple mixture of oyster sauce, soya sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, chilli sauce and some water. The sauce is left to cool before being drizzled over the cold tofu and century egg. The dish is best served cold, so I had it chilled in the fridge for 15mins before serving it. The sauce and pork floss that is sprinkled on top adds flavours to the otherwise plain tofu. This dish is usually served as a side and it tastes rather refreshing when served well chilled.

Have you prepared something just for yourself? Something you have been craving for ages? If not, what are you waiting me for?


凉拌皮蛋豆腐

材料:
1盒嫩豆腐
1个皮蛋
肉松 (我用的肉松里头有紫菜还有芝麻)
葱花

调味料:
1大匙蚝油
1小匙酱青
半小匙黑酱油
1小匙麻油 (我自己加进去的)
1小匙鱼露
1大匙辣椒酱
100ml 水
栗粉水(半小匙栗粉加1大匙水调和,食谱没有注明份量,我自己拿捏的)


做法:
- 嫩豆腐用大火蒸三分钟,放凉。
- 把调味料拌均和水一起煮沸,栗粉水勾芡,离火,放凉。
- 皮蛋切八片。
- 嫩豆腐摆进盘中,摆入皮蛋。
- 淋上一些酱汁,撒上肉松,葱花(记住,是先放酱汁才撒肉松,酱汁不必全部淋上)。
- 淋上酱汁后可以放进冰箱冰15分钟,肉松,葱花上桌前才撒上。

(食谱来源:名食谱, Famous Cuisine)


Cold Tofu with Century Egg

Ingredients:

1 box silken tofu
1 century egg
some pork floss
some chopped green onion

Seasoning:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce
1/2 tsp dark soya sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp chilli sauce
100ml water
1/2 tsp corn starch mix with 1 tbsp water


Preparation:
- Steam silken tofu over high heat for three minutes, let cool.
- Mix the seasonings with water, and bring it to a boil in a pan. Stir in the corn starch mixture, bring sauce back to boil, remove from heat and let cool.
- Slice century egg into eight slices.
- Place silken tofu in a plate, arrange century egg on top and side of the tofu.
- Drizzle sauce over and leave to chill in the fridge for 15 mins.
- Top with some pork floss and chopped green onion.

(Recipe Source: adapted from Famous Cuisine)

39 comments:

E. said...

hao hao chi oh! That looks like a restaurant's dish. The quail egg? looks beautiful. Sadly, I was only able to read the first few sentences of your post before I gave up. Lol! Anyway, I can always use google translate. :D

鲸鱼蓝蓝蓝 said...

喲~~
皮蛋是我的最爱哩,卖相很优哪^^

Anonymous said...

這麼巧,今天下午我也開了一粒皮蛋,一半送粥一半配酸薑吃了,滿足滿足:)。這也是只有我自己吃的東西,孩子和丈夫都不會欣賞嘢!好像沒怎麼看你用中文,但卻更有親切感。

PK

Angel @ Cook.Bake.Love said...

这道菜我喜欢。我也很喜欢你用中文的写作方式,下次多写中文嘛。你的开场让我想起了我妈妈,她也是做我们爱吃的菜,有写菜她甚至是完全不吃的,因为我们爱吃她也常做。

常跑内地的朋友就会知道当地餐馆往往点的菜送来前满桌子已经摆满各式各样的凉菜。起初我还蛮抗拒的,但试吃后大部分我都觉得很好吃。

最近我尝试了原籍中国的同事妈妈做的一道凉菜,好好吃哦,还在等机会做(因为原料是我老公不吃的,还在想怎么骗他吃)。

ann low said...

我的台湾嫂嫂也是很喜欢做肉松皮蛋豆腐,看到你做的那么美味,我就留口水了!

grub said...

虽然我中文的能力比较差,慢慢读还可以明白^^。
我妈跟你一样都不敢吃生豆腐,吃这些“冷盘"都会蒸。她煮的方法都根你差不多但是没有放那些肉松也放煮好的minced meat和mixed vegetables。但是你煮的方式看起来满好吃。下次我会自己做这个菜给她吃。

Cuisine Paradise said...

This is one of my favourite tofu dish. I love the extra taste of century egg :)

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

wow, love your post in Chinese, this is a simple and nice homecook tofu dish.

MH said...

Hi! This cold dish looks very yummy!

I'd prepared something similar like this before but using bottled "茶树菇" as topping, very delicious too! For me, I always steam the tofu and pour away the excess water. Then pour in your desired thickened sauce. This way your sauce will not taste too bland later on.

BTW, how long do you take to type all your chinese characters? I always find it extremely tedious and eye tiring! :( ;)

julie pig pigs said...

wah,
你的皮蛋豆腐好漂亮
原來你也會中文的
寫得不錯嘛
想和你請教你的豆腐是怎樣拿出來的?
豆腐每次都被我拿的碎碎的
我也上網查了
很多人試了把盒豆腐倒過來在每個邊邊切掉一小角
在到過來就是完整的豆腐了
但我每一次就是做不成功
你使用哪種方法呢?
可以分享嗎?

Aimei said...

I love these dish! I had it at a chinese restaurant and really love it! Unfortunately not many people like this kin. of cold dish. Thanks for sharing this!

ReeseKitchen said...

WOW! This the first time I see such beautiful patterns on a century egg! If it hapens to me, I think I won't eat that egg..haha!
Btw, its a simple and yet delicious dish you have. I would like to have some for my dinner tomorrow..:)

lena said...

simple and authentic!

Juliana said...

Oh! You just reminded me that I haven't had this dish for centuries...yours sure look delicious and the pictures are awesome...never seen century eggs decorated. Have a great weekend :-)

shaz (feedingmykidsbetter) said...

that really is awesome, especially for our hot weather. thanks for the inspiration.

sherlyn said...

Wah, got such beautiful century egg. I also love century egg, but my other family members do not, so like you say .. we mothers cook for the kids so ... but thou I did not cook a dish .. i baked your two bowl muffins .. too tired to blog now .. ciao and nite

Unknown said...

你如果是厨艺不精,那我都不知要如何形容我的厨艺了。。。呵呵

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Esther, I have put up the English version :)

PK, 其实我的中文比英语好 ;)

Cook.Bake.Love, it takes me a loooong time to input Chinese text, so I prefer to blog in English. I have not written anything in Chinese, for the past twenty over years! This is my 3rd Chinese '作文' after my Sec 4 exam, lolz!

Anncoo, so this dish is actually closer to the Taiwan version?

grub, from your comment, your Chinese is quite good. My Chinese remains at Sec 4 standard, and yet my command of Chinese is way better than my English, pai-seh, pai-seh!

Ellena, you like this dish too?! You are a great cook! I always admire your talents and skills in cooking up so many delicious dishes. I could only swallow my salivate whenever I visit your blog :)

Happy Homebaker said...

Thanks Sonia!

MH, it took me very very long to input the Chinese text especially my walking hanyupinying dictionaries were not at home! I will need to find out what is 茶树菇...told u, I am a complete culinary idiot!

Julie, 我在家都是用中文,我不常用英语和我的孩子交谈,很惊讶吧? 不过他们的中文程度还是很差,我真是教导无方!

我把盒上那层塑胶撕开,随便乱乱撕, (我没用刀子割盒的四边,我怕会把豆腐五马分尸),然后把盒子倒过来,用手扭一扭盒子(just squeeze it a little),整个豆腐就掉下来,很完整,美美的。

Baking Fiend said...

i would love this dish too, but then, only my mom and myself would be eating this. no one else in the family takes century eggs!

The Experimental Cook said...

I love this bilingual blog ! This is so cool.
This is a nice porridge side dish - goes well with millet porridge :)

Cosy Bake said...

Ooo... This is one of my favorites too! I love it to go with rice. My first time tasting this was in Shang hai. Till now I haven't got a chance to taste it again since. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe! Yours looks so good, and the smooth and glossy sauce... I am hungry already!

Edith said...

It is so true. We mommy must learn to love ourself more. Recently a friend of mine also a mommy told me that she has stopped eating her kid's left over and started ordering dishes that she herself enjoys.

hanushi said...

I read this yesterday and was impressed with your whole post in Chinese... :) It is very refreshing read. :) Silken tofu is one of the comfort food I find when I dont have much appetite.

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

你这道菜让我想起了之前在台湾买的皮蛋。。。明天马上弄来吃!!

Happy Homebaker said...

Baking Fiend, at least you can share it with your mum :) My kids and husband will eat this dish, but they will not ask for more :(

The Experimental Cook, actually I didnt want to put up the English version as I was too tired trying to input Chinese text. But later on I reaslised that some readers can't really read in Chinese, so I tried to translate it. In the end, the English version 'sounds' so weird to me! The tone, and the style is so different from the original text in Chinese.

Honey boy, I hope this recipe will not disappoint you because I think the taste is slightly different. The recipe is from a Malaysian published food magazine.

Edith, yes, yes, I used to 'share' food with my children when we eat out...they got to order what they like, and I eat whatever they couldn't finish. Now that they are older, I don't have to share with them anymore...I get to choose what I like :):)

hanushi, thanks for your encouragement, although I speak and read Chinese everyday, I hardly write anything in Chinese.

Shirley, I hope you will like this :) I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

mj said...

Hi HHB, yr chinese post is beautifully written! I hv to agree with u that e EL version that followed did not do justice to yr original CL post ! LOL!
This is a dish that we occasionally prepared at hm, after trying it first at Crystal Jade La Mian restaurant. Must say yr version seems tastier with e special sauce, i used only light soya sauce with a dash of sesame oil. Will try out yr recipe soon ;-)

Florence said...

皮蛋上的松花真漂亮!
像雪花,捨不得吃呢!,

Happy Homebaker said...

mj, my English version is only slightly better than Google translate, lolz! I hope you will like this sauce :)

Florence, my younger kid thot it was a stone when he saw the pix of the 皮蛋!

Lizzie beh said...

Can I ask how you managed to get the tofu out of the container and still have it look so perfect? I have tried so many times and each time some parts gets stuck in the container. Thanks.

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Lizzie beh, I simply tear away the plastic film/sheet (without using a knife to slice the sides), invert the box, and give it a little squeeze and the tofu will fall off nicely. The tofu box is tapered, so the tofu should come away easily.

Unknown said...

I love this dish too. What I do is to blend the century egg yolk together with the sauce (I add a little Japanese sesame sauce and mirin too, garnish with century egg white (cut into small cubes), lots of chopped spring onion and a sprinkle of shredded seaweed and sesame seeds. I used a local brand for making this dish (no need to pre-warm). I think costs around $2 or less.

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Fong, thanks for sharing your recipe :) Sounds really good especially the mixing of the yolk with the sauce! May I ask which brand of tofu did you use...that doesn't require pre heating? I have tried silken tofu from unicurd and fortune.

oviya said...

Heya¡­my very first comment on your site. ,I have been reading your blog for a while and thought I would completely pop in

and drop a friendly note. . It is great stuff indeed. I also wanted to ask..is there a way to subscribe to your site via

email?



Baking Oven

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi oviya, thanks for visiting :) I have added the widget to subscribe via email. It is at the side bar right after the Followers widget.

mj said...

Hi hhb, i hv finally prepared yr special sauce to go wif e tofu, and i must say it tastes sooooo good !

nes said...

无意间从Google来到这里,被这看来美味的豆腐吸引了,我要学起来,谢谢你的分享

Anonymous said...

Hi! This looks delicious! May I know which brand of fish sauce and where can you get it from? :) I am also looking for green tea powder which I have seen you post about on other recipes so I was wondering if you could tell me where I could get those ingredients from! Excited to try this out! :)

Happy Homebaker said...

I got fish sauce from ntuc fairprice, I have no preference for any particular brand, but I will usually get the smallest bottle available. I bought the green tea powder from bishan junction 8 fairprice, u can also try the supermart at Isetan scotts.