Skip to main content

Seafood Poon Choy ~ 海鲜盆菜


Poon Choy (盆菜) or 'Big Bowl feast'  is traditionally a Chinese New Year dish and it signifies an abundance of wealth and prosperity.  The choice of ingredients are your own preference and here I have prepared a seafood poon choi with nine ingredients.  The dish should be eaten layer by layer from the top to the bottom and not just dig up the whole pot from the bottom.. As this is my first attempt preparing this dish, I made a small portion on the 15th day or the last day of  CNY, which is Chap Goh Mey.  Having this dish in a Chinese restaurant is pretty expensive especially during the Chinese New Year period and preparing it youself is definitely more economical and moreover you get to eat what you like to eat.  For more information on Poon Choi, take a look at  'Wikipedia'.

Layering the Poon Choi







Seafood Poon Choy ~   海鲜盆菜

Ingredients

  • 1 small Napa Cabbage
  • 1 can of abalone
  • 2 dried fish bladder
  • 4 big shitake mushrooms
  • 6 dried oysters
  • 6 dried scallops
  • 6 big prawns
  • Pacific clams
  • Broccoli
  • Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, light and dark soya sauce, cornstarch, some ginger and garlic
  • sugar and salt to taste
Method
  1. Soak the mushrooms for a few hours or overnight, till soft.  Cut off the stem, set aside.
  2. Soak the dried oysters for about 20 mins.  Soak the dried scallops for about 10 mins.
  3. To rehydrate the dried fish bladder boil them with a piece of ginger for about 10 mins.  Do not open the lid, let them soak for about 2 hours.  Rinse, squeeze out the water and cut into bite size.
  4. In a wok, add some oil, garlic and ginger, stir fry the mushrooms, add in the oysters and fish bladder.  Add some water and bring to the boil, dish out the fish bladder, but leave the mushrooms and oysters, add in the dried scallops.  Dish out the oysters and dried scallops.  Once the mushrooms are soft, add in the Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, light and dark soya sauce.  Then return the fish bladder, oysters and scallops to the wok to infuse with the sauce.  Toss in the pacific clams and abalone.  (Keep the brine of the abalone and pacific clams to make the broth later).
  5. Wash  and snip off the prawn heads and trim off the legs.  Season with some salt, sugar and Shaoxing wine for a while before steaming them.  Retain the juice if any.
  6. In a pot of boiling water, add some oil, blanch the broccoli for about a minute, dish out.  Then blanch the napa cabbage a little longer, dish out.  Do not discard the water.
  7. Cook the broth with the brine, and some water from the blanched vegetables, add in some oyster sauce and test for taste.  Add in some cornstarch mixture to thicken the broth to preferred consistency, add salt and sugar to taste.
  8. Then layer the pot with some napa cabbage, followed by the fish bladder and assemble the top layer to your liking.
  9. Pour in the broth, cover the pot and let it simmer for about 10 mins. on medium low heat.
  10. Serve.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for dropping by. Please click on 'Anonymous' if you do not have a blog but do leave your name after the comment because I would like to know who you are.

Popular posts from this blog

Snow Swallow Dessert ~ 天然野生雪燕

  Natural Wild Tragacanth Gum 'Snow Swallow' or Xue Yan is a gum derived from different varieties of sterculia trees.  It's actually a sap drained from the root of the plant and  the gum dries as it exudes and is then collected.  Once rehydrated will increase to about ten times in size and their white stringy, jelly like strands texture resembles that of the much prized and highly valued bird's nest.  One thing to take note when cooking this dessert is that the gum is highly soluble in water and cannot be boiled too long. Since it is 'cooling' for our internal organs, the elderlies should take this in moderation and not recommended for nursing mums for the breast milk may cause the baby to purge. Snow Swallow Dessert  ~   天然野生雪燕 Ingredients 8 gm Snow Swallow gums 10 gm red dates 10 gm goji berries 20 gm dried longan Rock or piece sugar to taste 1 litre water Pandan leaves (optional) Method Soak the Snow Swallow gums in plenty of water for at least...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tamarind Pork Belly (Babi Assam) ~ 亚参五花肉

A very appetising dish with tangy and robust flavour of tamarind juice, red and green chillies added more oomph to the dish.  This dish will surely whet your appetite and you'll go for second helping of rice to soak up the tangy gravy.  This is a Peranakan dish but as always, there are many varieties to this delicacy.  I tweaked the recipe a bit to suit what I have in my pantry and the end result is a very yummy dish that I will not hesitate to whip up again and again. Tamarind Pork Belly (Babi Assam)  ~   亚参 五花肉 Ingredients 450 gm pork belly, cut into bite size 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 3 shallots, finely chopped 30 gm tamarind pulp (Assam paste)  + 250 ml water 3 green chillies 2 red chillies 2 tsp tau cheong (preserved bean paste) 2 tsp dark soya sauce 1 Tbsp brown sugar or to taste 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp fish sauce 1 onion, sliced Method Mix the tamarind pulp with a cup of...
3 comments
Read more

Steamed Chicken with Cordycep Flowers

  This dish of steamed chicken with slightly chewy and crunchy cordycep flowers (scientific name Cordyceps Militaris), also known as   虫草花   is delicious with added aroma from the Shaoxing wine and sesame oil.  This dish can also be served as confinement food and I have posted a Cordycep flower chicken soup quite a while back.  You can check it out 'here' . Steamed Chicken with Cordycep Flowers Ingredients 450 gm chicken, cut into bite sizes 8 gm Cordycep flowers 3 thin slices of ginger, cut into strips 10 red dates, deseeded 15 wolfberries (to sprinkle after chicken is cooked) 1.1/2 Tbsp Shaoxing wine 1.1/2 Tbsp sesame oil 1.1/2 Tbsp light soya sauce 1.1/2 Tbsp cornflour 1/2 Tbsp oyster sauce 2 Tbsp water Method Marinate the chicken with wine, light soya sauce, sesame oil, cornflour and oyster sauce for a few hours or overnight. Wash and rinse the cordycep flowers and red dates. Mix into the marinated chicken, add in water and steam chicken on hight heat f...
Post a Comment
Read more