I am in the midst of writing a post about my recent trip to Hong Kong.
I brought back some food stuff and amongst them were packets of dried wheat noodles I bought this from an old noodle shop at Tai Po. It was recommended by our old friend, Irene (old as in friendship, not her age!). Thanks, Irene.
This shop carried many types and brands, including some made at the back of the shop. They claim that this particular noodle is their best and so we bought some home. They are flavored noodles, slightly saltish.
I am writing up another post on my Mum's Char Siew recipe. I made it again today and followed her recipe closely. I have written a few posts on Char Siew making from your home kitchen.
It is good, no doubt. Not just good, I think it is great. And it is simple to make as well.
I started with 1 kg of pork belly in 3 strips. With skin off, it weighed 900g. I did not have time to marinate, not that it mattered.
While Chinese cuisine is not normally well known for their desserts, there are a few which I grew up eating and will miss fondly from time to time.
Top on the list is "Tong Yin" or glutinous rice ball soup. I am not talking about the ones which comes stuffed with peanut or sesame seed paste. I am referring to the small multi-colored balls. I can hardly find them these days, unless it is home made.
Another favourite is "Lin Chee Kang." This is how I first knew it as when I was in Malaysia. Here in Singapore, a similar version is called "Cheng Tng." Lin Chee means "lotus seed" and I suppose the M'sian version is centered on it. If you know how Cheng Tng is different from Lin Chee Kang, do enlighten me.
If you pick up a typical Chinese cookbook, you will find that the ingredients in many of their stir-fry recipes are very similar. As you glance down the list, you will find the usual suspects: soy sauce, sesame oil, shao tsing wine, oyster sauce and so on. 1 tsp of this, 2 tsp of that.
The is not a criticism of stir-fry recipes. It is good to know that the same few sauces can be used over and over again, with slight variations to create so many different type of dishes, with focus on the main ingredients. For this reason, I always think a good Chinese home kitchen should have bottles of good quality sauces. I have done a post highlighting some good sauces.
