Sometimes Simple is the Best!

I'm always looking to cook simple dishes that have just two or three ingredients to make my life easier cooking stress-free in the kitchen.  Such dishes are also excellent on days when you don't feel like cooking or have an appetite for something light.

If you're tired of cooking after slaving in the kitchen over the holidays for your makan gatherings, this simple pick-me-up dish is just what you need! ;)  I actually found this through a food blog I follow which gave me a new insight as in a new way to treat this humble ingredient that I never thought of.  I'm talking about a fuss-free dish of fried eggs over rice.  It can't get any simpler than that, right?  But with a twist! ;)

How often have we cooked....and eaten fried eggs with rice?  Very often, I reckon.  Kids (and some adults alike) will welcome fried eggs with open arms when they see it at the dinner table.  Even the pickiest eaters will not refuse eggs.

The way I've prepared it have always been to just fry the eggs, either with the egg yolk still runny or totally cooked with frizzy sides, and have it with rice until I chanced upon a new twist cooked up by The Woks of Life, who happens to be a Chinese family of four (residing in US) writing a food blog of Chinese food recipes which I follow to ogle at their delicious-looking food photos and gather (food) inspiration from.  They have since come up with their cookbook last month (which I'll probably end up owning too).

This plate of food is so fast and quick to dish up that if you blink, you'll miss it.....lol! ;D  First, we fry up two eggs (or three, if you need more) and put them over a bed of hot, fluffy white rice.  You can make your eggs sunny-side up, over easy or completely cooked through...whatever rocks your boat as to how you like your eggs done! ;)

I prefer mine sunny-side up or over easy.....but over easy eggs aren't the easiest to nail as the yolks could break when you try to flip them over or get overcooked when you wait for the eggs to brown.  My attempt at over easy eggs was obviously not very successful as the yolks were cooked through. >.<  Not a problem though since my son likes his egg yolks completely cooked.

In the same pan that you fried your eggs, throw in some long strands of spring onions and let them char in the residual oil.  Once wilted and charred, drizzle in some soy sauce and pour the scallions and sauce over the egg and rice (you have to do this real fast before the soy sauce has a chance to dry up, adding a little water can help you in this regard especially if your brand of soy is on the salty side).  You can drizzle in a bit of Shaoxing wine too if you like but that's totally optional (you don't really need it if you ask me).

Now, sunny-side up eggs are a lot easier to get right...hehe!  The key to having the yolks still runny is, of course, to let it ooze out onto your rice to double up as a sauce.  You can drizzle a bit more soy on top to reinforce that savoury flavour.  Of course, mine must have a dash of (white) pepper too. ^_~

Partnering creamy eggs with softened, charred, salty spring onions (which also acts as the vegetable in this dish) is just unbelievably good! ^o^  I like to cut my spring onions in long strands to mimic picking up a long-stemmed vegetable with my chopsticks...hah..hah!

Eggs is a staple in every household...and I almost always have spring onions (or coriander) in my fridge (some even have them growing in their gardens).  Spring onions keep quite well in the fridge for at least a week to 10 days if treated right and stored properly.  I wash them and let them dry completely in a colander before cutting them into two (or shorter strands) and storing them wrapped in paper towels in an airtight container.

When you had plans to eat out, tapau or weren't planning to cook and it's suddenly raining cats and dogs outside, this quick and easy dish will come to your rescue every time.  I've had this many times over since learning about this new twist with just soy sauce and scallions.  Good (and, more importantly, simple) things are meant to be shared!  Sometimes the simplest things are the most satisfying, don't you agree? ^_~

How many ways can you eat chee cheong fun?

For those of us who love eating chee cheong fun (or rice noodle rolls)...and I'm one of them, we're lucky that there are many types and styles of chee cheong fun for us to enjoy.

#1 - Plain Chee Cheong Fun with Chilli & Sweet Sauce

Certainly the most basic is one eaten with lat chiew cheong (chilli sauce) and tim cheong (sweet brown sauce if you're in Klang Valley).

#2 - Plain Chee Cheong Fun with Curry

Of course you're bound to find a version with curry since we're Malaysians....and we obviously love our curries! ;)

I especially love this one (offered by a yong tau foo shop, Yap Hup Kee) where the curry is almost like a thick broth with added fragrance from the bits of dried shrimps.  So good. ^.^

#3 - Chee Cheong Fun with the more typical/common liew

Plain chee cheong fun (from hawker stalls) is usually paired with more typical liew (ingredients) like boiled/softened beancurd sheets, tofu puffs, fish and pork balls.

#4 - Chee Cheong Fun with various types of yong tau foo

But these days, most chee cheong fun stalls have graduated from just providing the standard liew that it now comes with a vast choice of yong tau foo items to choose from like fish paste-stuffed brinjal, bitter gourd, fresh red chillies, ladies finger, tofu, fried dumpling, fried wantan, fried beancurd rolls and more.

#5 - Steamed Chee Cheong Fun

In a neighbourhood shop of mine, they offer steamed chee cheong fun rolls with a filling of shredded jicama and carrot (that have been cooked till soft), very much like a fried popiah, only difference is it's  steamed instead of deep fried.  We eat this with a drizzle of soy sauce.

#6 - Dried Shrimp Chilli Chee Cheong Fun

I got this from a hawker stall (via delivery) who offered their chee cheong fun that is eaten with just a condiment of spicy dried shrimp and its oil.  It's not one I usually see but it was very enjoyable too.

But the chee cheong fun with crispy dried shrimps that I eat regularly is the one from Yap Hup Kee.  It's served here with either a sweet + chilli sauce or in curry.

#7 - Kampar-Style Chee Cheong Fun

Next, we have different styles of chee cheong fun that hails from different States/cities in Malaysia.  First up is this Kampar-style chee cheong fun that contains tiny bits of dried prawns and spring onions that have been folded into the sheets of chee cheong fun.  It's difficult to see as there isn't a lot of it, just a little to bring some added flavour to the plain chee cheong fun.  You usually don't find a variety of liew like yong tau foo items offered with this style, just the standard beancurd sheets and meat/fish balls, as the chee cheong fun is the star attraction.

My all-time favourite of this style of chee cheong fun is the one from Pandan Perdana market (they've since moved into a proper shop, Restoran Good Friends, in the vicinity).  You can eat this with either curry, chilli or sweet sauce.  Their curry is one of the best I've had with chee cheong fun (their tim cheong is good too, very different from the standard brown sweet sauce we get from most sellers) and that's why I like to eat it with a combo or curry and sweet sauce. ^o^

#8 - Penang-Style Chee Cheong Fun

Penang-style chee cheong fun (as we know) is also particular to that State in that it's the only one that is served with a har ko cheong (shrimp paste sauce).,.and my current go-to is the one from O & S Restaurant...the chee cheong fun is really translucent and slippery-smooth.  This style I'd have to say is an acquired taste because of the har ko cheong.  I didn't like it when I first tried it as the thick har ko is very pungent but the taste grew on me.  Still, I try not to mix in all the har ko + you really need the chilli sauce to cut through the pungency and robustness of the har ko.

#9 - Ipoh-Style Chee Cheong Fun

Ipoh-style chee cheong fun is served in one of three ways.  The first is eaten with a chilli and sweet sauce although the sweet sauce is a little different from others as Ipoh-style sweet sauce is more reddish in colour compared to the usual brownish ones here.

The second which is also indigenous to Ipoh (I think) as I've not come across it elsewhere is that they offer chee cheong fun with mushroom sauce (sometimes cooked with bits of minced pork).  Ipoh-style chee cheong fun is always served along with some pickled green chillies.

The third is most simple one...with plain soy and shallot oil and topped with fried shallots and sesame seeds.  For this to shine, the soy must be of a good (and tasty) quality and the shallots freshly fried (not pre-fried, store-bought ones).  I've yet to come across good Ipoh (in whatever) style chee cheong fun here in KL! ;D

#10 - Teluk Intan-Style Chee Cheong Fun

Although this is not the actual/famed Teluk Intan chee cheong fun (which I've not eaten before), it's quite similar to it.  This one I found sold by a hawker in a wet market.  The chee cheong fun is filled with chopped jicama (sengkuang) and radish (choy poh, not sure if it's the salty or sweet kind but I believe it's the latter) before topping with a sprinkling of crispy, fried, finely chopped dried prawns.  It's a killer combination with its sweet, salty and fragrant flavours.

#11 - Hong Kong-Style Chee Cheong Fun

Hong Kong-style of chee cheong fun has its rice rolls steamed with a filling of either prawns or char siew (current favourite is from Wah Hong Kong Chee Cheong Fun).  It's quite a sight to see the extremely thin rice rolls (some call this cheong fun coz of it's much thinner texture compared to chee cheong fun) come out of the steamer and rolled.  It's generally served with a sauce of soy and a dollop of ma lai chan lat chiew (cooked belacan and dried shrimp sambal).

#12 - Fried Chee Cheong Fun ala Char Kway Teow-Style

This fried chee cheong fun ala char kway teow-style is almost similar to any standard fried char kway teow with the requisite fresh sihum (cockles) as well except it's fried with chee cheong fun instead of kway teow.  Can it beat the usual char kway teow in taste?  Not quite...since the noodles are in a rolled form, so it doesn't get charred enough for that sought-after wok hei taste.

#13 - Fried Chee Cheong Fun with Dried Shrimp & Chilli

Finally, fried chee cheong fun with dried shrimps and chillies may be offered by stalls/shops selling fried noodles like Hokkien mee and kong fu chow (Cantonese-style noodles of wat tan hor or ying yong) although it's not commonly available.  I think I first encountered this dish at a Hong Kong-style cha chaan teng (which they called XO fried chee cheong fun).

We're very fortunate to be able to eat chee cheong fun in a variety of styles.  Are you a lover of chee cheong fun like me?  If so, what's your favourite way of eating it.  For me, I love Kampar-style chee cheong fun...and you don't really need any liew as the chee cheong fun will shine on its own if it's good.  If not this, then chee cheong fun in a thick and tasty curry or a Hong Kong-style chee cheong fun with fresh prawns and a good ma lai chan lat chiew is my next choice. ^_~

Brotherhood's Kopitiam @ Pandan Indah

Brotherhood's Kopitiam @ Pandan Indah has been opened for about a year before I finally stepped in...and that's because there are at least two more such similar kopitiams (Thong Kee and Kafe Cahaya Bulan) here with nothing standing out really.

They are what we call modern kopitiams with individual food stalls (just like old-school coffee shops) except in a much more modern, comfortable and cleaner setting than dodgy, old-looking coffee shops.  Their coffees are pricier but not necessarily better tasting than those of traditional coffee shops.  Just add some froth on top (lol) and the youthful generation will buy into that.

First up, something from the kopitiam itself, an All Day Breakfast @ RM15.80 (even if it was just a kopitiam version).  It came with a croissant, sausage, ham, hash brown, baked beans and egg (of your choice, scrambled or sunny side-up).  The egg was obviously overcooked and the baked beans came out of a can.

Not much I can say about the sausage and ham either (they were of the processed variety) but the hash brown turned out to be a revelation (seeing that it's probably also the frozen, store-bought kind).  It was really well-fried as the exterior was so crispy (+ it tasted way better than those frozen hash browns I've bought in the past).  The croissant, not sure if they make it themselves (probably not), but they were decent...super flaky, crisp and light to the bite, perhaps could be more buttery.

Seeing that they did alright with the All Day Breakfast, I thought I'd give their Grilled Chicken Chop @ RM17.90 a go which comes with a choice of black pepper or mushroom sauce.  You can also have the chicken chop served with rice and egg or with a croissant.

Served with thick-cut fries (which I appreciated) that were well fried with a nice crisp and soft on the inside (not sure if they were the frozen/store-bought kind but they tasted much better), real-crispy hash brown (the same one as in the All Day Breakfast which I loved as if there weren't enough carbs already on the plate) and vegetables of sliced tomato and blanched-till-soft broccoli with my chosen black pepper sauce.  Overall, it was pleasant enough though the sauce could be a tad thicker and more peppery...and there wasn't quite enough of it for the large piece of chicken chop.

Another offering by the kopitiam was this Nasi Lemak with Chicken Rendang @ RM9.50 and the platter came filled with santan-infused rice, rendang ayam, curry sauce with potato cubes, sambal, fried ikan bilis and nuts, a whole hard-boiled egg and cucumber slices.  I was glad to find the rice served was still very warm when it landed on my table.

The rendang ayam had good flavours though but the sauce was too watery (other options include fried chicken or spiced fried chicken).  The curry sauce (with potatoes) were also a more watery rendition but still had decent flavours.  The sambal, on the other hand, was my least favourite as it had too sourish a profile and it was also very spicy.  The fried anchovies I didn't care for as they were of a poor quality with a hard bite and the nuts lacked that super fresh taste.

This Lala & Fish @ RM15 filled with fish chunks, lala, enoki and shimeji mushrooms, goji berries and a sprinkling of chopped spring onions is from one of the stalls in the coffee shop.  You can have a choice (or a combination) of minced pork, chicken, smoked duck, bitter gourd or egg as well as lala and fish in either clear soup or tom yam. 

I chose the clear soup.  The soup base is very subtle in flavour with no complexities, all I got was the taste of Chinese rice wine.  For someone who likes ching flavours, even this broth was too ching for me.

I thought the fish looked like dory but the lady boss told me it's not when I asked.  She mentioned the name of the fish in Chinese (which I didn't get/understand obviously).  She said it's sea fish coz she knows dory doesn't taste good.  I'll have to take her word for it although the fish pieces did taste very soft, not mushy, but the texture is a lot softer than some fish.  The lala was just acceptable, not super fresh (it tasted that way too) and, as you can obviously see, the shellfish meat wasn't all that plump either.  They look shrivelled up (perhaps overcooked).  Nope, it wasn't something I enjoyed though I saw quite a few tables ordering it....maybe because it's something different, not often seen in coffee shops.  Even if the tom yam soup tastes better, the seafood will still be a letdown for me.

I'm always on the lookout for a decent kai see hor fun in my neighbourhood (as there are none) and decided to give the Shredded Chicken Hor Fun @ RM8 here a try.  The bowl contained about 3 small to medium-sized prawns (that have been halved lengthwise) that were fresh and firm but not particularly sweet-tasting.

The hor fun (or kuey teow) was finely cut and soft (a bit softer than the usual kai see hor fun I've eaten, not sure if it's because of the texture of the hor fun itself or that it had been overcooked).  I did enjoy the broth as it was light tasting but it also had some sweetness and there was a noticeable orange hue from the drizzle of prawn oil.  Overall, it turned out to be a decent find of kai see hor fun in my taman but can't compete with the kai see hor fun specialists out there.  If I feel like having kai see hor fun in my neighbourhood, this is my best option yet.

Seeing that I enjoyed the kai see hor fun, I decided to try the Hor Fun with Poached Chicken @ RM9 which I spotted during my earlier visit.  But, for some reason, the hor fun soup tasted saltier this time (and missing the sweetness I first detected in my earlier bowl of kai see hor fun).

As for the poached chicken, it was acceptably decent.  What let it down was the sauce...it wasn't anywhere near good.  The soy wasn't the best of quality as it was too salty and the flavoured oil (be it onion or garlic) wasn't at its freshest unfortunately.

To subdue the taste of the sauce, your best bet is to dip it into the spicy fresh chilli sauce.  The other minor problem I faced eating the chicken was that the seller's chopping skills came into question as he didn't manage to chop through the chicken pieces cleanly, some of the bones were still joined at the bottom making it difficult to separate and eat.

After noticing the words "Ipoh" on the signboard of the chee cheong fun stall, I got this Ipoh-Style Chee Cheong Fun @ RM7.80 to try.  Most chee cheong fun is eaten with a sauce, whether it's curry or tim cheong (sweet sauce) but you'd find Ipoh-style chee cheong fun offered with plain soy and shallot oil.  I usually don't go for that coz the chee cheong fun has to be stellar to be able to stand up to just soy sauce + the soy will also have to be just as stellar in quality.

As soon as the dish arrived, I regretted my choice already.  First of all, I noticed that the fried shallots were pre-bought ones....without freshly fried shallots, where the heck will you have shallot oil?  The soy sauce was served separately in a bowl and it was obvious that it was of a low quality as it just tasted super salty.  It was very difficult to eat and I had to ask for some sweet sauce (the si tau poh didn't look very happy when I did) to counter the super salty soy.  True to Ipoh-style, the sweet sauce is reddish in colour but it wasn't great either.  I've to say this was probably the worst chee cheong fun I've had. >_<

My husband's Pork Noodles (Dry) @ RM9 (big) with his usual noodle of choice (yee mee) and just minced pork.  The dry yee mee turned out tasteless (even by my standards), so you can guess what my husband thought of it.  I commented that the minced pork looked plentiful, I didn't try but I did take a sip of the broth and it was nothing like what a pork noodle broth should taste like.  All I could taste was an overly (white) peppery taste and nothing else.  It was no way near decent.

Before I came for a dine-in, I first tried one of the stalls here (Jing Wei) through delivery (but didn't know then they were housed in Brotherhood's Kopitiam) and had the chicken, char siew and duck rice before. Nothing deserving compliments or criticism either though my husband remarked that the siu yuk he tried was a fail! >.<  Safer bets would be the char siew and roast chicken.  The only compliment I can give is that their delivery prices are considered quite low in comparison to others as you can still get a one pax portion for RM9.

Their Cold Hainan Tea @ RM3.40 (small) is a blend of coffee and tea with the taste of tea being more prominent.  I thought their Cold Black Coffee (Kopi-O) @ RM3 (small) was rather decent.  I ordered their Cold Signature BH Coffee @ RM5.50 (small) just because it's their signature drink and was told it's a mixture of coffee and cocoa (probably Milo) but it didn't endear me to it.  Lastly, I tried their Cold White Coffee @ RM5 (let's just say there are two better ones in my taman I'd rather have).  For future visits, I think I'll stick to black coffee with the occasional Hainan tea.

My Personal Opinion

Apart from the western food, nasi lemak, chee cheong fun, dim sum, toast and eggs and drinks that belong to Brotherhood's Kopitiam itself, the rest of the food is run by the individual stalls, so you'll have to pay for those separately/directly with the stall owners.

For me, the western food (All Day Breakfast & Grilled Chicken Chop, the standouts being their croissant & hash brown) and nasi lemak were alright, as should the toast & eggs from these type of modern kopitiams, just stay clear of their Ipoh chee cheong fun but don't know how their dim sum fare (not something I'd want to try since I wouldn't place high hopes on a non-dim sum specialist as the items are probably the shop-bought, frozen-kind).

As for the individual stalls selling la-la noodles, shredded chicken hor fun, pork noodles and chicken rice, only one stood out....the shredded chicken hor fun (not the poached chicken though) and it's something I'd return for.  It's my best bet for a somewhat pleasant shredded chicken hor fun in a neighbourhood that's sorely lacking in good kai see hor fun. >_<

In the end, Brotherhood is a clean and modern kopitiam offering a variety of choices for breakfast and lunch for a family of diners.  If you keep your expectations on the lower end, you should do alright here as there's bound to be something for everyone.

Update: Please note that all the individual stalls at this kopitiam have left.  Only the food made by the kopitiam is now available which includes their western food, nasi lemak, dim sum & chee cheong fun (and whatever food that's included in their new menu).

Brotherhood's Kopitiam

No 75G Jalan Pandan Indah 1/23

Pandan Indah

55100 Kuala Lumpur

#ewew cooks Poached & Steamed Chicken

I've never poached nor steamed a whole chicken at home before....and that's because, first and foremost, I don't have the knife skills or even know how to chop up a whole chicken properly.  Also, there'll be no-one to eat it other than me + I can easily get good poached chicken from the many chicken rice sifu-s (experts) or beautifully steamed yellow-skinned ones served at restaurants.  Chicken poached or steamed whole always tastes better (and you have to use kampung chicken or choi yin kai, not regular or broiler chicken).

I bought a kampung chicken from the wet market the other day and the chicken seller told me what type of chicken it was (in Chinese but I can't remember already) and that this one is slightly more expensive coz it's a female and tastes better!  Huh? @_@  Got such a thing, ah?  I usually get choi yin kai from him to make double-boiled chicken soup or I'll get it chopped into smaller pieces to cook a chicken dish.  But he said it'll be a waste of this RM47 chicken if used that way.  He recommended that I steam it coz, in a restaurant, you'll have to cough up RM80 - RM90 for this (he said)!  So he refused to cut it into small pieces for me cut and separated out the chicken legs, wings and breast for me leaving the carcass for me to boil soup.  I had no choice but to use the chicken legs whole.  So, I thought I'd try my hand at finally making poached chicken...to an acceptable standard....but not the standard of those expert chicken rice stalls lah.

I consulted some guru-s (those in the food business) first before attempting.  First and foremost, I was told to take the chicken out of the fridge to let it come down to room temperature (don't make poached chicken with cold chicken...same concept of not putting a cold chicken to roast in an oven).

Bring to boil 1 litre water (or at least enough to cover/submerge the chicken leg).  I seasoned the water with a 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp of crushed white peppercorns and a drizzle of garlic oil just to flavour the water a little (you could add on other aromatics like ginger, scallions, celery, carrots or onions if you like or you could also use an already made stock that you have).  Bring the water to a rapid boil, submerge the chicken leg and switch off your stove.

Close the lid and let it steep in the hot water/stock for 30 minutes (I was given this timing by a wantan mee sifu).  I think the time is very dependent on the amount of water used.  I used a small saucepan, so I decided to steep mine for 45 minutes.  I was told that when it's done, the chicken should float up.  But when it's a small saucepan, it's difficult to judge if it's floating up (unlike the wantan mee seller's big pot...lol).

Otherwise take it out and check the underside of the chicken leg to ensure there's no blood oozing out.  I took out the chicken leg to check at 45 minutes and it was still lightly bloody on the underside (at this point it was cooked but I like mine a little more cooked while some wouldn't be squirmish if it's slightly bloody).  So I reheated the stock slightly (as it would have cooled down significantly by now) and put the chicken back in to steep for a further 15 minutes.  Another way to check for doneness (as per another sifu) is to press it (at the joint, the thickest part) lightly and if the juices run clear, then it's cooked (mine was finally done in an hour).

Next, you have to dunk it into a bowl of water (you can use room temperature water) for it to cool down (or you can put it into an ice bath if you need it to cool down faster).  It should be sufficiently cooled in 10 minutes.  This step is to get that wat (smooth) texture in your poached chicken.

Once it's cooled enough to handle, you can chop the chicken into pieces (you'll need a Chinese cleaver for this).  Now this is the very reason why I don't do poached chicken at home coz my chopping skills is non-existent.  Not the prettiest of chopped chicken...but this is the best I can do! :D

Just before serving, reheat the steeping liquid, ladle it over the chopped chicken pieces and drain the stock away to warm it up again.  Do this several times.  For any poached chicken, you need a soy sauce.  I used 1 tbsp of soy, 2 tbsp of stock (the steeping liquid) and 1 tsp of garlic oil (more if you like it more oily).  Mix that in a bowl and pour it underneath the chicken.

Top with a generous sprinkling of crispy, fried garlic and finely shredded spring onions.  To get spring onions to curl...that's me trying to be a little chef-y (like how it's served at restaurants), shred them finely (in long strands) and drop them into a bowl of (room temperature or iced) water ;P

Serve with a fresh chilli dip (that I didn't make myself)...I got it from a place I eat at on a weekly basis (the lady boss and her mother are the sifu-s I consult for food and cooking tips).....hehe! ;)

For a homemade poached chicken, the taste and texture is satisfying enough as it was tender and went well with the flavourful soy sauce.  Of course it can't compare to the good and smooth ones like those poached chicken served at chicken rice stalls lah.  Seeing that this was my first time cooking poached chicken, I thought it was a fairly solid attempt.  Now that I've done it, it doesn't seem so scary unachievable anymore.

As for the other chicken leg, I made steamed chicken (as recommended by my chicken vendor).  Seeing that I'm hopeless at chopping chicken, I decided to chop the leg up first before steaming though it would be better to chop after (like how it's done in restaurants) but I know I wouldn't be able to handle chopping a hot chicken (I can't even do it well with a cooled down chicken). >_<

I rubbed the chicken leg with a bit of salt just to flavour the meat a little.  I was told to steam it for 15 minutes.  Since I'm using an electric steamer, I let it heat up for 10 minutes first before putting the chicken in (just like one would bring the water to boil if using a gas stove top).

How do you know it's done?  When you see the skin pulling away, it's pretty much done.  Otherwise, just flip the thickest chicken piece (near the thigh joint) to ensure it's no longer reddish.  Or when the juices released from the chicken run clear, then you know it's done.

In the last 5 minutes, pour in the sauce made up of soy + onion oil + (a tiny bit of) sesame oil + (a drizzle of) Chinese (or Shaoxing) wine to let it warm up.  The steamed chicken will release some juices which you can drain away (if you want a nicer presentation as it'll turn your sauce a little cloudy) or you could just use the juices to dilute your sauce (which I did...why throw away flavour, right?).  You have to let the sauce heat up in order to cook off the wine, otherwise your sauce will taste boozy.  Another way would be to heat up the sauce separately and pour it over the chicken once done.

What's better than pairing steamed (or poached) chicken than with chicken liver, right?  I did not steam the chicken liver together with the chicken as I was afraid the blood juices might steep out into the chicken so I boiled/poached it separately.

I love those chicken livers sold by chicken rice shops coz they know how to cook it just right to yield a soft and creamy texture...and although I love chicken liver, I can only eat one (or max two) at a time.  Anything more than two and it'll be too cloying for me as it's too rich (certainly not a plate or even half a plate like phonghongbakes did...lol!).  And if there's something I love more than chicken liver...it's chicken hearts...you don't find many of those since there's only one chicken heart per chicken! ;D

As usual, steamed chicken (like any poached chicken) is best served with a chilli dip (the same one I got with the poached chicken).  I also made use of the chicken stock (the earlier steeping liquid used to poach the chicken) which I froze.  Just season it, reduce it a little and you have yourselves a nice and ching (subtle) soup to go with your meal.  So, don't ever throw away the steeping liquid.  You can add on more ingredients and make a good soup out of it or you can use it to boil your rice to make chicken rice (though you may also need to saute some chicken fat for that).

Because this one was steamed, the texture of the meat is a littler firmer than poached chicken but still adequately tender.  Serve that with lots of fresh coriander and you have yourself a meal of meat, greens, rice and soup...and that, to me, is pretty satisfying complete meal in itself! ^.^

As for the chicken wings, I steamed one (which was enough for me for one meal) together with one Chinese black mushrooms (sliced), one lap cheong (dried Chinese sausage), two chicken livers (my chicken vendor gave me extras) and a chicken heart mixed with a sauce of soy, garlic or onion oil and Shaoxing wine.  The inclusion of lap cheong I feel gives the dish a bit of sweetness and umami flavour.

This dish is a super easy one-dish meal that you can eat with a bowl of rice....it has meat, mushrooms, greens (just throw in some spring onions in the last minute of steaming) and sauce.  What more can one ask for when there's little to no wash-up to do except for one plate...lol! ;P

For the remaining chicken breast, I was recommended by the chicken vendor to make porridge with it, so I took his advice.  He says to cut it up into small cubes and marinate it with some soy and sesame oil.  Once the porridge is done (as in reached the consistency you want and like), put in the diced chicken to cook.  The chicken cubes only needed 3 - 4 minutes to cook through.

I added loads of chopped coriander simply because I love the perfume-y fragrance and freshness it imparts to the porridge.  Just stir that through into the porridge when it's done.  Top with fried shallots for an even more delicious spoonful.

Because the chicken breast was not boiled to death, it was superbly tender and juicy for a nice and subtle tasting porridge overall (you could add a bit of chicken powder to amp up the flavours a bit more if you're not using any chicken bones to boil the porridge).  I was surprised I'd love the simple flavours that much, so I did the same thing with the other half of the chicken breast (I used one-half of a chicken breast with 1/3 cup uncooked rice to make one person's portion).

As for the chicken carcass, I simply made a soup with it (you could also use it to boil your porridge for more flavour).  And there you have it....I cooked one whole chicken....only separately.....lol!  Ah, six fulfilling, tasty and healthy meals + soup from one whole chicken...I consider that RM47 well spent, don't you? :P