Susan's Blog

Susan's blog was created to share with friends and relatives related to Special Occasion,Traditional Chinese Festival,Chinese Lunar New Year & Festival Dishes,Chinese Lunar New Year Cookie Recipes,Nonya Kueh and Cake Recipes.

Susan's blog was created to share with friends and relatives related to Special Occasion, Traditional Chinese Festival, Chinese Lunar New Year & Festival Dishes, Chinese Lunar New Year Cookie Recipes, Nonya Kueh and Cake Recipes, Chinese Zodiac sign for Year 2006.

Friday, December 23, 2005

Tang Yuan 汤圆 with Ground Peanut Recipe


Tang Yuan 汤圆 with Ground Peanut Recipe
Tang Yuan 汤圆 with Ground Peanut Recipe
Chinese fesitval dishes usually have auspicious and meaningful names and the tang yuan 汤圆 is no different. The Chinese word tang (meaning 'soup') sounds like tuan which means reunion, while yuan means round, signifying "yuan man" (complete / 圆满 ). The entire phrase tang yuan 汤圆 therefore symbolises "tuan yuan" (family reunion / 团圆 ), and eating tang yuan on Dong Zhi 冬至 represents family reunion and harmony, and also signifies family unity and family prosperity.

Tang Yuan 汤圆 with Ground Peanut Ingredients:
1. 500g of ready-mix glutinous rice dough (can be bought from market during the festival time)
2. 4 bowl of water (250ml x 4 = 1litre)
3. 130gm of dark brown sugar
4. Ground peanut
5. a handful of red date
6. a handful of dried longan meat
7. 1 stalk of pandan leaves

Tang Yuan 汤圆 with Ground Peanut Method Step By Step:
1. Boil 1 litre of water with pandan leaves in a pot until you can smell of pandan leave fragrant with brown sugar, red date and dried longan meat, remove pandan leave then off the fire.

2. Boil 1 litre of water then once it boil reduce to low fire. Prepare some glutinous rice flour for dusting, take out the ready-mix glutinous rice dough, separate the red colour from the white.

3. Cover the red colour dough while you rolling the white dough. Then use water to wet your hands then knead the white dough into well mix, then roll into a long shape. Then divide into 2 small portion, while rolling the balls, the rest of the portion must be kept covered. Use your wet palm to roll them into small balls.

4. Dust your tray with some glutinous rice flour, then put the well roll ball into the tray and cover it. This is to prevent the ball from getting dry thru room temperature. Then proceed to do the red colour dough, knead them with wet hands until they are sticky then divide into small portions, then start to roll into small balls.

5. Once you finished rolling all the ball, put them into tray, you have turn on fire to boil the pot of water. Once you see bubbles, drop in your white ball slowly let it cooked. Prepare a pot of tap water. Then you see the white ball floated up, scoop them up and put into the pot of tap water. Then stir the ball a while. This is to prevent the ball from stick to each other later on. Do the same for the red colour ball too.

6. Then turn on the fire for the pandan leave syrup pot, and let it boil, then drain dry the ball from the pot of tap water and put them into the syrup pot. At this time, you may also add in the red colour balls too, then let them cook until you see all the ball floated up, off fire.

7. You are ready to serve the traditional way of tang yuan in dark brown sugar with grounded peanut. Just dip the tang yuan on to the grounded peanut vola you have Tang Yuan 汤圆 with Ground Peanut.

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Celebrating Dong Zhi 冬至 Festival


Celebrating Dong Zhi 冬至 Festival

Celebrating Dong Zhi 冬至 Festival
Today we celebrated Dong Zhi 冬至 Festival which in Mandarin means "Literally meaning the "arrival (至) of winter (冬)”, Dong Zhi 冬至 ". (also known as Winter Solstice festival) is the second most important festival of the Chinese calendar, and is considered the thanksgiving of the Chinese calendar. Dong Zhi 冬至 is the last festival of the year, being celebrated during on the 22nd of eleventh moon (December). Coinciding with the winter solstice, it is a time for the entire family to get together to celebrate the past good year. Glutinous rice balls known as Tang Yuan 汤圆 are cooked and eaten to signify unity and harmony within the family.

Dong Zhi 冬至 usually falls on the 22nd of eleventh moon(December). In Singapore where most Chinese descended from Southern Chinese, we celebrate Dong Zhi 冬至 eating tang yuan 汤圆 which are glutinous rice balls in a sweet syrup. Chinese fesitval dishes usually have auspicious and meaningful names and the tang yuan 汤圆 is no different. The Chinese word tang (meaning 'soup') sounds like tuan which means reunion, while yuan means round, signifying "yuan man" (complete / 圆满 ). The entire phrase tang yuan 汤圆 therefore symbolises "tuan yuan" (family reunion / 团圆 ), and eating tang yuan on Dong Zhi 冬至 represents family reunion and harmony, and also signifies family unity and family prosperity. We celebrate by paying respect to ancestor with foods prepared at my in-law place.

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Wedding Day of a Good Friend


Wedding Day of a Good Friend
One of my long time good friend and colleague Jenny Ku married of in Johor Segamat on Sunday 17th December 2005. I was invited to her overnight barbercue party at her home in Segamat on the eve of her wedding day.

On Sunday morning she was married of to her long time boy friend Chai Heng I was ready happy for her. Her wedding dinner was held in the afternoon I left for Singapore in the evening.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

The Arrival of My Grand Niece


The Arrival of My Grand Niece
My first grand niece arrived on 11th December 2005 at KK Women's and Children's Hospital the day after my son was commissioned as an officer is'nt she adorable. I think this will be the most precious and memorable day for my brother, sister-in-law and my niece in their life time.

I visited my niece a week after she had delivered her daughter, is'nt she cute. While I was there my niece was bathing the baby, facing such a lovely newborn, and seeing her smile, it was such a beautiful feeling, she felt so warm. This photograph was taken while I was there.

More Photographs
1. Photo of my niese bathing the baby.

2. Close up photo of after bath.

3. Photo after powderup and nice cloth.

Saturday, December 10, 2005

OCS Commission Officer


OCS Commission Officer After about 48 weeks of military training on home ground and overseas my son and 368 officer cadets were finally commissioned into the ranks of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) officer corps at SAFTI MI(SAF Training Institute Military Institute). President S R Nathan officiated at the commissioning parade on the 10th of December 2005.

The commissioning of these 325 Army cadets, 36 Navy midshipmen and 8 Air Force cadets marked their completion of a new 38-week intensive officer cadet course. Six outstanding officer cadets were awarded the Sword-of-Honour. The newly commissioned officers will be assigned combat, instructional or staff appointments in various units of the SAF.

Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean was also present at the parade. Family and friends of the newly commissioned officers, Members of Parliament, grassroots leaders, National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets, and junior college students were also present to witness the commissioning of the new officers, underlining the strong support for National Service and the importance of the SAF in ensuring Singapore’s security, survival, and success.

I was there for my son rank Epaulettes Changing Ceremony (his cadet shoulder rank to a 2nd Lieutenant shoulder rank) and some photo session.

After the comissioning parade, a 6 course dinner was served in the Military Insitute cook house it ended at 09.30pm

More Photographs
1. The arrival of Guest Honour President S.R.Nathan at SAFTI MI

2. Parade inspection by Guest Honour President S.R.Nathan at SAFTI MI

3. The Epaulettes Changing Ceremony at SAFTI MI

4. My son receving his Sword and Certificate of Appointment at the ACPC (Appointment Certificated Presentation Ceremony) Dinner at SAFTI MI

5. ACPC (Appointment Certificated Presentation Ceremony) Dinner at SAFTI MI