Meicai Kou Rou 梅菜扣肉

Recipe for Belly Pork with Pickled Mustard in Stew Bowl
梅菜扣肉 mei cai kou rou

Wash dried meicai and soak in warm water for 10 minutes, remove, rinse and drain.

Marinate belly pork with dark soy sauce for 30 minutes. Adding five spice powder is optional.

Fry pork in a heavy pan under high heat till the skin is crispy. Alternatively, use sliced roast pork that has a layer of crackling skin commonly sold at Chinese BBQ stores.

Fry garlic in oil, add meicai and stir fry briefly till fragrant. - Add sugar and huadiao rice wine. - Assemble pork, meicai in a bowl, either in alternately or layered.

Prepare a double boiler or steamer. Steam for at least one hour. Using a pressure cooker will take only 15 minutes or less.

Invert the bowl of meicai kou ro over a dish and serve.

The Taiwanese eat it with steamed white buns with a slit in the centre to stuff the meat filling, somewhat similar to the pockets of pita bread but has a softer and more spongy texture.

Hakka Rice Wine 客家米酒

Hakka Glutinous Rice Wine

A recipe adapted from my beloved late grandma :

1 kg of glutinous rice (soak for 1/2 hour) & washed.

2 wine yeast balls (preferably 1 sweet & 1 bitter, either Shanghai or southern) -- pounded into powder form

Red sorghum - few grains mainly for colouring, won't affect the taste

Using rice cooker to steam the rice is easier. Or use a bamboo rack over boiling water in a covered pot. Rice must be completely cooled before putting into clay, ceramic or porcelain urn.

Alternately layer rice, yeast, and repeat till ingredients are fully utilised.

Sprinkle red sorghum on top.

Cover with clean white cloth. Keep in cool dark place. Do not open for the first two weeks.

Note : everything from the wash basin, rice cooker, porcelain jar, sieve, cloth, ladle, cabinet, floor, worktop, hands, etc have to be absolutely clean. Otherwise, mould will grow instead and the mixture does not ferment into wine.

After 30 days, sieve and filter rice wine and keep in a bottle (no plastics please!). The residue (jiu zao) can be used for cooking prawns or meat.

The Fuzhou version contains more wine yeast and more red sorghum. It therefore takes a longer time to ferment compared to It's good for stir fry dishes whereas Hakka wine tastes excellent when cooking chicken wine (gai jiu).

Caution : go easy for those with high blood pressure and strong "yang". Safer to take in on rainy days or in winter and of course for post-natal confinement ladies.

Deep Fried Chicken Wings in Red Fermented Tofu

This is my aunt's speciality. The wife of my maternal uncle used to whip up some traditional Hakka dishes for birthday and wedding banquets held in villages and homes of the hosts.

The chicken wings have to be cleaned and air dried. If using frozen chicken, ensure they are thoroughly thawed before you add the seasoning.

Marinate with one or two pieces of red fermented tofu (Mandarin - nan ru; Hakka - lam yuoi), a dash of pepper and pinch of sugar.

Coat lightly with all purpose flour before frying. Some like to dip into beaten egg to prevent the flour from falling off and clouding the cooking oil. It's optional.

Ensure that there is sufficient amount of oil to cover the meat and heat it up to medium high temperature before frying the meat. Ready once it's golden brown and firm.

This dish can be quite salty, so go easy on the "lam yuoi". Well, Hakka food is known to be strong in tastes and appetizing. In the old days, Hakka farmers need to eat more rice to build up their physique for manual work and ward off intruders. Salt is a natural preservative and helps to keep the food better for days as large quantities are cooked to feed an extended family.

- Copyright Reserved