Date: Feb 15, 2025

I cooked two pots of Pencai this year. Both Pencai are similar but some ingredients are different. My ex-big-boss today has requested me to please post a blog entry on how to cook it. So, let’s do just that!

What is Pencai?

So, it is a CNY dish you cook during CNY. Basically, you braised a pot that has many many ingredients until it is fully cooked.

This is my first Pencai I cooked on the date of Feb 3. That day, we farewell Ms. Soo-chin who is going back to Korea for good, so, I cooked for the Malt Drinking Group.

Once it is cooked, it looks like this.

Let’s “unbox” the Pencai #1.

As said, the Malts drinking gang gets to eat this.

Then, on Feb 8 Saturday, I cooked again another pot for the Usual Party Gang. I have specially made this Time Laspe Video to show how I plate the pencai dish. You may want to slow-mo it to see clearly what I did. So, starting with a big wok, I apply some Sesame Oil on the wok, so that the wok is oily. Then, I start to place all my ingredients nicelly in it. Later I will list out the ingredients I used. Basically, you can put whatevvery thing you want to put. So, for this year, I have tried out burdock (牛蒡), Gooseweb, salt egg yogs, 花胶，鹅掌，etc.

See I even plated the japanese long mushrrom on it.

Before Cook…

Let’s “unbox” the Pencai #2.

So sorry, that time I was busy doing something else… forgot to take a video of the pencai #2.

When I remember to go and take photo or video, pencai already being “sapu”.

HOW TO COOK PENCAI.

Very simple. I will give example of pencai #2. You need to figure out how to fit everything into the wok you have. That’s it. But there are multiple layers. Things like carots, pumkins, those hard hard vegetables all goes into layer-1 bottom layer. Those you want to soak and make it tasty ingredients goes into layer-2 the mid layer. After you cover all these with cabbage, you start to do your layer-3 which is the delicios layer. Those you want to show case your pencai, then you put ok top the layer-4 top layer. Usually are cooked food and fresh sashimi grades food. Usually there are 30-40 ingredients inside…

INGREDIENTS

LAYER-1 (BOTTOM LAYER)

1. Carrots (cut into triagle shapes, not to small)
2. Pumkins (cut into triagle shapes)
3. White Radish (cut into triangle shapes)
4. Green Radish (optional)
5. Burdock (cut into small round cubes)

LAYER-2 (MIDDLE LAYER)

1. Beancurd sheets (have to soak in water before hand, then cut into smaller pieces)
2. Salted Egg Yog (Just the orange egg yog, throw away the salty egg white, very delicious too)
3. Tau-kua (cut into cubes)
4. Tau-kee
5. Dried Scallops (buy the big big one, soak in water before hand to soften it)
6. Dried Oysters (but big big Korean or Japanese one, soak in wter before hand to soften it)
7. Fatt Choy (soak in water before hand, and stuff it in between the ingredients, every layer can put)
8. Leeks (cut into 1-1.5 inch and place it in)
9. Cabbage (cut into slice pieces and cover all these ingredients up)

LAYER-3 (ON TOP OF CABAGE)

1. Century Eggs (This is my recipee, and one of the most delicious ingredients)
2. Chinese duck blood sausage.
3. Chinese XO sausage.
4. Chinese normal sausage.
5. Japanese Mushrooms (soak in water before hand to soften it)
6. Dried normal Fish maw (soak in water before hand to soften it)
7. Tau-Pok (see how I stuff it around the wok)
8. Enoki Mushroom

LAYER-4 (THE PRESENTATION TOP LAYER)

1. Sea Cucumber (I used expensive spikey Japanese one)
2. Gooseweb (if you can find it, dump the gooseweb sauce inside too)
3. Fresh sashimi grade Hiroshima Oysters (optional because you already have dried oysters)
4. 2x to 3x cans of braised abalone from the can. (put the sauce into the pencai too)
5. Roasted Duck Leg (optional)
6. Roasted Pork
7. More mushroom, any type for decorations
8. High grade Hua-Jiao Fish Maw (get from the catonese restaurant, that has a lot of collogens)
9. Goji Berries (a bit)
10. Spring Onions leaves
11. Chicken Broths
12. Oyster sauce
13. Abalone sauce
14. Soya Sauce
15. White Pepper
16. Chinese Wine
17. Prawns (optional)

The key is to plate all these ingredient in a harmony and nice manner. Most importantly, everything must be inside. Usually, I don’t really care how it looks. I want it to be very tasty which is important.

The key is to stuff everything inside. Careful with the sauce. Don’t put too much. Usually with the size of my wok, I put 2 cans of braised abalone sauce, and 1-2 box (small) chicken broth. If you have too much sauce or liquid inside, it will poo poo poo poo out. very messy. 🙂

HOW TO COOK???????

You cover the wok, and then, use middium fire to slowly cook it for 20-30min to bring it to boiled. From time to time, the sauce will poo poo poo wanted to come out of the wok. So, just simply spoon it into a bowl for later use. Then, you turn down the fire to smallest fire…. and slowly cook for another 30-60 min. Make sure you have a wok that will not burn the bottom later. Means use a good wok la. I use Amway i-Cook wok.

I have been cooking pencai for almost 20 years … so, practise make perfect…

You usually cannot finished the pencai. So, with so much left over… what do you do??

You put in Assam skin, dried chilli and mustard veggie (gai-choy) and lots of water to cook or braise it. Of course, you dump every other meaty dish in there. Few days ago I tabao the suckling pig from Silk restaurant, so that goes in to this Cai-Buay. And I have eaten this caibuay for 4-5 days after each pencai. wahahaha

OK, huat ah!!!!