Black Sesame Glutinous Rice Dumplings

Happy Chinese New Year! Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. LNY is an important festival in the Chinese (lunar) calendar.  Family members gather on LNY’s eve to share the last meal of the year together. It is customary to eat rice dumplings on that occasion as its name (in Cantonese) “t’ohng Yuen” 湯圓” sounds the same as “together/same - round/circular”.  In pronouncing the auspicious name of this dessert one’s wishes that it will bring her/him good fortune.

Braised Pork Ribs with Taro

Taro is a starchy root vegetable. It is called wuh-t'au (芋頭) in Cantonese. It can be found at many vegetables stalls at local wet markets in winter months. There are many varieties of taro but you 2 of them are commonly sold here in Hong Kong:  the betel nut kind which is ~10cm ø; and the red-budded type which is smaller and measures ~ 5 cm ø.    

I love the bigger one (betel nut) best braised with meat. I love its sweet taste and smooth texture, which reminds me of chestnuts.   Here is my recipe which has been adapted over the years. 

Chocolate Brownie Cake

I don’t know why but during the month of January I have been making more cakes /cookies than in the whole of 2012. 

Here is the recipe of brownies that I used to make for my son when he was still living with us. I cannot recall where I got it.

You can find numerous similar recipes on Internet and/or in books. I also found a recipe on the packaging of white flour. 

Comparing and Tasting Biscotti and Croquettes

Early this month I decided to make some biscotti for my son.  As I could not find any “biscotti” entry on Manuela's blog I asked her directly. To my surprise she sent me her Cantucci recipe which (I learnt) is another name for biscotti di Prato. 

Walnut Croquettes – Croquettes aux Noix

Last week I made Walnut Croquettes for the first time ever.  I followed the recipe my Mum got from her friend.  

Croquette comes from the French verb “croquer” which means “to crunch”.  Croquettes are also deep fried minced food shaped into a ball or roll.  Here croquettes refer to crispy sweet biscuits.

2013 review & 2013 wish list

A bit late, I wish you all a healthy and happy new year!  It is hard to believe that chris-eathealthy is going to step in to its 3rd year soon.

Looking back at my list of vegetables that I wished to discover in 2012 I noted that I managed to find 4 out of 5, namely:

1. Arrowhead tubers - chìh gû 慈姑,


2. Stem lettuce - wô seún 萵筍,


3. Wild rice shoots - gâau seún 胶筍,and


4. Dracontomelon - yàhn minh 人面.

 

I still have to find where and when (what time of the year) to buy “white wormwood - jân jyû choi 珍珠菜” the 1^st veggie on my 2012 wish list. As you have guessed, white wormwood will be on my 2013 wish list!
While looking around at wet markets I have discovered other edible plants such as bracken fern, chinese box thorn, and pumpkin sprouts that were not on my list.

2012 has been good for me. I have enjoyed memorable times eating, cooking and sharing food with my friends. To name but a few:  preparing Hakka tea cakes, outing to Cheung Chau, one day at e-farm, trying vegetarian food at Light, Teakha, and Grassroots Pantry, etc…

I also had many happy food-related moments that I did not share on this blog for various reasons (time or too private).  And I purposely did not record my several disastrous baking efforts (believe me macarons are not that easy to make!) Anyway as long as I am having fun I will continue experimenting with cooking and baking in 2013.

 

So here is chris-eathealthy’s 2013 wish list:  

• Find white wormwood - jân jyû choi 珍珠菜
• Find veggies that I have never cooked before
• Making my own sourdough starter (new experiment)
• Baking more varieties of bread

Again I wish you a happy and healthy 2013.
 

 

Grassroots Pantry

I would like to write a few words on a sweet and cosy restaurant, a place completely different than the dai pai dong I described in my previous post.

I visited Grassroots Pantry (GP) about two months ago but suddenly realised I had not yet recorded my experience there. GP is the 3^rd place I discovered via Table for Two - Hong Kong. I already wrote about my visit to Teakha (茶 - 家) and Light (both introduced by TFT last August.)