Follow Michelin-star chef Malcolm Lee’s recipe to create your own chap chye (mixed vegetable stew with pork belly and glass noodles) this Chinese New Year
Ingredients
- 10 g dried lily buds (kim chiam), knotted
- 15 g wood ear fungus
- 25 g black mushrooms
- 5 g glass noodles (tang hoon)
- 15 g dried vellow bean curd skin (tau kee), snipped into small pieces
- 1 piece sweet bean curd sheet (tiam taukee), cut into strips
- 90 g pork belly (sliced)
- 1 tbsp fermented soy bean paste (tau cheo)
- 15 g garlic, chopped
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 100 g cabbage leaves, cut into 5-cm squares
- 100 g prawns
- 200 ml water
- 2 tbsps vegetable oil, plus oil for deep-frying
Steps
Soak the dried lily buds, wood ear fungus, black mushrooms in individual bowls of hot water. When softened, drain the water.
Remove mushroom stems, squeeze out excess water and slice into strips.
Snip away the hard portion on the underside of the black fungus. Then cut the rest of the fungus into smaller pieces.
Snip away the hard end of the lily buds.
Soak tang hoon in water till softened. Use cold water to prevent tang hoon from being too soft.
Fill a wok with oil. When hot, deep-fry tau kee and tiam tau kee gently till golden brown.
Boil water in small pot. When boiling, put in pork belly to blanch for 5 mins. Remove to cool, then slice to 1-cm strips. Set aside.
Peel the prawns, devein and reserve the shells. Pan roast the shells till fragrant. Add the water and simmer on low for about 30 mins. Strain and set prawn stock aside.
Put a large pot over medium heat. Add oil and stir-fry garlic till fragrant, add in the mushrooms and pork belly, and fry for another minute. Add in the tau cheo and fry for another minute. Add in the prawn stock and the rest of the ingredients, except for the prawns and cabbage. Simmer for 20 mins.
Add in the cabbage and simmer for a further 10 mins, then add in the prawns to cook for another 2 mins. Add salt and sugar to taste. Serve with steamed rice.
Chef’s Tip: It’s easier to knot the dried lily buds before soaking as theyíll be less likely to rip. Knotting prevents the buds from fraying during cooking.
Recipe: Malcolm Lee / Photo: Andy Wong, assisted by Andrew Frederic