No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

'Nian Gao' in Mandarin or 'Nin Ko' in Cantonese is a must-have item during CNY.  This sticky glutinous rice cake is symbolic as it carries a homonym that sounds like 'year~high/tall'.  For business people eating this will link them to prosperity and wealth and working people will look forward to career advancement, promotion. Slice them up when they're still soft, keep them in containers and they can be stored in the fridge for months. I normally steam and dip them in freshly grated young coconut mixed with some salt or just fry with beaten egg.  But this time around, I've decided to be a bit more 'challenging' and try out Elin's recipe.  Thanks, Elin of  Elinluv's Tidbits Corner   for sharing!

I don't know why this is called a cake which by right should be bread, but it certainly lives up to its name, great with a cup of hot coffee or tea!  Sweet crunchy crust with nutty almonds and soft cottony bread ....

Minced pork with mixed vegetables aka 4 Heavenly kings  .......... so this dish must be fit for a king!   No, no, it's only a simple stir-fry dish of mince meat and 4 types of vegetables of your choice.   The heavenly kings refer to the 4 Canto pop singers of Hong Kong and I really have no inkling  how this name came about. This dish is normally cooked with sambal belacan and it should be slightly spicy.  However, in this case I tweaked it a bit and used preserved bean paste and served it with plain white porridge ......... simply delectable!

I was in Kuala Lumpur on the 2nd day of CNY and took this picture at Mid-Valley Megamall.  All the malls are beautifully decorated during this time of the year and naturally, the auspicious colour is red. 'Hoi Lin' literally means 'Open year', which means welcoming the New Year.  Traditionally, most people will observe a vegetarian diet on the first day, so 2nd day, 'Hoi Lin', it's 'hoi jai' meaning they can have meat, seafood, etc.  I also remember that my mum used to tell us that those days, daughters-in-law will only return to their parents' home to celebrate CNY after the 'Hoi Lin' lunch. I had a sumptuous dinner with my siblings and what can we Chinese think of at family gatherings ....... obvioulsy, food and more food! First dish on the menu was 'Yee Sang' which is a must for CNY ....... 'Sang, sang mang, mang' meaning healthy, lively and active. Tossing the 'Yee Sang' ....... the higher the better,

Cooked this Stir-fry Sea asparagus with mixed vegetables for the reunion dinner.  It's easy and quick to whip up and the young lotus root slices stayed crunchy, sweet and tasty. Chewy, sweet sea asparagus coupled with the sweet beans, carrot and lotus root makes a light and refreshing veggie dish!

I served this for breakfast on the 1st day of the  lunar New Year   ...........  'Lean Chee Kang', sweet soup of lotus seeds, longan, dried ' pak hup' or lily bulb and rock sugar to usher in a 'sweetish' New Year.  Another name for this 'tong sui', sweet drink is 'Pak Lean Hoe Hup', which means, "'hundred' years of harmonious and  happy marriage". Thus, being auspicious this sweet dessert is commonly served at weddings, birthdays and New Year.  Read more on lotus seeds here . Dried lotus seeds with skin, dried 'pak hup' or lily bulb, rock sugar and dried longan This sweet soup is very refreshing and you can also add in some hard boiled chicken eggs or quail eggs, if desired.

 It's customary for my family to observe a vegetarian diet on the first day of the lunar Chinese New Year.  This mixed veggie is not a stir-fry dish but sort of 'braised' till all the ingredients, especially the mushrooms have been infused with the flavourful 'nam yee' and oyster sauce.    Dried shitake mushrooms that have been soaked and cut up, and softened glass vermicelli. Bean curd puffs that have been halved, crushed ginger and 'nam yee' or preserved bean curd paste.    Washed and cut 'wong ngah bak', Chinese cabbage.   Bean curd sheets that have been deep fried. All the ingredients simmering in the wok.     My favourite is the deep fried bean curd sheets.  They still maintain a bit of crunchiness even though they've been cooked and the 'juicy' bean curd puffs that have absorbed all the flavours of the sauce...... Delicious!

Wishing all my friends and readers Gong Xi Fai Cai and Happy Valentine's Day May the Year of the roaring Tiger brings you good health, wealth, joy and good tidings!

   It's the norm that the CNY period is always hot and humid.  This scenario is further aggravated by the constant baking and deep frying of CNY goodies in the kitchen.  Thus, this prompted me to make this barley drink with shark's fin melon to help cool down our system as we really need plenty of this cooling drink in this hot weather. Shark's fin melon grown in the Cameron Highlands.  Why is it called shark's fin melon?  You'll see in a minute. Upon  cooking, the flesh of the melon can be taken out in shreds and don't they resemble shark's fin?  This crunchy 'shark's fin' drink is indeed very refreshing and nutritious, and it can be taken warm or chilled ...... Gulp, gulp!

I just made these today ...... Nastar, the Indonesian version of Pineapple Tarts/Rolls.  This is a festive must have as it's symbolic.  Pineapple which is 'wong lai' in Cantonese carries a homonym that sounds like 'good luck, good fortune coming'! I didn't make the pineapple jam as it's a tedious task of stirring and stirring for an hour or so and in this hot weather, it's definitely not for me.   Took the easy way out, bought the pineapple paste from the baking ingredients outlet.  Nevertheless, I've posted the recipe for the pineapple jam just in case some of you may like to have this home made. The pineapple paste made into small balls to be used as filling for the roll.  The nastar mould which is used to press out the strip of dough.  Press out out into a strip of about 3.1/2 inches in length, place a ball of jam on one end and roll up the pastry as in a Swiss roll. This melt-in-the-mouth pastry has always been a hot favouri

Cooked this scrumptious dinner recently.  High cholesterol, artery clogging ...... doesn't matter, pamper yourself once in a while and indulge!   After that, just need to do more exercise to burn off the calories! Buna Shimeji mushrooms.  These mushrooms have a pleasant nutty flavour and slightly crunchy texture.  Also a good source of vitamin B1 and Lysine.  Lysine is an essential amino acid, while B1 helps with circulation, blood formation and metabolism of carbohydrates.  Also helps the nervous system and the brain. Juicy and yummy with every bite  ................... Enjoy!

This is the first time that I'm using Hazelnuts to make cookies and was delighted with the result for they tasted good, nutty! A little about Hazelnuts ....these nuts have been deemed to be most beneficial to heart health.  The vitamin E in them is essential for the healthy heart muscles and also necessary for the normal functioning of the reproduction system.  Vitamin E also serves as a protection against anemia, a deficiency of blood and among all the nuts, hazelnuts are the lowest in saturated fat.  Consuming 25gm of hazelnuts per day protects the body against heart disease, hence it's essential to add this nutritious item to our daily diet. Mix all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and slowly incorporate them to form a pliable dough. For a change, I'm using a cookie cutter to stamp out the cookies. Place the cookies onto a baking sheet, about 1/2 an inch apart, apply egg glaze. After about 15  mins., the sweet aroma of hazelnut cookies fills

 The Sea Cucumber is a seabed dwelling marine animal which feeds on microscopic algae, absorbing nutrients from the organic matter.  This oblong shaped gelatinous creature resembles a cucumber, hence the name.  It's called 'haishen' in Mandarin which literally means 'ginseng of the sea'.  From the nutritional point of view, sea cucumber is an ideal tonic food, high in protein with no calorie and no fat.  Having a cartilagenous body, the sea cucumber serves as a rich source of mucopolysacchrides, substances that are used to build cartilage and chondroitin sulfate, known for its ability to reduce arthritis. Sea cucumber has been used for thousands of years by Asians as a culinary delicacy.  Although rather bland in taste on its own, it has the ability to absorb and accentuate the flavours and seasoning of the other ingredients in which it is cooked.  It's used in soups, stir-fry or  braised dishes, and in particular sea cucumber meals have been offered on specia

I was doing some spring cleaning of my fridge the other day and stumbled upon a packet of coriander powder that was close to expiry.  Putting nothing to waste, I whipped up this dish as I had bought some chicken from the market that morning. This dish is not  spicy  and it goes well with rice.   Mmmm ....... yummy chicken leg.   More rice?

This is another biscuit which I normally make for Chinese New Year, Hup Toh Soh,..... 'hup toh' is Cantonese for walnuts.  Traditionally, this biscuit is made with lard and without walnuts.  However, I've substituted lard with margarine and added in some slightly roasted walnuts, chopped,  for that extra flavour.  This is a crunchy, nutty biscuit, and it has always been a favourite amongst my family members! Picture on the left.  Pinch off some dough to form into a ball, then slightly make a dent in the centre.  The size of the biscuit is your own personal preference. Picture on the right.  Apply egg glaze onto the biscuits before putting them into the oven.  Space them about 3/4 inch apart. Baked Hup Toh Sow ...... fresh from the oven, crispy, crunchy and delicious!  Ensure that they are completely cooled  before storing them in the cookie jar, they do keep well. Enjoy these with a cup of hot Chinese tea to usher in the Lunar Chinese N