What do char kway tiao, or luak, bak chor mee, and Teochew style steamed fish have in common, apart from being Teochew?Don't know? What if I remove steamed fish from the list, and add or nee, chai tow kway and yam mooncakes? Is it obvious now?
Ladies and gentlemen, all these Teochew dishes have lard – lots and lots of glorious lard!
Wait a second . . . there's lard in Teochew steamed fish? But of course! It's not rendered liquid lard or fried bits of golden lardon, but strips of raw, white pork fat steamed together with the fish. Sadly, it's usually omitted nowadays because of the phobia of animal fats. Are you afraid of lard?
The lard for steamed fish should be the firm fat found just underneath the pigskin rather than the floppy, shapeless fat in the belly. That, along with pickled plums and kiam chye (pickled mustard greens), makes Teochew steamed fish Teochew . . . . Oh hang on, there's something else if you want uncompromised authenticity: Dipping the fish in fermented soya beans
Ah yes, don't forget the taucheo, which should be the light rather than dark type. For cooking, either would do but you'd want the less salty, light-coloured one for a dip.Good taucheo is very fragrant and umami, and it brings out the sweetness of the fish. Clean tasting fish like threadfin or red snapper is dipped in taucheo neat, but fishier fish like big head carp or rabbitfish goes well with a squeeze of lime, some cili padi and julienned young ginger.
Besides piling a heap of stuff on steamed fish, Teochews also love steaming fish as it is, with nothing added at all. Sometimes, I kid you not, the fish isn't even gutted or scaled. I'm guessing only Teochews would appreciate such a peasant style!
And only Teochews – those who don't live in China but understand the dialect – would appreciate how hilarious Snow White is in Teochew. If you're one of these, please watch this video 'cause it's really funny, especially 1:32 and 2:42 which had me in stitches:
Check these out:
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| Mel's Comfort Food | Blood Plasma, Anyone? | Dumping Asian Dumplings | Cheese is Good for You | Are You Afraid of Lard? |
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In 1950,
Eww, candy made with discarded underwear? I'm sure someone somewhere in China must be doing it!
The best description of Marmite I've come across is from Reginald Hunter who said, during a 
Since it's the general election's 'cooling-off day' today, I thought I'd feature a recipe that's well-known for its 'cooling' effect: Salted Fish Head & Tofu Soup. This is a classic soup that the Cantonese – who know an awful lot about soups – make when they feel that there's too much 'heat' in the body. Having downed a big bowl yesterday, I'm now cool as a cucumber whilst I meditate on the most keenly contested general elections in Singapore since the 1960s.
manipulated so that more difficult ones were given to black people. Such a test would be unthinkable today, and rightly so. The potential for abuse is far too great, and there would be no agreement on what should be tested. But is the principle behind it, that some people are incapable of making what is essentially a complex decision, so wrong?
The hallmark of a good roast chicken is crispy skin, right? Nah, not necessarily. Crispy skin requires hours of air-drying and I can't be bothered most of the time. It's good enough for me if the skin is nicely browned so that there's a 'roasty' aroma.
Whilst I don't air-dry the chicken for Ayam Panggang, I do dry it in the oven. I roast the bird at a low temperature – 130°C or so – for about 25 minutes. The heat is too low to cook the bird much but it dries out the skin quite well. I then crank up the temperature to 230°C and the skin, already dry, browns nicely in about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, the meat is just cooked and the breast still moist.
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