Pen Cai / Poon Chai / 盆菜, loosely translated as "a Basin of Treasures", is a dish that has made its way onto the dinner tables of Singaporean Chinese during Lunar New Year in recent years. I personally think "a Basin of Treasures" is an apt name for this this, for it literally is filled with goodies of all sorts. While there are no hard and fast rule on the ingredients to include, delicacies such as abalone and seafood are common. As the ingredients are skillfully stacked on top of one another, I guarantee that even the most well-mannered grown-ups will shed their defenses and turn into kids (in a good way, of course) as they gleefully unravel the dish to discover the bountiful goodies on offer. Pretty much like unwrapping Christmas presents, huh?
I know it's only August and there's still about half a year to the next Lunar New Year. But I wanted to post this here anyway because I saw this scanned recipe still in my netbook and was immediately reminded of this luxurious dish me and mum cooked during CNY this year. Trust me on this: this is soooo good it's fit for the king.
"Deluxe" just took on a whole new meaning.
Now, go grab that napkin and wipe that saliva. Then, find your notebook and copy down the following recipe.
(Original recipe from the Straits Times, January 16 2011. Adaptations below.)
Ingredients for A
Cooking Oil
4 cloves of garlic (minced)
20g ginger (shredded)
100g mushroom (pre-soaked and de-stemmed)
150g canned abalone
- 1 can razor clams
100g sea cucumber (ready to use), sliced, pre-blanched
Seasoning for A
2 tbsps Osyter Sauce
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsps Chinese wine*****
1/2 bowl water + 1/2 bowl juice from canned abalone + 1/2 tbsp cornstarch (combine well)
Directions for A
1) Heat oil in wok. Add garlic & ginger and stir-fry until fragrant.
2）Add mushrooms and stir-fry for 2 mins.
3）Add seasoning and sea cucumber, then bring to boil. Subsequently simmer for 5 mins, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Ingredients for B
600g chicken (skinless, cut into bite-size)
40g ginger (shredded)
1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp Maggi seasoning
7 teasp. Chinese wine*****
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sugar
Pinch of white pepper
Seasoning for B
3 tbsps oil
30g ginger (shredded)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
5 tbsps Chinese wine*****
1 bowl water + 1 bowl juice from canned abalone + 2 tbsp cornstarch (combine well)
Directions for B
1）Marinate chicken with ingredients for 30 mins.
2）Heat oil in wok. Add ginger & garlic, then stir fry until fragrant.
3）Add in marinated chicken, cornstarch mixture & Chinese wine. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Ingredients for C
2 tbsps oil
2 cloves garlic (minced)
400g napa cabbage (roughly cut & blanched)
200g broccoli (blanched, cut into florets)
100g carrots (blanched, sliced)
Seasoning for C
Pinch of MSG
1 tbsp sugar
Directions for C
1）Heat oil in wok. Add garlic & stir fry until fragrant.
2）Add blanched vegetables & stir fry for a minute or two.
3）Add seasoning and stir fry for 3 minutes. Set aside.
Ingredients for D
100g scallop (pre-soaked in water for 5 mins)
300g large prawns (trimmed)
200g fish maw（soaked in water for 5 mins and cut into ~3cm width each)
4 tbsps Chinese wine*****
Garnish
1 red chilli
*****Chinese wine is optional
If you have not switched off (ha ha!), congratulations, you're now one step closer to that ultimate pot of Pen Chai. Now, what's left is to assemble everything together.
1) Place the stewed chicken with the gravy (B) at the bottom of the claypot.
2) Assemble the cooked vegetables (C) on top of the chicken, then pour over the gravy of the vegetables.
3) Next, assemble A (except for abalone & razor clams) over the mixed vegetables and pour over the sauce.
4) Assemble D over A.
5) Pour 5 tbsps Chinese wine over D. Cover the pot, bring to boil and simmer for 30 mins. (Check to see that gravy does not dry up).
6) Add in abalone and razor clams and cook for 5 for mins.
7) Garnish and dig in!!!
Seriously, who can resist this mouth-watering pot of goodness?
I know I can't. The rich broth that is essentially the essence of all the ingredients simply tasted out-of-this-world. Really, how can anything that's been simmering for hours not taste good? (My personal favourites are napa cabbage and fish maw -- they do a real good job at taking on the flavours of the other ingredients.)
With each mouthful, I'm reminded of the laborious process of preparing this dish painstaking care that mum put in to ensure everything turned out right. I'm also reminded of how lucky I am to be able to enjoy this delicacy with my loved ones. I feel so blessed.
So, while it took about 3 hours to prepare this dish and we spent about $94 (still way cheaper than those offered at restaurants!), the smile and praises from the family more than made up for it.
So if you're still undecided on what to include on the menu for the next CNY, you must must must give this a try. It's totally worth the effort! The best thing is, our family of four had this for 2 days straight and by the second day, the gravy which was excellent to begin with turned from "great" to "stellar"!
Need I say anything more? :)
PS: There's no hard and fast rules on the ingredients to add. Your imagination dictates the final dish!
Good luck!
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How to cook Pen Cai / Poon Chai / 盆菜 (A Basin of Treasures)
