Susan's Blog

Mid Autumn or Mooncake Festival

2006-10-06T16:13:00.000+08:00

Mid Autumn or Mooncake Festival
The Mid-Autumn or Mooncake Festival falls on the 15th day of the Chinese eighth lunar month and it has been delayed until October this year because the lunar calendar needed to catch up with a double-Seventh month. It is celebrated to signify the end of the harvest season. As it is associated with paper lanterns, it is also called the Lantern Festival.

This year it fall on 6th October 2006, in Singapore the Chinese and non-chinese celebrate the festival with family gatherings, prayers, mooncakes and lantern parades by children. Weeks before the festival, Chinese families present gifts of mooncakes to friends and senior relatives to foster better ties with them.

On the 15th night when the moon is shining its brightest, offerings of mooncakes, pomelos, water calthrops, baby yams, oranges ,Chinese tea and many other traditional delicacies that are made to deities and ancestors, on the praying altar. Lighted lanterns are also hung conspicuously in front of homes. Prayers are offered with the customary lighting of joss-sticks, red candles and golden joss-paper are burnt. After prayers, there is feasting and merry-making with children carrying lighted lanterns around the neighborhood. Here they are sometimes joined by their non-Chinese friends in celebrating with lanterns.

Mooncakes
As early as one month before the event, Chinese restaurants in Singapore sell mooncakes. In Singapore the best place for mooncakes is non other than in Chinatown. To the Chinese, the round shape of mooncakes symbolises family unity. Each mooncake is about the size of a human palm. Among the popular varieties are the black bean paste (tou-sha), brownish lotus paste (lien-yung) yellow bean paste (tou-yung). Usually the paste contains the yolk of a preserved duck’s egg to enhance the flavour.

Lanterns
They usually come in various shapes like dragon, butterfly, rabbit, carp and others. In keeping with the times battery operated lanterns are also available, but they are much popular as those lit by candles.

History behind the Mooncake Festival
Back during the Soong dynasty when the Chinese were oppressed by the Mongols, their rebel leaders sought to overthrow the Mongol overlords. As meetings were banned it was impossible to make plans. Liu Fu Tong of the Anhui Province came up with a plan by requesting permission to distribute cakes to his friends to bless the longevity of the Mongol emperor. He made thousands of cakes shaped like the moon and stuffed with sweet fillings. Inside each cake however was placed a piece of paper with the message: ‘Rise against the Tartars on the 15th day of the 8th Moon’. Reading the message, the people rose against the Mongols on a local scale. This rebellion enabled Chu Hung Wu, another rebel leader to eventually overthrow the Mongols. In 1368, he established the Ming dynasty and ruled under the name of Emperor Tai Tsu.

Henceforth, the Mid Autmn Festival was celebrated with mooncakes on a national level.

D.I.Y. Snowskin Mooncake

2006-09-29T16:40:00.000+08:00

D.I.Y Snowskin Mooncake
Like the light aroma of green tea to the bitter-sweet taste of chocolates, snowskin mooncakes can be as varied as you like. And it’s easy to make – just use edible cooked flour (no more baking!), add your favourite paste, and voila – you are set to impress your friends!

Snowskin Mooncake Ingredients:
400gm Premix Flour
50gm Vegetable Shortening
155ml Water and green tea essence
5ml Green tea essence
466gm Green Tea Paste

D.I.Y Snowskin Mooncake Step by Step:

1. Pour all the premix flour into the baking blender or mixer. Add shortening, water and green tea essence.

2. Stir to ensure consistency of the dough.

3. Spread a little flour on a clean table. Put dough on table, and knead it thoroughly.

4. Roll the dough into a long, cylindrical shape.

5. Cut the dough up into small pieces, measuring about 3 cm long, and weighing about 30g depending on mould size.

6. Flatten the dough – this is the snowskin of one mooncake.

7. Roll the green tea paste into a round ball, weighing about 35g. Put the paste in the middle of the snowskin.

8. Fold in the dough slowly so as to envelope the green tea paste filling.

9. Coat the traditional wooden mould with a bit of flour (to prevent sticking). Put the mooncake in one of the moulds.

10. Press the dough in firmly but gently and take away the access dough.

11. Then knock the mould on all sides until a perfectly shaped mooncake slides out, voila you just make yourself a tea flavour Snowskin mooncakes.

Note:
Store the Snowskin mooncakes in the fridge for a cold, refreshing bite. Snowskin mooncakes can keep for 10 days, as compared to the traditional baked mooncakes, which can keep for up to 3 months.

Hungry Ghost Festival or Zhong Yuan Jie

2006-07-26T10:17:00.000+08:00

Hungry Ghost Festival or Zhong Yuan Jie celebrated on the 7th Lunar month which fall on 25th July 2006 this year. On this day it is believed that the "Gates of Hell" are opened and that the dead return to visit their living relatives. The Chinese feel that they have to satisfy the imprisoned and hungry ghosts in order to get good fortune and luck in their lives.

Historically, families have offered sacrifices of newly harvested grain to departed ancestors on Hungry Ghost Festival or Zhong Yuan Jie , which also coincides with the Buddhist Ullambana, Deliverance, Festival and the Taoist Ghost Festival, called "Zhong Yuan" in Taoist terminology. Since each of these traditions in some way honors the spirits of the departed, the seventh lunar month has come to be known as Ghost Month, celebrated as a time when the "Good Brethren", ghosts from the underworld, come back to earth to feast on the victuals offered by the living. Over time the Ullambana Festival and Ghost Festival have melded together to become the present day Zhong Yuan Putu or "Mid-origin Passage to Universal Salvation."

Hungry Ghost Festival or Zhong Yuan Jie is currently celebrated with ceremonies at homes, temples, associations, and guilds. Prayers are offered to the dead and offerings of food such as chicken, vegetables, fruits, bean curd and white rice are placed at street corners and roadsides to appease the spirits. This is believed to prevent the wandering spirits from entering their homes and causing disturbances in their households.

Offerings are also made at Hungry Ghost Festival or Zhong Yuan Jie by burning replica money notes, which are also known as ‘hell money’. Some families also burn paper houses, cars and even paper television or radio sets to give to their dead relatives. The Chinese feel that these offerings reach the ghosts and help them live comfortably in their world

My Googlepages

2006-07-24T13:58:00.000+08:00

Google are now offering 100meg of free webspace to host or create web pages without needing to know HTML and CSS called Googlepages and best of all no Web Advertisement. I though I would give it a try since it is free.

I've been working in my Googlepages in he last three days, and also reading some reviews of it. If I'm not wrong it provide unlimitated bandwith like Blogger. I don't know what Google intends, of course. Could be anything from the personal homepage creator that it is now to the beginnings of a new social network to a future full scale hosting solution with paid features. Or something else. All I know is that when Gmail debuted, you couldn't even save a draft. It had some cool features, but was missing some basic things that almost everyone wants in an e-mail service. Now it has more features than you would ever expect to get for free.

Then there's Blogger. Blogger still lacks some things that we'd like, but it was a short time ago when it didn't have comments or image hosting. Those, along with a number of other features, have been added in recent months. Google works in mysterious ways and in its own good time, but it does work.

I'd say that Googlepages is a service to watch. Of course, there's no predicting Google's schedule on it. Could be months or it could be years before it fully takes shape.

Susan's Blog

2006-06-14T13:20:00.000+08:00

Dragon Boat Festival 龍舟節

2006-05-31T13:05:00.000+08:00

Dragon Boat Festival 龍舟節

Today is Dragon Boat Festival 龍舟節 also known Duan Wu Festival 端午節. However, the original reason for the festival has nothing to do with dragons or boats. Rather in memorial of the poet Qu Yuan (343-290 B.C.).

Every year on 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calender Chinese people eat rice dumplings to remember a poet that died over 2000 years ago.

Qu Yuan was a highly-respected, trusted advisor to the king until the king became corrupt and banished Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan was so distraught he started writing poems about the corruption of the government. Finally he could no longer take it and threw himself into the Mi Lo River in protest.

Local people had come to love Qu Yuan, and unsuccessfully searched the river for his body. Desperate to prevent the fish from chomping his body, the villages threw in lumps of rice wrapped in bamboo leaves (zhong zi) 粽子.

Over time these rice dumplings (zhong zi) 粽子 have evolved and become many different sizes and shapes. Also, now there are a wide range of fillings. One thing that hasn't changed is that they are still wrapped with bamboo leaves.

Bak Chang 粽子 Recipes

2006-05-26T12:56:00.000+08:00

Bak Chang 粽子 Recipes

Bak Chang 粽子 Ingredients:

1. Bamboo leaf 80 pcs
2. Pork (cut into cubes) 1500 g
3. Mushroom (sliced) 100 g
4. Chestnut (cooked) 250 g
5. Dried shrimp 150 g
6. Shallot 80 g
7. Garlic 80 g
8. Glutinous rice (soaked in water for 4 hours) 2000 g

Bak Chang 粽子 Filling Mix:

1. Parsley powder 2 dsp
2. Soy sauce 3 dsp
3. Dark soy sauce 3 dsp
4. Pepper 1 dsp
5. Gourmet powder 1 dsp
6. Salt 1 dsp
7. Five-spice powder 1 dsp
8. Sugar 2 dsp

For Glutinous Rice:
Garlic oil - 4 tbsp, Pepper - 1 dsp, Gourmet powder - 1 dsp, Dark soy sauce - 1 dsp

Bak Chang 粽子 Method:
1. Mix glutinous rice with seasoning. Steam for 30 mins.

2. Heat wok and fry shallots, garlic, dried shrimps till fragrant. Add in mushroom, pork and seasoning. Fry till fragrant. Finally, add in chestnuts and mix well.

3. Fold 2 pieces of bamboo leaves to enclose rice and filling. Fold into dumpling shape and tie them. Boil for 2 hours.

Popiah or Spring Roll 薄饼 Recipes Pt 2

2006-04-09T12:50:00.000+08:00

Popiah or Spring Roll 薄饼 Recipes Pt 2

Popiah or Spring Roll 薄饼 Filling:
1. Cucumbers, chredded 2 whole pcs
2. Bean sprouts, roots plucked 300 g
3. Coriander plants, cut 2 Handfuls
4. Chinese lettuce leaves 2 to 3
5. Lap Cheong (sausages) 5 pcs
6. Omelettes made with 3 eggs
7. Small prawns, peeled 1 to 11/2 pcs
8. Steamed crab meat 300 g
9. Pounded toasted peanuts 100 g
10.Garlic, peeled and chopped 100 g
11.Fresh red chillies, pounded 200g
12.Tee cheo (dark sweet sauce) 1 small bowl

Popiah or Spring Roll 薄饼 To Serve:
1. Large "poh piah" skins 20 to 30 pcs
2. Sugar 2 tbl
3. Fried pounded "pee hee"
4. Vegetable oil

Popiah or Spring Roll 薄饼 Method:
1. Mix peanuts with sugar.

2. Deep fry 1/2 of the garlic in oil.

3. Wash prawns and leave shells on. Rinse "lap cheong". Steam "lap cheong" for about 3 minutes till cooked. Repeat with prawns till a bright orange pink colour. If using fresh crabs, crack the claws and steam till the shell is bright red.

4. When ingredients are cool, slice "lap cheong" finely. Peel prawns and crabs.

5. Shreds eggs finely. Arrange all ingredients in plates and bowls.

6. Fold each poh piah skin into 4 and arrange on a plate. Cover with damp cloth.

7. Boil the filling. Invert a small bowl in a large bowl and spoon the filling over. Serve.

8. Spread out a skin on your plate. Spread out the skin over the whole skin and spread over with some "tee cheo", raw garlic and chillies.

9. Place a lettuce leaf on top and spread some filling on top of that. Sprinkle over a little of the rest of the ingredients on roll up "poh piah" tucking in both corners.

Popiah or Spring Roll 薄饼 Recipes Pt 1

2006-04-07T12:38:00.000+08:00

Popiah or Spring Roll 薄饼 Recipes Pt 1

Popiah or Spring Roll 薄饼 Ingredients:
1. Fresh winter bamboo shoots 450 g
2. Young carrots 200 g
3. French beans 200 g
4. Ordinary leeks 200 g
5. Bangkwang (sweet turnip) 300 g
6. Cabbage 200 g
7. Taukwa(hard soya bean cakes) 5 pcs
8. Pee hee (dried plaice) 350 g
9. Streaky (belly) pork with skin 300 g
10.Garlic, peeled and pounded 80 g
11.Small shrimps 600 g
12.Water 3 cup
13.Vegetable oil 2 cup
14.Lard 7 tsp

Popiah or Spring Roll 薄饼 Seasoning:
1.Salt 1 tsp to 2 tsp
2.Sugar 1 tbl
3.Light soya sauce 2-4 tsp
4.Dark soya sauce 2 tsp

Popiah or Spring Roll 薄饼 Method:
1. If using fresh bamboo shoots, peel off skin and cut into large pieces. Boil a pot of water, add the shoots, cover and boil for 1/2 hour.The water and shoots will turn yellow. If using tinned bamboo shoots, drain and wash. Shred prepared shoots finely. Bamboo shoots can be stored in water in the fridge.

2. Peel carrots and "bangkwang" and shred finely. Remove rough outer layers of leeks and slice finely. Remove outer leaves of cabbage and shred finely, discarding hard central stems. String the peas or beans and shred finely.

3. Shred "taukwa" finely. Wash shrimps, peel and remove intestinal vein.

4. Boil 3 cups water, add the washed piece of pork and boil for about 1/2 hour till soft. Drain, keep stack, and when pork is cool, shred finely against the grain.

5. Place "wok" over high heat for 1/2 minute, add 2 cups oil and when smoking, add the shredded "taukwa". Deep fry, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes till golden brown. Drain.

6. In the meantime, peel the "pee hee", discarding bones and skin. After frying the "taukwa", turn the heat down to medium and add 1 handful of "pee hee" pieces to the hot oil. Deep fry, turning occasionally till golden brown, fragrant and crispy. Repeat till all is used up. Discard oil or keep for future use. Pound "pee hee" till fine.

7. Keep 1/2 the "pee hee" to put in the filling. The rest is to be served at the table in plates. If prepared ahead of time, store in air tight container for up to 2 weeks.

8. Wash "wok" and dry. Place over high heat for 1/2 minute, add 1 tablespoon lard into thw "wok" and when smoking, add 11/2 teaspoons garlic and stir fry till slightly crispy. Add shredded carrots and french beans and stir fry till vegetables are limp. Remove to a large pot.

9. Put 11/2 tablespoons lard into the "wok" and when smoking, add 11/2 teaspoon garlic and stir fry till fragrant. Add cabbage, stir fry for about 2 minutes, then add leeks. Stif fry till limp. Remove to large pot.

10.Put 11/2 tablespoons lard in "wok" when smoking, add 11/2 teaspoons garlic and stir fry till fragrant. Add prawns, stir fry till pink, then add "bangkwang". Stir fry till limp. Remove to the large pot.

11.Add 21/2 tablespoons lard and remaining garlic and stir fry till fragrant. Add bamboo shoots and stir fry for about 4 minutes. Add pork, stir well and add "taukwa". Stir well. Add to the pot.

12.With a ladle and pair of chopsticks, mix all the ingredients thoroughly.

13.Add stock and bring to the boil. Add the salt, sugar, light soya sauce and dark soya sauce. Simmer gently for about 1/2 an hour till ingredients are cooked through.

14.Add the 1/2 of the pounded "pee hee", stir into the mixture and boil for another 10 minutes. Eat at once or keep in the fridge.

Ching Ming Festival 清明節 2006

2006-04-05T12:10:00.000+08:00

Ching Ming Festival 清明節 2006

Ching Ming 清明節 a traditional chinese festival is also known as the grave-sweeping festival. It's observed ten day before and after 5th April 2006 this year. Chinese families show their respect to ancestors & loved ones by visiting their graves to clear away weeds, touch up gravestone inscriptions, burn incense and make food & wine offerings. The burning of imitation paper money & other paper goodies is for the deceased to use in the afterlife. In modern days, there are fancy paper goodies including clothes, radios, TVs, cars, etc.

Ancestor worship is the native religion of China and that may have been the origin of Ching Ming festival. Buddhism, Christianity and Islam were imported to China. Confucianism & Taoism started in China but are philosophies rather than religions. In Confucianism, ancestor worship is incorporated as the virtue of filial piety.

Popiah [Spring Roll] 薄饼

2006-04-03T18:25:00.000+08:00

Popiah [Spring Roll] 薄饼

Most Singaporeans are well acquainted with this traditional favourite: the popiah 薄饼 or spring roll, which is enjoyed as a complete meal or snack.

In the old days, family members of the Hokkien dialect-speaking community in China would gather during the Ching Ming (equivalent to the All Souls Day) in spring to feast on and offer to the spirits of their ancestors the good harvest of a variety of vegetables.

With the abundance of vegetables, the womenfolk of the family would busy themselves in the kitchen cutting and shredding bamboo shoots, cabbages, leeks, and French beans. This manage of cut vegetables will be thrown into a big wok and slowly cooked with the addition of strips of soya bean curd, pork belly, and shrimp to enhance the taste.

The Hokkien were skillful at making the thin dough skins that hold the ingredients together. Each skin was then stuffed with a liberal helping of cooked vegetables relished with a generous amount of savoury seasoning. Thus the name popiah 薄饼 Spring Roll originated. Till today, the Hokkien still hold pride in the making of these skins or wrappers out of flour, water, and salt.

With the early Chinese immigrants settling in Singapore and inter-marrying the local Malays, many local specialities have evolved, including the Straits Chinese or Nonya version of popiah 薄饼 or spring roll.

The difference is the addition of eggs to make the skins and the pre-cooked turnip stuffing, which is fried in garlic and soya bean paste.

Today in Singapore, the spring roll is a fried snack while the non-fried version is known as popiah popiah 薄饼.

Organising a popiah party is an excellent way to break the ice among guests who do not yet know each other. It is fun to watch everyone attempting to make the perfect popiah with the occasional comical bursting of skins in the process.

Chinese Lantern Festival 元宵

2006-02-12T09:14:00.000+08:00

Chinese Lantern festival 元宵

Lantern festival 元宵 also known as Chap Ngoh Meh or Fifteenth Night,in Hokkien dialect mark the end of Chinese New Year as thousands of people thronged the streets to celebrate. All the people of all walk of life attended the celebrations. The festivities, which lasted over two hours, concluded with a loud spectacular fireworks and firecrackers, much to the delight of the crowd.

Below are some of the spectacular fireworks shots taken on Chinese Lantern festival 元宵:

Traditional Chinese Lantern Festival元宵 spectacular fireworks shots one.

Chinese Lantern festival 元宵 spectacular fireworks shots two.

Chinese Lantern festival 元宵 spectacular fireworks shots three.

Chinese Zodiac Sign 生肖運程 for Year 2006

2006-02-07T09:40:00.000+08:00

Chinese Zodiac Dog 生肖運程 for Year 2006
Those who are born in the year of dog are loyal, smart and have special talent. Emotionally, you have a tendency to shift mode in a split of a second.

However, you have an intense personality that may unintentionally hurt someone's feeling. You practice favoritism and like to help those who you like. And you will also listen to the advice of your love one. To Learn More...

Chinese Zodiac Rooster 生肖運程 for Year 2006
Those who are born in the year of rooster have a strong ego and self-demanding. You also have a very strong artistic sense and can become a successful artist. You take your job very seriously and very responsible.

When you see something that is not up to your standard, you will comment and perhaps become critical. However, you are not a person who likes to bad-mouth people. You are also a good socialist. You have many friends. To Learn More...

Chinese Zodiac Monkey 生肖運程 for Year 2006
Those who are born in the year of monkey have a very clever brain. No problems can stop you. You can solve them with ease. You have a strong curiosity and always explore new things. You are a fast learner too. You learn for fun. As a result, when problems surface, you can quickly response and solve them. You let nothing stop you.

You are dependable and like to help others, thus you win many friends. You are also a natural leader that your subordinates adore and respect. However, sometimes you act strangely and cause people to keep a distance from you. To Learn More...

Chinese Zodiac Goat 生肖運程 for Year 2006
Those who are born in the year of goat are sincere, honest and dependable. Your outside may look docile but you have a fighting spirit inside. You are also a caring spirit. You like to listen to "beautiful" words and despite the good words. So, you have missed many valuable advises and learnt a lesson the hard way.

You are artistic and talented. When the right time comes, you will have your chance to show the world what you are capable of. Sometimes, you are lack of the determination to finish the job you start.

You are low profile in general, thus people may not be able to identify you from a crowd. You are a quiet worker. As a result, you do the work and other people enjoy the fame and credit. To Learn More...

Chinese Zodiac Horse 生肖運程 for Year 2006
Those who are born in the year of horse are very giving and very easy to get along with. You are influential, strong and independent. You are full of energy. Occasionally, you are just a wild cowboy.

You are a strong leader in nature. Your subordinates will follow your leadership. You are also a responsible person. You are an introvert because you rarely share your feeling with other people. People will find you unpredictable. To Learn More...

Chinese Zodiac Snake 生肖運程 for Year 2006
Those who are born in the year of snake are kind, forgiving and impartial. You are adaptive at least in many challenging situations. You are energetic, always on the move. You are smart, and a fast learner. Although cool outside but inside your heart, you have a strong compassion for others.

You have the tendency to become over-confident and will charge blindly. As such, you always get yourself into unnecessary troubles. You should reflect on your own actions. To Learn More...

Chinese Zodiac Dragon 生肖運程 for Year 2006
Those who are born in the year of dragon are knowledgeable and daring. You can plan in great details. Dragons are always associated with emperors. As such, you also have the determination to become successful. However, when you face obstacles, you have the tendency to quit. You lack of a strong will to make it happen.

Your actions are unpredictable and they always mystify others. Furthermore, dragons may look generous but are actually calculative. You always think deeply before you act. You are a responsible person. You do not like to chase after the trend and style. For you, that is money not well spent. To Learn More...

Chinese Zodiac Rabbit 生肖運程 for Year 2006
Those who are born in the year of hare are gentle and sensitive in nature. You have good interpersonal relationship with people. Because you are kind in nature, people may take advantage of you or take you for granted. Although you do not look like a leadership but you are actually a capable leader.

You are also very adaptive. You can work in any environment and enjoy it. You are also an analytical person who can identify super deal. However, you are not a decisive person. Sometimes your hesitation let the opportunities pass and only to regret it later. To Learn More...

Chinese Zodiac Tiger 生肖運程 for Year 2006
Those who are born in the year of zodiac tiger have a strong personality. You are suitable to resume a leadership role. The strong personality will make either friends or enemies. There is nothing in between. It is advisable to tune down the temperament.

You also like to act alone thus don't like crowded environment. As such, you may feel lonely at times. You are a direct communicator. Yes means yes and no means no. If you want to meet more friends, you will have to venture into the gray area. To Learn More...

Chinese Zodiac Ox 生肖運程 for Year 2006
Those who are born in the year of ox have a strong belief system. You do not take advice from others easily. However, you are grounded and honest. It is your nature to work hard. Although you are stubborn but surprisingly you do not lack of friends. This is because you care for your friends.

Because you are stubborn in nature, you will need to learn the lesson the hard way. There is no short cut for you because once you feel your ways are right, you will charge blindly. So, your strategy is to learn fast and correct fast. Your work model is trials and errors.

Involve yourself in charity work will increase your luck this year. You may even find your love one there. To Learn More...

Chinese Zodiac Rat 生肖運程 for Year 2006
Those who born in the year of rat are gentle and have a strong observation sense in nature. Although you may look quiet outside but you like to be surrounded with crowds. You are a good socialist.

You are also good planners. You know how to take advantage of all situations. You are resourceful even when the situation seems hopeless to others. Your adaptation skill is especially strong.

You also have a strong tendency to self-indulge. When it is overdone, it will cause others to keep a distance with you. Pay more attention to others. To Learn More...

Chinese Zodiac Pig 生肖運程 for Year 2006
Those who are born in the year of Pig are straightforward and kind hearted. You are willing to lend a helping hand to those who need your help. Beware of those crocks whom take advantage of your generosity.

You are a natural leader. You can win the trust of others easily. You won't ask others to do things that you yourself won't do. You are a responsible leader who cares for your subordinates.

You like stable and loving family life. Your family is your number one priority in life. You will do anything to maintain your family lifestyle. To Learn More...

Make Offerings 拜天公 to the Jade Emperor

2006-02-05T10:10:00.000+08:00

Make Offerings 拜天公 to the Jade Emperor.

Today on ninth day of the first lunar month, the Hokkien or Fujian chinese make Offerings to the Jade Emperor 拜天公 with roasted pigs, chickens, ducks, fishs, crabs, sugarcane and fruits on eighth day late at night and continues to ninth day before dawn, this is another big chinese new year's celebration.

The Fujian chinese belief making Offer to the Jade Emperor 拜天公, besides feeling grateful, they also implores the God in the coming new year to bestows extraordinarily good luck to the whole family, lets the entire family be safe and makes good progress.

Everybody Birthday 人日節

2006-02-04T09:20:00.000+08:00

Everybody Birthday 人日節

Toay the seventh day of first lunar month the chinese celebrate what considered the birthday of everybody 人日節. In the old day noodles are eaten to promote longevity and Yu Sheng for success.

This year Chingay Parade which was held at Orchard Road with 28 local organization and 13 various country like USA, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Africa etc. participating in the parade. Firecrackers heralded on the seventh day 人日節 of Chinese New Year, after President S R Nathan officiated at the start of the Chingay Parade妆艺大游行.

About 200 thousands thronged the stretch of Orchard Road between Lucky Plaza and Orchard Point, to catch the yearly Chingay Parade 妆艺大游行with dazzling display of culture diversity, song and dance. Fireworks filled the night sky in Orchard Road, serving as a majestic backdrop for the Flying Dragon finale of this year's Chingay Parade 妆艺大游行.

Happy Chinese Lunar New Year 新年快乐 2006

2006-01-29T09:02:00.000+08:00

Happy Chinese Lunar New Year 新年快乐 2006
Wish everyone who visit my blog (be it you're a chinese or not) a Happy Lunar New Year 新年快乐 to all of you!!!

First day of Chinese Lunar New Year, Wake up around noon after lunch I visited my mother-in-law, greeted her and exchange 2 Mandarins oranges and wish her good health and wealth. (The exchange of oranges arises from the fact that the Contonese pronunciation of Mandarin oranges is 'gam' which sounds like gold. Chinese exchange oranges in pairs because they believe that even numbers signify happy events).

Here are some traditional greeting phrases which everyone can use to greet each other:

bu bu gao sheng 步步高升 - Be promoted to a higher position.
chu ru ping an 出入平安 - Wishing you safty where ever you go.
gong xi fa cai 恭喜发财 - Wishing you prosperity.
he qi sheng cai 和气生财 - Harmony brings wealth.
hua kai fu gui 花开富贵 - Fortune comes with blooming flower.
jin yu man tang 金玉满堂 - Treasures fill the home .
long ma jing shen 龙马精神 - The energy of a dragon and a horse .
qing chun chang zhu 青春常驻 - Full of youthful vigour .
sheng yi xing long 生意兴隆 - Business prospers.
shen zhuang li jian 身壮力健 - Be healthy and vigorous all year.
wan shi ru yi 万事如意 - Everything goes as you hope.
xin chun da ji 新春大吉 - Good fortune in the New Year.
xin xiang shi cheng 心想事成 - May all your wishes come true.
yi ben wan li 一本万利 - May you make great profits.

We had Steamboat dinner at my in-law's house together with the extended family every Chinese Lunar New Year. My mother-in-law loves Yu Sheng, so we lo hei every day of the Chinese New Year starting from the eve with a big plate of home made Abalone Yu Sheng for dinner.

Yu Sheng, a traditional Chinese New Dish that is usually eaten on the seventh day of the Chinese New Year, comprises slices of raw fish or Abalone with other ingredients like shredded carrot, Green Raddish and shredded Daikon (chinese white raddish). Lo hei is the act of tossing Yu Sheng.

Chinese Reunion Dinner 团圆饭 2006

2006-01-28T22:50:00.000+08:00

Chinese Reunion Dinner 团圆饭 2006

Happy Lunar New Year 新年快乐 and Gong Xi Fa Cai 恭喜发财, everyone! Let's bid goodbye to the Year of the Rooster, and welcome the year of the Dog.

Today start the begining of the Spring Celebration for all chinese around the world. According to tradition, families gather for a special dinner on Lunar New Year's Eve. It's popularly known as "reunion dinner". It's a time-honored tradition, and Chinese families place a lot of importance on this dinner. People will try to get home in time to have dinner with the whole family. That's why many Chinese owned stores and companies close for business early on Lunar New Year's eve for this once-a-year event. They will remain closed on the first and second days of Lunar New Year, some may even remain close for longer period.

In Singapore, the Chinese make up the majority of the population, so many businesses are closed during this period too. Traditionally, reunion dinner is held at home, but there are some families who opt for the easy way out and have their dinner at restaurants. This way, they can forego the hassle of shopping for and preparing the food, and cleaning up afterwards. Actually, it's no joke if one has to prepare this big feast for a huge family. It's customary to have lots of dishes to symbolise abundance, so imagine how much time and work has to go into preparing the food!

Chinese Customs and Belief:

In the old days there is this saying stays up all night on lunar new year's eve 除夕守岁 without sleep is to greet the arrival of Chinese Lunar New Year.

There are two kind of meanings on stays up all night on Chinese lunar New Year's eve 除夕守岁:
1. The senior stayed up all night on new year's eve 除夕守岁 is "to refined and treasure all the good moments that happen last year".

2. As for the young people to stay up all night on new year's eve 除夕守岁, their goal lies in lengthening their parents life.

Abalone Yu Sheng 鲍鱼生, or Abalone salad first dish in Chinese Reunion Dinner 团圆饭 menu.

Braised Spareribs in Hoi Sin Sauce 金玉满堂

2006-01-28T22:21:00.000+08:00

Braised Spareribs in Hoi Sin Sauce 金玉满堂

Braised Spareribs in Hoi Sin Sauce 金玉满堂 Ingredients:
1. 450 g spareribs

Braised Spareribs in Hoi Sin Sauce 金玉满堂 Marinade:
1. 1/2 tsp salt
2. 1 1/2 tbsps light soy sauce
3. 3/4 tbsp Shaoxing wine
4. 2 1/2 tbsps sugar
5. pepper

Braised Spareribs in Hoi Sin Sauce 金玉满堂 Sauce:
1. 3 tbsps Hoi Sin sauce
2. 4 tbsps water
3. salt

Braised Spareribs in Hoi Sin Sauce 金玉满堂 Method:
1. Chop spareribs up into 1 1/2 inch long pieces. Wash and drain well. Marinate for a while.

2. Coat the spareribs in caltrop starch. Heat wok and add oil. Deep fry spareribs until golden brown. Drain and set aside.

3. Bring sauce to the boil. Cook until the sauce thickens. Put in spareribs. Serve.

Pea Sprouts with Dried Scallops 金枝玉叶

2006-01-27T08:42:00.000+08:00

Pea Sprouts with Dried Scallops 金枝玉叶

Pea Sprouts with Dried Scallops 金枝玉叶 Ingredients:
1. 6 dried scallops
2. 300 g young pea sprouts
3. 1 clove garlic
4. 1/2 tbsp ginger juice

Pea Sprouts with Dried Scallops 金枝玉叶 Sauce:
1. 1 tsp oyster sauce,
2. 1/3 tsp salt,
3. 1/2 tsp sugar,
4. 1/2 tsp cornflour,
5. 1/2 cup liquid from steaming dried scallops

Pea Sprouts with Dried Scallops 金枝玉叶 Method:
1. Wash dried scallops and soak in water until soft. Add ginger juice and steam for 1/2 hour. Save liquid from steaming. Tear dried scallops into shreds.

2. Wash and drain pea sprouts. Heat wok and add 2 tbsps of oil. Add pea sprouts and stir fry for a while. Add ginger juice. Stir fry pea sprouts until soft and dish up.

3. Heat wok. Add oil and stir fry garlic until fragrant. Add dried scallops and sauce. Bring to the boil. Simmer for a while. Pour over the bed of pea sprouts. Serve hot.

Stewed Shark's Fin with Shredds 大鸿展翅

2006-01-26T10:20:00.000+08:00

Stewed Shark's Fin with Shredds 大鸿展翅

Stewed Shark's Fin with Shredds 大鸿展翅 Ingredients:
1. 150 g shark's fin (soaked)
2. 1 canned abalone
3. 113 g fish maw (soaked)
4. 113 g chicken breast
5. 4 cups stock
6. 2 tsps wine

Stewed Shark's Fin with Shredds 大鸿展翅 Marinade:
1. 1/4 tsp salt
2. 1 tsp caltrop starch
3. 1 tbsp egg white
4. 2 tsps cooked oil
5. 2 tbsps water

Stewed Shark's Fin with Shredds 大鸿展翅 Seasoning:
1. 1/2 tsp salt
2. 1/4 tsp sugar
3. 1 tsp light soy sauce
4. 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
5. sesame oil
6. pepper

Water chestnut flour solution:
1. 2 tbsps water chestnut flour
2. 3 tbsps water

Stewed Shark's Fin with Shredds 大鸿展翅 Method:
1. Poach abalone in can for 4 hours in water. Shred.

2. Shred fish maw. Skin and shred chicken. Marinate for a while and scald.

3. Heat 1 tbsp of oil. Sizzle wine. Pour in stock, shark's fin, fish maw and seasoning. Bring to the boil. Thicken with water chestnut flour solution. Add chicken and abalone. Mix well. Serve.

Lobster in Stock 祥龙献瑞

2006-01-25T07:37:00.000+08:00

Lobster in Stock 祥龙献瑞

Lobster in Stock 祥龙献瑞 Ingredients:
1. 1 Australian lobster (1.2 kg)
2. 450 g kale
3. a few sections of spring onion
4. 1/2 tbsp grated ginger
5. 1/2 tbsp chopped shallot
6. 1 tbsp butter
7. 1 cup stock

Lobster in Stock 祥龙献瑞 Marinade:
1. 1 tbsp wine
2. 1 tsp cornflour

Lobster in Stock 祥龙献瑞 Seasoning:
1. 1 tsp oyster sauce
2. 1/3 tsp sugar
3. 1/2 tsp salt
4. 1/4 tsp cornflour
5. 2 tbsps water

Lobster in Stock 祥龙献瑞 Method:
1. Drain urine from lobster. Wash and chop up. Remove gills from the head and wash. Add marinade and mix well.

2. Wash and trim kale. Blanch and arrange on a plate.

3. Deep fry lobster in boiling oil until medium-done and drain.

4. Stir fry ginger and shallot with butter until fragrant. Add lobster, spring onion, stock and seasoning. Bring to the boil. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Arrange lobster on top of the kale. Serve hot.

Chicken in Soy Sauce 金雞迎岁

2006-01-24T10:06:00.000+08:00

Chicken in Soy Sauce 金雞迎新岁
Here is another Chinese New Year Dishes to share with everyone. Enjoy.

Chicken in Soy Sauce 金雞迎新岁 Ingredients:
1. 1 chicken
2. 600 g light soy sauce
3. 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
4. 150 g rock sugar
5. 3 tbsps wine
6. 1 tsp ginger juice
7. dash of sesame oil

Chicken in Soy Spiced 金雞迎新岁 Sauce:
1. 2 star aniseeds
2. 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
3. 1/4 dried tangerine peel
4. 1 piece cassia bark
5. 6 cloves
6. 5 cups water

Chicken in Soy Sauce 金雞迎新岁 Method:
1. Brush 1 tbsp of wine and 1 tsp of ginger juice on the outside and inside of chicken. Marinate for a while.

2. Bring spiced sauce to the boil. Simmer over low heat until 4 cups of sauce remain. Strain. Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rock sugar and wine. Set aside.

3. Tie the neck of chicken with a string. Bring 1/2 pot of water to the boil. Use the string to hold chicken with one hand and pour boiling water onto it several times. Hang it up and let it dry slightly. Put the chicken into boiling spiced sauce. Cover with lid and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn chicken upside down and bring to the boil over high heat. Then reduce heat again. Soak for 10 minutes. Rinse in ice water. Put back into spiced sauce and soak for 5 minutes. Brush sesame oil on the skin and chop up. Serve.

Deep Fried Spotted Grouper 年年有余

2006-01-23T23:04:00.000+08:00

Deep Fried Spotted Grouper 年年有余
This is one of the most easy to cook and good to eat Chinese New Year dishes to share with everyone. Happy Chinese New Year!!!

Deep Fried Spotted Grouper 年年有余 Ingredients:
1. 1 fresh spotted Grouper (600 g)
2. 3 cloves shallot (sliced)
3. Chinese parsley

Deep Fried Spotted Grouper 年年有余 Marinade:
1. 1 tbsp light soy sauce
2. 1/2 tbsp Shaoxing wine

Deep Fried Spotted Grouper 年年有余 Seasoning:
1. 2 tbsps light soy sauce
2. 1 tsp sugar
3. 2 tbsps water

Deep Fried Spotted Grouper 年年有余 Method:
1. Gut and wash fish. Make 3 cut across the length on each side of fish. Wipe dry and marinate for 1/2 hour.

2. Dust cornflour lightly on the fish. Deep fry in boiling oil over mid-low heat until done. Drain. Dish up and arrange Chinese parsley on top.

3. Heat wok. Add oil and stir fry shallot until fragrant. Add seasoning and bring to the boil. Pour over fish. Serve.

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2006-01-22T14:35:00.003+08:00

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Deep Fried Chicken with Fermented Tarocurd 金雞报喜

2006-01-22T10:28:00.000+08:00

Deep Fried Chicken with Fermented Tarocurd 金雞报喜

Deep Fried Chicken with Fermented Tarocurd 金雞报喜 Ingredients:
1. 1 Longgang chicken (1.65 kg)
2. 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
3. 1 tbsp ginger juice
4. 2 stalks lemongrass (finely chopped)
5. 1 piece fermented tarocurd (mashed)
6. 1 egg (beaten)
7. cornflour

Deep Fried Chicken with Fermented Tarocurd 金雞报喜 Dipping sauce:
1. 1/2 piece fermented tarocurd (mashed),
2. 2 tsps sesame oil,
3. 2 tsps sugar,
4. 3 tbsps water
(* mix the above ingredients)

Deep Fried Chicken with Fermented Tarocurd 金雞报喜 Method:
1. Wash and chop up chicken. Add Shaoxing wine, ginger juice, lemongrass and fermented tarocurd. Mix well. Marinate for 1 hour.

2. Mix beaten egg with chicken. Coat chicken with cornflour evenly. Deep fry in boiling oil until golden brown and crispy. Drain. Serve with dipping sauce.

Chinese New Year Spring Cleaning

2006-01-20T21:44:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year Spring Cleaning
I stop blogging for the past five day because next Sunday we celebrate Chinese New Year and is just a week away. In this period traditional Chinese around the world will start spring cleaning and make the necessary preparations this is an annual affair. Although the year didn't start with good news, but still Chinese New Year is something to celebrate and be happy. Of all festival, I like Chiense New Year the most, whereas my son like the atmosphere where so many customs to follow... like must wear new clothes on the first day, praying in the middle of the night(to welcome the God of Prosperity), no swearing, no sweeping of the floor, eating traditional food and deserts, the must-have mandarin oranges, love-letter biscuit (Kueh Belanda) , Pineapple Tarts (Kueh Tarts) , BBQ pork Slices(bak gua), my son's favorite). It's this traditions that makes the festival unique.

As usual we will be celebrating Chinese New Year Eve reunion dinner at my monther-in-law place. I can feel the festival mood heating up as it approaches chinese new year. It a routine every year a month before the big day I will make kuehs, shop for new year goodies, spring cleaning, and make the necessary preparations and so on, so we are more involve and thus will feel it more.

8 Steps to Present Lo Hei Yu Sheng 捞起鱼生

2006-01-15T19:05:00.000+08:00

8 Steps to Present Lo Hei Yu Sheng 捞起鱼生
We must be particular about the way the Lo Hei Yu Sheng 捞起鱼生 were presented to us. Whenever a waiter or waitress hold out a type of ingredient, he or she would say something auspicious on Chinese New Year. There are 8 steps to bring forth the meaning of getting wealthy.

1st step: Say Gong Xi Fa Cai 恭喜发财 (getting rich) and Wan Shi Ru Yi (to be smooth sailing) when putting down the Yu Sheng 鱼生 on the table.

2nd Step: Say Da Ji Da Li 大吉大利 (to be very auspicious) when adding limejuice to the ingredient.

3rd step: Say Nian Nian You Yu 年年有余 (to have a surplus every year) and Long Ma Jing Shen (to enjoy great health) when placing Yu Sheng 鱼生 onto the shredded carrot.

4th step: Say Yi Ben Wan Li 一本万利 (business to be flourishing) when putting pepper and five-spice powder to the Yu Sheng 鱼生.

5th step: Say You Shui Duo Duo 油水多多 (business to be flourishing) when adding golden cooking oil and sauces to the Yu Sheng 鱼生 .

6th step: Say Jin Yin Man Wu 金银满屋 (to obtain abundant wealth) when sprinkling the golden peanut powder.

7th step: Say Sheng Yi Xing Long 生意兴隆 (business to be flourishing) when sprinkling the sesame powder.

8th step: Say Man Di Huang Jin 满地黄金 (to obtain abundant wealth) when adding the thin golden membrane.

A waiter or waitress who follows the eight steps above will be managed to please the customers to a great extent. Before he leaves the table, he will say with a broad smile, May everyone here see their fortune rise higher with each toss.?You won't be able to resist it when you are told to start mixing the Lo Hei Yu Sheng 捞起鱼生 by tossing it in the air - the higher the better!

捞起！捞起！今年捞个风生水起！

Lo Hei Yu Sheng 捞起鱼生 Chinese New Year Dishes

2006-01-13T18:39:00.000+08:00

Lo Hei Yu Sheng 捞起鱼生 Chinese New Year Dishes
Lo Hei Yu Sheng 捞起鱼生 one of the Chinese Lunar New Year Dishes besides being full of flavors and textures, yu sheng is loaded with symbolic meaning. The raw ingredients signify the renewal of life, and the sound of the word for fish in Cantonese sounds like the word for prosperity. The most important (and fun) part of eating yu sheng 鱼生 is the mixing together of the ingredients. To ensure good luck for the coming year, everyone calls out "Lo Hei!" which means "to mix it up" but also sounds like "to prosper more and more" while they use their chopsticks to toss the ingredients as high in the air as they can.

No Chinese New Year feast is complete without Lo Hei Yu Sheng 捞起鱼生, the colorful salad of raw fish and crunchy vegetables. It's served in most Singaporean Chinese restaurants throughout the lunar new year celebration. In recent years, the ingredients can be easily bought at all leading super market. You practically have to shredded the Daikon (chinese white raddish), Green Raddish, Carrot and the Lettuces thinly sliced to start making the dish. This version is light and flavorful and a lot easier to prepare. Use very fresh fish such as salmon, sea bass or even Abalone it easily prepared this way.

Lo Hei Yu Sheng 捞起鱼生 Salad Mixture
1. 1/4 cup Preserved Melon Strip
2. 1/4 cup White Sour Ginger Strip
3. 1/4 cup Preserved Leek Strip
4. 1/4 cup Sweetened Lime Strip
5. 1/4 cup Sweetened Ginger Strip
6. 1/4 cup Preserved Gourd Wax Strip
7. 6 ounces Salmon or Fresh White Fish Fillet, such as Sea Bass
8. 3 Pomelos segments, broken up
9. 1 medium shredded Daikon (chinese white raddish)
10. 1 medium shredded Green Raddish
11. 1 medium shredded Carrot
12. 1/4 Lettuces thinly sliced

Lo Hei Yu Sheng 捞起鱼生 Dressing
1. 3 tablespoons Plum Sauce
2. 1/2 teaspoon White Pepper Powder
3. 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder (five-spice powder)
4. 2 tablespoon Fried Sesame Seeds
5. 1/4 cup Mashed Roasted Peanuts
6. 1 pk Pok Chui Biscuits
7. 2 to 3 tablespoons Cooking Oil
8. 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
9. 1/2 tablespoon Lime Juice
10. Coriander leaves, spring onion and fried shallots for garnish

Lo Hei Yu Sheng 捞起鱼生 Note:
Preserved Melon Strip, White Sour Ginger Strip, Preserved Leek Strip, Sweetened Lime Strip, Sweetened Ginger Strip, Preserved Gourd Wax Strip, Plum Sauce, Fried Sesame Seeds, White Pepper Powder, Cinnamon Powder (five-spice powder), Mashed Roasted Peanuts and Pok Chui Biscuits all this come in package can be obtain from all leading Super Mart.

Getting Ready to Lo Hei Yu Sheng 捞起鱼生
1. To facilitate the very fine shredding of the radish and carrot, use a mandolin or the fine shredding disc of a food processor.

2. In separate bowls, soak the shredded radishes ,carrots and lettuces with cold water until ready to assemble salad. Then rinse and squeeze out excess water and air it before assemble the dish.

3. Place sesame seed in a small frying pan over medium heat; cook, shaking pan continuously, until tightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately remove from pan to cook.

4. The quality and freshness of the fish is crucial for the success of the dish. Remove skin and any bones from fish. Chill fish until firm. Cut into paper-thin, 2-inch-long slices against the grain; set aside.

5. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, oil, and plum sauce.

Assemble of Lo Hei Yu Sheng 捞起鱼生
1. Place pomelos in center of a platter. Arrange lettuces, radishes and carrot shreds around fish. Place fresh thin cut fish meat over the pomelos and add green onions over the thin cut fish meat.

2. Arrange Preserved Melon Strip, White Sour Ginger Strip, Preserved Leek Strip, Sweetened Lime Strip, Sweetened Ginger Strip and Preserved Gourd Wax Strip around the lettuces, radishes and carrot shreds. Sprinkle with Pok Chui Biscuits, peanuts and sesame seeds.

3. Just before serving, Pour dressing ingredients over all. It is customary for everyone to join in and toss the salad. Using chopsticks, each diner digs from the bottom of the salad and lifts the ingredients to mix together.

Serves 8 to 10.

Kueh Bahulu Chinese New Year Cookie Recipes

2006-01-11T10:51:00.000+08:00

Kueh Bahulu Ingredient:
1. 200gm of plain flour (flour can be less)
2. 280gm eggs
3. 1/2 tsp of baking powder
4. 150g of sugar (depend on taste)
5. 2 pandan leaves

Kueh Bahulu Note:
There is a old way of weighting the flour (flour can be less) and eggs that is one bowl of flour to one bowl of eggs and the sugar depend on taste.

Kueh Bahulu Baking Method Step By Step:
1. Heat up the wok and put pandan to fry until there is smell of pandan fragrant, without oil then add in flour to fry with pandan leave.

2. Use middle fire to fry for 10 mins, control the fire, only warm fire, must see pandan leave squeeze until thin, the flour looks loosen, keep on stir fry until loosen for 10 mins, sieve the flour in a big tray.

3. Break the eggs into a mixer, put in sugar slowly, while the mixer is moving, beat until creamy white.

4. Used a brush to oil the kueh bahulu tray, then use tissue to dab it dry. *Can use tissue to dab clean the top of the tray but not the inside part of the tray.

5. Put the tray back to the wok on the reverse side to let it drip dry the oil, the wok is a bit warm but no fire. This is to prevent too much oil on the mould. The wok is more warm will dry the oil.

6. Flour put in square tray, add double action baking powder. Mix it well.

7. Check the mixer, see got wave line on the pastry, off the power.

8. Put the sieve flour into the mixing bowl, use fold in method, fold in 1 direction. Don't fold too long. Then scoop up the mixture, put in piping bag or use spoon to scoop up & put into tray. Then can send to bake. Use 180 degrees to bake for 8 - 10 mins.

9. Once baking is done, use sataystick to take it out. Put on kitchen towel on tray or wire tray basket. When it is cold, pack it into container, 1 layer greaseproof paper, 1 layer kueh balu. One layer after another greaseproof paper.

Kueh Bangkit Chinese New Year Cookies Recipes

2006-01-09T09:11:00.000+08:00

Kueh-Bangkit Ingredients:
1. Tapioca Flour 1000 gms
2. Eggs Yolk 4 pcs
3. Fine Sugar 350 g
4. Grated Coconut 2
5. Vanilla Essence 2 tsp

Kueh-Bangkit Baking Method Step By Step:
1. Dry-fry tapioca flour over moderate heat for 3 minutes. Then lower heat and continue frying for another 2 minutes.

2. Beat egg yolks and sugar till dissolved.

3. Squeeze grated coconut with muslin cloth to obtain coconut milk. Boil coconut milk with 2 tablespoons sugar taken from the quantity stated in the above for 3 minutes.

4. Leave the boiled coconut milk to cool. Then add egg and sugar mixture to blend.

5. Divide the mixture into 2 portions.

6. Add half the tapioca flour into one of the portion. Then the remaining tapioca flour to the other.

7. Knead dough until pliable. If dough is sticky, add 1 tablespoon of tapioca flour to it. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of tapioca flour onto formica table or board. Roll dough out to 0.5 cm thick and cut the shape with cookies cutter.

8. Sprinkle tapioca flour on baking tray before placing the cookies on the tray for baking.

9. Oven temperature 180C baking about 20 minutes or until light cream in colour.

Kueh Belandah Chinese New Year Cookies

2006-01-07T19:20:00.000+08:00

Kueh Belandah (Love Letter) Chinese New Year Cookies Recipes
Kueh Belandah (Love Letter) this Chinese New Year Cookies was the most common cookies taken during Chinese New Year and here are the recipes I like to share with all Kueh Belandah (Love Letter) lover.

Kueh Belandah (Love Letter) Ingredients:
1. 7 large eggs
2. Fine Sugar 550g (a little under 2 1/2 cups)
3. 3 Whole fresh grated coconut (about 3 1/2 pounds in weight)
4. 600g (a little over 2 1/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
5. 2 tbsp. rice flour

Kueh Belandah (Love Letter) Baking Method Step By Step:
1. Dry-fry flour for a few minutes and allow to cool. Squeeze coconut for thick milk and reserve shreds for additional thin milk if batter is too thick. Beat eggs with sugar until completely dissolved. Place fried flour in a large mixing bowl, make a well into the centre and add beaten egg. Fold in gently from the sides and stir to form a smooth paste. Add thick coconut milk and continue stirring until all lumps are removed. To ensure this, pass mixture through a think muslin cloth or fine colander. Set aside.

2. Place charcoal in your special brazier and heat until they become glowing ember. Always have glowing hot charcoal in another stove on standby to add on.

3. Squeeze grated coconut with muslin cloth to obtain coconut milk. Boil coconut milk with 2 tablespoons sugar taken from the quantity stated in the above for 3 minutes.

4. Oil each belandah mould on both sides (one person should be able to handle two at the same time) and heat on charcoal.

5. Now comes the hard part. Holding mould at a slight angle over the pot of batter, pour a ladleful on the mould that is on the horizontal so that excess is drained off immediately. Quickly shut the mould and place on charcoal grill. Cook for about 2 minutes and turn over. Check by opening the mould and when it is light brown, use a sharp knife to scrape off excess from the side of the mould.

6. Open mould and with one quick roll of the free hand, roll into a cylinder about 1/2 inch in diameter. If this is difficult, fold over twice to make loose triangles.

Kueh Belandah Baking Tip:
Add a little warm water to used coconut shreds and squeeze out thin milk. This can be added to the existing batter as you go along as it settles a little and becomes thick.

Kueh Belandah Note:
You will need Kueh Belandah (Love Letter) molds to make these Kueh Belandah (Love Letters).

Kueh Tarts Chinese Lunar New Year Cookies

2006-01-05T18:19:00.000+08:00

Kueh Tarts (Pineapple Tarts) Chinese Lunar New Year Cookies Recipes
Chinese Lunar New Year fall on 29th jan 2006 which is about 3 weeks from now therefore I decided to bake some Kueh Tarts (Pineapple Tarts) Chinese Lunar New Year Cookie.

Below are the Recipies I like to share with all Kueh Tarts lover, happy baking.

Kueh-Tarts (Pineapple Tarts) Skin Ingredients:
1. Butter 300 g
2. Flour 600 g
3. Egg 3

Kueh-Tarts (Pineapple Tarts) Filling Ingredients:
1. Pineapple (about 2500g) 3 pcs depend on the sizes.
2. Sugar 300 g
3. Cinnamon stick a little

Kueh-Tarts (Pineapple Tarts) Ways of Cooking Filling:
1. Mash pineapples and cook in saucepan till boil.
2. Add sugar and cinnamon stick.
3. Keep stirring till mixture becomes dry and brown about 2 hrs plus.

Kueh-Tarts (Pineapple Tarts) Baking Method Step By Step With photographs:
1. Beat butter and egg in mixer well.

2. Sift flour into butter and egg mix. Mix well to form a dough.

3. Paste 2 plastic stript about 0.6cm thick on the table where roll the dough.

4. This method will help you get an even thickness of roll out dough.

5. Use a mold cutter to mold the dough into require shape.

6. Place it on baking tray. Let it set for a while before you decorate eadge of the molded dough.

7. Top with pineapple filling, and make crosses with dough to place on top of tarts.

8. Brush with beaten egg.

9. Bake for 15 mins at 180C depand on oven

Rasin Admond Cookie Recipes

2006-01-03T18:39:00.000+08:00

Rasin Admond Cookie Recipes
Here is a easy to make and good to eat Rasin Admond Cookies recipes to share with everyone.

Rasin Admond Cookie Ingredients:
1. Butter 450 gm
2. Egg 2 pcs
3. Sugar 260 gm depand on taste
4. Flour 600 gm
5. Corn Flour 160 gm
6. Baking Powder 1 teaspoon
7. Admond Powder 2 tablespoon
8. Admond Flavour 1 teaspoon

Rasin Admond Cookie Baking Method Step By Step with Photographs:
1. Beat sugar and egg until suger is disolve.

2. Add butter and Admond Flavour in to mixed it well

3. Sift flour,Corn flour,Baking Powder and Admond Powder into butter,sugar and egg mix.

4. Mix it well to form a dough and leave it for 2hr for it to rise

5. Put the dough into the cookie pushing mold and mold the require shape

6. Mold it on baking tray, and topped it with rasin.

7. Bake for 15 mins at 180C depand on oven

Tang Yuan 汤圆 with Ground Peanut Recipe

2005-12-23T14:03:00.000+08:00

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 汤 (meaning 'soup') sounds like tuan which means reunion, while yuan 圆 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.

Celebrating Dong Zhi 冬至 Festival

2005-12-22T18:20:00.000+08:00

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.

Wedding Day of a Good Friend

2005-12-18T17:13:00.000+08:00

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.

The Arrival of My Grand Niece

2005-12-11T10:23:00.000+08:00

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.

OCS Commission Officer

2005-12-10T10:17:00.000+08:00

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