Glutinous Rice Wine

I have to confess that i have shyed away from brewing glutinous rice wine at home for the longest ever, all because of all the superstitions pertaining to brewing wine at home. I finally buck up courage together with inspiration from my friend, Claire and tried making 2 batches, one plain and one with red rice yeast. Claire came to help and all we had to do was to blend the yeast and start assembling the rice for brewing. I had prepped the rice earlier by cooking it in the rice cooker, so that it will be cooled enough for assembling when Claire arrived. I was so excited that i forgot to take pictures of the assembling. I did not take pictures perhaps i was skeptical that the wine will be a success as i know that i will break all rules and superstitions - I did not have a mouthful of sugar when i started making, i talked alot and made it in broad daylight, i did not leave the pot under the bed with a rusty knife on top, i let the 2 pots(crockpots) sitting on the dinning table, perhaps if you make the wine in a glass bottle, it will be better to put it away from the light. According to one of the myths - one should leave the pot alone without peeking, i, of course, have been opening the lids of both the pots and checking for green stuff growing and have been tasting the wine as days go by. Despite of being so rebelious, the wine turned out so sweet and not too alcohlic. The one with the red rice yeast tasted better than the plain one and had more wine, perhaps the extra yeast present in the red rice gave the extra kick and for the extra wine, i think i had sprinkled in an extra cup of water. The whole process was worth it and now my younger friends can have Rice Wine Chicken during their confinement, just inform me and i will brew some.

Ingredients:

8 cups/2.2 lbs/1 kg long grain white glutinous rice
1 pc wine yeast (bigger kind brought from Malaysia)
1 pc wine yeast (small kind available in any asian stores here in the States)
1 cup red rice yeast (also available in the asian stores here)
2 cups filtered water for sprinkling.

Method:

Wash the glutinous rice, drain, and place in rice cooker with enough water to cover the surface(it is just like cooking regular jasmine rice). Put to cook, and when rice is cooked, remove from the rice cooker, then spread it onto foil covered baking sheets and leave to cool completely.(make sure new foil is used to cover the baking sheets) Rice must be completely cold before use.

Using a clean coffee grinder, grind the wine yeast and red rice yeast into powder.

To assemble:

Sprinkle a little wine yeast mixture on to a crockpot and then layer with rice(wet hands with the filtered water and flatten a handful and use it for layering).

Sprinkle with more rice yeast all over the rice and then sprinkle with the filtered water.

Repeat the layering - rice, rice yeast and water until all the rice is done.

Lastly pour the remainder of the filtered water.

Cover crockpot with a clean cloth and then the lid.

Leave it to ferment for 7 days, then open lid and give mixture a good stir with a clean wooden spoon.

Cover crockpot with the clean cloth and lid and leave to brew for another 14 days(the total brewing time is 21 days - if you prefer a stronger alcoholic wine leave for another 7 days).

Wine can be harvested on the 21st or 30th day.

Prepare a sieve or a colander and line it with a clean cloth. Put it over a pot to catch the wine.

Put the brewed wine mixture onto the cloth and let the wine dripped.(patience in letting the wine drip slowly will result in very clear wine).

When all the wine has dripped and the residue is quite dry, remove the residue and store it in a jar or air tight container for many more other recipes.

Bring the wine to a quick boil (my wine started to boil at 180f and of course it is cos i am one mile above sea-level)

Let the wine cool before bottling.

Wine is now to be enjoyed in any way you wish.

Serves

Wine Steeped Chicken Rolls

I have heard and even cooked Drunken Chicken  before but when i saw what my friend, Jinni brought to a Summer Potluck, i had to ask for the recipe.  The dish was so delectable and the chicken rolls so  delicately sliced and presented that i keep on coming back for more.  Jinni had a very light hand and the rolls were not very drunk.  I like the flavor very much, unlike the drunken chicken i made before, the chicken was drunk and the alcohol too overpowering.  Now that i have brewed some very light and sweet tasting glutinous rice wine, i decided that i had to "rock and roll " up some chicken thighs.  The result was so satisfying and i am sharing my version of the recipe.  Thank you, Jinni. I will be cooking alot more recipes using the home-brewed wine and the residues.  Please do come back and thanks for visiting.  Will be posting  step by step on how to roll the chicken thighs.

Ingredients:

6 boneless chicken thighs with skin

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 - 1 cup home-brewed glutinous rice wine (or use Wine that you will drink - I have tried with Japanese Plum Gekkeikan and it was very good)

Garnishes:

Sliced Cucumber, Carrot and Daikon

Spring Onions Shreds 

Method:

Lay 2 pieces of boneless chicken thighs with skin down on a large piece of plastic wrap.  Try and arrange the chicken skin neatly spread and meat as level as possible.

Sprinkle chicken thighs with salt and pepper.

Roll the meat up by holding the 2 ends of the plastic wrap, twist and roll it tightly like you would roll a sausage.  Fold the two twisted ends in to secure.

Repeat with the other chicken thighs - 2 thighs to a roll.

Wrap the rolls up with aluminium foil  and steam the rolls for 30 - 40 minutes until cooked through.  Let it cool. 

Mix the chicken stock and wine together in a large container and let the cooled chicken rolls(removed the foil and plastic wrap and discard) steep in this solution for a day or overnight.

Slice chicken rolls into 1/4 inch slices and serve cold or at room-temperature.

The stock and wine solution can be cooked down and reduced to a stock and drizzle over chicken rolls or use for dipping.

Serves

Pork Tenderloin in Sha Cha Sauce

There are sauces and sauces - endless selection and there are many more that i have not encountered with or have the opportunity to try cooking with them. Walk down the  Sauces'    aisle  in  any asian market and you will know what i mean.. I have not heard of Sha Cha sauce until my friend Belinda used it as a dipping sauce for her hot pot. She told me to add an egg yolk with the sauce and it was so delicious that i had to get a can. Not only is this versatile sauce good as a condiment, it can be a base for soups , as a seasoning for stir-fry dishes and as a rub for barbecued meats.

Ingredients:

2 pieces pork tenderloin (about 12 ozs each)
4 heaped tbsp Sha Cha Sauce
1/2 lb french beans
Cilantro for garnishing











Method:

Trim pork of any visible fat and membrane/silver skin.

Cut off 12 inches or so of butcher’s twine, and put the thin end of the tenderloin in front of you.

Fold the thin end back on itself so that the entire length of the tenderloin is uniformly thick.

Slide the butcher’s twine underneath the tenderloin, and tie the folded thin end with a simple loop and surgeon’s knot.

Cut off the excess string with kitchen shears, and you're ready

Rub on the Sha Cha Sauce on to the pork tenderloin and let it marinate for at least 1 hour in the fridge.

Heat a 12 inch skillet with 2 tbsp oil and brown the pork tenderloins on all sides.

Put in a preheated 425f oven for 10 minutes to finish the cooking.(10 minutes is only a guide, try not to overcook, since overcooking will cause the meat to dry out. It's a good idea to use a meat thermometer to test for doneness; cutting into the meat to test for color will cause too many good juices to run out. A range of 150° to 165° is usually recommended  but i like to take it out at 140 - 150.. This should produce tenderloin that's juicy, tender, and safe. Rest for 5 - 10 minutes, remove the butcher's twine before slicing, )

For the french beans, remove the ends, wash and wipe dry.

Heat about 1/2 cup of oil in a skillet and when oil is hot, deep fry the french beans until crinkly and soft.  Do not fry all the beans at once, fry by batches.

Put the fried french beans on a platter and top with sliced pork tenderloin.  Garnish with cilantro.

Enjoy

Serves

Futomaki - Thick Sushi Roll

Futomaki are thick sushi rolls which includes various fillings. They are also known as fat rolls. My friend Sam who is a Sushi Chef told me that it is easy to make Sushi.  All i needed was some goodwill and a good guide, meaning that he will show me how.  Looking at his nimble fingers working with the rice, trying not to blink in case i missed some valuable tips, but i must have blinked, cos the roll was ready right before me,  like magic, my mouth was opened wide with astonishment.   I insisted that he would have to roll on slow motion and this time, he went extra slow, so i had more ideas of how a good sushi roll was done.  Then it was my turn,  i was so excited that i forgot all the tips and made a huge mess.  Our hungry friends could not wait for lunch, so Sam had to continue making lunch for us and i promised him that i will go home and try to remember his teaching and not make a mess.  You think that i will remember?  I did keep my promise , i made some and a mess too.

Sushi Rice:
Ingredients: 

2 cups sushi or short grain rice
2 cups water, plus extra for rinsing rice
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt or 2 tsp regular table salt

Method:

Place the rice into a mixing bowl and cover with cool water. Swirl the rice in the water, pour off and repeat 2 to 3 times or until the water is clear.  Pour enough water to cover rice and let it soak for 30 minutes.

Place the rice and 2 cups of water into the rice cooker and cook rice until done.

Combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and heat in the microwave on high for 30 to 45 seconds.

Transfer the rice into a large wooden or glass mixing bowl and add the vinegar mixture. Fold thoroughly to combine and coat each grain of rice with the mixture. Allow to cool to room temperature before using to make sushi

California Roll

Ingredients:

Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 medium avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced into 1/4-inch thick pieces
4 sheets nori
1/2 batch sushi rice, recipe as above
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into matchstick-size pieces
4 crabsticks, torn into pieces

Pickled ginger, for serving
Wasabi, for serving
Soy sauce, for serving










Method:

Squeeze the lemon juice over the avocado to prevent browning.

Cover a bamboo rolling mat with plastic wrap.

Lay 1 sheet of nori, shiny side down, on the plastic covered mat.

Wet your fingers with water and spread about 1 cup of the rice evenly onto the nori.

Place 1/8 of the cucumber, avocado and crab sticks in the center of the sheet.

Grab the edge of the mat closest to you, keeping the fillings in place with your fingers, and roll it into a tight cylinder, using the mat to shape the cylinder. Pull away the mat and set aside. Cover with a damp cloth.

Repeat until all of the rice has been used. Cut each roll into 6 pieces.

Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce.

A Maize-ing Soup

Maize  was or is the term used  for Corn in the United Kingdom and Ireland and since Malaysia was colonised by the British, maize it was to me for the longest ever, until there came Sweet Corn in the Malaysian markets.  I did not realised that Maize and Corn are the same becauce the difference in taste and texture were totally different,  the maize was woody, starchy and it took a lot of mouth grinding to finish a cob, while the sweet corn needed no introduction espeicially when we are here in sweet corn Heaven.   In Chinese Medicine, corn and celery are used as a stomach tonic, carrot and tomato promote  digestion, lastly the humble potato heals inflammations and is used as an energy tonic.  With these goodness in a soup, what can go wrong? 

Ingredients:

2 ears of fresh corn - cut into 1 1/2 inch slices
3 large tomatoes - quartered
2 stalk celery - cut into 1 inch lengths
2 carrots - peeled and cut into 1 inch lengths
2 potatoes - peeled and cut into halfs
2 lbs pork spareribs/neck bones
Salt to taste









Method:

In the pressure cooker, put the pork bones in and enough water to cover the bones.  Bring to high boil and let boil until most of the scum is floating on top of the water.  Turn off heat and pour the contents through a colander.  Wash the bones thoroughly with cold tap water until all scums are removed. Wash the pressure cooker well, removing scum and fat that are stuck to the pot.

Put bones back into the clean pressure cooker and add in the corn, tomatoes and wai san with enough water the cover ingredients.  Make sure that the water level is not more than 2/3 full - pressure needs to be built with space.  Pressurized for 30 minutes and turn off heat, allowing the soup to continue to cook in the pressure.  Remove lid only when the pressure is totally off and add salt to taste.   If you are in a hurry for dinner, put pressure cooker under the tap and run the cold water over the lid of the pressure cooker,  this should bring the pressure down fast and you can soup on the table as soon as salt is added to taste.

Serves

Pennywort/Pegaga Drink - The Secret Fountain of Youth

"A hundred, oh Mothers, are your natures and a thousand are your growths. May you of a hundred powers make whole what has been hurt. Where the herbs are gathered together like a thing is an assembly there the doctor is called a sage, who destroys evil, and averts diseases.” - Hymn to the Plants, Rig Veda X, 97

Mother Nature has so perfectly planned her pharmacy so that it is is within everyone’s access.  It is there to nourish and supply us with abundant energy, as well as nurture us when we have some illness, we need only to become aware of its use for us

Pegaga is a polymorphous, creeping plant, rooting at nodes, with sometimes significant tap root, cylindrical and glabrous stems. Other names of pegaga including Centella asiatica (L.), Hydrocotyle asiatica, gotu kola, Indian pennywort (English), Mandukaparni (India), pegaga (Malaysia), and Ping Da Wan (崩大碗), Di Qien Cao (地錢草), Zhi Xue Cao(积雪草), 雷公根, 蚶殼草, 地堂草, 銅錢草, or 落得打, rau ma (vietnamese)

Read about it's medical benefits from factOdiz bite-sized knowledge

Ingredients


2 handfuls pennywort, with stems pinched off
200ml boiling water
180g sugar or honey to taste







Method:

If using sugar, make a simple syrup by dissolving the sugar in the boiling water the allow to cool completely.

Add all the ingredients to a blender along with 5 or 6 ice cubes and water(as concentrated as you'd like), blend at high speed.

Then using a fine-mesh colander, strain out the leafy sludge. Taste and add syrup/honey or water if necessary.

Serve poured over ice.

Store the remainder in the fridge.

Enjoy!