Steamed egg with Cincalok

Spices add an incredible amount of flavour to what you eat. Cultures all over the world have dishes that excite and stimulate your palate with spices and add heat and taste to everyday ingredients. (Ansary, LifeMojo)

INTRODUCING NYONYA CUISINE

I get this everyday recipe from my "Penang Nyonya A-Ma Secret Recipes" cookbook. This book is a great compilation of some popular Nyonya dishes. I grow up eating lots of food without realising they are actually Nyonya food, I started learning more about Nyonya food when I watched a Singaporean drama called 'Little Nyonya". This show introduced me to the rich history of Peranakan. Peranakan is the term used to describe the descendants of the intermarriage between the early Chinese imigrants and the local malays (in Malaysia and Singapore).

The Nyonya cooking is a result of the combination of Chinese and Malay-style of cooking, which then become the most tasty and exotic food to be found in Malaysia and Singapore. It combines a lot of different herbs and spices to come up with a perfect dish. Nyonya cooking are complicated affairs, often require great patience and excellent culinary skills to prepare.

With no surprise, this Steamed egg with Cincalok is the easiest recipe in the cookbook =p

Steamed Egg with Cincalok
Bottom Layer:

-300 gm minced pork ( I actually used chicken this time)

-6 small red onions and finely chopped

-1 tsbp cincalok

Seasoning:

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp corn flour

Top Layer:

2 Eggs ( I think I will use more next time, so I can get thicker layer of egg on the top)

10 tbsp water

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp white pper

 1 tbsp fried garlic oil and chopped spring onion ( I added some into my meat mixture)

Note:

Just make sure you don't be too generous on the Cincalok as the smell is very strong, too much of it will spoil your dishes instead of enhancing it. With the right amount of Cincalok this can be a very appetising dish to go with steamed rice.

Method:

1) Mix ingredients for bottom layer with seasoning. Spread onto a steaming tray.

2)Steam at medium heat for about 7 minutes

3)Meanwhile, mix top layer and pour over steamed minced pork

4)Steam for another 5 minutes at low heat. Open the lid occasionally to avoid bubbles forming on the surface of egg.

5) Remove, drizzle fried garlic oil and sprinkle chopped spring onion on top and serve hot with steamed rice.

I found that after cooking, the taste of the meat is quite similar to the pork spare ribs that you find in Chinese Yum Cha (Dim Sum) restaurant.

Belacan Kangkung (water spinach)

Each country in the world has its own particular ingredient or condiment that epitomizes umami. In Japan it is dashi stock, in the USA, tomato ketchup. In Malaysia, meanwhile, it is belacan.

(REPORT on the Umami Symposim held at the Putra University of Malaysia)

Belacan Kangkung is probably the most popular vegetable dish in Southeast Asia. It is well loved by people of all ages. I often hear people saying,"I don't eat vege, except kangkung". Kangkung is also known as water spinach or morning glory.

The main ingredient in this dish is belacan (dried shrimp paste). Belacan is one of the essential ingredients in southeast asian cooking, the smell is really strong and pungent, however it adds a sharp and interesting aroma to the dish. Just make sure you leave your window open widely while cooking with this, it will surely stink your whole room.

 

Belacan Kangkung

Ingredients:

- 1 bunch kangkung

- 1 tbsp toasted belacan ( I bought the ready toasted one from asian grocery)

- Chilli paste ( you can find the chilli paste recipe here)

- 3 chopped garlic (you can add more if you like)

- 1 chopped red onion ( this is optional)

- 2 tablespoon ground dried shrimp (sold in in Asian grocery)

- 1 tsp fish sauce

- Cooking oil

Method:

- Heat up the wok to high heat, add cooking oil and add in garlic and onion. Do a quick stir, add in the belacan, ground dried shrimp and the chilli paste and continue stirring until fragrant. Toss in the kangkung, stir until the leaves soften (but make sure the leaves don't turn dark), add in fish sauce. 

-Dish up and serve with steamed rice.

The taste of this exotic dish is so delicious and alluring, the stinky room is sure worth it!