I am not a fan of Zhu Keok Chou, but when it comes to dishes cook by only certain people, I tell you, I can eat non stop man! 2 person who cook the best Zhu Keok Chou are Ku Mah (QQ’s Nanny’s SIL) and Jacss’s Confinement Lady.

This morning, I grab the opportunity of getting Ku Mah to teach me how to cook, since she is next door for a 3 days stay.

Ingredients we used:

• Pork knuckle (we bought one hand ~1kg) Rm19
• Zhu Cheong Yuk (~1kg lean meat from upper thigh) Rm 14
• I big bottle sweet Vinegar
• 1/2 big bottle water
• 1 small bottle black Vinegar
• 300g young ginger thick slices
• 1tsp soy bean sauce
• 1tsp mince garlic
• 1Tbsp cooking oil (use more dosage of sesame oil for confinement)
• 3 Tbsp sugar (adjust to taste)
• 1 Tbsp salt (adjust to taste)

Seems so much things to use right? But cooking this dish is really easy. It is just the way of doing it right, adjusting the taste the right way.

How to cook:

1. Combine both types vinegar plus water into a pot
2. 
3. 
4. Dry fry the pork cubes on wok (without oil). Once the meat is dry and cooked, add them into vinegar mixture
5. 
6. Fry fry ginger slices without oil. Add 1 Tbsp oil into middle of the wok, and saute garlic with soybean paste. Then saute everything till fragant. Transfer everything into vinegar mixure
7. Bring pot to boil.
8. Add in sugar and salt.
9. Continue to let it simmer for about 15 minutes or until the meat is tender.

Tadaa……when you test with a chopstick and if it can poke through the meat, that means its ready!

Fresh nutmegs (broken half, with its red flowery seads)

I have always wanted to get raw nutmegs to make my own nutmeg drinks. During my previous trip to Penang, Healy offer to get them for me from the wet market and she bought me 3kg in total, thanks, Healy!

How to make nutmeg concentrate

Ingredients (to get 1liter concentrate)

• 3kg nutmeg
• 1.5kg rock sugar (more or less according to individual taste)

Steps to do:

1. Clean the nutmegs, cut into halves, remove seeds, then smashed lightly the flesh.
2. Arrange all nutmeg face down (layered with rock sugar) in the slow cooker
3. Cover and start cooking on high for 3 hours and then set to auto for 6 hours

Remember, no water should be added if you want to extra the concentrate juice out of the nutmegs. After it cool down, I filter the concentrate and put them into clean container and keep in fridge.

front: a glass of chilled nutmeg diluted drink (made from 2nd round)
back: a bottle of very dark concentrate nutmeg juice (made from first round)

I actually made another batch of nutmeg juice by adding water into the “almost dried” nutmegs and let it cook in the slow cooker for another 6 hours or so. Tell you, it is still so thick that you can also bottle it and dilute with water when you need to a cup of drink.

Isn’t that easy?

Use of other parts:

• Flowery skin on the seeds: Can be dried and great for making chinese medicine
• Seeds: Great for making Salted Vege Duck Soup (Kiam Chai Ark)

Here is my simplified version.

• Fresh Prawn
• Sambal Ikan bilis (I use leftover from our favourite Nasi lemak stall)
• tumeric
• belacan
• thick coconut milk ( I used instant coconut milk)
• Salted ikan sepat goreng

Verdict -with salted fish added (only once everything is boiled so that the bones would not come off easily) the gravy is so tasty. I can just drink spoonful of gravy even without rice. However I think it would be more spicy if I add more sambal to this dish (as you can see the gravy is not that red in order to accomodate hubby’s sensitive stomach).

When I grow up, I seldom get to eat this dish anymore. Firstly more clans are mixed into our family/relatives, so not all family/relatives wedding are held in Teochew Restaurant anymore (to be exact, Lim Tian Puan (LTP) Restaurant, one of the oldest Restaurant in Melaka where my grandpa, now almost 90 years, had been working as an account officer until he retired, see *don’t play-play*). Also now Melaka has more modern restaurants that serves modern dish, unlike the olden days.

So that is when the craves comes in….I miss all my childhood food!

I am lucky as one of close relative is also a Teochew Cook  and he is really good at making this dish. He even supplied Orh Nee to LTP Restaurant and the super famous TSLC Restaurant (which is also an old family friend, aiya..long story, not going into that) in Jonker Street before he retired, so I get a good sifu to teach me, hehe…Lucky me right?

OK, cut story short.

Ingredients:

• Yam (buy the old and big round type which is more powdery)
• Lards (well, many makers has omitted this in order to be healthy, but I can tell you, without lard, it surely does not taste as authentic as the traditional Orh Nee, sounds sinful ler….)
• Oil from shallot (some use lard to make this)
• Lots of sugar
• Sugar marinated Gingko Nuts (optional)
• Sugar marinated Pumpkin (optional)

Method:

1. Steam cut yam until soft
2. Mashed or blend (no water please) for finer paste
3. Stir over slow fire, slowly adding oil and sugar until the right consistency. Set aside.
4. Boil gingko nuts until soft in sugar water
5. Steam pumpkin

How does the original method sounds to you? Horrible right? No water should be added while cooking and only oil/lard can be added. Eeeww….no wonder so tasty!

As I was adding so much lard and shallot oil already, I still cannot achieve the “silky smooth” texture it suppose to be. Can you imagine how unhealthy an original delicious Orh Nee is? Gosh…No way I am not gonna add more lard/oil. So I cheated and melted sugar with some hot water and then add them into the stiring mashed yam in hot pot.

Even if you dine out now, you will hardly get to eat those original sticky Orh Nee as they have been modified with added water/soya bean for a softer texture. Halo…surely they tell you healthy is good mah..coz yam (taro) is damn expensive you know…