Chinese Delicacies

Chef Sam Leong picks up a huge, dried, ugly looking shark's fin and makes like he's about to do a mock guitar riff. It doesn't look like something you'd want to bring home and mount on your bedroom wall, but once Chef Leong is through with it in the kitchen, you can bet it will taste ambrosial. But ambrosial tastes rarely come cheap and as Tung Lok's director of kitchens picks his way through the wares at Chin Guan Hong (Sharksfin) Pte Ltd in North Canal Road, you are amazed at the variety of dried exotic ingredients the shop sells, and even more so at the prices. Figure on paying upwards of S$1,000 a kg for gnarled pieces of golden yellow fish maw, all the way up to S$4,000, at retail prices. And if you have a fondness for abalone, one piece of four-head abalone can cost more than S$2,000 for something that weighs barely 150 gm. Still, even if you're not into paying such prices, there's decent quality stuff that you can still buy at relatively affordable prices - you just need to know how to choose the best. And so, we sought out the help of the experts: Chef Leong, Chef Chan Kwok of Hua Ting restaurant, and Dennis Yio, a director of Chin Guan Hong. Here, then is your one-stop guide to choosing, preparing and cooking your favourite Chinese New Year foods, with recipes to guide you along. FISH MAW Not to be confused with the fried variety that turn into soft spongy blobs when cooked in the Peranakan or Thai hee piow soup, fish maw is known as fa gow, and is the dried air bladder of the fish that is used mainly in double-boiled soups and is known to be good for the complexion. In the S$5,000 pen cai offered by Tam Kah Sharksfin restaurant, the fish maw it used was supposed to be 30 years old, costing some several thousand dollars per kg. Mr Yio of Chin Guan Hong says that like red wine, shark's fin and fish maw get better with age. Chef Chan Kwok of the acclaimed Hua Ting in Orchard Hotel, though, feels that generally the age of the fish maw is not really an indication of its quality. Rather, it's more the inherent quality of the fish maw itself, as in the thickness, colour and texture, which of course also comes through with age. 'The best fish maw come from India and are from male and female fish. It's hard to tell, but the male fish maw is usually thicker and therefore of better quality. When you choose, it has to be very dry, and very firm, hard enough for you to be able to knock it against a table. Look at the colour, it has to be deep yellow, the deeper the better.' And for decent quality fish maw, there's no need to pay four figure sums, as you can get perfectly acceptable quality for around S$120 to S$160 a kg, he adds. 'It takes a long time to prepare and to cook, which adds to the cost,' says Chef Chan. 'You have to soak it for a few hours, then cover it with boiling water overnight, and repeat the process if it's still not soft enough.' What's the best way to cook fish maw? Mainly double-boiled soups, says Chef Chan. Chef Leong, in turn, recommends that it be cooked in oyster sauce. ABALONE The best ones come from Japan, and are usually categorised according to the number of 'heads'. But it doesn't mean that the shellfish come with a different number of protrusions dictated by its quality. Rather it refers to the number of abalone pieces found in one kati which translates into 600 gm. Hence, the higher the number of abalones in one kati, the lower the price. The best ones are of course from Japan, says Mr Yio, who adds that the 10-head Oma abalones are used 'to serve distinguished guests'. At S$4,000 a kg, they should be distinguished. Lesser mortals will have to make do with S$400-S$500 a kg specimens from South Africa. Preparation can be a killer, though, so no wonder the canned version is a lot more popular in homes. According to Chef Leong, it needs to be soaked in cold water for two days and poached in hot water with ginger for 30 minutes. After that, you braise the abalone with a mixture of chicken feet, chicken, lean pork and pork fat (all pre-blanched in hot water and then sauteed with spring onion and ginger), chicken stock, oyster sauce and a bit of rock sugar for eight to 15 hours. Still game? SHARK'S FIN The environmentally conscious might want to skip this part. The best shark's fin comes from India and Indonesia, especially the big ones, says Mr Yio, while smaller fins are from the UK. Top quality fins, ie superior dried tiger shark's fin which come in 20-inch lengths, cost around $900 to S$1,000 per kg. Smaller fins of about 2 to 3 inches can cost around S$80 a kg. In terms of preparation, Chef Leong says the shark's fin should be steamed without adding any water (to the fin) for 30 minutes, which will make it shrink. Soak in water overnight for at least 12 hours to let it expand, and then steam it for another four hours until it's soft. It's then ready to be cooked in soup or braised, as Chef Leong recommends. SEA CUCUMBER Sea cucumber has gone up in price this year due to the recent floods, says Mr Yio, although it's a little hard to fathom given that they come from India or Hokkaido rather than Johor. Nonetheless, the dried Hokkaido sea cucumbers are prized the most - they look like prickly cucumbers and can cost from S$700 to S$800 a kg. Cheaper ones from India can be had for around S$90 a kg. When buying sea cucumbers, Mr Yio says to look out for the thickness of the flesh. The colour shouldn't be too light. It should be semi-dark and translucent. According to Chef Chan, the smaller ones are softer and literally dissolve if you cook them too long, whereas the bigger ones have more 'bite' and an al dente texture. To prepare, Chef Leong's tips include grilling the sea cucumber first to get rid of the preservatives, and use a knife to scrape off the resulting crust. Boil water, toss the sea cucumber in, cover and leave overnight. Soak in clean water for another 12 hours. Repeat the hot water/cold soak process if it's still not soft enough. Cut the softened sea cucumber in the middle and clean out the insides. It's now ready to be stewed, braised or cooked in oyster sauce. DRIED SCALLOP The bigger the better, say the experts. And give them a good whiff before you buy - if it smells sweet and of the sea, it's good. Make sure they are very dry and not at all damp. The best ones come from Hokkaido and retail at S$195 a kg. Smaller ones from other parts of Japan retail at S$145 per kg. These are easy to prepare. Chef Leong says to soak them in cold water overnight and throw the water away. Add some chicken stock, sliced ginger, spring onion and a bit of salt, and steam for 45 minutes. Chef Leong recommends that dried scallops are best used in soups. BIRD'S NEST The best quality are those collected from wild sparrows which live in caves, says Mr Yio, and the price is a heartstopping S$7,500 per kg. But if you get the 'farmed' version, ie from specially built homes used for breeding swallows, the price drops to a more affordable S$1,000 a kg. If opening a bottle of ready-to-eat bird's nest is no challenge to you, then soak the nest in water for six hours, says Chef Leong. Remove the dirty bits and steam with sliced ginger in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the quality. It's best used in desserts and soups, he adds. BAMBOO FUNGUS A not so common ingredient, the good stuff doesn't come cheap. Wild bamboo fungus from China retails at S$480 a kg, says Mr Yio, although the Fujian variety costs less than a 10th of this at just S$40 a kg. What do you do with it? Chef Leong says to soak it in cold water for three hours, bring it to boil with a piece of ginger for 15 minutes, and soak in cold water for two hours. Then double-boil it in your favourite soup. DRIED MUSHROOMS Tired of getting gifts of mushrooms you don't know what to do with? If you're lucky, you might be holding on to a pack of Japanese flower mushrooms that cost S$160 a kg. These beauties are firm, round and plump, almost white, with a pattern of crack lines on the surface and smell fragrant. Other lesser quality mushrooms are from China and cost about S$30 to S$40 a kg. To prepare, Chef Leong says to simply soak them overnight in cold water. Poach them for 15 minutes with a bit of ginger. Stir fry them in oil with ginger and spring onions, add chicken consomme and braise for three hours. Source: The Business Times (Singapore)