Hae Mee
Labels: asian food, she cooks, soups
Thursday, May 21, 2009
No long worded entries today. Just two photos of Hae Mee (Prawn Noodle Soup) I whipped up on Monday this week.
We are coming close to the end of our sentence stay here in Beijing and I wanted to clear out the freezer by cooking whatever could be used. I found a big bag of prawns, defrosted the whole lot and together with some pork ribs, made the stock for Hae Mee.
No one would touch the stuff (someone didn't feel like soupy noodles while the other declared it stank) so I ate it all by my lonesome for two straight days, both lunch and dinner. 
Can't see Hae Mee for three months now.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 10:21 pm
Hot Pot
Labels: Beijing, one dish meals, she cooks, soups
Monday, February 23, 2009
Last week we were up to our ankles in snow. I wore my hideously bright sunflower patterned galoshes so I wouldn't ruin my leather boots and kill myself on the slippery snow. Hubs very almost refused to walk next to me. But hey, rather an awfully attired wife than a dead one. It was the first snowfall of the year and any kind of precipitation for the last three months or so. This drought has been bad news for farmers as it's affected their winter crops. There were even news reports on CCTV of residents in the rural areas having not showered in a month.
Oi.
So, yes. Ankles in snow. Temperatures got to as low as -14oC with the North Desert wind a-blowing. I swear on my wok I will never complain about the European winter again. What better way to spend the family evening meal than to huddle together over a hot pot?
A Chongqing specialty, there are hot pot restaurants all over Beijing. Take a walk downtown, you are likely to trip over one. The original Chongqing version is the ma la soup base. Ma la means numbingly spicy and you'd better believe it. A couple spoonfuls of soup and one loses sensation of tongue and lips, only because it feels like you've just swallowed fire. There's also the tamer, non spicy version catering to the lao wai or foreigner who's not used to hot ash peppers. It's also the very same soup base I use when we do the hot pot at home for Sonny-boy, who can't even bear regular pepper. Hubs is used to spicy food, he has to, having lived in Singapore for a good five years and marrying a girl of Peranakan descent.
This is the soup base using a recipe I swiped from one of the hotpot restaurants we dined at here. At the time I didn't have a pen handy so I committed the ingredients to memory and hoped for the best as my brain tends to get fuzzy when attempting to remember mundane things. Funny how it suddenly becomes crystal clear when it comes to shopping.
These are the ingredients of the soup base: chicken stock, spring onions, carrots, dried chinese mushroom, wolf berries, longans and red dates.
The principle of a hot pot meal is simple. It runs along the lines a cheese fondue or Singaporean steamboat. There's a huge pot of boiling soup in the middle of the table and everyone dips his or her morsel of food in the pot to cook it. There is no set list of ingredients, anything goes. At Cookalot, we love thinly sliced beef, meatballs, stuffed fish balls, jiao ji (meat dumplings), liver, tofu, mushrooms, vegetables.... just about anything that strikes our fancy. On this occasion, we decided to go simple and went easy on the selection. This may have something to do with the big Korean barbecue dinner the previous night. Our digestive tracts can only process so much goodness. 
On the side were pulled noodles, deep fried bread balls and raw eggs. The eggs are poached in the soup. It's super, having the soft yolk run all over the noodles. Lekker!
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 11:51 pm
Pulled Noodles With White Clams
Labels: asian food, one dish meals, she cooks, soups
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
I had the good fortune of sampling this soupy dish at a local Japanese noodle house right about the second week we arrived in January. It has all my favourite components: seafood, noodles and tasty broth.
Noodles play a key role in this recipe. La mian, or pulled noodles are a staple in Northern Chinese cuisine. They are sold fresh and can be found in packs over at the cold section of any supermarket, right next to the tofu. And while I may run out of juice or eggs, there will always be a stash of la mian in the lower vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. I love my la mian!
Pulled Noodles With White Clams
You need:
Fresh pulled noodles
1 liter clear fish stock
1 small garlic; thinly sliced
1 stalk spring onion;cut into 2" lengths
white clams, with or without shells on
salt and pepper to taste
dried seaweed
fresh red chilli; thinly sliced
You do:
Note: It's important to blanch the noodles in cold water in order to retain its springy texture. This is one of the hallmarks of la mian.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 7:38 pm
Chunky Chicken Vegetable Soup
Labels: one dish meals, she cooks, soups
Monday, November 17, 2008
When it comes to soups, I've always been partial to the clear variety. Oh, I'll just as happily eat the creamed ones of course but clear steaming hot broths do it for me.
Everyone has a chicken soup recipe and this is one of mine. It's rather light so it makes a good lunch meal or dinner starter.
On that particular day, I had lots of chicken stock leftover from the infamous Hainanese Chicken Rice episode and decided to use it up for soup.
This self-styled recipe doesn't have specific measurements - it's all based on personal taste and preference.
Chunky Chicken Vegetable Soup
You need:
Chicken stock
Chicken breast
Carrots
Celery
Spanish Onions
Flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Thyme (fresh if you get it, if not, the dried ones will do)
Salt and pepper
You do:
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 6:57 pm
The One About Campbell's Soup
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Hubs is away on business.
I, on the other hand, have a crocheting project I want to dig my hook in, so the less time I spend in the kitchen the better.
As a result, Sonny-boy and I had the infamous 30 euro a pop bolognese ragù frozen from last week. And to make it that little bit more substantial, I heated up a can of Campbell's Chicken and Mushroom Soup to be eaten with buttered toasts as well.
Some of you may know I adore Campbell's canned soup, my favourite being the Chicken Noodle. The love stems way back into childhood where my mum would put it on a table once in a while as a treat.
You can't find Campbell's in the Netherlands, at least in the area where we live but it is readily available in Beijing. To carry on the tradition, I introduced the stuff to Sonny-boy this year and he took to it like fish to water. His favourite is the Cream of Chicken with extra pasta thrown in.
Some parents pass on title deeds, jewelry and Patek Philippes to their offspring, I go for manufactured soup.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 10:30 am
Show Me Yours First And I'll Show You Mine
Labels: just for fun, soups
Friday, April 11, 2008
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 2:43 am
Tomato And Leek Soup
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
We enjoyed Mother-in-law's Tomato and Leek Soup so much the last time round, I had to make some of our own. Before leaving, I asked her for the list of ingredients and committed them to memory.
This is my attempt, albeit with one minor change. Mother-in-law loves cream in her soup so she puts in a generous dollop before serving. Well, (unnecessary) cream is to me what garlic is like to Dracula so if I can skip it without sacrificing taste, I will. And that's what I did here.
Tomato And Leek Soup
You need:
1 tbsp butter
1 stalk leek, halved lengthwise and finely sliced
1 packet of cut tomatoes in sauce (I used Heinz)
3-4 cups of fish boullion
Salt and pepper to taste
small strips of raw or smoked salmon
How To:
Note: This is a tangy soup. For extra kick, I added a good pinch of ground chilli powder which got us all snivelly nosed during dinner. Perfect for the current rainy, cold nights.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 3:53 am
Soto Ayam
Labels: asian food, one dish meals, she cooks, soups
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Recently, I posted an entry about my mum's Soto Ayam. Her recipe comes with different spices and is rather full-bodied, in aroma and taste.
Last week, I tried out a different version. This is similar to the generic ones sold in hawker centres or food courts in Singapore. It does away with all the spices using instead a strong chicken stock base, shallots, garlic, galangal(blue ginger), tumeric and lemon grass. It wasn't too bad at all and I rather enjoyed it. The Hubby did too, which was just as well because we ended up attacking it for the next two days.
In this instance, I served it with tung hoon (mung bean vermicelli), chopped hard boiled eggs and a good dose of chilli sauce made up of chilli padi and dark soy sauce. Lekker!
Mini gripe: The photos were taken on an overcast day so it doesn't really show the soto ayam at its best. In real life, the broth is thicker and more yellowish (almost green even) in colour.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 3:20 am
The Cheat's Guide - Ravioli in Lobster Broth
Labels: she cooks, soups, the cheat's guide
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
This is not so much a recipe than a set of instructions. It's really fuss-free, doesn't take up too much time and best of all, easily modified to suit your personal taste or whatever was available at the supermarket that day.
The quality of this broth depends on two things: the lobster stock and the seafood. For the former, get the best you can lay your hands on and the latter, buy the freshest. The appearance of your broth also depends on the kind of stock you use. Mine comes rather thick and slightly reddish because of the herbs and spices that were already in it. With that disclaimer of sorts out of the way, let's get a move on.
Ravioli In Lobster Broth
You need:
ravioli (if you can't get lobster stuffed ones, the cheese variety will also do)
1 bottle of lobster boullion / stock
langoustine or lobster meat
cod, or any sort of firm white fish
prawns
1 medium sized bay leaf
a few sprigs of flat leaf parsley
cognac or sherry
salt and pepper to taste
You do:
Note: I didn't specify the amount of seafood required as you can use as much or as little as you want, it doesn't really matter.
*****
By the way, I've started what I call The Cheat's Guide. It's a collection of short cut method recipes I've devised when I'm pressed for time, feeling lazy or busy with hobbies housework to spend copious hours in the kitchen over a meal.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 3:46 am
Ravioli In Lobster Broth
Labels: seafood, she cooks, small bites, soups
Monday, September 24, 2007
I made this last Thursday, just before I fell really ill and still had my sense of smell and could taste.
This broth makes an excellent entreé. It warms up your tum, making it all fuzzy and warm, preping it up for the main course. Great for special intimate family dinners at home or to spoil yourself rotten if cooking for one, which was what transpired that evening. The other thing is, it looks impressive too. Like you slaved all afternoon over it and depending on your chosen method, it could hold true. You did work very hard, from preparing the lobster to boiling the stock and making up the soup. Me, on the other hand, bought the best stock I could lay my hands on and went from there. I love cooking but sometimes one has to work around it. Especially when one has to get her husband to drive her all the way to a certain supermarket in Belgium where they stock frozen raw lobsters, shell and all.
In this instance, I added cod fish, shrimps as well as langoustines (aka Norway lobster) in the broth. My only mistake was using the ready-made lobster and crabmeat ravioli I saw at the Albert Heijn. I thought I'd try it instead of making them myself. I now know better. It was so floury and if one imagined really, really, I mean, REALLY hard, you might even fool yourself into thinking hey, there's some semblence of crabmeat there. Forget about the lobster which is supposed to make up the other half of the ravioli. Nobody's imagination is that good.
After tasting the disappointing ravioli, I decided to concentrate on the rest of the soup instead. By the third comforting spoonful, I completely forgot all about it and began to seriously enjoy my broth. I don't know if it was the generous slosh of cognac I added to the stock during cooking or it was the super fresh langoustines doing it. Whatever it was, I went to soup heaven that evening.
Next stop: I want to try this recipe from Chubby Hubby. I love fusion cooking and dining and this is right up my alley.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 3:57 am
And The Hae Mee Won
Labels: asian food, one dish meals, she cooks, soups
Saturday, September 08, 2007
I now have to do some serious airing of the kitchen and living room area (that's what you get with the open space concept). The prawn and pork stock has been brewing merrily for the last four hours resulting in a rich, flavourful broth. But everything has a price and mine comes in the form of a stinky, fishy kitchen.
Maybe I should go light a couple of scented candles now.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 1:33 pm
Home Alone
Labels: asian food, home life, one dish meals, soups
Sonny-boy and I are on our own today.
Hubs is driving up to Amsterdam with M (brother-in-law #3) to watch the Nederland vs Bulgaria Euro 2008 qualifying match. It should be good fun for the boys. If it wasn't logistically viable, I should have liked to join them as well. No, not for the match, Hubs could drop me off in the shopping district of Amsterdam, prefably right smack in the middle of P Cornelisz Hooftstraat. Home to Salvatore Ferragamo, Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and a smorgasboard of other designer and fashion labels, it is not called the "Fifth Avenue of Amsterdam" for nothing. I suppose we will have to keep that trip for later.
You'd think with today being the weekend, I'd be upset with Hubs gone for the entire day, coming home only late at night. This is on top of not seeing much of him during the week. But no, I'm not. We may be married but it doesn't mean we're supposed to be glued at the hip. It's healthy for a couple to periodically have indidvidual me time to recharge the old battery.
So, I'm now taking this opportunity to cook the smelliest, most repungent comfort food I love but Hubs hates. Dishes I selfishly make for me when he's away. Today, it's a toss up between Hae Mee (Prawn Noodle Soup) or Nasi Lemak. The coconut rice in Nasi Lemak is not smelly but the frying of the accompanying sambal belachan is. I still haven't decided but Hae Mee seems to have an edge on account of the weather. Nothing like a big, hot steaming bowl of soupy noodles on a bleak day.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 3:01 am
Mum's Soto Ayam
Labels: asian food, one dish meals, she cooks, soups
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Mum's Soto Ayam
You need:
10 cups of water
1 medium sized chicken
10 shallots, peeled and sliced thinly
5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 thumb sized galangal (blue ginger), sliced
15 cloves
8 aniseed segments
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1.5 tsp white pepper
2 chicken stock cubes
salt and pepper to taste
100-200g of bean sprouts (or according to preference)
How to:
Note: Soto Ayam is normally eaten with bergedil, (fried potato patties), but we don't like it too much so we go without. To make the soto more substantial, I sometimes add tung hoon, (mung bean vermicelli) to the soup.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 3:13 am
Weekend Cooking
Labels: asian food, one dish meals, she cooks, small bites, soups
Monday, August 20, 2007
As mentioned earlier on, I spent the entire weekend cooking. I fiddled with new recipes as well as visited the old favourites.
The new kids on the (chopping) block:
Turkish Style Pizza With Ground Beef.
Spicy and flavourful.
Peanut Butter Hummus (left) and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (right).
Perfect with Turkish bread.
Old favourites:
These two dishes are so beloved in our family, I have the recipes committed to memory.
This is my mum's recipe. It may be Indonesian in origin as it doesn't use tumeric like the Malay version. One of the first dishes I learnt to cook, I can now do it in my sleep.
Beef Satay.
Made from scratch with Hubs in charge of grilling them over the barbecue. We believe in only using charcoal so there was this fanstastic aroma enveloping the patio. I'm sure our next door neighbours got a good whiff too if they'd been out in their backyard.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 10:49 am
Stuffed Sotong Soup
Labels: asian food, seafood, she cooks, soups
Friday, March 23, 2007
I've been wanting to make this old Nyonya favourite for the longest time. However, I was missing one key ingredient - the sotong (Malay for squid). In it's entire unmolested form. I don't know why Dutch supermarkets have this penchant for cleaning, precooking and chopping up their seafood into neat little packages. Some of us like it as is you know.
So, no sotong, no soup. I mean, come on, it's like an American hamburger without the beef patty or a hotdog without the sausage.
Anyway, all was not lost when on my last trip to the asian store, I chanced upon frozen raw sotong. In its virginal state, ie, head, tentacles and ink sac. Heavens to Murgatroyd, even the skin was still on. Phoawrrr! Never mind the price, in went the 1kg box. Yup, thinking with my tummy as usual. *blush*
I only got the opportunity to use them yesterday. You see, I made Sar Po Fan (Claypot Rice) on Monday and finally finished the lot on Wednesday. After 3 days of intense carbo, I was itching for something soupy.
I made a modified version for my son. He didn't want to have anything to do with the tung hoon (mung bean noodles) because "Yuck, mommy! You're eating plastic!". He got put off by the sotong too (he's more comfortable with them in the form of calamari rings) so his portion consisted of meatballs and fresh egg noodles.
We both enjoyed our broth so much I'm doing an encore tonight. Can hardly wait. I feel hungry already. *patting tummy*
Here is the recipe:
Stuffed Sotong Soup
You need:
500g medium sized sotong (squid)
2 cloves garlic, minced
oil for frying
100g tung hoon (mung bean noodles) or as desired
800ml water
1.5 cube chicken stock
pinch of pepper
Stuffing
200g minced pork
3 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp corn flour
pinch of salt
dash of pepper
Garnishing
1 spring onion, dice
1 sprig coriander (Chinese parsley)
Preparation:
How To:
Note:
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 7:53 am
Prawn Noodle Soup
Labels: asian food, one dish meals, soups
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Earlier this week, I made Prawn Noodle Soup, or Hae Mee as it is more popularly known. Go into any food court or hawker centre in Singapore, and chances are, there will be a stall selling it.
Out of desperation, I taught myself how to make it last year. Cravings can make one do strange things. It's not as difficult as one might think. The most important thing is to get the freshest prawns available because only then, the soup stock will be sweet. Now, over here, I have a better chance of turning green with fuschia polka dots than find raw prawns with their shells intact. All the prawns sold in supermarkets have been blanched, peeled and deveined. Even if the shells and heads are still intact, they are useless to me as it's already been cooked. Bah!
However, salvation comes in the form of the asian store. They have raw tiger prawns in their frozen section. Well, frozen is better than nothing and they're frozen fresh anyway.
The basis of good Hae Mee is the stock. To make the stock, I first fry the removed heads and shells of the prawns to seal in the juices. Same goes with the pork ribs. After which I dump everything, including a bit of lean pork into a pot of boiling water. Add in the neccessary seasonings and then go away and leave it to work itself out. Okay, I know I make it sound easier than it actually is. In reality, there are alot more steps required but if you have the patience, this popular hawker fare can easily be whipped up in the comfort of your own kitchen. Just be prepared for a strong lingering smell for the next day or so. It really does stink up the kitchen.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 12:44 pm
Light Meal
Labels: small bites, soups
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Last night, we went out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant where we stuffed ourselves silly with deep fried cheesy tortillas, onion rings, BBQ chicken wings and rack upon rack of spare ribs. I swear I can't see meat for the next 2 weeks!
So, to give our digestive tract a breather, I made a light dinner tonight consisting of hotdogs and mushroom cream soup. It was satisfying without giving one heartburn:
Sausage on a bed of sauerkraut topped with mayonnaise, dijon mustard and fried onions, lovingly held together with a toasted baguette with a bowl of mushroom soup on the side.
Useless trivia: Sauerkraut is German for sour cabbage. In Dutch it's called zuurkool and it tastes exactly like Chinese kiam chye, also known as pickled mustard greens in English.
I told you it was useless. *ha*
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 2:34 pm
Mushroom Cream Soup
Labels: soups
Eversince I came upon this recipe for Mushroom Cream Soup, I don't buy the canned ones anymore. The secret of elevating this already 'oh my, how tasty' recipe to 'oh my goodness, it's delicious!' is in the mushrooms. In this case, only the freshest, wild varieties will do. Of course if it's unavailable, regular brown or white button mushrooms would do too. I will be honest and tell you that the taste while still good, will not send you to orgasmic stratosphere.
Please note that this recipe is not mine to give publicly but if you send me an email, I'll gladly pass it along.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 2:16 pm
French *hic* Onion Soup *hic hic*
Monday, November 06, 2006
I have such a nasty hangover right now so forgive me if I sound incoherent here. I shall do my best to make sense.
Today I had the notion of making French Onion Soup for dinner. It's a perfect stomach warmer for the winter. I have this never-before-tested French recipe which I've been sitting on, waiting for the colder months to set in.
Anyway, I gathered my ingredients together, followed the recipe to the T and voila, incredible smelling soup. I scooped myself a big bowl, topped with croutons and melted Gruyere cheese and tucked in greedily. Within minutes of consumption, I felt myself getting dizzy, my eyes slightly dilated and neck feeling flushed. I was high from the alcohol in the soup! The recipe had called for 275cl of dry white wine and I thought the 2 hour cooking time was enough to kill all traces of alcohol. Obviously it was not. *hic*
So here I am typing this, with a nasty headache. My husband just called home minutes ago and I related the incident to him. He found it so hilarious and couldn't stop laughing. I'm sure I'll find it funny tommorrow. *hic* Just not now. Thought to self: I do wish the room will stop spinning.
As if it wasn't bad enough, who should ring the door bell (just before my husband's phone call) but my son's classmate and her mother. They were here to deliver a birthday party invite. I tried my best to appear normal hoping they didn't notice I was sloshed to the gills.
You see, I'm a teetotaller of sorts. I don't consume alcoholic beverages if I can help it. It wasn't always like that. Before I got pregnant and quit alcohol, I could drink like a fish and still be relatively sober. Ironically, during the entire pregnancy, the mere whiff of it would make me nauseous. I attempted my first glass of red after things got back to normal but it made me so sick I was off it for good. I'm very sensitive to alcohol now, even if it's just a dash in cooking, I'll feel the wrath of it.
No photos of the soup tonight. I promise one the next time I make it again. And I will make it again as it's one of my husband's favourites. In the meantime, I must go tend to my splitting head. *HIC!*
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 1:46 pm
Sweet Potato Soup
Labels: asian food, small bites, soups
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
With the weather getting colder, I'm always hungry upon returning home from being outdoors. I have this need to stuff my face with whatever that's close at hand. This is of course a dangerous practice. You know what they say - a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.
So bearing this in mind, I've stocked up on fruit, low fat crackers and biscuits ( just like squirrels do before the Big Winter Hibernation) I also have the odd bag of chips and sweets. The key word here is control, not deprivation.
I've also started to make more comfort food in the form of soupy desserts and snacks. Like this for instance, Sweet Potato Soup. I've added some longans and extra ginger for that extra bite. So lekker to tuck into a steaming hot bowl after spending time out in the biting wind.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 7:20 am
