My blog is 2

My blog is 2-year old today.  I published my first post on February 18, 2011. In the latter I simply shared a Chinese soup recipe with potential future readers.

 

Chinese pears and pork soup

Since then my posts have become more informative (I hope) with info on local foods and more photos to illustrate the recipes and their ingredients. 

Over the past 2 years more people have been visiting my blog and I would like to thank those readers. I have also “met” other bloggers who left comments on my blog or via Twitter. Those bloggers are not only from Hong Kong but also from all around the world. I read some very interesting and innovative recipes and lots of them made me drool. Some of them looked so yummy that I had to try them myself. Three of them won my heart and I decided to put them on my blog (with their owner’s agreement). Here there are:

Braised Lotus Root with Pork

Before coming to Hong Kong I had never seen a fresh lotus root. I might have eaten lotus root at Chinese restaurants though I am not sure and in the affirmative I did not recall if I liked it or not. What I liked about the plant was its delicate and beautiful flowers. I had seen photos of lotus blooms in ponds and Buddhist images showing figures of Buddha sitting gracefully on a lotus flower. Since then I have discovered that not only the roots but also the pods and seeds of the plant are also edible. 

 

Look at the lacy pattern of fresh sliced lotus root!

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.