Chinky chink and the chinky bunch

True enough, with me mumm's presence, there was little cooking and more eating out. We went to Lao Beijing @ Plaza Singapura for dinner and the food was great. It was because we were there that I decided to share my Chinese creation.... of sorts.

Baby Bak Choi with Wolfberries and Black Fungus.

I have always regarded Chinese food as a pain as they require stir-frying, I clean my own kitchen and that is stressful with all the oil splattering in Matrix fashion i.e all over the place! But I had a friend who also asked me to cook more Chinese food. Well wrong dish though as he is more of a flesh eating carnivore.



- A bag of Baby Bak Choi to be placed inside boiling water but not during cooking the water. Just 1 minute with the lid on the pot and the veg is done. Add a teaspoon of salt to the water, this will be absorbed into the veg.

- Black Fungus has to be prepared in advance as they are normally in dried form. Place them in hot water and let them soak for about 15 minutes. Remember to rinse them afterwards. They would be done by then.

- Wolberries are also treated the same as the Black Fungus; a tablespoon to be put into a bowl of hot water and let it soften. 5 minutes will suffice.

Cooking:

Warm up the pan and add a tablespoon of vege oil. When the oil is hot enough, a teaspoon of pre-cut garlic to be added and stirred around the pan. At this point, add the vege into the pan and stir around, making sure that the leaves are not burnt. Add the black fungus and continue stirring. Lastly, put the wolfberries into the pan and then add a tablespoon of light soy sauce. Continue to stir to infuse the taste of the sauce into the veg. Lastly, add a teaspoon of diluted oyster sauce*. Continue to stir and when done, add a bit of corn flour** to thicken the sweat made by the veg and the fungus. When the sauce thickens, the dish is ready to be served.

Add a dash of pepper and cut chillies (to add that ZINGG) when serving..... 吃饭!!!



* Diluted oyster sauce is simple. In a small bowl, add a teaspoon of oyster sauce and add hot water, normally 3 times the amount of the oyster sauce. Stir the potion until the water is fluid and without lumps.

** Corn Starch is relatively used in many Chinese dishes. Add a table spoon of corn startch into a normal sized rice bowl and add water until it fills 1/3 the bowl. Stir the mixture until there is no lump as well before pouring into the pan. NOTE: when pouring the corn startch mixture into the pan, make sure that you stir the contents of the pan, else, the starch mixture will clump. Also, to take note that the mixture is to be properly mixed prior pouring into the cooking pan!