Joo Hoo Char (Fried Cuttlefish)

When I was growing up, I've never been deprived of Chinese New Year must-haves such as new clothes, shoes, red packets and my sister and I spend lots of time playing with firecrackers. Tua Koo, (my eldest maternal uncle) worked in Ipoh and he would pamper my sister and I a lot as we were growing up. Whenever there were school holidays and festive periods, he would always be travelling north to our home in Penang without fail and buys us lots of Ipoh Pomelos, Hand brand and Old Man brand groundnuts and boxes after boxes of firecrackers. Yes, he buys them by the boxes or cartons!

Our home is always the center of attraction in our neighbourhood during Lunar New Year because we would be lighting up firecrackers night after night at the open area outside our garage.

Reunion dinner is always grand with lots of good food, and mom cooking all the traditional Chinese dishes. Among them, my favourite dish is the Joo Hoo Char. Joo Hoo Char is a traditional Peranakan dish that is cooked during Chinese New Year. Its ingredients are Joo Hoo (Dried Cuttlefish), Sweet Turnip, Carrot, Dried Mushroom, Pork Belly, and Tao Cheo. Perhaps the Peranakan folk in Singapore may be familiar but so far, many of my Chinese Singaporean friends have no knowledge of this dish.



As Chinese New Year is only a day away, I would like to post a recipe of this dish that I am preparing for my family's reunion dinner. This dish can be served as a filling wrapped in Chinese Lettuce too.

Ingredients
100g Joo Hoo see (shredded dried cuttlefish)
250g Pork Belly
1 kg Bangkwang (sweet turnip)
1 no Medium Carrot
6 Dried Chinese Mushrooms
3 cloves garlic (minced)
3 tbsp Cooking Oil
Dash of Sesame Oil
2 tsp Tau Cheo (salted soy bean)
1 tsp Sugar
Chinese Celery

Soak the dried cuttlefish in water for 15 minutes and rinse clean. Dry with kitchen towel if it is still wet.

Blanch pork belly briefly in boiling water. Diced it small (discard the skin) and set aside.

Shred finely the Bangkwang, Carrot into long strips. Soak the mushroom, wash and cut off the hard stem and slice into strips.


Heat oil in a large wok. Saute Garlic briefly. Fry the cuttlefish till it is dry and becomes aromatic. Then fry the diced pork, adding tao cheo and the chinese mushroom. Follow up with turnip, carrot and Chinese celery. It is important to fry until the ingredients are equally mixed. Taste a little before you add the salt, sesame oil and sugar. Sometimes the tao cheo's saltiness and turnip's natural sweetness is enough that you do not need to put too much seasoning but a dash of them is good.

You will need to cook them a little longer till the dish is dried up and has no more gravy left.