pick-up sticks, anyone?

Pick-up sticks ~ a game we used to play when we were kids.

  

It is a game of physical and mental skill.  A bundle of 'sticks' are held in a loose bunch and released on a table top, falling in random disarray.  Each player, in turn, must remove a stick from the pile without disturbing the remaining ones.

smoked chicken

Ingredients
> 1 chicken
> 1 tsp salt
> 1 tsp cooking wine
> 1 tsp five spice powder

Ingredients for smoking
> ½ cup Jasmine tea leaf
> ½ cup brown sugar
> ½ cup cooked rice



Method
[1]  Clean chicken and pat dry.
[2]  Steam chicken in a wok with high heat for 30 minutes.
[3]  Rub chicken with salt, cooking wine and five spice powder.
[4]  Cover wok with aluminium foil.  Put in tea leaf, brown sugar and rice.  Heat wok.
[5]  Place an iron rack inside the wok; put steamed chicken on the rack.  Cover with lid.
[6]  Smoke for 8-10 minutes.  Remove chicken from wok.  Leave it to cool.
[7]  Cut into bite size pieces and serve. 

(Recipe courtesy of Margarita Lee, Ipoh Echo Recipes)

pumpkin fries with salted egg

Ingredients
> 1 small pumpkin (about 400-500g)
> 3 salted egg yolks
> 1 small fresh egg
> ¼ tsp of salt and pepper
> 1 cup of all-purpose flour for coating
> vegetable oil for deep frying

Method
[1]  Steam salted egg yolks for 8-10 minutes.
[2]  Crush egg yolks with a fork.  Put aside for later use. 
[3]  Cut pumpkin thinly into the size of fries.
[4]  Mix pumpkin with the small fresh egg, salt and pepper.  Leave it for 10-20 minutes.
[5]  Coat pumpkin fries evenly with flour.
[6]  Heat oil in pan until hot.  Fry pumpkin pieces until golden colour.
[7]  Remove pumpkin fries and drain excess oil with paper towels.
[8]  Heat ½ tbsp oil in pan; add in the crushed salted egg yolks.
[9]  Stir fry the salted egg yolks until light and fluffy. (They should start foaming).
[10]  Add in the pumpkin fries and stir well with the egg yolk.
[11]  Serve immediately.

(Recipe courtesy of Margarita Lee, Ipoh Echo Recipes)

"thang chai" (small green mangoes)

The fruit ~ small green mangoes, "thang chai" in Cantonese.

Mix some sugar with soya sauce, and then put the mixture into the middle of the fruit & eat.  My childhood food!

糖水 dessert - papaya, "lor hon guo", candied winter melon, white fungus & egg

"kiam moey"

I missed this 'kiam moey' a lot.  I used to have this 'kiam moey' everytime, without fail, with my cousins and aunts, when there's this Cantonese/Hokkien Opera Shows in Seck Chuan Lane, during 'Phor Thor' (Hungry Ghost Festival).

This time, I had this at a coffee shop, "Joo Huat" at Perak Road, Penang.  It opens around 6am until 2pm.

grandma's recipe - "siew choy ngap" (duck with chinese cabbage)

Another of my maternal grandma's recipe.  Cooked by my cousin brother, Choy.

lunch with cousins

31st October 2010 ~ A rare occasion where most of my cousins (mother's side) get together and had lunch.

"bang chang kueh" (Chinese pancakes)

9th October 2010 ~ Aki Pancake, Penang.  I've not been to this stall for many years.
 
Missed it's 'bang chang kueh' with eggs and lots of peanuts and also it's 'bang chang kueh' with tuna & cheese!  Makan puas-puas with my friend.  We only had this for dinner.

grandma's recipe - "kai pa tau foo" (雞抓豆腐)

My grandma's recipe.  We can eat 3 bowls of rice with just this dish alone.

Tanjung Sepat, Selangor

29th August 2010 ~ A trip to Tanjung Sepat, Selangor, with my brother's family for lunch and some famous 'pau'.  Moved on to Morib Beach after that.

The 'pau' that we 'tapau' back.