February 28, 2009

Stuffed Chinese Crullers

I used to make these back in Malaysia, my grandma loves eating them. I haven't made these for so long and kinda craved it the other day. This is an easy dish to make, all you gotta do is stuffed the crullers and pan fry them. This type of crullers are not to be confused with the sweet ones you buy from the bakery. Chinese fried crullers (Yao Ja Guai in Cantonese) are savory and are used in or eaten with savory dishes. If you can't find fresh Chinese fried crullers, they are sold in bags in any Chinese supermarkets.



1 container fish paste (13 oz.)
Chinese fried crullers (2 pairs)
1 tablespoon white pepper
Some oil for frying

Mix fish paste with white pepper. Set aside.


Break cruller pairs into individual crullers. Cut crullers in half (you should have 8 pieces). Slit cruller on the middle so it looks like a hot dog roll.


Scoop fish paste into the middle cavity and stuffed crullers. Repeat until all crullers are used up.



Heat oil on medium heat. Pan fry stuffed crullers, stuffing-side first. Cook for a few minutes, and then brown the other side for about a minute or two (be careful not to burn this side because the cruller was already fried).


Drain crullers on absorbent paper before serving. Serve with chilli sauce, ketchup or Kewpie Mayonnaise.

February 16, 2009

Fried Wontons

Wontons, Wantons, Wantans, Wuntun, whatever you want to call it, this dumpling is a favorite fried or cooked in broth. Here is a wiki entry for "Wontons". Fried wontons make good appetizers for parties or when you just need to satisfy your wonton fix! There are many versions of wonton fillings, this one is what my grandma used to make. Wonton fillings are usually made of pork but I don't really like pork so I substituted it with chicken. There are two types of wonton wrappers, yellow (with eggs) and white (without eggs). Get the yellow versions. Also, get the square ones instead of the round ones.


The secrets to great fried wontons are just enough filling and low heat when frying. If you put a lot of filling, you might not cook through them when the wonton skin browns. Frying in low heat lets you get a golden skin and ample time to thoroughly cook the wonton filling.


1 lb. minced chicken
2 tablespoon chopped scallion
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
1/2 tablespoon white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 pack, wonton wrappers (square)

1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water

Mix chicken, scallion, sesame seed oil, white pepper and salt. Let filling marinade for an hour. Mix cornstarch and water to form a cornstarch mixture.



Scoop a teaspoonful of filling and place it on the middle of the wrapper.



Wet the edges of wrapper with cornstarch mixture. Fold wrapper in half to form a triangle. This is the easy method to make a wonton. If you want a fancier wonton, continue to the next step.



Wet the two corners that have the longest sides. Invert the corners so one is overlapping the other.


Repeat until you used up all filling. If you are making extras, line a container with paper towels. Arrange wontons on top of paper towel. Be careful not to stack wontons on top of each other without a layer of paper towel or it'll stick in the freezer. Good in the freezer for about a week.


Heat oil. Once oil is hot, fry wontons on low heat. Fry until golden brown.



Serve as is or with chilli sauce. Makes about 4 dozens.

February 12, 2009

Easy Chinese Tea Eggs

This is an easy version of Chinese Tea Eggs. You can find most, if not all ingredients from your pantry. You can eat the tea eggs by itself as a snack, serve it with ramen or even make an asian egg sandwich out of it. The longer you seep the eggs, the more flavorful it becomes.



12 large eggs
Enough water to boil eggs

Ingredient A:
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoon black tea leaves (you can use any kind, I used Jasmine tea)
2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder (optional)
2 cups water

Put eggs in a pot. Add enough cold water to cover the eggs. Place lid on the potato and turn heat to high. Once water starts boiling, turn off the heat and leave the eggs in the pot for 10 minutes. Rinse eggs with cold water and it cool.

Using the back of a spoon, gently tap the egg surface to crack the shell. Alternately, you can also roll the eggs on a flat surface gently to emulate the cracking pattern.

Return eggs to the pot. Add in ingredient A. If the mixture is too shallow, add more water so it covers all the eggs. Turn heat to high and let mixture boil. Once it's boiling, let it simmer on low heat for 2 - 3 hours. Add more water when needed. Let eggs seep in the mixture longer if you want. Refrigerate leftover eggs.