How to Made ' Smoother' and 'Springier' Chicken Meat Paste

Getting fed up of eating minced pork used in stuffed bean curd(white type), I decided to do away with the high cholestrol pork.  I tried mincing chicken breast meat into a paste instead.  It worked and did not turn out to be chewy or 'rough' as expected.




Steps for its preparation :


1)  Get about 300 -500 g of fresh chicken breast meat from the stall that sells them separately.  The amount depends on number of servings needed.


2)  Remove the skin or any visible fat.  Slice the slab of meat into slices so that later it is easier to mince it.


3)  Once the whole slab is sliced, mince the meat with a chopper.


4)  As you are mincing the meat, sprinkle some water.


5) Add less than half a teaspoon of cornflour and a little salt. Continue to mince the meat until it turns into paste that sticks together like a dough.


6)  If the effect of mincing makes the paste sticky(you can see some sticking to the blade of your knife), you are successful.


A paste of that effect will be springy after it is cooked.


  Suggest pepper to be added if you like it peppery........Happy trying !

Stuffed 'Towfoo Pok'

'Towfoo Pok' are deep fried bean curds cubes and can be bought ready made at the fresh market or supermarkets.They are excellent for stuffing minced meat and the bigger version is excellent for stuffing raw vegetables like turnip strips, cucumber and blanched bean sprouts.


The recipe I am going to share is 'towfoo pok' stuffed with a mixture of mince meat and chives.


The meat used can be pork or chicken breast meat.


The steps :


1) First, soak the pieces of  'towfoo pok' in hot water  and then squeeze out the water to get rid of the oil as much as possible.  


2)  When the 'towfoo pok' becomes less oily , squeeze until they are almost dry.  Cut into halves and leave them aside.


Getting ready the minced meat :


3)  Wash and mince the meat ( 300g is sufficient to stuff about 20 halves of the 'towfoo pok')


4)  Once the meat is minced to almost a fine paste, add some salt and a little soya sauce to marinate for a while.


5) Wash some strands of chives, say about 100g. Chop them finely and after that mix well into the minced meat.


6)  Also chop finely 2 or 3 cloves of garlic and mix it together with the minced meat mixture. This meat and chives paste is ready to be stuffed into the 'towfoo pok'.


7)  To ensure the stuffing do not fall out of the 'case', we must use cornflour mixed in some water.  This mixture when heated will turn into a sticky paste and will hold the mince meat in place.


8) Use a teaspoon to take some of the cornflour mixture and wet the bottom of the 'towfoo pok' a little before putting the filling of minced meat and chives.  Stuff until the 'case' is full.  On the surface, again put a little of the cornflour mixture to ensure further the filling is stuck to the case when it is cooking.


9)  Repeat step 8 for the other halves of the 'towfoo pok'.


10)  Once all are stuffed with the minced meat mixture, they are ready to be steamed or pan fried over low fire. When pan frying, put the meat side down so that the meat will get cooked thoroughly.  Once it is turning brown, it is cooked.  Too big a fire will burn it before it is cooked thoroughly.


Method of Serving  :


Can be eaten just like that or can be dipped into chilli sauce if prefer it spicy.


Can be wrapped in lettuce leaves and eaten together.


The steamed ones can be served with some fried garlic and oil to improve its flavour.


Garnish with some coriander leaves or sliced chillies.

Radish and Ginger cooked in Black Vinegar

This is a vegetarian version suitable for those who are not able to eat the pigs' trotters cooked in black vinegar. It is as appetising as the former.  Besides, it is extremely good for those who worry about their cholestrol levels. It serves well as a side dish too.


1)  As in preparing the pigs' trotters recipe, we must first boil the ginger in water and let it release its full flavour by leaving it overnight.  However the volume of water should be reduced as the radish used will be less and we do not need so much liquid to cover it. For a litre of water, we can use about 200g of ginger and 300g radish. It should not be very watery as the radish contains juices too and it cooks fast.


2)  On the next day, radish which are to be cut in triangular chunks about a thickness of 1.5 cm, are added to the reheated ginger soup. Actually it is up to personal preference.  Some like it thin and full of the vinegar's sour taste, whereas others like it less sour and still retaining its radish flavour.


3)  Add the required amount of  vinegar , recommend 200 ml for a start and then taste it to determine its sourness. Add brown sugar little by little until the sweetness is just enough to balance the sourness.
I would recommend at this point to do it by trial and error.  Different people have different tastes.  Some like it extremely sour whereas others like more sweetness.


4) When the soup is boiling, lower the fire.  Let the mixture simmer until the flavour of the soup seeps into the ginger or the radish.


The end result is something that tastes like pickled ginger or radish.
For radish lovers, this is a must try.  Futhermore, it does have some medicinal value!

Pigs' Trotters Cooked in Black Vinegar

This is a favourite among postpartum Hakka ladies during their confinement.  Its hot and sour taste invigorates the weak mothers after giving birth. 

The steps to cooking this dish are as follows:

1)  Use a stainless steel or enamel or clay pot for this purpose.  An aluminium pot will not be suitable because the acid (vinegar) will react with the metal and may cause metal poisoning.

2)  Boil some pieces of old ginger in about a litre and a half of water.  The pieces of old ginger must be scraped off its skin and washed, and then crushed or flatten with a pestle or anything that is able to serve this purpose. The amount of ginger used is according to personal taste.  If you want the soup to be 'hotter' or to have more 'zing', more can be added. Normally about 400 g will be sufficient. Young ginger can be used if only the ginger flavour is favoured and not its 'hotness' or its additional 'zing'.

3) Boil the ginger for about half an hour.  When you can smell the aroma of the ginger, lower the fire a little and let it simmer. Add about 100 to 200 ml of black vinegar. Turn off the fire and keep this soup over night to let all the ginger release its full flavour into the liquid.

4) The next day, get ready the pig's trotter.  The butcher at the market will normally cut it up for you into smaller pieces.  They will also remove whatever hairs on the skin. What we need to do is to wash the pieces clean under running water and then boil them in a wok of hot water for about ten minutes.  Whitish grey 'scum' will float on the boiling water.  When this happens, turn off the fire, remove the meat from the wok and wash them clean of those 'scum'.  

5) Now the pig's trotters are ready to be cooked in the ginger soup which has been reheated again.

6)  Add another 100 ml of black vinegar to the pot of ginger and pig's trotter.  Allow it to boil and when it is boiling, lower the fire to allow the ingredients to simmer.  Take a little of the soup in a spoon to taste. If it is not sour enough, add some more black vinegar.


7) Then add some brown sugar to put some sweetness in the sour soup. The amount of sugar added depends on individual taste. When adding the brown sugar, care must be taken not to add a lot at one shot.  It should be added little by little and each time, we must taste the soup till its taste suits our taste buds.  If it is not sour enough, add more vinegar. So, it is by trial and error.

8)  Once the meat is soft, the dish is ready to be serve. The ginger can be eaten as well.  It has high fibre content.  

Besides ginger, some may like to add dried chillies for additional flavour.  Some like to add roasted black beans as they think they will make the soup more nutritious. Usually about 150 g is enough, otherwise the original sour sweet flavour will be changed.  If roasted black beans are used, they must be added before the meat as they will take a longer time to soften. Once they are almost soft, add the meat followed by the vinegar.


Others will also add hard boiled eggs together with the meat.  The shells are either removed or left intact. 


The unfinished soup can be kept overnight and its flavour maintained by adding more vinegar and sugar.  Vinegar should not be boiled too much as it gets boiled off. 

It will take some degree of experience in order to cook this dish to a flavour that is most satisfying to you.

Good luck and have fun trying!