Traditional Favourite

Tomorrow marks the end of CNY celebrations for the year! My family will be celebrating ‘Chap Goh Meh’ (which literally translates to 15th night – a traditional celebration which marks the end of the 15-day CNY celebrations) with a luncheon at our favourite Chinese Restaurant. Before the end of CNY, I thought it’d be nice  to share abit about one of my family’s favourite CNY dish, which is…(*Drum Rolls*)

If you happen to be a Peranakan (Baba/Nyonya) or a Penangite, I’m sure you’ve seen and tasted this dish before! Yupz, its the famous (in Malaysia larh) Jiu Hu Char! (Literal translation: Stir Fried Cuttlefish)

Even though the name says ‘Stir Fried Cuttlefish’, those new to this dish might be surprised to find that the main ingredient in this dish is not cuttlefish (sotong) but the humble yam bean! The dish basically consists of thinly shredded strips of yam bean, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, cuttlefish & belly pork (my mom’s version). While modern equipments such as shredders and electric food blenders are available to make the job of shredding the ingredients easier, the vegetables are traditionally shredded by hand; something that my mother (and I) still practice! This is actually one of the most tedious steps in the preparation of this dish as it is an acquired skill to shred the vegetables to just to right consistency.

Close up view: Jiu Hu Char

There are many variations of this dish and some might prefer to omit/add other ingredients, commonly prawns or chicken (instead of pork). It is said that each household has its own special way of preparing this dish and the flavours may vary from simple to something truly complex (Source: Nyonya Flavours). Which is really true! I’ve tasted many different variations of this dish prepared by my aunties, neighbours, friends and those prepared by Nyonya Restaurants, and some proves to be fresh and crisp while others have the vegetables heavily infused with the flavour of the cuttlefish. Nevertheless, I still think my mom’s version is the best

And since my mom usually only cooks a HUGE pot of it once a year during CNY (too tedious to prepare on normal days!), it’s something that I really look forward to and miss every CNY! CNY won’t feel like CNY if I don’t get a taste of this dish…

So for those of you who haven’t tried this before, I highly recommend it! Maybe for Chap Goh Meh?

Till the next post!

Sweet Treats for the New Year

The good ol’ Biscotti and Layer Cake are back for the festive season!

Didn’t have time to try anything new this year. So its back to  basics!

Happy CNY, folks!

A Song to Share

Would like to share a song with all of you today:

如燕 (Ru Yan) by Olivia Ong

For those of you who understand Mandarin, I think this song is very meaningful! A really beautiful piece...and the drama it was featured in is something really worth checking out:

http://littlenyonya.mediacorptv.sg/

Enjoy the song!

Updates and First Post of 2010!

Went out with Sham, William, Sulo and Lee Fung today. Haven't met up with them for so long (Since our post-exam, farewell dinner at Italiannies, which I might write a post about, if time permits. And yes! I've survived the final year! Phew...)! So it was really fun to just hang out together...we ate, chatted, ate summore (dessert), window shopped (with a really patient William who willingly accompanied a bunch of us girls window shopping around for clothes!)

Lee Fung (shying away from paparazzi) and William enjoying their Root Beer Float!

Caught Red-Handed. HAH!

Sham and Sulo!

And we talked, and we talked and we talked till about 5pm! Really had lots of fun today guys! Looking forward to the next one!

More updates coming up...stay tuned!