Back Again after a Long Hiatus!

Sorry folks! I have been terribly missing from my blog.

My sisters, niece and I at Fo Guang Shan Dong Zen temple in Jenjarom (near Banting) on the first day of CNY.

In between working on 2 books (yes!), working on planning our web design business, planning this year's marketing master class. taking care of my women entrepreneur association as president, engaged in meetings and interviews, and taking care of my family (their holidays included), I have been neglecting this blog a whole lot.

I haven't been making soups as much as I want to BUT I did buy a slow cooker or crockpot (that's how Americans call it) and that helped a lot. In the past, I used to boil my soups on the stove but the downside of this is that I have to be at home and watch the stove.

With a slow cooker, I don't have to worry. I can put all my soup ingredients (herbs and chicken or meat) into the cooker with enough water and I can put it on Auto to simmer the whole day (6 hours or so) and when I get back from wherever I am going, I have soup ready to slurp!

Or I can cook soup at night (yay!). I can put all the soup ingredients into the slow cooker around 11pm which then means the soup can simmer the whole night through. It is done in the morning when I get up.

All I need to do is cool the soup down, ladle them into individual stainless steel containers (again, this helps cool the soup super quick) and once the soup is cool, store the containers in the fridge or freezer. I usually make 3 portions of soups (each portion makes 2 bowls of soup - enough for me and Nic) so this means we will have soup for the next 3 dinners.

I try not to freeze soups especially lotus root soup because I realised the freezing process changes the texture of the lotus root slices. Anyway, it is good to drink up soup as fresh as the day it was simmered. If you have leftover lotus root soup, just store it in your fridge and endeavour to drink it up within the next 2-3 days.

Today is the 15th day of the Chinese New Year - how quickly Chinese New Year has flown by! I went home for CNY (home as in Banting where my parents still live though technically, I now make my home in Penang) and had a tiring CNY helping my mum spring clean our house.

While home, I took over most of the cooking since my mum is getting old and can't do much cooking these days. This meant I was in charge of making "chai boey" on CNY Eve after our reunion dinner (with the dinner leftovers - actually it doesn't sound as gross because the roast chicken, roast pork, mixed vegetables and 'hou see fatt choy' made a truly delicious stew) which we had for the next 2 days!

I also made sambal hae bee for my sis to take home to Singapore. My arm almost fell out at the amount of slow stirring of the sambal! It took me about 30 minutes to ensure the sambal was ready. Now I know why sambal hae bee is expensive. It's not the dried prawns that is expensive - it's the labour!

My mum, dad and sisters and I. Yup, all girls so it's girrrlll power.

Anyway, I saw this article from The Star Online that featured fresh wai shan in a dessert and thought of sharing it here. I copied the recipe (although you can access the recipes via this link) because newspapers are notorious for archiving their articles. In no time, you won't be able to find this recipe.

As you can see, most of the time, I'll keep recipes here so that I can also refer to them when I need to. (This usually happens when I am back in Banting and thinking of what soup I can cook for my family.)

Happy Chap Goh Meh!

(Here's something I haven't figured out: why do Penang people eat "pengat" or bubur chacha on this day? If you know, please leave your answer in the comments. I never grew up in Penang and I certainly never ate pengat on Chap Goh Meh although I certainly don't mind eating it.)

Anyway, perhaps it is about sweet beginnings and sweet endings. May this Monkey Year keep you smart and agile!

HUAI SHAN WITH SUGARCANE JUICE

60g fresh huai shan (wild Chinese yam, also known as shao yao), peeled and shredded
3 pitted red dates, halved
600ml fresh sugarcane juice
30g rock sugar

Place huai shan, sugarcane juice and rock sugar in a medium saucepan or pot. Bring to a simmer over medium to low heat for 8-10 minutes. Do not allow to boil over. Remove and pour into individual serving bowls and enjoy it warm as a refreshing thirst quencher.

By the way, do check out my wai shan recipes below.

Wai Shan & Minced Pork Congee

Wai San, Carrot & Red Date Soup

And also, the time when I was growing wai shan in my garden!

Astralagus Tea (Huang Qi) For Liver, Kidneys and Immunity

I recently bought a small container of wild astralagus slices when I was back home in Banting to visit my dad. There's really nothing much to do in Banting except spend time with my dad or take him out for breakfast of bak kut teh or nasi lemak. The nearest and most interesting place is Tanjung Sepat which is a seaside village that has become rather prosperous due to the influx of local tourists from other parts of Selangor or even other states. Many come to Tanjung Sepat for its fresh seafood and fish and the seafood restaurants are a big attraction. There's also a scenic spot called the Lovers' Bridge which in the 1990s was a rickety, almost falling down wooden bridge jutting out to sea. This is where the fishing sampan or fishing boats would moor and have their catch hauled up to the shore. I am not sure if this bridge was demolished but the bridge is no longer there. A little further down is now a man-made cement bridge that juts out to sea. Tourists can walk out to

24 Herb Tea - Bitter, Foul-Tasting But Oh So Good For You!

Was out running a couple of errands this entire afternoon and ended up buying groceries at the nearby supermarket. If I had a choice I wouldn't go into this decade-old supermarket because it's small, cramped and you tend to knock into other shoppers with your trolley (yes, the aisles are that narrow). Nic and I figured that we might as well buy our groceries since we were in this vicinity and he did need some coffee. Finally we ended up with a trolley full of cheese, butter, coffee and noodles. Anyway, I was getting thirsty after all the errands and shopping. We decided to stop and have a drink at this stall which sells Chinese herbal tea. This uncle who mans it is actually a Hong Kong native who has been living in Malaysia for a long time. He drives a little white van which he parks at the corner of a junction and opens up for business. You see, he sells hot and cold Chinese herbal teas of all types - the kind that is slowly boiled and brewed. It's common to see Mal

Have You Seen Curry Leaf Berries?

Ripe berries or fruits from my 9 foot curry leaf tree. This is a photo of the ripe fruits from my 9 foot curry leaf tree or known scientifically as Murraya koenigii . Yes, most curry leaf plants are about human height. Mine is a bit special because when it was still a young sapling, I used a lot of my own homemade compost . It had so much of nutrients that it started growing taller and taller. Right now, it is shading the compost pots! Which means I am cooler when I stand under this tree to do my daily composting. You see how wonderful it all works out to be? Because these berries attract the Asian koel (black birds with fiery red eyes which make the annoying loud "ku-yo, ku-yo" sounds), the curry leaf seeds get propagated everywhere. Yet some drop right under the tree and start growing. I have a curry leaf sapling attack haha. I keep pulling the saplings up as there's just too many. Besides throwing them into my curries (my most

The Soup Queen

Search This Blog