Black Chicken with Cogon Grass Soup

Black chickens are called black not because their feathers are black (the live ones I've seen have white "furry" feathers) but because their skin, beaks, innards, bones, flesh are almost black in color.  They are prized in Chinese cooking for their curative or healing value.  They are considered generally healthier (to the consumer) than regular chickens.  They have less calories, fat and cholesterol, and they have more anti-oxidants, protein, vitamin B and minerals!  In particular, it is said that the herbal benefits of this chicken is that of alleviating headaches (and migraines?) so I am particularly interested (I was recently diagnosed with having severe migraines!

The traditional way (that I know) of cooking black chicken is by way of Sibot soup, which uses a mixture of 4 or 5 Chinese herbs in the soup.  That was how my mom cooked black chickens, and the soup, as my mom claimed, had great curative value.  But ever since learning that consuming sibot was not so favorable to persons with high blood pressure (which my mom and B's lola both are), I decided to cook my black chicken in a different, more simple (basic) soup.

Truth is, I have never cooked black chicken soup before, simply because I don't know where to buy one!  But a couple of weeks ago, a friend gave me one - it seems that they raise some black chickens (organic at that!) for their own consumption and I was a lucky recipient of one!

My mom always told me that to make a great chicken soup, the (cleaned) whole chicken should be placed in about 10 cups of water with lots of ginger.  The whole pot was then heated to boiling, after which the soup was to be simmered for about an hour over low to low-medium heat.  As per my mom's instructions, salt was not to be added (if at all) until after an hour of simmering.  Unfortunately, I do not know the reason/s for these instructions (my mom is great at giving instructions but not so good at explaining the reasons), what I do know is that they just work! 

So that's what I did!  But instead of the sibot herbs, I just added dried scallops, shiitake mushrooms and fresh cogon. 

The soup was sweet-ish, perhaps due to the lack of salt, but it was quite tasty (at least to me!)  The black chicken meat was a bit dry and stringy, or so I thought.  Then again, given its health benefits, dry and stringy meat is not so important.

(Now, where can I buy dressed black chickens???)

Braised Sea Asparagus and Shiitake Mushrooms

After being away from the weekend market (since December last year!) I finally had a chance (time!) to go back.  Several weeks away and it seemed like a lot had changed!

First, the sad (bad) news.  Our "suki" for bananas is gone.  While we hope (fervently) that her disappearance is temporary, we just don't know.  (In fact, the fruit stalls seemed fewer than I remember.)  Then, while my favorite kakanin stall was still there, it was being run by someone else.  Worse was that they no longer carried my favorite ube suman!  Aaarrggghhh!

Not all news was bad, though, there's good too!  I love that the plant section was bigger, which meant more plants for sale!  And there was a stall selling organic fertilizer!  I was able to find a couple of dayap plants (cuttings, actually), as well as some herbs. 

But I scored that day!  Fresh shiitake mushrooms are pretty expensive but we chanced upon a stall that was selling the last of their stock.  The saleslady said if we bought the whole lot (a little over half a kilo) she'd shave off a third of the selling price.  Of course I took the deal!

For this dish, I used the last of my abalone XO sauce and my last can of sea asparagus.

First, clean about 250 grams of fresh shiitake mushrooms and cut off the stems.  Drain the liquid from the can of sea asparagus.

Then saute some ginger and white onions.  Add about half a tablespoon of XO sauce and stir fry until fragrant.  Add the mushrooms; splash with a dash of rice wine.  Add a tablespoon each of light soy sauce and oyster sauce (remember that different brands have different levels of flavor) and stir fry.  The mushrooms should give up a little liquid, but if not, add water a bit at a time.  When the mushrooms are almost done, throw in the sea asparagus.  Keep stirring and check seasonings.  Lastly, thicken the dish with cornstarch slurry.  Just before serving, splash a little toasted sesame oil.

Minced Pork and Shitake over Steamed Tofu

This is a variation of the basic steamed tofu dish (which is just steamed tofu topped with thick soya sauce).  A bit more complicated than the Century Eggs over Steamed Tofu but delicious all the same.

Here's the recipe:

2 blocks of tofu
2 thin slices of ginger
1 small onion, sliced
2 cloved garlic, minced
1 teaspoon XO sauce
4 pieces dried shitake, rehydrated and diced
200 grams ground pork
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
water
cornstarch slurry

Steam the tofu (I do this in the rice cooker, on top of cooking rice!  Saves on energy!).

Saute the ginger until lightly browned; then discard.  Saute the onions and garlic until soft and fragrant.  Add the XO sauce and stir-fry until fragrant.  Put in the mushrooms and ground pork.  Season with soy sauce and oyster sauce.  The mixture should exude some liquid, if not, add a few tablespoons of stock or water.  Adjust seasonings to your taste (hubby likes a bit of chili for some heat!).  Thicken with cornstarch slurry.  Pour over steamed tofu.

Diced Tofu, Shitake and Pork

This is another childhood favorite, although I remember it as having "vege-meat" (wheat gluten) cubes as well.  My siblings and I (literally) fought over this dish! 

The best way to serve it?  Piping hot over a bowl of rice!  Oh, topped with spring onions!

To make it:

1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
400 grams lean ground pork (or any ground meat)
about 10 to 12 pieces dried shitake, rehydrated then diced
1 to 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 piece firm tofu, cubed
1 to 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
dark soy sauce, to taste (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste

Saute the garlic and onions.  Add the ground pork.  Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper; stir fry a couple of minutes.  Add the mushrooms.  Splash soy sauce, stir until the mushrooms are partly cooked.  Throw in the tofu.  Add oyster sauce.  The mixture should give up some liquid, if not, add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup stock or water.  Season to taste.  Simmer until everything is cooked.  If desired, thicken the dish with some cornstarch slurry.  Adjust seasonings, according ot personal taste.