Stingrays are sometimes sold at the wet market and we buy it once in a blue moon. The most common method to cook stingrays are to grill them after marinating them in some spicy sauce. In fact, most hawkers selling grilled seafood will have stingrays amongst other seafood available.

We don't grill our food at home because...we don't have a grill in the first place. But what we do like is to cook the stingray with taucheo chilli and salted vegetable. The taucheo chilli gives the stingray a slight spicy taste whilst the salted vegetable lends an interesting salty twist to the dish. Taucheo is preserved soya beans which are bought from grocers in bottles. The salted vegetables mentioned are also known as kiam chye (in hokkien) or preserved mustard leaves.

Stingrays can have a rather "fishy" smell and that's one of the reasons why it is cooked with chilli. By past experience, we find that the ones where the white-coloured flesh is riddled with black dots are tastier and have less "fishy" smell. If anyone can share the name of this specie or why it is riddled with black dots, that would be most appreciated.

This is my recipe for Stingray with Taucheo Chilli and Salted Vegetables.

Ingredients

• 400 grammes of stingray (wash thoroughly and cut to bite sizes)
• 3 to 4 red chillis (remove seeds and pound finely. Use more chilli if you like it spicier)
• 3 bulbs garlic (chopped finely)
• 4 slices of ginger
• 2 teaspoons taucheo (preserved soya beans)
• 3 to 4 leaves of salted vegetables julienned (kiam chye / preserved mustard leaves)
  
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil (preferably palm oil)
• 1/2 cup water

Seasoning

• Dash of white pepper
• Sugar to taste
  

Method

Heat oil in wok. Add chilli, garlic and ginger and stir till fragrant or slightly brown. Add taucheo and salted vegetables (preserved mustard leaves). Stir fry for 30 seconds.

Add stingray and stir till the meat is turns colour / cooked on the outside. Add water and close lid. Cook for 2 minutes on high heat (till stingray is thoroughly cooked).

Add a dash of white pepper and sugar to taste prior to serving.


Technorati Tags : Stingray , Recipe , Chinese Food

Fishballs are commonly sold in wet markets in Malaysia especially by the chinese traders. It is usually cooked in soup and tastes delicious when fresh. I prefer those which are springy and "crunchy". Fishballs should ideally be cooked the same day it is purchased as it usually does not taste as fresh overnight.

One of the common ways to cook a quick and delicious soup using fishballs is to cook it with Tang Hoon (also known as Glass Noodles). It can be served as an accompaniment to rice or even eaten / drunk on its own. One of the important ingredients which you should strive to add to the soup is chinese salted vegetable as it adds a nice saltish flavour to the soup. The chinese salted vegetable can be bought from sundry shops.

This is a very simple and clear soup to cook which admittedly, might be too amateurish to some. Happy trying if you have not.

This is my recipe for Fish Ball Tang Hoon Soup a.k.a. Fish Balls with Glass Noodles Soup.

Ingredients

• 10 to 15 fishballs (actually, quantity up to you)
• A handful of Tang Hoon (usually sold tied in a small bunch) [pre-soak in water to soften it]
  
• Chopped spring onions for garnishing
• A pinch of chinese salted vegetable
• 50 grammes of ikan bilis (dried anchovies) [buy those suitable for making stock]
  
• 2 bulbs shallots (sliced thinly)
• 2 tablespoons of cooking oil
• 1 1/4 soup bowls of water (approximately 600 ml)
  

Seasoning

• Light soya sauce
• Salt
• White pepper powder
• A pinch of msg (optional)
  

Method

Boil water with ikan bilis for 45 minutes to make stock. Remove ikan bilis when done.

Fry shallots in cooking oil till golden brown and place aside to cool.

Once stock is ready (which should be at least 1 soup bowl full) and maintaining high heat, add tang hoon and fish balls. The fish balls will float whilst the tang hoon will turn semi-translucent when cooked. Add seasoning to taste.

Sprinkle chopped spring onions, pinch of chinese salted vegetables and 2 teaspoons of the shallot oil onto the soup before serving.


Technorati Tags : Fish Ball , Soup , Tang Hoon , Glass Noodles

Actually I haven't had this dish for quite a while. It's a simple dish to make and this is my recipe. You can get fresh tilapias from most wet markets in Malaysia. It is a hardy fish and can usually survive without water for at least 1 hour...in a gasping state, though.

Ingredient:

1 Tilapia fish (about 500 gms, cleaned and gutted).
1 tablespoon of cooking oil

Marinade / Sauce:

Garnish:

Chopped spring onions


Method

Heat oil in frying pan and saute garlic, ginger and chillis till light brown and fragrant. Add tau cheo and continue stirring for 1 minute whilst adding sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Steam fish at high heat for approximately 8 minutes (ensure that fish is only placed into steamer when water is boiling rapidly).

Pour prepared marinade over fish and continue steaming for 2 minutes or until fish eyes pop.

Remove, sprinkle spring onions and serve hot with rice.