Sour Plum Duck (酸梅鸭) Recipe and Chinese New Year 2013

Hello all!

First of all, I'd just like to wish everyone a very Happy Chinese New Year! In other words, Gong Xi Fa Chai! 

Chinese New Year is seriously my favourite festive season of all. Just because most of my best memories growing up were spending time with my relatives in my Mum's tiny hometown of Tawau over this holiday. It was the best when my late Grandmother was alive. The entire family would be having a ball together all day, everyday. There are many Chinese traditions that are involved, which makes it quite special and memorable. 

Everything from wearing a new+red shirt on the first day of CNY, to playing with fireworks and playful gambling sessions, watching the Lion Dance, etc etc. And not to mention... THE FOOOOOOOD. Out of the entire CNY period, I do think the most important meal would have to be the Eve of Chinese New Year aka "团圆饭", which would be a massive feast and typically involve a full day of cooking.

As for me, this year was actually the first time I have ever spent CNY away from my family. But thankfully, I'm fortunate enough to have those cousins that I grew up with from Tawau (and several other good friends) here with me in Melbourne. So, I took it upon myself to fulfil the daunting task of hosting the CNY Eve dinner on Saturday, (yikes!). 

It was super hectic. I had gone out till 3am on Friday night, slept at 5am, found out that morning that more people were coming, went to the market at noon (when typically most people would have had most things prepared/marinaded etc the day before) and just cooked and cooked till guests arrived at 7:30pm. It was total mad house. Several slip ups here and there but at the end, everything turned out alright. 

I tried to keep my dishes as simple as I could, as I was only doing most prep/cooking the day itself and needed to have enough food to feed everyone. Not easy, especially when you're doing everything on your own in a tiny kitchen. What I was most excited about was definitely making Mum's Sour Plum Duck (酸梅鸭) which I absolutely LOVEEE eating growing up for the very first time. I was most nervous about this dish but it actually turned out REALLY well and was the biggest hit of the night! Mum would be proud. I'm just happy I could re-create a dish that never fails to remind me of home and my Mum. You have to try this (and also the 8 Treasure Duck I shared previously)!!!

It turned out to be a great night. Everyone came over to share a meal together, before proceeding to catching the awesome display of fireworks from Crown and also playing some blackjack afterwards. It was great. Not a very conventional CNY being away from my hometown, but not a shabby one either. Not at all. For CNY, it's not where you are, but who you're with. 

Anyway, glad to have gotten the chance to open up my space for my lovely friends and family. Here's a recap of the CNY dinner we had on Saturday night! 

Fried Prawn Crackers with Sambal Belachan

Tradition for us to eat this during CNY. And makes for a great snack to serve your guests before/after dinner!

Steamed Chinese Preserved Sausage (腊肠) and Meat (腊肉)

There's many kinds of preserved meats out there but my family typically has at least one plate of it for CNY. So delicious with rice. 

Steamed with a dash of soy sauce and Shao Xin wine at the end for extra fragrance.

Steamed Chinese Cabbage with Ham

Chinese BBQ Pork (叉烧)

It was a last minute addition to the menu and it turned out very juicy and delicious. I got the recipe (here) from Food Endeavours of the Blue Apocalypse. Thanks Ai Ling!

Mum's Sour Plum Duck (酸梅鸭)

It was seriously delicious, if I do say so myself. Taste just like Mum's. Duck was fried till really fragrant but still juicy. Sauce was utterly lip smackingly good. You guys have to try!

Fried Snapper Topped with Fried Garlic and Shallots (drizzled with dark soy sauce and aromatic oil)

One of my favourite dishes of the night, actually! Simple, but lots of flavour. The tradition is to not finish the fish entirely (just leave a bit) to symbolise good luck and abundance for the coming year.

Cousin's Braised Pork and Mushrooms with Peanuts and Fermented Red Tofu

This was also seriously delicious, to say the least. YUM!

Cousin's Longan Pudding

How incredibly cute/festive! And let me tell you, they look as good as they taste!

__________________________________________

Sour Plum Duck (酸梅鸭) Recipe 

Ingredients:

1 whole duck

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

salt

oil for frying

Sauce:

2 bulbs of garlic

3 - 4 large French shallots (or 15 mini Asian shallots)

1 thumb size ginger

400g bottle of Lee Kum Kee's Plum Sauce

1 1/2 cups of water

Juice of 1 large lime (or to taste)

Coriander (to garnish)

Method:

1) Rub dark soy sauce all over and inside the cavity of the duck. Generously rub salt in the cavity of the duck. Leave to marinade for 2 hours or in the fridge overnight.

2) Heat up a large wok and fill almost half of it with oil. Once oil is very hot, place duck into the wok and deep fry for 15 minutes. Oil should cover half of the duck without being too full (to prevent overflowing from bubbles during frying process). Carefully turn the duck over and fry for another 15 minutes. Set aside the duck and drain the wok, leaving about 5 tbsp of oil.

3) Peel and mince ALL the garlic and shallots (yes, that's a LOT to prepare). You should have a big pile of it. Peel and slice the ginger to strips.

4) Heat up the wok again with remaining 5 tbsp of oil. Add the garlic, shallots, ginger and fry until very fragrant (about 3 minutes). 

5) Add the Plum Sauce and water, mix until well combined. 

6) Place the duck back into the wok. Put the lid on the wok and cook for 10 minutes on low to medium heat. Turn the duck and cook the duck covered on the other side for another 10 minutes. (Total cooking time for duck is 50 minutes)

7) Add in lime juice and stir. Taste to see if more lime juice is preferred.

8) Remove duck from wok. Once duck is cool enough, chop up to serve. You can heat up the sauce to drizzle over the duck when ready to eat. Garnish with chopped coriander and ENJOY! =)

Photo taken from my Instagram (@winceeee)

SO delicious and I do hope you give this recipe a go.... Gong Xi Fa Chai, everyone! =)

Komeyui, Port Melbourne

Love the clean, sophisticated and sustainable fitout of the restaurant with the soft lighting along the wall. Stunning

Complimentary appetiser:

 Tuna and Seaweed topped with Goji Berry

Duck Breast Komeyui Style -- $16 (5 pieces)

Thinly sliced and delicately cooked duck breast with soy-based red wine sauce and potato chips

Breaded Prawn Plum Sauce -- $18 (6 pieces)

Carefully prepared prawn paste sandwiched in deep fried bread

Eel with Mascaporne Cheese and Dried Tomato -- $30

Grilled eel with Japanese flavoured mascaporne cheese and semi fried tomato

Uni Don -- $50

Raw sea urchins on Japanese rice 

Berkshire Pork Kakuni -- $22

Japanese braised Berkshire pork dish which literally means "square simmered", 10-hours slow cooking to achieve the melt-in-mouth tenderness

Complimentary rice:

Japanese rice cooked with ginger, soy, vinegar and chicken pieces

Chan Chan -- $37 (2 pieces)

Hokkaido specialty dish, foil wrapped grilled salmon with miso butter sauce and vegetables

Miso Marinated Black Cod "Saikyo-yaki" -- $35

Kyoto traditional dish, char-grilled miso marinated cod

Wagyu Sirloin Steak -- $55 (200g)

Charcoal grilled wagyu beef Sirloin with grated radish & soy based sauce

Soft Shell Crab Roll -- $22

Fried Soft Shell Crab with Avocado, Spicy mayonnaise, Flying fish roe, Lettuce

Complimentary dessert:

Sliced cantaloupe/rockmelon

The whole setting was so gentle and inviting from the moment we walked in. Then, came the food... WOW. Just, wow. We started on a high note from the very first course and it seemed like every dish that came after just kept getting better and better. All night long we found ourselves overjoyed at the sight of the food before savouring each bite with true enjoyment/gratitude whilst thinking to ourselves as to how we could be so lucky. It was some seriously good Japanese food we were getting.

Just imagine, the play of flavour/texture of that perfectly cooked duck breast, delightful melt-in-your mouth braised pork, silky smooth and deliciously sweet black cod, charcoal crusted and amazingly tender wagyu... Just to name a few. 

The 6 of us were really enthusiastic eaters and happily ate our way through the menu, sampling as much variety as we could. We came for a friend's farewell and had a blast sitting at the restaurant for hours just talking/laughing away. There were quite a few complimentary items last night and even when we had finished eating for a long time, the staff kept refilling our waters non stop and eventually brought out some free fruits to share too.

It's very, very rare I would pay $48 for a Jap dinner but I must honestly say you're getting your money's worth. After that sensational experience, I will DEFINITELY recommend Komeyui to everyone looking for honest, authentic and high quality Japanese food. Heck, even I can't stop thinking about this place and hope I get to come back for another meal. AMAZING.

Wince's Fave's: Big Mama, CBD

Kicking off with another "episode" of Wince's Faves... =)

Banchan aka Korean Appetisers

You'll notice that their banchans are more fried/savoury/tasty as opposed to the usual pickled selections

Korean Jap Chae 

aka potato noodles

Seafood and Spring Onion Pancake

LA Gal Bi

aka grilled beef ribs

The aftermath of one of my many, many catchup sessions at Big Mama

Korean Fried Chilli Chicken

Soon Du Bu Jigae

aka Soft Tofu and Seafood Stew

Korokke

aka Potato Croquettes

Agedashi Tofu

aka Fried Tofu...... BEST OF BEST!!!

Kimchi Fried Rice with Creamy Garlic Seafood

Deeeeeelicious...

It's no secret that I love Korean food. I think it's one of the best food to have when you're eating in the CBD. I really do. Even though there's a large selection of Korean restaurants, there's a number of reasons why Big Mama remains as my favourite for over 5 years.  

I know a lot of people who are really apprehensive or unfamiliar with Korean food, which is why I'm always keen to bring people to Big Mama. Why? It's all because of the TASTE of the dishes here that are simply outstanding and UNDENIABLE. Thus, making it perfect for an introductory/gateway meal to this wonderful cuisine. And I've tested this hypothesis on the most stubborn non-believers of Korean cuisines numerous times in the past who have all come around after a meal here. 

Great thing about suggesting this place is that I always get either one of the following reactions:

a) "What? Is it nice? I've walked past this place a thousand times but never thought of going in."

b) "Ohhh Big Mama!! I haven't been here for ages!"

But believe you, me, the food here is so delicious and you will NOT regret ordering the Kimchi Fried Rice with Creamy Garlic Seafood, Korean Fried Chilli Chicken, Seafood and Spring Onion Pancake and best of all... The Agedashi Tofu!! Everything here is pretty good but you have to order these top picks.

And yes, that Agedashi Tofu trumps all others and also makes it to my list of Top 10 Dishes of 2012...... Ta!

Wince's Faves: Mabrown, Balwyn

First post of the year!

I was just having dinner with Bryan and I-Hua today and was just saying that it's funny how when once you've started taking a short break from blogging, it's really hard to snap out of it and get back into the swing of things.

A lot has changed in my life the past few months, which is also the main reason why you'll see a big difference in the way I write my posts from now on... 

Basically, Food Writing for me has gotten to a point where it's becoming quite forced to get through every single detail of a meal, when all I really care about is the lasting impressions about a place and also dishes that really stand out. By making this change, I'd be able to blog more frequently and continue to share my Food journey with you guys.

So, here we go... The Hungry Excavator v2.0 starting... NOW!

Signature Chilli Quail

Braised Pork Trotters

Steamed Fish with Shallots, Ginger and Soy Sauce

Signature Stir Fried Beef

Garlic Kai Lan

"Pi Pa" or "Chinese Banjo" Duck

XO Prawns on Egg Noodles

Claypot Tofu with Seafood

Mabrown is really famous for a few different reasons: 1) The signature chilli quail. It's amazing. You can't come here and not order this dish. Otherwise, it's like going to Maccas and ordering... a bowl of salad. What's the point, right?

This place is established, consistent and can produce no bad dishes. It's just that there are some dishes that are more famous and tastier that makes the others seem pretty ordinary. Notably, the signature chilli quail, fried tea smoked duck, xo prawns on egg noodles, claypot tofu with seafood. These are fantastic and highly recommended.

Besides being famous for the quails, Mabrown is just as famous or shall I say, notorious for the service. Especially that from the owner, which I like to refer to as "the angry Mabrown auntie". Instead of being fearful or taking great offense by this angry auntie, I personally find great humour in the whole situation and most people think I'm nuts. 

Why? Well, I love how a restaurant can be so famous for its food as well as an iconic angry auntie. Plus, my friends and I can't help but laugh when we share our personal encounters with this famous lady. So, guys. Please don't take bad service too seriously sometimes, especially at a Chinese restaurant. What else do you expect? Just laugh it off and have yourselves a good time. All in good fun. 

Till next time!

Wince =)