Glass Vermicelli with Minced Pork (蚂蚁上树)

Ingredients:

100 g glass vermicelli
100-150 g minced pork

3 tbsp oil
2 slices ginger, cut into silvers
2 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 chinese dried mushroom, soaked, thinly sliced and reserved the soaking water
1 tbsp preserved soy bean paste
1 fresh red chili, removed seeds and thinly sliced (optional)
1 tsp chili sauce
1/4 cup water/stock/reserved soaking water
1/2 cup bean sprouts (optional)
1 stalk spring onion, sliced long

Marinade for pork:

1 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
pinch of cornstarch

Method:

Combine minced pork first with the liquid marinade ingredients and last with cornstarch; set aside for at least 15 minutes.

Soak noodles till soften and drain well; set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok over medium high heat, stir-fry pork till browned and cooked thoroughly.

Remove pork from wok and set aside.

Add another tbsp of oil to the wok, saute ginger, garlic and fresh chili till fragrant.

Add-in mushrooms, stir-fry briefly.

Add-in soy bean paste and chili sauce, stir for short while.

Add-in noodles, stir for another short while and pour-in water.

Return the cooked pork into wok and add-in bean sprouts, stir briefly till blended.

Add spring onions and stir till most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Garnish with some fresh spring onion and serve.

Homemade Fish Balls and Soup

Ingredients:

Fish Balls Ingredients

600 g white fish
1 tbsp water
1 tsp salt

100 ml water
1 tsp salt
dash of pepper
3 tbsp cornflour

bowl of water
1 tsp salt

Soup Ingredients

reserved bone & skin of fish
1000 ml water
1 stalk spring onion, chopped
1 tbsp tong choi (Chinese preserved radish)
1 tsp salt or to taste
2 tsp light soy sauce

Method:

To prepare the fish balls:

Fillet fish with sharp knife by removing fresh meat from bone and skin.

Further scrape out the remaining fish meat from skin and bone with metal spoon, reserve the bone and skin.

Blend fish meat with 1 tbsp water and half tsp salt till very fine or alternatively pound it with the back of chopper and gradually add-in the salt solution.

Transfer fish paste into big bowl and stir rigorously till sticky.

Gradually, stir-in the 100 ml water, 1 tsp salt, pepper and corn flour.

Lift up handful of fish paste and throw against bowl till springy on whole.

Grease hands with oil and form fish paste portion by portion into balls via gently squeezing the paste out between thumb and index fingers.

Drop fish balls into a bowl of water added with 1 tsp salt and leave to soak for at least 30 minutes.

To prepare the soup:

Pan-fry the reserved bone and skin till fragrant and golden brown, remove from heat and set aside.

Bring water to boil in a pot or wok.

Return the fragrant bone and skin into the boiling water and let simmer over low heat for about 1 hour.

Drain the stock into another pot and bring to boil.

Drop-in fish balls and simmer over low heat till fish balls floated.

seasoning with salt, soy sauce and tong choi.

Sprinkle-on chopped spring onion on hot soup right before serving.