What I Cooked During the MCO

It was unprecedented...going through our nation's first Movement Control Order (MCO) to try to curb the spread of the deadly Covid-19 virus that has wrecked havoc across the globe.

We started the restricted movement on 18 March 2020 and it was supposed to last two weeks.  But a week into the lockdown, it was announced that the MCO will be further extended for another two weeks (till 14 April 2020) with some places subjected to Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO)! :'(

So, it looks like there'll be more cooking!  To a certain extent I'm glad that I had to cook...and now write about it....as a means to relieve boredom.....to have something to do....to pass time.  But I also made sure that I gave support to local food businesses by cooking only one meal...dinner....and tapau the rest, be it breakfast and lunch or just brunch.

The key to cooking (for me) was to keep it as simple as possible.  Even though I had plenty of time on my hands to do more complicated dishes, I wouldn't want to.  That way I can keep the time taken for grocery shopping to the bare minimum without the need to buy more ingredients.  Plus, not all produce are readily available.  We don't get to choose what we want, we just get what we can...and get the heck out of there as fast as possible.


I decided to go the route of Chinese dishes (with rice) as I felt they'd be easier to put together in terms of cooking + my husband is a 'rice' man...he must have rice for at least one meal a day.


If you've not spotted the trend in the below dishes, allow me to let you in on my secret...kekeke! ;)  I follow three principles....keep it simple, use only 1 - 2 ingredients (or at most three) and go with ingredients that can keep longer.  After all, I've never cooked so much in my life before the MCO...certainly not on a daily basis.  I'd usually cook three dishes but if you see four, it's due to leftovers from the day before or some dish a family member don't eat.

#1 - Chicken


I only cook with choi yin kai and still had half a chicken in the freezer before the MCO set in.  I was lucky that I got one from the wet market in my neighbourhood on the first day of the MCO (before the govt changed its stand on open air wet markets).  I, later, managed to get a second from another open air wet market (I won't mention where coz they curi curi jual and I happened to pass by).


The easiest way to cook chicken is to braise it in a sauce of oyster/dark & light soy with ingredients that have a relatively long shelf life.  Dishes such as Chicken with Ginger, Chicken with Potatoes & Chicken with Chinese Dried Mushrooms would be ideal choices during times like these.  Roast Chicken would be the other easy option.

#2 - Fish

As for fish, the simplest (and my preferred) way of cooking is to shallow fry them (only one ingredient is needed...a fish!) and serve it with soy sauce & minced garlic.  I could also steam them but didn't as I my family don't like fish, worst still if they're steamed.

My choice of fish for frying is pak chong (white promfret of ikan bawal putih), sek pan (sea grouper or ikan kerapu), kau yue (Spanish mackerel or tenggiri batang) or ma yau (threadfin or ikan kurau).


The way to fry fish without all that splattering mess is to use a small but deep saucepan (even if you have to fry each piece separately) besides making sure you pat the fish really dry.  The key is get a piece that fits your saucepan...haha! :D  If it's too big, I'd even ask my fishmonger to cut the fish steak into two (right down the middle).  Frying fish in a small saucepan also uses less oil, so less wastage of oil.

#3 - Pork


In my family, one doesn't eat chicken and the other doesn't eat fish (that's why I have to cook 4 dishes sometimes).  Pork is a happy medium...everyone eats it.

I did cook a dish that violated my 1-2 ingredient principle...and that's Minced Pork Patties (and no, I didn't make one of those coronavirus-lookalike type of meatball!).  My pork patties are one of the most well received pork dish.  It needs at least 4 ingredients (even a simplified version)...pork, carrots, onions (or spring onions) and egg (+ cornflour) to bind everything together.

Other simple pork dishes I made include Stir-Fry Pork with Ginger & Scallions and Steamed Minced Pork with Egg.

#4 - Tofu

One of the simplest tofu dishes to assemble is to get a box (or two) of silken tofu (they keep well in the fridge too) and fry up some minced dried prawns & garlic till crispy and serve it with a good drizzle of oyster sauce, soy & garlic oil.  This Chilled Silken Tofu gets the thumbs up from everyone...and we like to have the tofu cold.

#5 - Eggs

Eggs are super quick to whip up...that's why they're super popular and highly sought after.  They sold like hot cakes (people were buying them by the trays) during the MCO.  At one time, they were hard to come by as many places were sold out.


Luckily the situation improved.  No such thing of wanting a particular brand.  You just get what's available.  Eggs are so versatile you can cook them in many ways...fry them, steam them or make omelettes out of them...with minced pork (our favourite), french beans, onions, choy poh (preserved radish)....or simply just plain!  It's my go-to dish as it's universally accepted by all members of my family. ^_~


If fried whole, I can blow my own trumpet to say I make one of the most delicious fried eggs in town...with super frizzy, crispy sides, egg yolk fully cooked and fried on both sides to get a good colour (coz that's how my family likes 'em)...haha! ^o^  If I want a partially cooked yolk, I'll fry them on one side only.

#6 - Dried Anchovies (Ikan Bilis)


What can have a longer storage life than ikan bilis (or dried anchovies)?  So it makes sense to store enough of this versatile ingredient...you can use them in soups, for fried rice + they also make for some tasty dishes.  My only regret was I didn't buy enough more from my regular dried goods supplier (at the open air market) before the MCO.  I like the ones he sells coz they're of a very good quality and, more importantly, they've been prepped and cleaned (heads and guts removed).


I usually make Ikan Bilis with Onions (my son's favourite) or stir-fry it with some blended chilli paste from the fridge (that someone gave me) to make Spicy Ikan Bilis with Potatoes.

#7 - Vegetables

As for vegetables, I get a mix of green leafy ones (that are more perishable) and some sturdier ones (like potatoes, carrots, onions, white carrot, tomatoes, cabbage & jicama).  My way of cooking them is the fastest...for a one-ingredient dish....just stir-fry with garlic.


Like vegetables of Sang Choy (iceberg & romaine lettuce), Hong Kong Kai Lan (Chinese broccoli), Hong Kong Choy Sum (Chinese flowering cabbage), Yin Choy (Amaranth Greens), Baby Bok Choy, Baby Pak Choy & Chinese Broccoli stir-fried with garlic.  A little bit more work would be Cabbage Stir-Fry with Dried Prawns and French Beans Stir-Fry with Oyster Sauce.


There was one instance where I cooked a veggie dish that was an exception to my 1-2 ingredient principle (haha!)...Shredded Jicama & Carrot with Dried Cuttlefish which needed 3 ingredients.


This is good as a leftover too...in fact, no food gets left behind (everything gets consumed).  This is not a time for wastage...especially when we hear of people not even having enough money for food. :'(

#8 - Canned Goods


Of course, we can't get by without a little help from our friends...the canned goods.   Our dinner table will be graced with the occasional express dishes like egg-coated fried luncheon meat, fried dace with salted black beans, sardines with onions, baked beans with egg bits & braised peanuts.

Unfortunately, I only got one can each of luncheon and fried dace (the brands I eat) prior to the MCO and didn't manage to find any selling after that (probably because these were China brands that have ceased coming in for the time being).

#9 - Soups


Since both my husband and son are not into soups, I cook a one-portion soup for myself using the double-boil method with my trusted slow cooker...as easy as pie!


Again, I'd choose to make soups with sturdier and long lasting vegetables such as Chinese Radish & Carrot Soup with White Peppercorn and ABC Soup with Carrot, Onion, Potato & Tomato.  Sometimes, it would be just double-boiled plain chicken soup or with some kei chee (wolfberries) and jujube (red dates).

#10 - One-Dish Meals

When I was tired of cooking meals with dishes, I resorted to easy-peasy one-dish meals like Fried Maggi Mee.  We like to have it with egg only and even order it like that when we're at mamak stalls.


Of course, fried rice is the other well received one-dish meal...I did Fried Rice with Shrimps (and a few other stuff like french beans, onions & egg).  It's fried rice, so it needs more than two ingredients lah to help it along in the taste department.  Cooking Claypot Chicken Rice in a rice cooker is another convenient recipe...and, this time, I followed Sean's (or more specifically Cooking Ah Pa's) recipe of cooking all the ingredients first.

#11 - Bread

Bread was the other precious commodity, apart from eggs, that was difficult to get especially my preferred brand, Gardenia.  They just didn't seem to be able to produce enough to meet the increased demand.


Some days, lunch can be as simple as Egg or Tuna Sandwiches, French (or Egg-Dipped) Toast or even just with butter & jam.

And that, pretty much, sums up some of the things I cooked...and ate....during this MCO period.  Of course, I ate outside food too (otherwise I'd go bonkers eating my own cooked food every day + restaurants need our support).  I usually tapau, I hardly use food delivery coz I like my food hot + the 30% surcharge for the food is also a factor.  We should and need to be thrifty in critical times like these.  Cooking is probably still the cheapest option (especially if you have a big family to feed).

Driving out to tapau is a cinch nowadays...with no traffic and plenty of parking spaces (free too).  I don't have to go far as I've enough of choices at my disposal in my housing area itself since almost all my favourite noodles and roasted meat rice stalls are open...including fast food outlets (one of which has a drive-through).

After all that's been said and done...businesses are suffering....the rakyat is suffering, but we have to dig deep to ride out this storm for our own safety and well-being.  So, it'll be more of the same cooking in the week or weeks to come.


Cookie:  What?  Am I the only one enjoying the MCO?


Eat.Snooze.Dump (and repeat)!  What's not to enjoy? ;D

Stay home.  Stay safe.  Help Stop the Spread of Coronavirus.

Hope the situation improves and the MCO can be lifted soon...but wouldn't be surprised with yet another extension.  *Fingers crossed that won't be the case*

Bo All Day Dining @ The Linc KL

It has been a week since the Movement Control Order was enforced in an effort to stem out the deadly Covid-19 virus that has engulfed the world.  All of us are looking forward to the MCO being lifted so that we can get back some normalcy in our lives.  But as days pass without a significant drop in cases, the possibility of the MCO being lifted seems remote.  Chances are we'd probably see an extension of the dreaded MCO. Looks like I (and my family) have to endure more of my cooking!  I miss dining out...haiz! :'( 

So, let's reminisce what it felt like eating out...which seems like a distant past now.  We were at Bo All Day Dining @ The Linc KL...not recently (of course) but during the Christmas period with family members for a celebration of some sort.  I thought I wasn't going to write about this dining experience since I've already written a post on the place before...but the rather encouraging pageviews for the earlier post made me change my mind and convinced me otherwise.

When we were given the menu for our orders, we realised it wasn't their usual menu but a condensed one.  I guess the restaurant went with a condensed menu to limit the choices to allow the kitchen to focus on less dishes to better manage the crowd of diners expected over the super busy Christmas & New Year period. Some restaurants do that, so it's best to check before you head out to a restaurant during such periods...but it was too late for us, we came in three separate cars and we had already paid parking fees x 3...and were already seated at their signature 'bird cage' dining table by then. >_<

Since this was my sister-in-law's treat, I'm not exactly sure about the prices (as I also can't remember some of them) + some of the dishes on their condensed menu also showcased a different pricing for the festive period.  So, the prices you see here are taken off their menu in their Facebook which may not necessarily be the correct prices on that day.

Let's begin with the Truffle Fries @ RM22 (festive price was RM33 if I remembered correctly) with a light sprinkle of truffle shavings and topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese.  This was one expensive fries just because of the truffle shavings (which looked like finely crushed seaweed!) but it was so scant you can hardly taste truffles at all.

The first time I was here I really wanted to try their signature roast chicken but it was sold out.  I wasn't going to miss out on their signature dish this time.  We ordered the Bo's Signature Rotisserie Roast Chicken @ RM75 (festive price was something like RM89 or RM98).  A whole chicken ideally can feed up to four smallish eaters but two with a ferrocious appetite can also devour it easily.

I suppose the increased pricing is warranted for this dish since it came with four sides instead of the usual two deli side salads.  There were thick-cut fries and an orecchiette (or sea shell-shaped) pasta with apples and little cubes of feta cheese (which I thought were tofu cubes initially) tossed in mayo.

There was also a coleslaw of fresh greens of purple cabbage, carrot, arugula & salad leaves and white rice with a sprinkle of fried shallots on top.

For the sauces, there were chicken jus (in the little pitcher), basil mint pesto, garlic aioli and a final one that tasted like mushroom sauce.

Their roast chicken, supposedly brined and air dried for 24 hours before being slow roasted in their rotisserie oven, was tender though not particularly outstanding in taste.  You need to eat it with the chicken jus for a tastier bite.

The Smoked Duck Spaghetti @ RM34 had tender, smoked duck slices with sun-dried tomatoes, caramelised onions and fresh arugula.  The flavour of this one was quite nice and the the fresh arugula was a welcome addition to provide some freshness to the dish.

The Beef Ragu Pasta @ RM32 was ok with bits of beef in a classic tomato sauce.  The spiral-shaped pasta, like fusilli (not tagliatelle as per their menu), was the perfect vehicle to trap the meat sauce in its grooves. What's with the thick slices of grana padano? >_<  Shouldn't they be thin savings of cheese for a better bite? My sister-in-law left them on the plate.

The Jamaican Jerk Chicken Pizza @ RM35 was supposed to have Jamaican jerk flavours of sweet and spicy Caribbean sauce with jerk chicken, onion, red and green capsicum, coriander and mozzarella but it tasted like an ordinary tomato-based pizza and the toppings were a bit scant.  It did come with a nice char on the pizza though since they're cooked in a wood-fired oven.  I think, because this was served last, it got cold before we got to it, so it was the least appreciated dish of all.

I remember liking the Pan-Seared Red Snapper on an earlier visit, so I chose the Jerk Spiced Malabar Red Snapper @ RM48 (RM53 festive price, this price I remembered clearly as it was my dish.  It was served with some spice-tinged, lightly roasted vegetables of broccoli, cauliflower, okra and cloud ear fungus.

If the red snapper fillets were indeed marinated in jerk spices, it was hardly noticeable but the fish texture was still very tender and flaky.  The sauce (which I believe was some kind of a turmeric-infused cream sauce based on the colour) ended up to be the star component which brought the whole dish together as the sauce was commendable.  The dish I ordered turned out to be my favourite of the night (and luckily so since three of us chose the same dish).

My Personal Opinion

I'm glad I finally got to try their signature rotisserie chicken which turned out satisfyingly tender, decently juicy though not particularly outstanding.  I was hoping for a bit more charring on the skin to bring out its smoky flavour and the chicken needed the chicken jus to bring out its flavour as it was under-seasoned.

But the two red snapper dishes (I had on both visits) are probably the ones I wouldn't mind having again, one for its fresh and citrusy flavours, the other for its bright, appealing sauce.

The gorgeous interior is undeniable, possibly even a little intimate, with great spots for photos, but it can be a little cold, so make sure you dress suitably for this purpose.

Bo All Day Dining
Lot 1-10 & 1-11 The Linc
No 360 Jalan Tun Razak
50400 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 017-211 2842

#ewew cooks Braised Nam Yue Pork Ribs with White Radish

Remember I once said that cooking for a Chinese New Year reunion makan is not the right time to dabble in a dish that you've not cooked before in case it doesn't turn out as expected.  Well, I didn't heed my own advice...and did that this year.

I got the inspiration to cook this dish of Braised Nam Yue Pork Ribs with White Radish from an episode of Home Dining that I watched, the recipe which I tweaked and simplified, of course.  White radish goes by many names....daikon, pak lo bak, Chinese radish, white carrot, icicle radish or Chinese turnip...and nam yue is red fermented bean curd.

Ingredients:

1 kg pork ribs, yields about 10 - 12 pcs cut into 3-inch lengths
3 pcs of red fermented bean curd cubes, mashed with 3 tbsp of the liquid 
1 large radish, roughly cut into pieces
2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tomatoes, cut into quarters
2 red chillies, deseeded & sliced
10 dried mini scallops, soaked in a little water
10 cloves of garlic, peeled but leave whole
A knob of ginger, sliced thickly
Sesame oil, for searing the ribs

Preparation:

Mash 3 pcs of red fermented bean curd cubes together with 3 tbsp of the reddish liquid.  These fermented bean curd cubes are salty in nature, so I started with 3 pcs (as they looked like rather big pieces to me) since we don't know how salty they are.  It's always good to start with less and tweak it later coz once it's too salty, it's too far gone and will be difficult to turn it around.

Rub the pork ribs with this paste and leave it to marinate for a few hours (or overnight) in the fridge to infuse the flavours into the meat.

Get ready the rest of the ingredients of radish, onions, tomatoes, dried scallops, garlic, ginger and chillies.

Method:

Saute the whole garlic cloves (don't worry, these will break down through braising later) and thick slices of ginger (to be fished out later when the dish is done) in some sesame oil till fragrant.

Add the marinated pork ribs to sear lightly.  The cook actually used anka which is some kind of homemade red yeast wine I was made to understand.  It looked a lot like nam yue (to me), so I substituted the ingredient and used that instead.

Add all the other ingredients in....radish, tomatoes, onions, chillies and the dried mini scallops (together with the water that the scallops were soaked in).  Pour the rest of the marinade (left from marinating the ribs) in as well.  Top up the pot with water to at least submerge the ribs (I added about 300 ml).  You can use some Shaoxing wine if you like it a little boozy, after all the chef used beer for the braising liquid + the red fermented bean paste also contains hints of rice wine.  Do note that there'll be a bit of scum from the pork ribs once the pot starts boiling since the ribs weren't steeped in hot water beforehand.  You can choose to skim it off or not be bothered at all as it'll be hardly noticeable because it's a sauce and not a soup.

Braise everything for 50 minutes to 1 hour (stirring once in a while) until the sauce thickens and ribs and radish are relatively soft.  I followed the chef and put everything in all at once but forgot that he cooked it for only half an hour.  I braised mine for longer (as I'm paranoid that the ribs will not be tender enough), so the radish became soft after half an hour of cook time.  I'd recommend that you either put the radish in later (if you wish to braise your ribs for longer) or cut them up into bigger chunks (a point to remember when I cook this again).  I had no choice but to fish out the radish chunks first (to be added back later) so that they don't go overly soft (though I don't mind them that way either).

By the end of the cooking, the sauce would have reduced and thickened (check that the seasoning is right at this point by adding salt or more nam yue).  I like mine a little less salty, so the seasoning was just right.  The garlic cloves were terrifically softened though they still held their shape.  I couldn't help but use my spatula to mash them up...ooo, garlicky goodness! ^.^

And this was my first attempt at making Braised Nam Yue Pork Ribs with White Radish.  I think it was pretty successful other than the boo-boo of adding the radish too early.  The pork ribs were really tender and if you enjoy the flavours of nam yue (in dishes like fried nam yue pork belly, nam yue fried chicken or loh hon chai), this would most likely appeal to you too.

I love the extremely soft radish chunks even more than the ribs...but that's just me coz radish is one of the things I love to eat especially if they're braised in stews (beef & radish stew comes to mind) or in soups (like radish & carrot soup with white peppercorns). ^o^

The sauce was sufficiently thick and exceptionally moreish.  I wasn't expecting the sauce to thicken so nicely but the softened onions and mashed garlic together with the disintegrated tomatoes and dried scallops contributed to the sauce thickening to a great extent.  Sauces thickened by natural ingredients (and not the use of starch of some sort) are always more pleasant to eat.

My Braised Nam Yue Pork Ribs with White Radish in my easy-to-transport and keep-warm pot, packed and ready for transportation to my sister-in-law's house.

Also ready to go were my roasted chicken wingettes.....

.....and drumettes.  And these were my two contributed dishes for this year's reunion makan.

This is a good dish to cook for Chinese New Year because of the symbolic reddish colour due to the use of red fermented bean curd.  It's easy to cook as it's pretty much a one-pot dish.  It keeps really well (in fact the flavours improve over time), so it can be made ahead of time and carried to your makan venue and reheated (good as a potluck contribution too).

This recipe is a keeper.  The next time I cook this again, maybe I could make it an even more complete all-in-one meal by throwing in some extra ingredients like dried Chinese mushrooms and hard-boiled eggs.  Sounds good, eh? ^_~