Growing up, we use to have a pair of pet rabbits. I can still remember the smell as the rabbits gnawed away the lettuce. Sometimes, these lettuce became rotted in parts. I grew up with some aversion to the smell of lettuce.
That unchanged very quickly when I realised how delicious ji hu char is when wrapped in iceberg lettuce. It is a match made in heaven, especially when a bit of sambal belachan is added to it.
Jiu Hu Char always make an appearance during our reunion dinner. I use to wonder why my Mum only cooked it as a festive dish. After all, turnip (or "bangkwang") was very cheap and still is. When I start cooking it, I realise that it needs work in the cutting and the frying. It is truly one of those recipes where cheap and ordinary ingredients are elevated into a gourmet dish through careful preparations and good cooking techniques.
I have here below a scribbling of my Mum's recipe which my cousin passed to me. Her "secrets", if you can call it as such is to add the fried shallots and a combination of stir-frying and braising the turnip. If you are experience with this dish, you can figure out what she is saying. In any case, I will give my experimented recipe below. I have simplified some steps.
By the way, the same method can be used for Popiah or Kueh Pie Tee filling, minus the jiu hu (cuttlefish).
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| Some scribbles of my Mum's recipe. I usually skip the step where the minced meat is seasoned as I reckon that it will be well seasoned when cooked with the rest of ingredients in the wok. |
Ingredients
2 medium size or 1 large turnip
20 shallots or equivalent amount of store bought fried shallots
dried cuttlefish strips (from two pieces of cuttlefish if you are cutting it yourself)
1 carrot
6 dried Chinese mushrooms or fresh shiitake mushrooms
1/2 tsp dark black sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp of soy sauce
200g minced pork
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp of white pepper
300 ml water or more
Serve with:
Coriander leaves
Fresh iceberg lettuce
- Slice the shallots thinly and deep fry till crispy. You can also buy ready-made fried shallots. Choose those which looks crippled and fresh.
- Rehydrate the dried mushrooms. Cut into thin strips.
- Cut the turnip and carrot into thin strips. If you have a good mandolin, use it. See photos. Slice into thin slices (about 2 mm thick) and then use a good knife to cut the strips.
- Heat up a wok with the oil. Add the minced pork meat, mushroom strips, cuttlefish strips, soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark sauce and pepper. Stir fry for about 2 minutes.
- Then add the turnip and carrot strips. Add half of the fried shallots. Increase the fire and stir fry till the turnips caramelise (turnip has a lot of sugar) and the wok feels sticky. This will take at least 20 minutes or more.
- Then add the water in batches, stir-frying all the time. Lower the flame and simmer for another 20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. The turnip should be soft and moist.
- Serve it warm. Garnish with the rest of the fried shallots and coriander leaves.
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| Using mandolin to slice the turnip evenly and thinly |
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| Then use knife to slice into strips |
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| Patiently stir-fry the turnip before adding water and leaving it to braise in a simmer |
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| A wonderful batch of Jiu Hu Char |
