Goat Xi Fa Cai | Happy Chinese New Year 2015

Wishing all readers and friends a very Happy Chinese New Year in this Year of the Goat. May you be blessed with an abundance of wealth, fortune, longevity and good health in 2015. And not forgetting lots of good food :)

Welcome Year of the Goat!

Huat ah!

Goat Xi, Goat Xi!

Photographer: My mum
Location: The Gardens Mall | Midvalley Megamall | Home



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Japanese Yee Sang @ Hokkaido Ichiba, The Gardens Mall, KL

Last weekend, we met up with a good friend for lunch at Hokkaido Ichiba / Kita No Zen in The Gardens Mall. We ordered our food, chatted away, food arrived and we ate our lunch and then we got talking about CNY and yee sangs... and I said "Hey they do yee sang here too, wanna try?"

Japanese yee sang

We ordered the small yee sang (RM38) which is enough to feed 3-4 persons. They also do a larger version. It arrived looking very pretty, with a salmon rose crowned in the centre. Other ingredients in the yee sang include jellyfish (chuka karage), shredded/julienned vegetables such as radish and carrot, tempura bits, pickled ginger, seasoned seaweed, and marinated scallop lips (chuka hotate). Wow this yee sang is soooooo tasty.. I guess it's because it contains so many of my favorite ingredients!

Kids first yee sang this year :)

After lunch we headed over to Moo Cow for some froyo... and just as we sat down, we heard the sound of drums.... oh a lion dance has just started! How lucky. Kids love watching lion dance performances.

And when the crowd dispersed, kids asked if they could go downstairs to see the lion head upclose. The PIC was so nice and let the kids pose and touch the lion head. Another lucky, happy moment! :)

Opening times: 11am to 10pm daily. Hokkaido Ichiba is closed for first 3 days of CNY 2015.

Location: Kita No Zen, Hokkaido Ichiba, T-201, 3rd Floor, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2283 1060


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Recipe: Braised fish maw with mushrooms and sugar snap peas

Nowadays, you can get Chinese New Year (CNY) ingredients at the shops two months before the actual celebration. We always stock up on lots of fish maw 鱼鳔 and Chinese mushrooms as soon as we can get our hands on them.  So, we've been cooking lots of different dishes with them and our favorite combination has to be this - braised mushrooms with fish maw and sugar snap peas.

This recipe is even EASIER than my last "Easy fish maw with mushroom stew" recipe - you pre-soak them in warm water for 2 hours hence you can cut the cooking time by half. Usually we soak it before we pick the kids up from school, hence when we get back, we can quickly braise it and the dish is ready in less than 30 minutes. A complete one-pot dish with enoki mushrooms (also known as straw mushrooms), Chinese mushrooms and sugar snap peas. Super tasty!

Braised fish maw with mushrooms and sugar snap peas
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
Serves 2-3


Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked for 2 hours and stalk removed
1 (25g) fish maw, soaked in warm water for 2 hours
2 pack enoki mushrooms, ends trimmed
130g sugar snap peas / sweet bean, topped and tailed
250ml water
2 tbsp mushroom sauce
1 tbsp ginger wine


1.  In a saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and stir fry for 2 minutes until golden brown.

2. Add Chinese mushrooms and fish maw and stir fry for about a minute, then add the water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn down to medium low heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the fish maw's texture is cooked to your liking. Season with mushroom sauce and ginger wine, to taste.

3. Add the enoki mushrooms and sugar snap peas and cook for a further 2 minute. Taste and season with some salt, if required. Serve immediately.

Note: Soaking the fish maw in hot/warm water will shorten its cooking time, convenient especially if you are in a rush.

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I am submitting this to the "Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015" event which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe. To join, simply cook or bake any Chinese New Year recipes for the whole month of February 2015.

Your post must be a current post i.e. posted in February 2015 - please do not link older posts.Please mention our "Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015" event in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.

Happy cooking! Do check out the other bloggers recipe below:

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Recipe: Honey Cornflakes Cup

This week, I have been baking lots of pineapple nastar rolls... about 400 of them, all nicely packed to be gifted to good friends as well as serving to guests visiting us during the CNY period. My kids will also be bringing some to school for their CNY party - my daughter brought some to school the other day, which she shared with two of her best friends, and they have been asking her to ask her mummy to let her bring more during the party. :D

Other than pineapple tarts, I also made these honey cornflakes cup for them to share with their classmates. I chose this because it's really easy to make and kids love them! This is based on my almond honey joys recipe but this time I've cut out the sugar completely, using only honey and butter and then mixed in some chocolate chips and almond flakes. Oh and topped it with a heart since it's Valentine's Day on Saturday ;)

Crispy, crunchy and sweet - hope the kids will enjoy their treats in school.

Honey Cornflakes Cup
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from here
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10-12 minutes
Makes 28-30


Ingredients
150g salted butter
6 tbsp honey

A pinch of salt
8 cups cornflakes (500g)
1 cup almond flakes

2 tbsp chocolate chips


1. Preheat oven to 170°C (no fan). Line 2 muffin trays with paper cases. 

2. In a saucepan over medium low heat, melt butter, honey and salt until it is bubbling. Remove from heat and stir in cornflakes and almonds until well coated. (Note: You can do it in 2 batches for ease of handling)

3. Spoon cornflakes mixture into paper case lined muffin pans, then sprinkle with chocolate chips.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Cool completely in pans before serving. Store in airtight containers to keep them crispy and crunchy.


Note: If you're making these for CNY, you can make them in mini muffin cases and bake for 6-7 minutes.

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I am submitting this to the "Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015" event which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe. To join, simply cook or bake any Chinese New Year recipes for the whole month of February 2015.

Your post must be a current post i.e. posted in February 2015 - please do not link older posts.Please mention our "Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015" event in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.

Happy cooking! Do check out the other bloggers recipe below:

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

CNY 2015: Tai Zi Heen, Prince Hotel & Residence KL

A friend asked me last week to recommend a few pork-free restaurants to her for hosting a Chinese New Year dinner and without hesitation, one of the restaurants I recommended was Tai Zi Heen in Prince Hotel KL. The Cantonese fare there is consistently good, and their CNY menu is a mix of fusion and traditional, symbolic dishes. 

Three specially crafted auspicious 9-course CNY menus are available from 26 January to 5 March 2015 - the Spring and Happiness set menu at RM1488++,  the Everlasting Prosperity Menu at RM1888++ and the Wealth and Fortune Menu at RM2188++ for 10 persons. Furthermore on 26 January, there will be a special lion dance performance. 

Four Seasons Prosperity Yee Sang

This year, I had the pleasure to try out some of Chef Michael Wong's delicious CNY dishes again. To start, we tossed to good fortune and health with the signature Four Seasons Prosperity Yee Sang which is topped with butterfish, salmon, tuna and jellyfish. I particularly enjoyed the jellyfish which added a really nice texture to the salad. Other toppings available are abalone, hamachi, Canadian surf clam, salmon or snow pear.

Butterfish, salmon, tuna and jellyfish yee sang

Toss, toss, toss... the higher you toss, the better!

We also sampled some highlights from the CNY menus, starting off with the soup. The soups here are always good, and we really enjoyed the double-boiled chicken broth with whole abalone, dried scallops, bamboo pith and vegetables. Clear yet so flavorful, I instantly felt my body warm up and invigorated as I sipped the soup. The abalone is perfectly cooked and the bamboo pith has a lovely crunchy texture as well. Thumbs up!

A highly sought after dish during CNY, the braised Japanese sun-dried shiitake mushrooms with dried oysters and fatt choy. Oysters ("hou see") means "all good things and "fatt choy" means wealth and lettuce and "sang choy" means prosperity, making this an auspicious dish.

The baked salmon fillets with honey and onion rings was also a big hit. I am not usually fond of cooked salmon, but this was beautifully done, with a lovely honey and soy glaze. I wish I got more of the sauce though. Onions rings are an unusual touch for a Chinese restaurant, fortunately it was crispy and light. 

The wok-fried rice with diced lobster, tobiko and bonito flakes had plenty of wok hei and we love the addition of the tobiko and bonito flakes.

For dessert, we had the crispy deep-fried sesame balls with salted egg yolk custard and durian mochi. Instead of the usual coconut or red bean filling, the sesame balls were filled with salted egg yolk custard, which I liked a lot. Plus when you break it in half, it looks like flowing gold. Gold, gold, come to mama. The durian mochi was pungent, smooth and rich. Pretty good!

Tai Zi Heen's CNY menu is available until 5 March 2015. It is open throughout the CNY period. Reservations are highly recommended.





Pork-free.

Opening times: Mon- Fri 12.00pm - 2.30pm, Sat- Sun 11.30am - 2.30pm; Mon-Sun 6.30pm-10.30pm.

Location: Tai Zi Heen, Level 2, Prince Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur, 4 Jalan Conlay, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2170 8888 ext 8200

Website: http://www.princehotelkl.com

GPS Coordinates: 3.150179, 101.714516

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Kids Craft: Gold Fish & Lantern for Chinese New Year (CNY)

Growing up, I always made crafts out of leftover angpow packets with my mum prior to Chinese New Year. Our favorites (and really easy to do ones) are goldfish 金鱼 and Chinese lantern 灯笼. And this year, I made them with my kids too, some to decorate our house with and some for the kids to bring to school to decorate their classrooms with to create a festive air.

Let's welcome the Year of the Goat ;)

How to Make Gold Fish 金 鱼 using Angpow Packets

What you need: Red angpow packets, Scissors, Stapler

Optional: Googly eyes, Glue, Ribbon

Instructions:
1. First, cut off the flap end from the red packet.  Fold the red packet into half, then cut along folded line. You will have two squares to make 2 fish.

2. Take one square and fold into half to form a triangle. Using a scissors, cut along the folded line to the centre. You will also need to cut the sealed sides. Also, on the opposite end, cut out a small diamond shape for the mouth.

3. Cross the two sides to make your tail. The centre of the fish should be puffed up on both sides to get a nice 3-D shape. Staple the tail to hold it's shape. If you like, you can stick on a googly eye just above the mouth.

4. Cut a length of ribbon or strip from angpow paper and make a loop and staple to top of the fish. You can now hang this fish anywhere in your home.

How to make a Chinese red lantern 灯笼 from angpow packets

What you need: Red angpow packet, Scissors, Stapler, Red thread.


Instructions:
1. First, cut off the flap end of the red packet. Fold it in half lengthwise, then using your scissors, cut thin strips from centre until about 1cm from the top. Repeat for the whole length.

2. Open the red packet and then bring both ends together, bending slightly and then staple to hold shape. Cut a strip of red angpow paper, and then stapler to the top for the handle. Also, cut a length of red thread and tie ends, now you can hang this anywhere you like in your home.

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Recipe: Pork knuckle/trotters with black vinegar 猪脚醋

Pork knuckle /pig trotters are popular ingredients used during Chinese New Year (CNY). When I was dining at a Chinese restaurant last month, I was flipping through their CNY promotion booklet and saw a pork knuckle dish. I asked the waitress why pork knuckle is served during CNY and she told me that it's because it symbolises a hand clawing in more "gold and money" for the coming year. Chinese sure loves ingredients with prosperous sounding homonyms and symbolism.

The Hokkiens, including my family usually serve pork knuckle with sea cucumber (recipe here) during CNY. I read in an article last week that Hakka households serve pork knuckle cooked with black vinegar 猪脚醋 during reunion dinners, which in the dialect means "soaring high". Though I've never had it before during CNY, this was one of my favorite things to eat during confinement (confinement is the 30-day period an Asian woman undergoes after giving birth).

Pork knuckle / trotters with black vinegar 猪脚醋

To cook this dish, you can use either pork knuckle or pig's trotters (I love pig trotters, as they're more gelatinous- yummy!), which is simmered with water, old ginger, gula melaka (palm sugar) and vinegar. How long you cook it depends on how you like the texture - for us, we like the pork trotters to be soft with a slight bite and melting layers of gelatinous fat within. It is best to set it aside for 4-5 hours for the flavours to develop before serving. You can always cook a big pot, and eat it over a few meals - the flavours just get better and better!

I simply love the combination of sweet and tangy flavours of the braising sauce (yup, you can drink it all) - so appetizing! I'm so happy that my mum taught me how to cook this chu kiok cho 猪脚醋 dish. Thanks mum!

Pork knuckle/trotters with black vinegar 猪脚醋
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
Serves 4

Ingredients
1kg pork knuckle or trotters
320g old ginger, sliced and bruised
900ml water
400ml spiced vinegar
135g gula melaka (palm sugar)
1/2 tsp salt


1. In a large pot over medium heat, place the water, old ginger and gula melaka and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the vinegar and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

We use Yuen Chun Cap Datuk spiced vinegar (cuka hitam) when we make this dish.

2. In a separate pot, bring a pot of water to the boil, then blanch the pork for about 5 minutes. This is to remove any impurities from the pork.

3. Add the pork and salt to the pot (from Step 1) and simmer over low heat for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove from heat and set aside for 4-5 hours for flavours to develop/infuse.

4. Before serving, heat over medium low heat for about 30 minutes.

Note: Use old ginger for this dish as it tastes better with a strong gingery taste.

****************

I am submitting this to the "Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015" event which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe. To join, simply cook or bake any Chinese New Year recipes for the whole month of February 2015.

Your post must be a current post i.e. posted in February 2015 - please do not link older posts.Please mention our "Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015" event in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.

Happy cooking! Do check out the other bloggers recipe below:

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)