When I was young, one of my favourite breakfast is this fried glutinous rice. I decided to make some for today and tried to find my recipe last night but I could not find it this blog. Sadly it must heave been lost with my old blog.

So today I decided to blog this and at the same time teach my daughter as she is on holiday and she likes this a lot too. Halfway on my camera’s battery died so I took a break and have a cuppa then continues.

In them days, the good old days, the market vendors used only glutinous rice, dried shrimps and eggs – the basic. Then later on some added Chinese sausages – lap cheong. I know some people nowadays will add dried scallops, mushrooms and others but I still prefers it simple. Nostalgia is inexplicable. Maybe I should say ‘nostalgia is the problem?’

Anyway so last night I soaked some glutinous rice and today I served this. I added some char sui because I made some the other day and I have a few strips left so I decided to let the family finish them. This is not a hardcore recipe dish, meaning you can give and take on the ingredients.

I will just post the basics. If you have any problem making just poke me and I will try to explain. Below I explained with my pics. Enjoy.

Today I am going to make Loh Mai Kai aka glutinous rice chicken. It’s another dish that disappeared with my old blog and now that we are in lock down and it’s too cold to go into my garden yet, I will update to this new blog.

I make this dish once or twice a year only, hence it is not worth it for me to buy the proper bowls. Now that was before. I have since been given a set of stainless steel bowls especially for making this dish. I do not like using tin foil either so stainless steel bowls it is! If you do not have any then using rice bowls is all right too. I will never order or eat this dish outside, especially in London because I do not know how many times they have been steamed and re- steamed nor how long and how many days they have been kept. Have they been kept safely and hygienically and so on.

Once in a blue moon I will order at Dim Sum restaurants just to try but am too often disappointed with the soggy soft mess. I much preferred my glutinous rice to be al dente aka with a bit of a bite. Plus the fact my home made ones has more ‘liew’, toppings.

Mushrooms should be plum thick and saucy, chicken should taste of chicken which one can only get from chopping a whole chicken yourself. The Chinese sausage should be thin but not too thin with a bite to them, not soft so one can taste the different texture.

I always like to serve my home made Loh Mai Kai 糯米鸡 with spring onions and crispy garlic. Freshness from the spring onions and crunch form the crispy garlic, umami taste of the mushroom, sweet Chinese sausage, smell of sesame oil mingling with rice wine …………..

First updated on 19th April 2017 – Old lost blog

Black Sweet Vinegar Pork Trotter is such a traditional Chinese dish. In the olden days this dish is often cooked as a confinement food after giving birth. The Chinese believes that this dish would ‘get rid of wind’ and is good for ladies post natal immunity after giving birth. However it is now a very common dish enjoyed by everyone even my very British husband (the eggs for he don’t eat fats).

Do you know that pork knuckles and pork trotters contains high natural collagen, perfect to ward off wrinkles? kekekekekekeke

The main ingredients to make a tremendous yummy pot of this dish are just the pork trotters or knuckles, ginger and the black sweet and sour vinegar. My hubby is a big fan of ginger but not the pig trotters or knuckles. so he will eat the eggs and drink the broth!

On the other hand the pig’s trotters are so tender, moist and wonderfully succulent after simmering slowly for hours that they are my favourite. Especially after I took the trouble of dry frying the skin till they blister. In the UK, I am using normal bottle of dark sour vinegar and dark sweet vinegar mix. I found it too sweet for my taste otherwise and I have to add more sour vinegar. I just love the pungent sweet and sour black vinegar taste but I prefer more sour and I added dried chillies to make it a bit more spicy.

I have actually kept back a huge piece of ginger to age it and I bought some young new ginger too.

Each and every family will have their own way of cooking this dish and their heirloom recipe. My mother always clean, blanch, drain and dry fry the trotters first and I followed suit. I find frying till the skin blistered gives that extra taste I love. However I am missing the black beans which I can’t find here.

Char Keow Teow or fried flat rice noodles is another of my recipe that I have lost with my old blog. So I am now replacing it.

Because I live in the UK and I missed the charcoal taste I am here using a few drop of liquid smoke to give me that special ooooomph…. just like the market stall.

Because I am a greedy (Tham Chiak Kui) I put everything possible into my Char Keow Teow. However I did not have any fish cake in my freezer so have to go without.

I have to admit that losing my old blog is still making me sad. I have to search deep for the inclination to work on this new blog. At times I have messages from friends asking for recipes and asking why my old links don’t work and that give me a boost to continue. today is one of them days that I have the ‘uuuummmph’ to write up a few more recipes. Thanks peeps.

Hope you enjoy this recipe.

Braised Pork Rice Bowl – Lu Rou Fan (滷肉饭) my way 

Recently in the cooking group I am in many mummies and daddies were cooking pork belly until I can’t stand it anymore. Got to eat Chinese/Asian for the Christmas month of December of British meals is getting too much. I don’t think I want to see another sausage or bacon strip for at least a month!

This is my take on Braised Pork Rice Bowl – Lu Rou Fan (滷肉饭)

The most important different way in which I cook my Braised Pork Rice Bowl – Lu Rou Fan (滷肉饭) is that I like to fry my pork belly skin first. This gives the skin an extra ummmph. The skin also absorb more taste from your stewing ingredients.