Once A Year

I always love Chinese tradition festival, during this time I get to enjoy the tradition food. Out of so many, one of them is “Rice Dumpling -粽子”

There are Variations of Rice Dumpling available, but I personally like “Nyonya Zong (娘惹粽)” - A specialty of Peranakan Cuisine.

Nyonya Dumpling

Filling :
1/2 kg : Mince Meat
10pcs : Dry Mushroom (soaked and diced)
1/2 packet : Candied Winter Melon (Toong Kwa Tong), diced
Dry Shrimp : chopped
10pcs : Garlic (chopped)
10pcs : Onion (chopped)

- Heat oil, fried Garlic & Onion till fragrance
- Add in chopped Dry Shrimp, Mushroom and Mince Meat, fried well.
- Add in Winter Melon Cube
- Add in spices according to your taste buds.
(Five Spice Powder, Coriander Powder, Chili Powder, Pepper, Salt, Sugar)

Rice :
1kg Glutinous Rice, soak overnight, drain well
Red bean : soak and cook till 80% soft.

- Heat cooking oil, fried chopped garlic till fragrance,
add in the Red Bean and Glutinous Rice, add sale to taste
- Upon finish folding all the rice
- Bring a large pot of water to boil (Add 1 tbsp of salt)
- Put in the dumplings and cook for at least 3 - 4 hours

** Water Level must over the dumpling
** Only boiling water can be added in during boiling time

Boss Ta Pao Lunch....

"Jo, taken your lunch??"

Suddenly my Boss asked when he about to step out from the office. "WAH!" dun know wat winds blow in his mind, he never stay in the office for so long and hardly had lunch at this area. Not to let go any opportunity, I sure answer him "Not Yet." even I already had lunch box. Hahah... (see wat is he going to Ta Pao for me)

Waited and waited....... finally he came back 3pm++, (almost 4 loh! If wait for his lunch, sure I will hunger to die) with 4 big packets. After open up all, to my surprised!! 2 packets of white rice (Big Portion) and 2 packet of Vege only, then he told me "Too late, noting to eat". Look at the rice, I also no appetite to eat. So just bring home and do fried rice.














Tom Yam Fried Rice

- Fried French Beans with Egg and put aside.
- Fried chopped Garlic, Small Onion and Lemon Grass
- Spoon in Tom Yam paste (mix with little soya sauce,
sugar & salt), Chili Padi and Daun Limau Pulut
- Add any Seafood / Chicken cube
- Stir in white rice, Pineapple, pre-fried French beans
with egg and fried well.

One Pot Wonders

Cooking One Pot meal is so easy, convenient and nutritious too, especially during rush hour or whenever no time to go marketing. Just grab whatever ingredients ready in the fridge.


Ingredients :-
- Dry Prawns : Soaked and chopped finely
- Dry Sotong : Soaked and cut stripes
- Mushroom : Soaked and cut cubes
- long Beans / Frozen Vege

Methods :-
1st Part# (Long Beans)
- Fried chopped garlic & ginger till fragrance
- Add in dry prawn
- Add in long beans and fried well (taste with little salt and pepper).
- Dish out and put aside

2nd Part# (Rice)
- Fried garlic and ginger again
- Add in dry prawn, sotong stripes (or dry scallop) till fragrance
- Add in Mushroom cubes
- Add in pre-washed rice and stir fried for a while
- Sprinkle little pepper, Oyster sauce to taste
- Transfer rice to rice cooker, add in enough amount of water and cook as usual.
- When the rice cooked, stir in the Long Beans and cover it a little while (not too long, to prevent the Long Bean over cook)
- Garnish with Spring Onion & serve.

Kampung Style

Reaching home, so hungry but find nothing to eat and lazy to drive out again (think of the heavy traffic outside, also scared loh!!!)
No choice loh! just walk to a small Malay Gerai (operated in the PKNS flat) next to my apartment, see wat can i get from there to cure my stomach!!

Eh!! not bad, at this hour (almost 7pm) they still have "French Beans", at least I can do a fried rice. (still have some leftover rice in fridge)



Nasi Goreng Kampung

Pound together : Garlic, Small Onion, Ikan Bilis & little Chili padi

1) Make a scramble egg and put aside
2) Fried POUND ingredients till fragrance
3) Add in French Beans, stir fried well
4) Add in rice, fried well and sprinkle little salt and pepper to taste.

** Garnish with : Pre-fried Ikan Bilis **

Teochew People, 潮州人

What is your 1^st impression when talk about Chaozhou or TeoChew people (潮州人)?? 8 out of 10 will answer you “TeoChew porridge (潮州糜 or mue, we called it 粥) lah!!

The TeoChew mue is rather different from Cantonese porridge or congee. Mue (潮州糜) is very watery with the rice sitting loosely at the bottom of the bowl. In HK they call it "Da Leng" (打冷). Eating out at roadside food stalls close to midnight before they go to bed.

When I was kid, we never miss a single lunch of porridge (rice is only for dinner) and not mistaken my mum will cook this Minced Pork Porridge during year end house cleaning day (大掃除), may be it was easier to prepare one pot rather then cook so many dishes, N till today, it’s still my favorite.

尤鱼, Minced Pork Porridge

- Cook porridge as usual, until boiling.

- Add in Shredded Ginger, Shredded dry Sotong (尤鱼 )& Tong Chai (boil for another 10 – 15 minutes)

- Add in minced pork (marinated with little soya sauce + pepper)

(stir longer to become starchy , if you prefer congee texture)

- Add Soya sauce & Pepper to taste

- Sprinkle Coriander leaf before serving.