Posted by Patrick.C
Eating Chinese New Year’s cake or year cake (年糕) is believed to have a symbolism of rising higher or taller in each coming year, such as getting a raise in job, promotion in income, or simply just growing taller for kids. I was told so during my childhood. In Chinese, Nian (粘) means sticky which is identical in sound as year (年) while gao (糕) means cake which is identical in sound as high (高). Thus it is dubbed as year cake.
Back in Malaysia, the sweet year cake is usually what we have during the Chinese New Year. Steaming and deep-frying are two common eating methods. I remember when I was in Malaysia, my mom preferred to steam the sweet year cake until it dissolved to become sticky and then it was served with the fresh grinded coconut meats. It was delicious! For the deep fried sweet year cake, it is normally sold by the Chinese doughnut hawkers together with other fried breads like Chinese fried bread stick (油條) and sugar cake (糖糕).
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Posted by Bel.C
Chinese Lunar New Year is exactly in two weeks time. I always get really excited during this time of the year. Remember back home in Malaysia when I was young, there was no school for a week, we got to go shopping for new clothes, we could hang out with family, cousins and friends till late night, we got to play fireworks and we received red packets money (紅包) from elders and married couples. The most cheerful thing was we could eat all day long like a food marathon.
Chinese New Year literally starts on Chinese New Year Eve (除夕夜) where members of family will go home to have a reunion dinner (團圓飯) with the family, kind of like Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve. Then a complete Chinese New Year starts from the 1st day of the Lunar month in Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th day which is the Lantern Festival. It is the longest yet the most important festival for the Chinese people, that we will always prepare sumptuous and traditional dishes that signify good luck, wealth and prosperity for the coming new year.
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Posted by Bel.C
Chinese dumpling or Jiaozi (餃子) is one of the traditional yet popular Chinese dishes prepared during the festive season of Chinese New Year. Maybe not for the Malaysians, but for Chinese (especially from Northern part of China) or Taiwanese, this dish is usually served during the Chinese New Year Eve or some other family get together occasions. This is because the dumpling is shaped like a yuan bao (元寶), a traditional money used during the Ming Dynasty, that means good luck, wealth and prosperity.
Being born and raised in Malaysia, I never have dumplings really. Until I attended university in the United States, my Chinese and Taiwanese friends would make these delicate dumplings for me. And I must say once you’ve tried it you will love it. This Chinese Lunar New Year falls on the 14th of February which is also the Valentine’s Day. You can learn to make this recipe ahead and prepare for your family or loved ones just in time.
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Posted by Patrick.C
Sadly, I can’t consume too much of bean stuffs nowadays because my bean allergy is getting serious when getting aging. Although I love all kind of bean foodies especially dishes prepared with green beans and baked beans, I have tried very hard to prevent myself from eating them. Not even soy milk I can drink.
After a tedious and weary day at work, I craved badly for the pork ribs with bean sauce. I know the bean sauce will give me deleterious effects but I should be fine if not over eating. It was like six months ago when I had pork ribs stew with bean sauce. This time I have slightly customized the recipe to make it little spicy for extra flavor. It ended up tasting a bit salty because I put too much of bean sauce.
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Posted by Bel.C
One of the desserts I love is the Black Glutinous Rice Dessert or Pulut Hitam in Malay which means “black rice”. This is a dessert that you can find it anywhere in Asia. In Malaysia, this dessert is prepared specially using the pandan leaves (screwpine leaves) that give you an aromatic smell, and also palm sugar that makes it an unique sweetness. Essentially, the black rice is cooked until it becomes thick and creamy in consistency, somewhat similar to the texture of rice porridge. That’s why the Chinese actually calls it black glutinous porridge (黑糯米粥). Besides, it is also topped with coconut cream which is a perfect combination to make it even delicious.
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