New Year: "Hae Zhor" Prawn Rolls

These are a family specialty: "Hae Zhor", or Hokkien Prawn Rolls.

My grand-aunt does it the traditional way: wrapping prawn meat, water chestnut and minced pork in membrane derived from pigs' organs. It may sound gruesome, but some sausages also utilise the same natural membrane as a casing. First, it has to be steamed to ensure the ingredients are cooked. It is then coated in batter and deep fried to a crispy golden brown!


Hae Zhor in batter ready for deep-frying!

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Tomato

I've added a new Category called *FoodScoop, where I will post some food facts starting with the humble Tomato!

I got these beauties from Sixth Avenue Cold Storage! Very juicy and not the slightest bit acidic! The less red/orange ones are usually rather tasteless. These are On-Vine Tomatoes, the ones you see in the local supermarket are usually plucked before they are fully ripe, then ripened artificially with ethylene.

I also love Japanese Momotaro Tomatoes, but they're really expensive... I like them chilled and eaten raw, as an appetizer or dessert. Cherry Tomatoes may be sweet or sour, depending on the quality and specie, but the recent stock of yellow cherry tomatoes proved to be delightfully sweet! (:

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Dong Dae Mun Korean Street Snacks

Dong Dae Mun is a kiosk chain selling Korean Street Snacks like Jumbo Sausages, Korean Rice Cakes, Meat Balls on Skewers, Grilled Chicken and Beef Skewers with Hot Sauce and Crispy Chicken Skewers. Here's what we tried from the kiosk at Junction 8's basement.

(Left to Right) Meat Balls, Crispy Chicken, Pork and Chicken Skewers

The food's quite novel, but you must eat it immediately! It turned hard and unappetising after we brought it home. The Jumbo Sausages were so tempting, but a voice reminded me of an equally jumbo amount of sodium. :(

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MarketWatch: Isetan Umaimono Fair

I recently went to Isetan Umaimono Fair @ Scotts, and found some interesting goodies! There were refreshing Fruit Juices (do try the peach and grape!), succulent Mentaiko, delicious Udon and Soba, crispy and chewy Ijima Shoten (Fried Squid) and yummy Sardine Ball soup!

This is Multi-coloured Kelp, which I made into a chilled salad with Wakame.



The Udon and Soba is really good! They have a Wakame version of the Udon too! (It is green in colour because they added Wakame powder)

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Recipe: Korokke コロッケ (Potato Croquette)

I simply love potatoes, and I love them baked, roasted, boiled, mashed and deep-fried!! Here's a recipe for Japanese Croquette (called "Korokke" コロッケ) which can be found here. You can add minced meat, corned beef and frozen vegetables too! They taste great with extra onions, a bit of garlic... and the best part is, it tastes good even with just little salt!

Ingredients
Potatoes, boiled til soft
1 Egg
Onion (1 medium)
Garlic Powder
Flour
Oil, for deep frying
Panko パン粉 (Japanese Breadcrumbs)
Herbs, Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

1. Mash potatoes until fluffy. (Do not use a machine or it will become too smooth!)

2. Mince onions or slightly blend chopped onions in a blender.

3. Pan fry onions until they turn brown. (but not bitter!)

4. Mix the onions with the potatoes, and add the seasoning.




5. Mould the potatoes into flat, smooth shapes of around 8 cm thickness. The traditional Japanese Korokke is a round, oval shape.

6. Coat the potato pieces with flour.

7. Dip each piece in beaten egg, then coat evenly with Panko (Breadcrumbs).



8. Deep-fry in hot oil until golden-brown and crispy.










Mmm... try it with a dip if it's not tasty enough. Creamy dips go very well with Korokke!! (:




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MarketWatch: California Peaches

My relatives recently bought some delicious peaches from the florist shop at Mount Elizabeth Hospital. Mum says they are available at leading fruit stalls too. The peaches are from California, and each peach is quite pricey. They emit a subtle fragrance and are incredibly sweet, soft and juicy! Almost as good as Japanese peaches!

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Recipe: Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Adapted from Women's Weekly foodbook: Issue 1

Ingredients:
3 medium-large potatoes
1 heaped tbsp butter
1 1/2 clove garlic, minced
Salt to taste
Dash of Parsley
1/3 cup Hot Milk (Optional)


1. Boil potatoes in hot, boiling water for around 20 to 25 minutes. For a quick way to peel the skin off potatoes, see this post. ;)

2. Mince the garlic and heat a pan to medium heat. Melt the butter and fry the garlic for not more than 3 minutes. Do not overcook the garlic or it will turn bitter! X(


3. Mash the boiled potatoes slightly and add the fried garlic oil.

4. Keep mashing the potatoes and mixing it with the garlic oil and fried bits. Add extra butter to make it more smooth/soft.

5. Add a dash of parsley, and salt to taste.







6. (Optional) You can add hot milk to make it even fluffier. Slowly pour in the hot milk, stirring and mixing the mixture to desired smoothness.

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Snack: Tuna and Cheese Biscuit

Potato chips and "junk food" often come to mind when one thinks of Snacks. Low Salt High Fibre Biscuits are perfect for those snack cravings or just when you don't want to fill yourself up! (:


Tuna Spread:
1 can Tuna in Water (drained)
1 1/2 tbsp Mayonnaise
Lemon Juice to taste

Drain tuna solids of brine. To reduce sodium content even more, soak meat in distilled water for a few minutes and drain well. Make sure meat is dry,
or else it becomes soggy. Add Mayonnaise and Lemon Juice (don't put too much at a time!), and use a fork to mix it well. Spread on biscuit or toast.

Tip: Low sodium canned tuna in water is locally available; some brands I found are Bumblebee and TC Boy. You can also use low-fat mayonnaise instead.

I melted 1/2 a piece of Hokkaido Cheese on a biscuit for some variation. Another favourite is Swiss Emmental, especially since several brands have significantly lower sodium than regular cheeses. Try to limit the cheese to not more than 1 serving if you are on a low phosphate diet. :(

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MarketWatch: Hokkaido Cheese

My aunt and uncle just came back from their visit to Hokkaido, and brought back some delicious Limited Edition Hokkaido Scenery Cheese by Snow (brand). The cheese is delicious and had a creamy full-bodied flavour, and at a really low sodium content at 224 mg per 100g! The calcium is not bad for a cream cheese at 115 mg per 100g. Pity the inevitable high phosphate for all diary products, though.

Every cheese has a label with an illustration of parts of Hokkaido on it! Could be a collector's item. ;)

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