2012: A Blog is like a Dish – It Needs some Flavour

Today, Saturday December 31, 2011, last day before the start of 2012! It’s time to assess what I have done this year and think of what I would like to do in the coming year.

What have I done?  A number of new things, all related to my new interest in food, started to be part of my life in 2011:
1/ writing this blog & communicating via Twitter,
2/ doing more cooking myself & trying new recipes, and
3/ resuming my long-time love of making bread.

 

Thanks & Best Wishes To My Readers

Merry Christmas!

&

Happy and Healthy 2012!

This is a very short post where I simply like to wish all my readers

a happy festive season

& 

all the best for this coming new year 

圣诞快乐！万事如意！新年快乐！

Also a BIG thanks to you all for supporting and reading my blog

 

Stir-Fry Rice-Cakes

2012 is around the corner. Soon after the end-of-year celebrations are over we will welcome in the Year of the Dragon, on the 23^rd of January exactly.

During Chinese New Year festivities people like to eat a pudding called in Cantonese “níhn-gôu” or year-cake which is quite chewy and sticky.  

The Cantonese pronunciation “níhn-gôu” (年糕) sounds exactly the same as “year-high” (年高).  Hence Chinese people like to enjoy rice cakes during the Chinese New Year festivities as pronouncing the name of this dessert will bring them good fortune (symbol of raising oneself/being promoted).

This type of year-cake is made of glutinous rice and brown sugar giving it a yellow-brownish colour. It is cut into thin slices, which are afterward dipped into an egg batter and then shallowed fried.

Chinese Vegetables

When I recall how I got to know about the different vegetables Hong Kong has to offer “A popular Guide to Chinese Vegetables” by Martha Dahlen, came immediately to my mind. Martha’s book helped me a lot and I highly recommend it to any newcomer in Hong Kong.