Same Same but Different
MasterChef Australia runner-up – and not to mention artist and actress too, Poh Ling Yeow, teases us with a few of the recipes from her latest Malaysian cookbook, Same Same But Different… Here they are!
Seared Scallops with Green Apple and Wasabi Cream
- 12 large scallops (more if they are small)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 30g unsalted butter OR omit olive oil and use 40g clarified butter instead
- portion of Wasabi Cream
- 1 small Granny Smith, quartered, core removed, cut into matchsticks
Lay the scallops on a double layer of paper towel, then pat dry with more paper towel.
Combine the olive oil and butter in a heavy-based non-stick pan over medium–high heat until the butter is foaming, then quickly arrange the scallops in the pan, leaving space between them so they don’t overcrowd, and steam. Cooking these on the BBQ is also an excellent option.
Cook for about 30 seconds–1 minute, depending on size.
You want some nice caramelisation on at least one side and the best way to check if they are cooked is to give them a prod. Just like all meat, you want just the right amount of resistance and yes, it is a bit of a Goldilocks situation but the best way to learn is from experience – squidgy is under-done, hard is overdone, you want something in between. Also don’t forget that when you’re dealing with such a small morsel, residual heat can be your friend or enemy.
To serve, be as creative as you like. I usually pipe or dollop about a teaspoon of wasabi cream on the top or at the base of each scallop then arrange a teepee shaped pile of apple on top.
Serve immediately as a canapé or entree.
A blunt or serrated knife will make fruit and vegetables turn brown quicker so always work with a freshly sharpened one and you will burst less cells along the way. Salt or citrus will also help retard oxidisation – you can sprinkle a little of either over the cut apple but it will still eventually go brown so don’t do this too much ahead of time. Fennel can also be treated like this.
Tearaway Dumpling Soup
Dumpling Dough
- 3 cups (450g) plain flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs, lightly whisked
- about 3 cups (750ml) water 4–5 L water
Toppings
- 1 cup (250ml) vegetable oil
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled, finely chopped
- 250g minced chicken OR pork
- 10 medium shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, stems discarded, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 bunch choy sum OR 3 bunches bok choy, cut across stalks in half
- 4 cups (1 L) boiling water
- 4 cups (1 L) vegetable oil + 1 teaspoon extra
- 1 cups ikan bilis (Asian dried anchovies)
- 2 eggs, lightly whisked
- 1 portion of Neutral Chicken Stock
- 1 portion of Sambal
Garnish
- 1 cup chopped spring onions
- 1 cup roughly chopped coriander leaves and stalks
- cup deep-fried shallots
To make the dumpling dough, combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix roughly. Make a well in the middle, add the eggs and 2 cups of the water. Bring the dough together, gradually adding more water as needed and kneading until very smooth and pliable and not too stiff. Cover with cling wrap and rest for 30 minutes.
To cook the dumplings, bring the water to the boil in a large pot. Sit your piece of dough on the edge of a clean benchtop and start pulling and stretching the dough away from the bench. As thin areas, roughly the length of your fingers, are stretched out, thrust your hands in an upwards motion then pull away so the tips of your fingers cut out a ragged-edged piece of dough. Immediately drop into the boiling water and wait for it to rise to the surface, then scoop out with a Chinese spider OR slotted spoon to drain in a colander.
Continue to do this until you have enough dumplings to feed 5–6.
If you want to be certain of an al dente result, plunge the cooked dumplings into cold water before draining.
To prepare the toppings, heat the oil in a medium frypan over medium heat and sauté the garlic for a few seconds OR until golden. Leave 2–3 tablespoons of the garlic and oil in the pan and pour the remainder over the dumplings then toss to prevent sticking. Add the minced chicken or pork and shiitake to the pan, increase to a high heat and sauté until the meat is brown, using a spatula or wooden spoon to break the mince into smaller pieces. Add the light and dark soy, oyster sauce, sugar and pepper, then toss to combine and transfer to a bowl. Set aside.
To blanch the choy sum, place in a medium bowl and cover with freshly boiled water. Allow to sit for 10 seconds, then drain in a colander and set aside.
To fry the ikan bilis, heat the 4 cups of oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. To test if oil is ready, toss a few ikan bilis into the oil – if they turn golden in about 10 seconds, all is well. Deep-fry all the ikan bilis until golden, drain in a sieve lined with paper towel and set aside.
To make the omelette garnish, evenly coat the surface of a medium frypan with oil using paper towel. Heat the extra teaspoon of oil over medium–high heat then coat thinly with the egg. Cook for only a few seconds on each side so the omelette doesn’t dry out, then roll into a cylinder and slice thinly. Toss to unravel the long threads, cover with cling wrap and set aside.
To serve, portion into each bowl a cup of dumplings, 2 or so ladles of the chicken stock, 2 tablespoons full of the mince, a sprinkle of the egg threads, a small cluster of the blanched choy sum, a sprinkle of the fried ikan bilis, spring onions, deep-fried shallots and then a teaspoon of the sambal.
Enjoy!
Steamed Tiew Chew Fish (Snapper)
SERVES 2-4 AS A SHARED DISH
Fish
- 1 baby snapper, cleaned and scaled
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing rice wine
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- dash of white pepper
Sauce
- 5 medium shiitake mushrooms
- 80g pork belly, thinly sliced
- 3–4 leaves pickled mustard stem, sliced into 5mm shreds
- 200g silken tofu, diced into 2cm cubes
- 2 pickled plums, deseeded and squashed
- 1 medium tomato, cut into 8–10 wedges
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce OR to taste
- 1 teaspoon soy
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- white pepper
- 2–3 tablespoons finely shredded ginger
Special Equipment: wok with a domed lid + steaming trivet with 3cm high legs + 25–30cm heatproof dish with 4cm high sides + a largish ceramic tart dish
Soak the shiitake mushrooms for the sauce in hot water for 40 minutes OR until soft, then squeeze to remove excess moisture. Discard stems and slice caps thinly.
Score the flesh of the fish to the bone at 2cm intervals – 3 times on each side. Rub the shaoxing, sugar and pepper all over the fish and marinate for 10 minutes.
Place the fish in a heatproof dish and spread the sauce ingredients around the dish, finishing with the ginger sprinkled directly over the fish. Place the dish on a steaming trivet and steam covered in a wok with a domed lid over high heat for 10–20 minutes OR until the fish is perfectly cooked.
Halfway through, baste the fish with the surrounding juices. If you are unsure whether the fish is cooked, make a very small incision at the fattest part of the fish and gently pry apart the flesh to check. If the flesh closest to the bone is the tiniest bit translucent, it is ready. Remove the wok from the heat, keeping the fish covered and the residual heat will finish off the cooking.
Serve with steamed jasmine rice as a shared dish.
Bream or baby barramundi are good alternatives or fillets of your favourite fish if you are too scared to go for a whole one.
