CNY Reunion Dinner: Mushrooms Soup and Abalones

I delayed this post a little as I had just posted on steamboat a few posts ago; but I simply must share my series of CNY-related posts before the festive season ends (and before I go off on my break soon!:)

This year's reunion dinner is slightly different compared to the past years; as I celebrated with my in-laws (new family) at their place, and this will set a new trend for me for the future.
You can read about my thoughts about my first CNY with the in-laws here


As usual, CNY reunion dinners are often graced by steamboat/hot pot (although when I was younger, we used to have cooked dishes served with rice).
Steamboat is almost everyone's favorite, easy to prepare and offers a wide variety of choices! (Think of all the stuffs you choose to put into the soup and eat in a few short minutes)

I was offering to help my mother-in-law with the food preparation only to find that she was extremely efficient and that she had prepared most of the stuffs days ahead. She told me that she needed no help and that everything is simple! Just like my mum :)

We had a small crowd for reunion dinner this year, as the other brothers-in-law were abroad and could not make it back for CNY, but still, as with most CNY dinners, we had a lot of food for a small group!
That's the thing with the Chinese community, they always prefer to serve MORE compared to less, particularly when it comes to celebrations.
Therefore, I can assure that you will never starve (instead you will be stuffed) when you walk out of a Chinese home after a meal (or several meals!)

The following are the side dishes added to the main; they were brought by hubby's aunt.

Lor Bak - a type of Hokkien dish which is made of seasoned minced meat rolled with fried bean curd sheets and deep fried and goes best with a good chili sauce.



Roasted Chicken


The stuffs for our steamboat:

A can of abalones! Yes, this was a gift from hubby's uncle based in Singapore!:)


Abalone!

I snapped a quick photo of it before mother-in-law sliced it, and she was laughing when I took the photo, "Have you not seen an abalone before?"
Erm, I have, I just felt it complete to share all the photos of the food on my blog, it's more of a blog thing :)

Abalone, mushrooms - those chewy types




Lots of mushrooms and vegetables for the steamboat this round! I love these:)



More mushrooms (enoki) and lettuce


Assorted fishballs


Tong Ho/Garland Chrysanthemum or Chop Suey Green


Assorted seafood tofu


My favorite: Sliced fresh garoupa fish

These are only to placed into the soup using a sieve during the steamboat as it is often cooked instantly and does not taste good when it is overcooked.

The soup was pre-cooked using vegetable ingredients; such as mushrooms, jicama, carrots, etc and left overnight. It left a lingering aroma in the house which smelt really great!


Table settings for dinner


Love the ornate design of the pot used for the steamboat


The best part about steamboat?
Throw everything in, and it is all cooked in an instant, and we can enjoy the food/eating in just a short while yet be enticed by the wide variety in the hot and boiling soup!


The worst part about steamboat?
Overeating, definitely, but that's what happens with most festive seasons, anyway, right?

How was your CNY reunion dinner?
Was it a steamboat or a meal of several luxurious dishes?
Which one do you prefer?

Red Tortoise Cake

In conjunction with the celebration of the Jade Emperor's birthday on the 9th day of the Lunar New Year, the Hokkien clan in the Chinese community are busy with the preparations for the thanksgiving prayers and worship of the deity in heaven.
(Jade Emperor is the ruler of all the deities in heaven and is highly regarded as the figure of authority in the Taoism belief).

The Hokkien clan in the Chinese community places priority on this celebration as they are thankful to the Jade Emperor for his act of kindness in their times of distress.
The story goes that there was an ongoing war between the Hokkien and Teochew clan in the past, and the Hokkiens were on the losing end and they had to run and seek refuge from the pursuing Teochews. With no place to hide, the Hokkiens ended up hiding in a sugarcane plantation.
As we very well know (or have probably seen), a sugarcane plantation is barely any good hiding place with the wide gap between each of the sugarcane plants. However, the miracle is that the Hokkiens managed to hide there for the entire Chinese New Year and finally came out of their hiding place on the 9th day of the Lunar New Year, which coincided with the birthday of the Jade Emperor.
Grateful for their safety, the Hokkiens vowed to thank the Jade Emperor for protecting them from the Teochews and have since observed the 9th day of the Lunar New Year as a day of celebration in remembrance of their gratitude to the deity.
Therefore, it is not a surprise to see a rather extravagant mood lingering in the air towards the 8th day of Lunar New year as the Hokkiens prepare for the celebration.
To the Hokkiens, the 9th day also marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year as they have finally come out of the hiding.
(This is a version of the story told to me by my grandmother and parents)

To commemorate the Jade Emperor's birthday celebration, the Hokkiens go to great lengths to make the preparations for the midnight celebration and that included worship items such as joss sticks, paper gold offerings, dragon joss sticks, and food items such as glutinous/sticky rice cakes, fluffy rice cakes, fruits, poultry, pork, tea, and not forgetting the most important of all; sugarcane.

The feature of this post is one of the type of kueh, or rice cakes commonly seen in the local stalls and often used for the prayers and worship.
The Red Tortoise is a direct translation from its Chinese name; 'Ang Koo Kueh' or also steamed sticky glutinous rice cake.

Looking at the picture, I am sure it is not hard to comprehend how this cake derived its name from.
The kueh is shaped like a tortoise shell; and is pretty much made of sticky glutinous rice and colored with red.
(Red is always an auspicious color for the Chinese, and even more so during important celebrations such as birthdays and weddings. Yes, this kueh is also found in Chinese weddings)

The kueh contains a mung bean paste inside, and then stuck on a piece of banana leaf.
Of course, despite being popularly/originally known as the Red Tortoise kueh due to its shape, this kueh can also be found in many different shapes and colors.



There is also another popular version of the kueh which is in green; and is known as, you guess right, the Green Tortoise kueh. However, this is not as common as the red one, but still equally as favored by most kueh lovers.


Almost everyone around me is a fan of this kueh and will just squeal in delight at the sight of these.


Anyway, just to be clear, no tortoise was colored or harmed in the production of this kueh everywhere :)

CNY Goodies: Homemade Pineapple cookies

I have been away for a week, for the Lunar Chinese New Year celebration, as obviously depicted on my blog design and posts!:)

Today is the 8th day of the Lunar New Year's 15-days celebration, and there are just still so many goodies (translates to FOOD) around the house, and even in supermarkets and restaurants.
Like Christmas and all other festivities, this festive season is no different as it is mostly about vibrant colors, music, reunions, gatherings, and FOOD!
We get homemade pastries, cakes, cookies, and specially prepared meals to usher in the year of the Water Dragon (zodiac for the year 2012).

Before I go away for my vacation, I will be running a series of CNY-related posts on the festive food we see and enjoy during this year's Lunar New Year!

We received this from a friend; homemade pineapple cookies which came a week before the Lunar New Year!


I think almost everyone on this planet loves pineapple cookies, and I remembered my brother getting a whole box of these for Christmas last year too.

I am not sure how to make this interestingly tasty cookies, but I can say they are often the favorite with almost everyone I know.

Flaky and crispy, with the sourish sweet taste of the pineapple puree nestled between the golden brown crusts, it makes one want to reach for another piece after having one.



I don't recall this box of cookies during CNY anymore; I am guessing it has been snapped up by the family?:p


Pineapples are often favored by the Chinese community; and particularly during the Lunar Chinese New Year as the fruit brings an auspicious meaning in ushering in a brand new year/spring.

The pineapple is an auspicious fruit due to its Chinese pronunciation/homonym when its name is uttered, which literally sounds like "The arrival of Luck/prosperity"
It is no wonder why the Chinese love this fruit, whether in cookies or in its actual form.
Of course, it is always a plus point when the cookies taste good too!

During this festive season, there will be an abundance of variety of the the types of food available everywhere; whether at home or at the home of others we visit!

I call these the GOLDEN cookies, as they just look so pretty and golden in color!;)javascript:void(0)

How about you?
Did you have pineapple cookies this year too?
What are the cookies you have at home? Are they all snapped up in an instant too?;)

Winter Solstice Saga Finale: A Whole Pot of Steaming Goodness

As usual, we usually do steamboat for festive occasions and family reunions like Winter Solstice.
(This is also what we will be having for our Chinese New Year's eve reunion dinner tomorrow night ;)


For those of you who are not familiar with steamboat, or also known as hot pot, it is not hard to know how to make it nor is it anything exotic.
To put it simply, it's just preparing plenty of raw foods like meat/poultry, seafood, vegetables, and just throw them into a soup base which was prepared beforehand.
Yeah, it's just that simple!
Some of you may even find this similar to the famous Shabu shabu :)

If you've been following my blog for a while, then you are no stranger to this, as you have definitely seen me posting this like..., hmmm, even I have lost count, and if you disregard the other posts, you will see this at least once a year; during my festive Lunar Chinese New Year posts :)

I am ending my Winter Solstice saga posts; with this reunion dinner, and pave the way ready for the looming near Lunar Chinese New Year posts which will start from tomorrow onwards!
(I will try to find time to update you guys with the goodies I have during my break; yes, it's a festive break to catch up with friends, families and visiting:)

The soup was being prepared way before the dinner; like 4-5 hours ahead.
The base of the soup was made using the following ingredients:
Sweet corn cob
Chicken meat

Carrots
Tomatoes
Cabbages/Vegetables


Throw them in and leave it on slow boil for 4-5 hours


Raw ingredients for the steamboat meal:
Seafood
My favorite chikuma rolls (a type of fish roll)


Squid balls (another of my favorites; a regular here on my blog ;)


Fishballs


Imitation crabsticks


Fish cakes


Fried fishballs


Fried bean curd sheets with fish paste


Poultry based:
Chicken sausages


Vegetables:
Fresh Lettuce


Broccoli

I love them when they are cut into little florets like these ;)


Enoki Mushrooms


Oyster Mushrooms


For garnishing:
Spring Onions


Additional/Optional: Eggs


Honestly, there is no specific guideline or restriction on the types of raw ingredients for the steamboat.
You can have anything you like, as long as it tastes good boiled in a soup! Also, what goes well with the soup base you made.
You can even make a fish-based soup; or pure vegetables soup!It can even a vegetarian steamboat, or purely meat steamboat; whichever you fancy!
There is just so much flexibility; and the best part is, if you cannot finish it, you can leave it for the next few meals, or simply whip up the remaining ingredients in a bowl of stew!
A word of caution: Make sure you finish those ingredients which cannot be used as leftovers, though.

Throw all the raw ingredients in and put the steamboat cooker to cook.


Ready in 5 minutes; for all to eat!

Now, isn't that simple and convenient, yet healthy and tasty?

Gosh, I just realized I am starting to post recipes like I am some sort of expert in cooking, when I am still a novice!:P

Anyway, hope you enjoy the posts on this Winter Solstice, and I will be postponing the Christmas food to make way for upcoming Lunar Chinese New Year post ;)
(Notice the new blog banner/headed?)