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.
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!
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