How to Make Fish Head Noodles and Crispy Skin Chicken

Well, some light relief after all that #TelstraFail saga; this was the Battle of the Bots episode. If you engage with me on the Chat at Twitch, you might have noticed a third party bot (ie. automated software) called RevloBot that intermittently posts links for people to check out how many points they have acquired based on their view time.

Since I’m still kinda new on the platform, I wanted a bot to also automatically post links to my social media channels for people to follow. I found and enabled NightBot for the first time in this broadcast to do just that. I didn’t realise NightBot also acted as my moderator, and had inbuilt commands that deleted any external links my audience might post in the chat.

So began the battle of the bots. Each time RevloBot posted its link for people to check their scores, NightBot deleted it and issued a warning and timeout to RevloBot for breaking the rules. Alright, maybe you had to be there, but everyone thought it was hilarious.

Fish (Head) Noodles

I know, I didn’t use any fish head in this recipe, but the idea is the same. I bought some fish belly strips (a mix of salmon and barramundi belly) and wanted to experiment with the deep-fryer function on the Optimum Induction Pressure-Cook Pro, and also the Optimum Healthy-Fry.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 kg Fish head (cut into pieces) or fish belly

• 1 cup dried anchovies (ikan bilis), rinsed
• 2 tomatoes, quartered
• ½ cup garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp pepper
• 3 Tbsps chicken powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 ½ L water or stock
• 1 cup evaporated milk

• Oil for brushing

To serve –

• Separately blanched vermicelli (rice stick) noodles, Chinese greens and fried shallots

METHOD:

1. Sprinkle some of the chicken powder and pepper over the fish. If deep-frying, drench fish with some tapioca starch. Heat oil to 180°C and deep-fry for about 10 minutes or until crispy. If using air-fryer, cook at 180°C for about 15 minutes. Remove and set aside.
2. Heat 2 Tbsps oil in pot. Add garlic and dried anchovies. Saute for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients except the evaporated milk; simmer for 30 minutes. Add evaporated milk and adjust the seasoning.
4. Remove the dried anchovies, then ladle over separately blanched noodles and greens. Top with fried fish pieces and serve sprinkled with fried shallots.

 

Ipoh Sar Kot Foo Pei

I’m going in blind with this dish, which was recommended by Selena at http://icookandibake.blogspot.com.au/ . She pointed me to a recipe for it >> http://foodtobuzz.blogspot.com.au/2009/10/sar-kok-liew.html but in my state of ADD coupled with hubris, I didn’t look at it too closely. It wasn’t until I was putting together this write-up that I realised my ratio of fish paste to yam bean was just way, way, way too high. Nonetheless, it still tasted good, so here’s my recipe –

INGREDIENTS:

• 200g basa fillets, cut into 3-inch strips
• 1 Tbsp tapioca starch
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp chicken powder
• 500g yam bean, shredded
• ¼ cup fried shallots
• 1 piece beancurd sheet, 10”x8”

METHOD:

1. Combine basa fillets, tapioca starch, pepper and chicken powder in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste.
2. Transfer into a mixing bowl and add shredded yam bean and fried shallots.
3. Place along the length of beancurd sheet and mould into a roll about 2 inches in diameter.
4. Seal the edges of the beancurd sheet with egg white or with some of the fish paste.
5. Steam for 15 minutes on high heat. Allow to cool, then cut into ½-inch slices.
6. Deep-fry or air-fry at 180°C for about 10 minutes or until browned.

Vietnamese-style Crispy Skin Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 whole chicken, about 1.5kg, quartered
• 1L water
• 1 Tbsp thick soya sauce aka cooking caramel
• 3 Tbsps chicken powder
• 2 Tbsps oyster sauce
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 star anises

• 2 Tbsps maltose
• 1 cup vinegar

• Oil for deep-frying

METHOD:

1. Combine water, thick soya sauce, chicken powder, oyster sauce, pepper, sugar, cinnamon sticks and star anises in a stock pot. Bring to a low simmer.
2. Add chicken pieces and cook for 15 minutes. Leave to marinate ideally for 2 hours. Remove and pat dry.
3. Heat up vinegar and maltose in a deep saucepan.
4. Add chicken pieces and coat well.
5. Remove and air-dry on a rack for 4 hours.
6. Heat oil to 180°C, then deep-fry chicken until skin is crispy and browned.
7. Serve with noodles or tomato rice.

*** I used an Optimum HealthyFry and Optimum Induction Pressure-Cook Pro for the Fish (Head) Noodles & Ipoh Sar Kot Foo Pei recipes in this post. More details on these appliances can be found at Prestige Home Appliances.