CNY 2012 Lunch

We celebrated CNY (Chinese New Year) with my cousins and their kids yesterday.









Besides these, my chef also cooked red bean soup with lotus seeds and mandarin orange peel.

Fortune, Wealth & Prosperity

Chinese New Year (CNY) is here again.... today being the 2nd day of the "Rabbit" Year.

Do you know some Chinese like to hang a bundle of Chinese Leeks (da suan; 中国大蒜) together with a cabbage (bao cai; 包菜) in their house during CNY? According to them, they believe such arrangement of vegetables represents "sure count (money)" or "包算" and symbolises fortune, wealth and prosperity in the new year!

On behalf of the It Meows team, Dora would like to wish all Chinese a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Hakka Soul: Memories, Migrations, and Meals

Lui goong bing bahng
Ten moon hoi
Yit tiow wong loong
Jon chut loi

Which translates roughly as:

Thunder goes bing bang
Heaven's gates open
Out squirms
A yellow dragon

(pg. 62)

So what exactly does this Hakka poem means? I will give you the answer* at the end of this post. :)


Written by a Malaysian-born Hakka, Chin Woon Ping, the Hakka Soul: Memories, Migrations, and Meals / Chin Woon Ping (ISBN: 978-9971-69-400-5) provides an interesting account of stories and also memories of a Hakka family.


Several Hakka cruisines, such as keo nyuk (braised pork), jiu gai (chicken in wine) and nyong teo fu (stuffed tofu) are also introduced to the readers but that could be made more appealing if she had included pictures of the dishes.

nyong teo fu

Besides the Hakka recipes, Woon Ping also mentioned about a wild plant called ma see han (which literally translated to "horse shit" spinach!) or callaloo. According to my chef, not many people know that such plant can be served as greens. However, this can't be blamed since most vegetable stalls in Singapore don't sell ma see han.

ma see han

My chef usually cook soups with ma see han and other ingredients - chopped garlic, sliced shallots, ikan bilis and sliced fish cake.

ma see han soup

* The Hakka poem is a metaphor for passing stool. ;p

Braised Sweet Preserved Vegetables with Roasted Pork

Braised Sweet Preserved Vegetables with Roasted Pork

This is my favourite one-dish meal prepared by my chef. It goes well with both porridge and steamed rice.

Ingredients:
1. Sweet Preserved Mustard
2. Roasted Pork
3. Garlic (chopped)
4. Dark Soya Sauce (~ 2 tbsp)
5. Cooking Oil
6. Water (~ 150 ml)

Sweet Preserved Mustard

Main Ingredients

Directions:
1. Soak the mustard in water for ~ 30 min. Wash the mustard and then drain off the water.

Sweet Preserved Mustard (Soaked)

2. Place the mustard in boiling water and then cook for ~ 2 min to remove dirt thoroughly and also the excess saltiness/sweetness in the mustard. Drain off the water. Cut the mustard.

Sweet Preserved Mustard (Boiled)

3. Heat the oil in wok and then put in the chopped garlic. Stir fry until fragrance.

4. Add in the roasted pork and then stir fry for ~ 1 min.

5. Put in the cut mustard and stir fry for ~ 2 min. Add the dark soya sauce and then stir fry for another ~ 1 min.

6. Add the water and cover the wok with a lid.

7. Simmer for around ~ 45 min and then serve with steamed rice or porridge.

CNY Special - IV

In today's CNY Special (IV edition) writeup, I will touch on 1 Teochew dish and 1 Hakka Kueh prepared using China or Chinese leeks (中国大蒜) which symbolise abundance.

China Leeks

1. Stir Fried Pek Tor He with China Leeks [Teochew]

Traditionally, many Teochews love to stir fry Pek Tor He (Rabbit Fish / 白肚鱼; a.k.a Prosperity Fish / 发财鱼 or CNY Fish / 拜年鱼) with China leeks during CNY.

Pek Tor He

Stir Fried Pek Tor He with China Leeks

2. China Leek Kueh [Hakka]

The Hakkas love China leek kuehs (客家蒜粄)! The ingredients used include chopped China leeks, bean curd and dried shrimps.

China Leek Kueh

Today is the 1st day of Chinese (Lunar) New Year. I wish everyone Gong Xi Fa Cai (Mandarin) or Keong Hee Huat Chai (Teochew) or Kung He Fatt Choy (Hakka).

Giam Chye Kueh

My chef has prepared some Giam Chye Kueh (Preserved Vegetables Kueh, Hum Choi Ban, or 咸菜粄) yesterday using chopped Giam Chye and minced pork as the main ingredients. Like the case of the Hakka Peanut Kueh, it is also uncommon too see the Giam Chye Kueh at food stalls.




Hakka 101
Hum2: Salty; 咸
Choi4: Vegetables; 菜
Ban3: Kueh; 粄

Kimchi - Its Nutritional Value

Recently read a book about Kimchi (Kimchi : Korean traditional fermented food) and here are some interesting information which I would like to share with you.

A CODEX standard was established for Kimchi in July 2001. According to definition, the main ingredients used to prepare Kimchi is Chinese cabbage and the seasoning mixture used for processing include red pepper powder, garlic, ginger, scallions and radish. To ensure proper ripening, fermentation is done and the product is preserved through the production of lactic acid at a low temperature.

Red chilli peppers contain capsisin which promotes gastric juice and aids digestion. Garlic strengthens energy and is said to prevent stomach cancer while ginger aids blood circulation and enhances appetite. The vegetable contains fibre which prevents and treats heart disease and obesity. The lactic acid bacteria in Kimchi controls and kills harmful germs and enhance resistance against illnesses.

For more information about Kimchi, you can visit here.

Stir Fried Vegetables with "Prawns"

This is my chef's version* of stir fried vegetables with vegetarian prawns. It's another vegetarian dish which you maybe interested to try also.

Ingredients:
1. Broccoli
2. Cauliflower
3. Carrots
4. Yellow Capsicum
5. Vegetarian Prawns (from Friendly Vegetarian)
6. Cooking Oil
7. Salt
8. Vegetarian Oyster Sauce
9. Cornflour, mixed with Water


Directions:

1. Wash and cut the vegetables (1-4). Rinse the vegetarian prawns.
2. Heat the cooking oil in a wok.
3. Add in a pinch of salt and then the vegetables (1-4). Stir fry the vegetables for ~2 minutes.
4. Add in the cornflour solution and then cover the wok with a lid. Cook over medium flame for ~2 minutes.
5. Add in the vegetarian oyster sauce and the vegetarian prawns.
6. Cook for another ~1-2 minutes and then serve.


*My "rainbow" version of stir fried vegetables uses these ingredients which give the dish a more colourful look:
(1) Broccoli [green]
(2) Cauliflower [white]
(3) Carrots [orange]
(4) Red capsicum [red]
(5) Yellow Capsicum [yellow]
(6) Snow Peas &/or Sugar Peas [green]
(7) Crab Stick &/or Prawns [red]
(8) Shiitake Mushrooms [brown/black]
(9) Egg Toufu [yellow]

If your kids don't like or are picky about eating vegetables, maybe you can try cooking this dish with these colourful ingredients. Hope it helps to appetize them and gives them a more wholesome meal. :)

Refer to here for Stir Frying tips.

Teochew Ku Chye Kueh

The Ku Chye (Chinese Chives; 韭菜) Kueh is another well known Teochew delicacy. This kueh is made of Ku Chye and dried shrimps as fillings.

Sweet Potato Leaves

I remember we used to grow sweet potatoes in Lim Chu Kang and we eat both the roots (sweet potatos soup or boiled sweet potatos) and leaves. However, there are some people (especially those staying in the city) who don't know that the leaves are edible. According to my brother, his primary school classmate was unaware of this and gave a wrong answer for a test question asking whether sweet potato leaves are edible. What's a pity! But can't blame him also since he did not eat them before when he was staying in a flat in Lim Chu Kang. (There used to have a small public housing estate at Neo Tiew Road)


Anyway, sweet potato leaves can be used to make excellent dish. They are usually cooked with belacan or shrimp paste. At home, my chef usually cook them with chopped garlic, shallots and dried shrimps.