Alex's first New Year

Xin Nian Kwai Ler! Alex (almost 11 months old!) was all dressed-up to greet the Year of the Pig. I received these photos from Mom Michele last Monday.

I hope you will come and visit us soon Alex :)

Having a rest by the wall?

Trust me Alex, you'll love the "Ang Pao" soon enough :)

Lui Char

Lui Char is usually eaten on the seventh day after the Chinese Lunar New Year. It is a typical Hakka dish. I think it's a good way to detoxify our body after eating too much hi-calorie, protein meat dishes over the Chinese New Year ;)

Making Lui Char takes a lot of preparation; especially the side dishes that goes together with the cooked rice & tea soup.

Thanks to Kuali (click for detailed ingredients and step-by-step method), I managed to find a simple, easy-to-follow recipe for Lui Char.

1. Lay out all your side dishes.



2. Invert a bowl of cooked rice and add in a bit of the side dishes, like this:




3. Add in the tea soup and you're all set.



I think eating Lui Char requires acquired taste. I didn't like it at first. Maybe because someone ordered it "extra bitter" for me. For a first timer, that's not a good idea.

Vietnamese Bo Bun

About 2 years ago, I tasted my first Bo Bun and was hooked instantly. No, it's not beef wrapped in the Chinese baozi/bun, but rice vermicelli noodles (bee hoon) with beef. So far, the best Bo Bun I ever tasted is in Toronto's Chinatown. During my stay there, I shamelessly ate Bun everyday and drank Vietnamese coffee served in their cute mini percolator; with generous helping of sweetened condensed milk. If you're Malaysian like me, images of Milkmaid Condensed Milk a.k.a. Susu Cap Junjung and their infamous ROTF, corny jingle will flash through your mind right now.

I tried making Bo Bun after my trip. I found this recipe online and the outcome was quite good. I love Nuoc Cham (NC) sauce. My Bo Bun is always drenched in NC sauce.

Ingredients

· 300g fillet steak

· 2 pips garlic, minced

· 1 small stalk spring onion, chopped

· 1 tbsp lemon grass, chopped

· 1 tbsp sugar

· 2 tbsp oil

· 1 big onion, sliced thinly

· 2 tbsp Nuoc Cham sauce (fish sauce)

Noodles & assorted vegetables:

· 250g rice noodles, cooked and drained

· 100g bean sprouts, blanched

· 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and shredded

· 4 leaves of lettuce, shredded

· 1 handful fresh mint

· 2 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed

Nuoc Cham Sauce:

· 2 tbsp sugar

· 2 tbsp lime or lemon juice

· 1/4 cup rice vinegar

· 1/4 cap Nuoc Mam (fish sauce)

· 1 small red chili, minced

· 2 pips garlic, crushed

· 1/4 cup water

Method
Cut beef into thin slices/shreds (approximately 3cm long). Mix in garlic, spring onions, lemon grass, sugar and 2 tbsp fish sauce. Marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat oil and stir fry onions till translucent. Add the beef. Stir-fry over high heat till beef is browned, about one minute. Serve with rice noodle and assorted vegetables and Nuoc Cham sauce.

To make Nuoc Cham sauce: Combine garlic, chili and sugar. Pound or process to a fine paste. Strain in the lime juice, vinegar, fish sauce and water.

Ta-da! My home made Vietnamese Bo Bun

Unfortunately, I can't make Bo Bun today. It's Lenten Season so no meat on Fridays until Easter. My dinner will be grilled salmon basted in Pineapple Teriyaki sauce.

Bon Appetit!

Flashbacks from Letters...



Adrian & I love to read about events of World War II. What better way to delve into the minds of those in the front lines than through their personal letters to loved ones. No inhibitions. Just pure emotion and honesty. Why the curiosity to learn more?

Well, the experience of living through the Japanese Occupation in the 1940s is also deeply etched in our families. My grandparents survived the hardship and devastation of war. So did Adrian's father and both my parents. We've been told many horror stories about Japanese atrocities & war crimes particularly towards the Chinese in mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia (formerly, Malaya) and so on.

Adrian's uncle was on the death list only to have his life spared when the Japanese surrendered. A mass grave for him and many others had already been dug-up. My Grandfather had to trek 523 miles or 842 kms through the jungle at night from Miri (an oil town North of Borneo) to Kuching City to avoid being caught by the Japanese army. Sadly, one of the men in his entourage had his head severed by a traitor of native origin.

In the midst of all the gloom and doom, they were also some who weren't evil. My Grandmother used to work for a Japanese Lieutenant. Her job was to wash and mend his clothes. While she was busy washing, he would carry my [infant] Mom around and let her play with his gold-plated crocodile paper weight. Did he have a child and family back in Japan?? Nobody knew. He was pretty decent except for one incident when he gave my Grandmother a good whack on the head for sewing his military insignia buttons wrongly. Still, she was paid accordingly and received freebies like soaps and miscellaneous sundries for the home.

Anyway, back to "Letters...".

Towards the final scenes of the movie whereby the Japanese soldiers were committing "seppuku" using grenades, an elderly woman suddenly made a sarcastic comment that I thought destroyed the objective of Clint Eastwood's directorial efforts.

Woman sitting behind me: "They sure like to kill themselves."

Huh?!! "...like to kill themselves". She thought they enjoy blowing themselves up? Wasn't there enough raw emotion & sense of hopelessness to accompany their final moments? I was appalled and saddened by her remark because she was watching the movie without any empathy and didn't truly understand the concept and tenets of Bushido which was the pillar of Japanese military culture in ages past.

Even harder to believe because throughout the entire 120 minutes of the movie, the military men kept on repeating how it was an honor to die serving the Country & Emperor (as opposed to being caught by the American soldiers and get killed anyway - as it did to some unlucky ones that surrendered).

Was she sleeping in the theater or did ethnocentrism just took place? Subtitles were written in perfect English so no excuse of incomprehensibility. Needless to say it was all down hill for me from there on. It still vexes me to think about it.

That aside,"Letters.." is a good reminder to all that in war, there's no winners or losers. The devastation and repercussion to both sides of the camp, to the victims, their families, to the conquered and the oppressed is far greater than the short intense moment of victory which is often forgotten after a while.

To quote Ghandi:
What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?

I love this movie. It has several Oscar nominations and hopefully it'll be recognized as a powerful piece of work.


Interested to read more?
Comfort Women
Amnesty International Malaysia
Rape of Nanking or The Nanjing Massacre

Cleaning - check & done! Decorations - check & done!

2 days to the 4075 Lunar New Year.

I am not a superstitious person but according to an important Chinese custom, one cannot sweep the floor or do any house-hold chores during Chinese New Year because sweeping "sweeps" away one's luck. Just to be on the safe side, I've Hoover-ed and Swiffer-ed my entire apartment today. No harm to hope for more luck, isn't it?!

With that done, it's time to break out my very minimal Chinese New Year decoration. My motto: less is more. Furthermore, it is just another day here in New Jersey. Although I do miss the festivities & my family during this time, I don't miss the dangerous fumes & deafening explosions of gigantic crackers and air-bombs.

Ah, yes. Firecrackers.

Well, if you can't have the real thing here, then make fake ones. I saved some toilet roll cardboards, wrapped them up with Chinese tea paper, cut off white paper bag handles and stick them in the center as wick. Viola! The Chinese New Year card is from my dear Mom & Dad, Grandparents and big brother. Ever since the internet explosion, the number of greeting cards I receive during festive seasons are dwindling. But, it's good to SAVE THE TREES!


Last but not least, use my dear Ty Fluffies piggy " Choo Qi" and put a red packet next to him. Why not? It's the year of the pig, anyway.


Here they are. All together now...cheese!

Have a Happy (or, Stormy) Valentine?

It depends on where you live.

We are about to get our first taste of winter storm tonight. While a state of emergency was declared in upstate New York, it has been bone dry but cold around my area. The municipal plows have been "sleeping" this winter season until now. Tonight and tomorrow will be a test on their "salting" and plowing efficiency. Snow, sleet and rain - a wintry mix is prescribed.

Currently the weather outside is best described as the "calm before the storm". The timing couldn't have been better, for tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I wonder if restaurants will see a drop in table reservations due to the north-easter. Anyway, Adrian & I will be having a quiet dinner at home. We don't believe in contributing to the commercialism of Valentine's. Call us cheap but I prefer the term frugal.

Meanwhile, I made these pretty babies for Adrian to bring to the ladies in his office tomorrow. If they decide to work from home - too bad! You're missing some Hershey Kisses and Nestle chocolate crunch hearts packed with love.

"HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!"

Chinese New Year - Year of the Pig/Boar



Our local Asian grocery store is buzzing with Chinese New Year goodies and "drumming" new year songs. Yup, the Lunar New Year is less than a week away.

Bought some fluffy Chinese New Year rice cakes. Haven't had these in ages. Of course, I prefer them white sans the food coloring. But, beggars cannot be choosers. They were a bit "dehydrated" but re-steaming them helps. Pheew!

"Gong Xi Fa Cai" everyone. Lots of luck and pots of gold for the coming New Year!

Woodchuck Meteorology

Today is Groundhog Day. Yes, this is the day when we pluck a certain woodchuck or groundhog out of his comfy tree stump and predict when winter will end and when spring will begin. If he sees his shadow, winter will last another 6 weeks or so. If he doesn't see his shadow, spring will come early.

Photo source: Punxsutawney Chamber of Commerce

Groundhog Day 2007: Punxsutawney Phil saw NO shadow earlier this morning. "Punxy Phil" the famous groundhog says spring comes soon. Do you believe him?

To read Punxy Phil's official forecast at Gobbler's Knob, please click here: Phil says

Why do we keep this old German tradition when Phil's prediction is somewhat poor? His accuracy is about 40%. Maybe we just like to rouse him from his winter hibernation once a year. To those who pull him out - beware. He might bite one of these days. You'll never know what an angry groundhog is capable of.

Have a Happy Groundhog Day & a chilly Super Bowl Sunday, everyone. No pun intended. It's going to be a frigid one. Stay warm!