The Food Canon

All I know is that as a child, this sticky dessert was always around during CNY. Living in a row of terrace houses at Jalan 22/23 (Petaling Jaya), just a few doors away, there was a house which makes it. I could see stacks and stacks of it in their living room. And the glorious smell coming out of that house.... I can still remember that.

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With bits of a spoon-carved hard-boiled egg, rice, sambal and anchovies, the first bite of the Nasi Lemak last night was nothing short of astounding.

And I am still thinking about it.

I  think it was better than the version made by my mum (Auntie Ruby). That is saying a lot. From now, if possible, every lot Nasi Lemak I make has to be done this way. The rice was so good that the prawns, chicken all became secondary though they were delicious in their own right.

(This will be one of the last posts on a CNY-relatd recipe.)

When it comes to pork belly, I think the Cantonese method of turning it into Siu Yoke (Siu Bak) must be one of the best way cooking this cut. Done properly, you have crackling skin (which is full of flavor) and moist meat with a good bite. The skin is not stripped away. It  stays crackingly on the layers of meat and fat.

You end up with a wonderfully presented dish of bite-sized cubes. With a pair of chopsticks in hand, pick up a piece and dip it in mustard or special soy sauce. We can easily agree: this is the best way to eat roast pork.

My cooking experiences for this CNY has been all here in Singapore and mostly good. I will keep some cooking and memory notes here so that I can remembered what I did and what we experienced.

Being a Christian, the Christmas festive should of course be a very special one. But there is something unique about Chinese New Year. No, it is not superior to other festivals. I can recall childhood memories of visiting the homes of my Malay school friends during Hari Raya. I could sensed then that the they were just as thrilled during their own festive season.

So, what is so special about CNY? Is it about the Bak Kwa?  Or how we laugh ourselves silly watching the funny HK CNY movies? Cantonese humor is a class of its own. Or being enthralled by the endless kungfu movies (they do not seem to run out of moves)? Is it the sound of fire crackers? And here, I have to say that I miss the noisy CNY atmosphere in Petaling Jaya.

(At the time of writing, I had just seen with my girls - and loved again - the great movie, Forrest Gump. So, stupid as stupid does, you must excuse some Gump-speak here.)

If you enjoy cooking, CNY is a good opportunity to indulge your hobby. It may be stressful at times, but it will be satisfying.

This blog is almost likened to my cooking notes; I do want to remember what I did for the Reunion dinner this year. It will not be often that these kind of dishes will be cooked and the next time I cook them (next CNY?), this post will be a helpful reference point.

I will give more details here on braising an Abalone dish. If you receive these cans as gifts, this can give you some idea on cooking it well. It does require some prep work but cooking attention is minimal as you leave the pot to simmer.

We needed superior stock (for this dish) and normal stock (for the rest). I used lean pork (0.8 kg, cubed), one "kampung" chicken (remove the skin and fat, cut into smaller pieces), yunnan ham (80g), chicken feet (15) and some herbs like aniseed (2 pieces) and bay leaves (3). After blanching, it was simmered in a deep pot for 3 hours (with about 3 liters of water, so that the stock ingredients are covered.

Thai Galangal - Looks great, smells great, taste great

A dish which will "debut" in our CNY lineup this year is Steamed Chicken in Ginger Sauce. I have already talked about steaming the corn-fed Anxin bird but this recipe is different.

I have already blogged the recipe for this steamed version with ginger sauce. What will make a difference this time round is the fantastic corn-fed Anxin chicken and adding Thai Galangal to the ginger mix.

When using the steaming method to cook chicken, you will be able to tell the quality of the bird. In this recipe, the chicken is cut into small pieces and then steamed for 15-20 minutes. After that, the ginger sauce (prepared beforehand) is added. The Anxin "kampung" bird is fresh, succulent and flavorful. For this recipe, you will need a good "kampung" chicken. White broilers won't do.

My Mum-in-law's collection of abalones (all gifts), from last year and this. Getting them ready for steaming.

I continue with the CNY recipes which will be appearing on our Reunion table.

I come now to the "treasure" dish. When was the last time I cooked this? Unless you are a Chinese restaurant chef, you don't cook this dishe regularly. Mentally, I have to go through the steps again, as the last time I cooked it was last year's CNY.

I can still remember how I painstakingly prepared the superior stock. I left it in the pot and my mama thought those were leftovers.

My mum, the late Auntie Ruby cooking large river prawns and enjoying it

Stir-Fried River Prawns or "Har Lok" is one of the regulars on our reunion dinner table. My brother will normally buy them from Ipoh.

I will post a few recipes describing some dishes which I will be cooking for the coming Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner.

Traditionally, for our Wong dinner, my mum will always steamed a chicken. She will get the best chicken she can find. And by that I mean one with a thicker layer of fat and gelatin with yellowish skin. She will make a ginger sauce to go with it. Normally this dish is overshadowed by other more flavorful dishes, but she will insist on steaming at least one chicken.

You can steam the chicken in advance and chop it up just before you serve. It taste best when served in room temperature or slightly chilled.