It is good to make this and keep in fridge, so that you can make anchovy (ikan billis) stock instantly.  You can keep this for up to a year in an air tight container in the fridge.  You need a grinder for this.

Get 500 grams of anchovy (or any amount).  Optionally for hygiene, you can wipe the ikan billis with a wet cloth, or I prefer to wash it, also to remove some saltiness. Dry it under hot sun.  Using wok or frying pan, with very low heat, without oil, pan fry the anchovy until very dry and crispy (use low heat to prevent burning before drying).  You need some patience here, as this will take up to 30 mins.

Allow the anchovy to cool to room temperature.  Put into grinder to grind till fine powder (make it really fine).  Note that after turning off the grinder, do not open cover immediately as the very fine powder may “float” out, wait for few minutes.  Scoop (again don’t pour as powder is very fine and will float in the air) into airtight jar and keep in fridge.

When you need to make pot of stock, add 1 teaspoon of powder into 1 pot of boiling water and allow to boil for 2 mins.

Saw this on TV some time ago.  It is eaten as tradition in some families on Christmas Day, with all the leftovers turkey, ham and all kinds of meat during the Christmas Eve dinner.  It is call devil’s curry for the very spicy flavors.

Ingredients (1 big pot serving, adjust quantity according if more meat is used)

1. Turkey, Ham, roast beef, lamb etc (any leftovers meat)
2. 5-10 tablespoon Chicken Curry powder (you can get it from supermarkets, or Indian spice shops.  Some spice shops sell creamy curry paste, that will also do), add more if you like very spicy.
3. 500 ml Coconut milk
4. 6 shallots or 1 big onion.
5. 5 tablespoon cooking oil
6. water
7. salt
8. 1 table spoon sugar

Method

1. Cut the meats into chucks. Season with the curry powder by mixing them in a mixing bowl.
2. Peel shallots or onion and chop into small pieces.
3. Heat up a pot, add in cooking oil and shallots or onions.  Stir fry till fragrant.
4. Add in meats and stir fry for 5 mins (or  toss it by holding the pot handle and shaking it with a upward jerk) until curry fragrant.
5. Add in coconut milk and top up with water till all meat almost covered in the gravy.
6. Allow to boil and add in sugar and salt to taste.  Allow to simmer for 15 mins.
7. Serve.

You can do this when you have leftovers of gobo soup (see soba in gobo recipe) that you boiled too much and roasted piglet meat that you take away from dinners. Quantity is adjustable. No other flavourings added as the roasted piglet meat is salty enough.

Ingredients (serve 2):

1. Roasted piglet meat (remove the bones, unless you want everything into the pot)
2. 4 cups Gobo Soup
3. 1 1/2 cups Uncooked rice (you can use cooked ones too)

Method:

1. Rinse the uncooked rice.
2. Use a rice cooker (my way) or pot.
3. Put all the washed uncooked rice into the pot.
4. Add the gobo soup and cook until porridge almost done.
5. Add the roasted piglet meat (as they are already cooked).
6. Cook a while more.
7. Serve while hot.

Note: Gobu soup can be prepared simply by having a section of gobo and 1 or 2 carrots, allow to boil and simmer for 3 hours (see soba in gobo recipe)

This is a simple dish. Suitable for people of all ages. It might be a bit bland in taste as it is plain. All natural flavours. You might want to give it a try if you’re always eating out, eating lots of flavourings such as MSG.

Ingredients:

1. 2 Eggs
2. 2 bowls water (1 more bowl if not using slow cooker)
3. 6-10 Filament Sticks (fake crab meat)
4. Japanese Soba (plain / flavoured)  (amount to serve 2)
5. Salt
6. 2 Carrots
7. section of Gobo (牛蒡)

Method:

1. Clean & peel off the skins of the gobos. Break / cut into shorter sizes.
2. Heat water in a soup pot until boiling.
3. Add the gobos into the boiled water.
4. Clean, peel off the skin & cut carrot into bite size. Put all into the soup pot.
5. Boil at least 3 hours ahead (low heat)
6. You may add in additional herbs if you want to.
7. When the soup is almost done, add salt to taste.
8. Heat water in another pot /pan until boiling.
9. Cook the noodles until soften. Remove. Run through cold water (if you like). Set aside.
10. Clean the filament stick and cook a while in the hot water to get them cooked. Remove. Set aside.
11. Hard boiled 2 eggs. Remove. Remove shells. Set aside.
12. Put the noodles, egg & filament sticks into a bowl. Then add the soup & serve hot.

Note:

• If you think that this recipe is really tasteless, you can add in your flavourings to make it better.
• Advisable, for those who don’t know how to boil soup using soup pot / any pot, PLEASE use slow cooker & boil over night.

This simple step is just to reduce the bitterness and not to eliminate the bitterness totally in bitter gourd. (I don’t think you can)

After removing the seed, slice the bitter gourd thinly, if you need to slice the bitter gourd for cooking anyway, for example omelette.  Otherwise, cutting to chucks is fine, but not so effective. After cutting, toss it with a lot of salt.  Leave it for 5 minutes, rinse thoroughly and then soak in plain water for 10 mins.

It will be best if you use filtered water as they will be absorbed back into the bitter gourd.  Some filter even claimed to reduce the size of water molecules clusters and to allow easy absorption.