Happy new year! Here’s the top nine meals we cooked in 2020.
When MCO was implemented across the country, we began cooking and sharing our recipes almost every day. We did not anticipate how popular these posts would be, and were truly humbled and surprised by how much you guys enjoyed it.
Thank you so much for all your kind words and encouragement. It was really nice to see some of you attempting our recipes – we learnt a lot from you as well in the process.
Narrowing this list to nine was certainly a challenge. In the end, we chose those that really got strong feedback (from IG and real-life people) or those that carried a strong significance.
Thanks so much for making 2020 a little bit more bearable for us. We look forward to cooking and sharing more with you guys. Cheers!
1. DTF Shrimp Fried Rice – Truly the dish that kicked things off at the start of MCO! Born out of a deep craving for Din Tai Fung’s famous wok-hei infused fried rice, we didn’t anticipate how much it resonated with people. More importantly, we felt our attempt was about 80% close to the real deal. We did another recipe that incorporates the golden rice technique. Check out the original recipe here as well as the Golden DTF Fried Rice recipe here.
2. Clams in Superior Soup – This Chinese soup recipe has the most clicks on our website. This dish typically costs quite a bit at Chinese seafood restaurants, but a home-cooked one is only a fraction of the price. It is also really easy to make. More importantly, Ming says it’s restaurant-standard. Yay! Find the recipe here.
3. Taiwanese Scallion Pancake – So easy, so good! Inspired by our trip to Taipei, we made this popular street snack using ready-made frozen roti prata (best discovery of MCO), scallion and sauce conceived from memory. Ming’s mom frequently requests for this dish. Find the recipe here.
4. Ayam Pop – 2020 was the year we discovered good Nasi Padang. We also made gulai ayam and dendeng batokok – but ayam pop is probably the standout for the tender chicken cooked with coconut water. We are also very proud of the accompanying sambal ijo. This dish is inspired by the ayam pop Max ate at Nasi Kapau. See the recipe here.
5. Rendang (tak) Tok – We also made sate ayam and kuah kacang for Raya, but Rendang trumps all others. It’s certainly a lot of hard work but we were so happy with how it turned out – so tender and flavourful. We call it (tak) tok because Rendang tok is not Rendang tok without daun kunyit, according to my friend. Either way, it’s freaking delicious! Recipe is here.
6. King Siew Mai – When we first cooked a dish using Fish for It‘s pure prawn paste, we knew we wanted to make siew mai with it too. We had so much fun making these king-sized morsels with bits of fresh prawns on top. We also used the same paste to make fried sui kow the next day. Check out our recipe here.
7. Mom’s Hakka Yong Tau Foo – Mom’s YTF is the best, no contest. We are so happy to replicate her Hakka dish which is served in taucu-based gravy. Salted fish and fresh tenggiri are essential here! Find the recipe here.
8. Mom’s Steamed Fish with Garlic, Ginger and Taucu – We cooked a lot of steamed fish this year, but again – Mom’s recipe is the best. The use of taucu provides a savoury depth to this dish. Surprisingly, we don’t see this dish anywhere on the Internet. We also made “kung chew” fish (our creation!) – incorporating Cantonese and Teochew styles!
9. Garlic Pepper Chicken Soup – Ming’s childhood favourite! So easy to cook, it is delicious and so comforting. Check out the recipe here.
Honourable mentions:
Kai Si Hor Fun – We cooked a lot of hawker-style dishes this year (char kuey teow, pan mee, prawn mee, pork mee) but this probably stood out the most ‘coz it’s a lot of work. However, I believe it can be improved further and definitely warrants a 2.0. Check out the recipe here.
Jajangmyeon – We discovered this Korean noodle dish last year (or favourite is at Daorae!) and were so happy to cook this from scratch. So good, and better than some restaurants, I must say. See the recipe here.
Also check out our Top Nine Meals of 2020 here.
