Simple Recipe - Braised Pork Belly

I am so glad today that I have managed to braise this dish that its gravy went so well with rice. Truly satisfied!

There are so many recipes that I could google but I have created my own this time. Both my sons gave me a thumb up for this dish.  My husband suggested the gravy is best eaten with mantao.

Ingredients
1 Pork Belly, cut
1 whole Garlic, bruised
1 tblsp sugar or rock sugar or brown sugar

Seasoning
2 tblsp soya sauce
1/4 tsp thick soy sauce
3 - 4 tblsp chinese cooking wine
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 small pc fermented red beancurd
1/2 tsp sugar

Method
Boil water in pot, blanch cut pork belly, set aside, pat dry.
Heat up wok, add oil follow by sugar, brown the pork, set aside
In a pot, add 2 tblsp cooking oil, add whole garlic
Then put in pork belly
Add in seasoning, cover with water
Cook till the meat is tender, add water gradually if not enough.
The gravy will be lesser/thicker when the meat is cooked well.

CNY at Rakuzen

Yearly get together with my ex finance team colleagues was indeed a wonderful session. Everyone tried our best to make it to the dinner no matter how late. This year, we had at Rakuzen, Publika on 2nd Friday of CNY. The last we had was 2 years back since last year at Jaya One, we could not compromise on a date to suit everyone's availability.

This year the only thorn among the roses could not attend, so we 8 girls had our festive celebration and catch up session with opening Lou Sang and ended yum seng with Sake 😉.

Japanese version

Sake time!

Simple Recipe - Jiu Hoo Char

A dish to have for Reunion dinner, Jiu Hoo Char is best to keep overnight. So every year since the passing of my late mother in law, I have been cooking this dish a day before.

Ingredients
2 big turnip, cut strip
2 tbls pounded/minced taucheong
2 big onion sliced
A medium bowl of strip dried cuttlefish
1 medium size pork belly

Method
Blanched pork belly in boiling water
Once cooked, discard water, slice the belly, then cut strip
Heat up wok
Put in big onion, taucheong, pork belly and cuttlefish
Add the turnip
Top with black soya sauce and salt (to taste), water
Cook till the turnip is soft

My late mother in law was a very good cook, every dish she cooked was appetizing.  I am not sure how is my this dish compare to her cooking!

Cherish your parents, they are your greatest blessing.

CNY to me

Chinese New Year this year fell on Monday, 8 February 2016. We normally take this opportunity to visit relatives. My hubby stick closely to tradition when comes to CNY.  Reunion food must be what his late mom had always been preparing. Tour or travel overseas is a no no because he believes that tradition must be carried on, visit to elderly and relatives is a must to strengthen family ties.

Reunion Dinner

To children or single adults, they enjoy eating, gambling and collecting angpows/red packets. Some will watch movies together with family members since everyone has days off. 

Toss to prosperity "Lou Sang" is being practised here in Malaysia, thus you will find all restaurants will have this dish. You can homemade too.

I am extremely busy weeks before making sure spring cleaning, buying all ingredients required to cook 7 reunion dishes, coordinating food catering for 1st day CNY and the 1st Saturday for open house, buying all the plants or flowers to have the CNY feel also getting stuff as gifts during the visiting.

English style garden

It has been years that his uncles/aunties/cousins (his late father side) will be coming to our house on 1st day of CNY. Total headcount will be around 60 pax. Thus I will have to make sure lunch is served. The other open house on Saturday is to cater for all his relatives (his mother side), for those who could not come on 1st day (his father side), friends, business associates, staff and my side of family members/relatives, our children's friends and neighbors. Normally it will be about 150 pax. 

One thing that stress me up, the food must be enough but normally there will be leftover and we need to stuck them in my fridge to clear in next day or two. 

My routine yearly is more or less the same, this year was such:

CNY Eve : prayers at 11am, reunion dinner 8pm

1st day: Open house cum lunch, evening to mom's house gathering with sibblings and uncles/aunties/cousins

2nd day: Balakong/Sri Petaling/Puchong/PJ

Minimum 7 houses 9am till 6pm

3rd day: Pray parents in law in pagoda, visit to 2 relatives in Cheras follow by Bukit Jalil, my uncle's house

4th day: PD and Melaka

5th day:  Back to work

6th day: Open house

7th day: Gombak/ Setapak

8th day: Preparation for prayers at 12 midnight

Toss to prosperity

To Hokkien, actual new year falls on 9th day of CNY thus prayers at 12 midnight on 8th day follow by fire crackers.

Visiting all relatives a must before I start covering friends. The house that I will not miss will be my ex- lady boss house. 

My reunion dinner with mom and sibblings will be a day before the eve or a week and at times on the eve but for lunch before depending on which day CNY falls on. As my father is separated from my mom, thus we will try accommodate a meal with him as well.

We celebrate CNY for fifteen days with 2 days public holidays and school will close for a week.

Enjoy celebrating, eating and spending time with family. Hope for a prosperous and healthy year!

Planting Arrow Root

Planting arrow root is something that my husband does yearly as his decoration for Chinese New Year. We find that most places were selling very small size of arrow root and had been delaying buying it.

Finally with no choice we bought 10 pcs at RM1.25 from Tesco on 22 January 2016. I have been monitoring its progress while hubby would change water daily with heart full of love 😉.

Monitoring the progress made me excited too as it will be another 17 days only to CNY.

18 Feb 2016

7 Feb 2016

1 Feb 2016

22 Jan 2016

Ours just too small this year, you need at least 4 weeks to have a bigger plant. So next year we gonna plant it earlier.

Husband's cousin sister taught us that the arrow root need to be soaked into clean water till the roots show up. Then only you plant into your nice pot with clean pebbles or stone.

Simple Recipe - Acar

Acar, a must dish for my hubby's family to be served on Chinese New Year Eve reunion dinner. Thus this is my yearly affair, I always cook this dish a week before the reunion dinner. Is tastier if you cook earlier and keep in refrigerator.

Cut the length of carrot, cucumber and pineapple to be the same.

Fret not, this is another simple dish. I am sure everyone can cook this.

Ingredients
1 pineapple
2 carrot
2 cucumber
A bunch of french bean
1/2 bottle ice Vinegar
12 tsp Sugar
2 tsp salt

Chilli paste to blend
A medium bowl of dried chilies
- cut into few pieces, wash & soak in hot water
8 small onion
5 cloves of garlic
2 or 3 stalk lemongrass, sliced the white part
1/2" fresh turmeric
8 candle nut
A small piece Shrimp Paste

Method
Boil water, blanch carrot, then put aside
Put in cucumber a while, off the stove, put aside
Heat up wok, add in oil about 4 or 5 tblsp
Put about 26 tblsp chilli paste, stir till fragrance
Follow by 12 tsp sugar, 2 tsp salt, 1/4 bottle of rice vinegar
Put in french bean first, once cooked, you can off the fire
Combine in carrot, cucumber and pineapple and stir
Add in remainder Rice Vinegar

Note: Taste the Acar and adjust the amount of rice vinegar, sugar and salt to your liking.

Pound some groundnut and sprinkle on the acar before serving

Simple Recipe - Lotus Root with Green Pea

There you go a plate of my elder son's favorite. I used capsicum, green pea and lotus root 😋. When he saw this dish that I cooked today, crunchy and delicate flavor Lotus Root, you could see him brim with smile. That made my day.

You need pre-fried the lotus root first, set aside. Use the local lotus root, choose the young and smaller size.

Ingredients
2 of 12" lotus root
A packet of green pea
A small capcicum
Garlic
Soy sauce
Oyster sauce
Pinch of salt
Cooking Oil

Method
Slice, then pre-fried lotus root, set aside
Heat up wok, add in 1 1/2 tbls cooking oil
Put in minced garlic
Follow by capcicum, green pea
1 tsp oyster sauce and 1 tbls soya sauce
Add pinch of salt, 5 tbls water
When cooked, stir in pre-fried lotus root

Simple right and is yummy! You can also use celery instead of green pea, totally up to your preference.