shiokadelicious!

Boxing Day

It is the day after Christmas… and the house is quiet again. After the mad frenzy of cooking, baking and preparing for Christmas, and the whirlwind of eating and merry-making with family and friends, this is the short lull before the New Year celebrations start to kick in, in a few days time. The Holidays have been filled with lots of good food, great company, plenty of laughter, warmth, joy and happiness.

There has been so much food over the last few days, I’m not even sure where to begin… there were home-cooked food by both my mum and myself, there were contributions by friends and family, and there were store-bought food… some were Asian-styled, others were Western-styled, and yet others were “East-meets-West”… and all were generously topped with abundant love, warmth and well-wishes. That always makes everything all the more delicious, doesn’t it? I think it could be quite a South-East Asian thing, this mixed palate… it feels completely natural to have such a diverse mix of food at one table. East, West, North, South… it all comes together in a delicious alchemy of gastronomic delights. Everyone tucks in happily to rice and potatoes, curry and turkey, chendol on ice cream, even durian log cake and what have you…

Some of the food we had:

• Braised lamb shanks
• Simmered pork ribs
• Chilli lobster
• Salmon quiche
• Bruschettas
• Cucumber salad
• Glazed carrots
• Pommes persillade
• Mince pies
• Fruit cakes
• Yule log cakes
• Mini Swiss rolls
• Christmas cookies
• Fresh-made hazelnut gelato
• Petit Fours
• Chocolate truffles

There are some others that I cannot seem to recall at the present moment. And there are some I never even got to taste! I was so caught up with being with everyone and yakking away that some of the dishes were polished off before I got round to them… Which also means a lot of the dishes didn’t get their turn in front of the camera. LoL.

It will probably take me a few days to sort out all the food photos from the family photos, and so I’ll be posting the various dishes we cooked in stages.

But… first, I want to talk about desserts. Yes, my favorite topic, and my favorite part of the meal.

I was completely overwhelmed by these…

These were completely and totally sublime! They may look like just ordinary mini Swiss rolls, but believe me, they most definitely did NOT taste like just any ordinary Swiss rolls. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten such a superlative Swiss roll before! The sponge cake was so cottony soft and smooth – light as feather but not airy. It just melts in the mouth – a sweet and smooth sensation. The fresh cream filling was equally light, and complemented by the lightest touch of strawberry jam. It was completely out of this world!

The only down-side… I only got to eat one. They were gone so quickly! Although I do know of some people who managed to wolf down 4-5 of these! (No names mentioned)

I really have to find out where these came from. A friend brought them over, and I haven’t had a chance to ask her where she got them from. Somehow I don’t think they can be found in Singapore. I’ve never tasted anything like it here before. But at the same time, I’m hoping they are available in Singapore. I’m already having a craving for them!

There were also mince pies, of course. Christmas wouldn’t quite be fully Christmas without some mince pies, right? These ones were from Marks & Spencer. And they were very good indeed. I really liked the crust – rich, crispy, light and flaky. This year, they also seemed a lot less sweet than previous years. (It would seem that M&S; has tweaked their recipe, perhaps in response to changing customers’ preferences for less sweetness in food).

Even the mini mince pies were chock-full of luscious spiced vine fruits… Yum!

We also had some mini chocolate yule log cakes, from another friend. These were very good too. Instead of butter cream, these were filled with a light, yet rich-tasting bitter-sweet chocolate mousse, and topped with dark chocolate. These also did fast-disappearing acts, and were enjoyed by both young and old.

Another personal favorite…

Dark chocolate covered almonds with a light dusting of powdered sugar. Mmmm... Perfect balance of the bitterness of dark chocolate, sweetness of powdered sugar and crunch of roasted almonds. (Sorry, I only remembered to snap the picture after most of them were gone, and they had started to “sweat” even though the air-conditioning was on full-blast, and were looking less than picture-perfect). These were from Royce Chocolates, a Japanese brand with a counter in Takashimaya’s Food Hall. I like their chocolate truffles too. Apparently made from Hokkaido cream, these are extremely smooth tasting. They are not quite shaped like the traditional truffles, and are also less sweet. Just divine!

There was also fresh-made hazelnut gelato from Venezia (Guthrie House or Centrepoint), served with warm chocolate sauce and chopped toasted hazelnuts. No pictures though, sorry. I forgot… I was too busy enjoying the gelato! I also forgot about snapping the myriad of other Christmas baked goodies so kindly brought by friends and relatives. But I assure you they all tasted yummilicious!

Yes, it was a sweet, sweet Christmas indeed!

Next up, lamb shanks and the other entrees and side dishes…

Copyright © 2003 Renee Kho. All rights reserved.
Please contact me for permission to copy, distribute or display any of the images and text contained in this article.

Seasons Greetings!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU & YOUR FAMILY!

Copyright © 2003 Renee Kho. All rights reserved.
Please contact me for permission to copy, distribute or display any of the images and text contained in this article.

Happy Dong Zhi!

It is Dong Zhi today… a time for family togetherness… a time for love, joy, laughter and warmth…

Dong Zhi (Winter Solstice) is one of the most important festivals of the Chinese lunar calendar, and falls almost every year on the 22 December (on rare occasions, it may fall on 21 December). Literally translated it means “arrival of winter”. In ancient times, it marked the end of harvest and the return of family members from far and near to the family ancestral home, to gather, celebrate and prepare for the coming of the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year. I suppose Dong Zhi can be regarded as the Chinese Thanksgiving, and like the American Thanksgiving, food, wine and feasting are integral parts of the celebration.

Tang yuan (glutinous rice balls served in a sweet soup) are a must on Dong Zhi. They are eaten to signify unity and harmony within the family and to celebrate the past good year. “Tang” (meaning soup in Mandarin), sounds like “tuan” (meaning reunion), and “yuan” (meaning round) signifies “yuan man” (completeness, fulfillment).

Although tang yuan can now be eaten throughout the year, at restaurants or hawker centers, or can be bought frozen and ready-prepared in supermarkets, they still take on special significance when eaten on Dong Zhi.

They are usually boiled and served in a sweet soup made with ginger and rock sugar. Our family made two versions today… one is the traditional clear ginger syrup soup, with an added South East Asian twist of pandan leaves as aromatics...

The second is a thick red bean sweet soup (red bean tong shui). I’m not sure what the origins of this version are… but this version is commonly served in restaurants and hawker centers. Apart from red bean soup, they can also be served in (black or white) sesame sweet soup (zhi ma hu) or in peanut sweet soup (hua shen hu).

[Interestingly, when tang yuan are served dry, coated with crushed peanuts, they take on a new name and new meaning. Known as “yuan xiao”, they are eaten on the 15th or last day of the Lunar New Year celebrations. But that is for another time…]

The tang yuan we eat nowadays are so different from the homemade ones I remember as a kid. Hardly anyone makes their own tang yuan anymore. It is just so much more convenient, and tastier too, to buy them frozen and ready-made from the supermarket. And they now come with luscious fillings of peanut (yummy), black sesame (very yummy) and red bean (yummy too).

In the days when there was no ready-made tang yuan to be bought, every family would come together on Dong Zhi morning to make tang yuan. These are made from a very simple dough of rice flour and water, and rolled into tiny marble-sized balls. Very often, they are made into white and pink colors, with the pink color signifying good luck. These had no fillings and were simply boiled in hot water until they floated to the surface, and then served in the sweet syrup soup.

I remember these home-made tang yuan to be rather chewy and bland. Today’s modern versions taste infinitely better, however, I so miss the laughter and joy of sitting around the kitchen table… grandmother, aunts, mum, cousins… all pitching in to mix the dough and roll out these little balls of glutinous rice. I miss the chatter, the teasing and the abundant laughter. Yes, today’s factory-made tang yuan may taste delicious, yet the traditional ones of old tasted sweet, rich and full with love, warmth and joy. Back then, families gathered to make and eat tang yuan together… and that truly must be the real meaning of Dong Zhi…

As I sit with my family to eat tang yuan this festive day, I wish one and all...

Happy Dong Zhi to you and your family!

Copyright © 2003 Renee Kho. All rights reserved.
Please contact me for permission to copy, distribute or display any of the images and text contained in this article.

It’s Beginning to Taste A Lot Like Christmas

One of the things that make Christmas christmasy for me is the food. Somehow Christmas just doesn’t feel like Christmas without certain epicurean experiences. And it’s not the savory foods that do it for me – no, I do not think about baked ham or roasted turkeys. Christmas for me is defined by all the sweet treats of the season. (Yes, my sweet tooth is quite legendary in this family). Weeks before Christmas I would start dreaming of fruit cakes, mince pies, chocolates, cookies and what have you…

This year, the festivities have had a rather late start for me. I have been too busy to do hardly any Christmas baking. My fruit cake attempt a couple of weeks ago could hardly be called a “resounding success”. But… all is well…

A friend of my brother made us a brandied fruit cake, and it is delicious! It isn’t too sweet (hard to find in commercial ready-made fruit cakes), has a nice, tender crumb and is moist with a balanced taste of brandy. It has a nice homey feel to it – simply decorated, without glazing etc. Our family doesn’t like glazed cherries in or on our fruit cakes, so this suits us to a T.

Apparently, she takes orders for her cakes, which she bakes part-time (over and above her full time job). She does all sorts of cakes from butter cakes to cheesecakes, and is also supposed to have come up with some interesting creations like tequila cakes and vodka cakes. I’m curious and am awaiting a list of her cakes from my brother, so that I can try out some of her other creations. I like her style of baking (and I’m not just saying this because she is known to my brother), and her prices are rather reasonable. I think her fruit cakes go for S$28 for a 6-8” cake, compared to easily $40+ to $50+ from shops.

Anyway, if anyone is interested in contacting her for her cake list or to place an order, please drop me a line, and I’ll pass you her contact number. Okay, yes, this is a mini 30-second plug... but we do like her fruit cake very much. And good things should be shared ; )

Whilst shopping at Cold Storage supermarket the other day, I picked up a box of Tartufo Italian Christmas cake (S$14.90). Each year, I’ve seen these Italian cakes on sale, but have never been tempted to try them, until now. I wasn’t sure what to expect. In fact, I have always associated “tartufo” with Italian gelato for some reason. The fine print on the box said “Italian leavened cake with gianduja hazelnut paste, coated with plain chocolate and decorated with chocolate curls”.

When I opened the box, this was what I found… it looked suspiciously like an extra, extra large muffin!

(Note my first – not very successful – attempt at mood lighting photography. Haha!)

The inside revealed nice, slightly gooey chocolate cream filling, with the lightest hint of the liquor. The texture of the cake had looked rather coarse and dry , but it tasted tender and fairly moist. I actually feel it is more inclined towards being a rich, sweet bread rather than a cake.

I wonder… is this a traditional Italian Christmas cake? Or is this a modern invention? I’m really curious about the story and tradition behind these sorts of Italian Christmas cakes… I’m presuming it is fairly authentic as it is made in and imported from Italy. Anyone knows? I’m always fascinated by the different foods eaten in different cultures to celebrate the same festivity.

I’m also really curious how this cake/bread can keep for so long. It came non-vacuum sealed in a paper box and the expiry date on the box said May 2004!

It was nice though. I liked it. I would like to try some of the other varieties next year. I think there must have been at least 5-6 varieties, with different cream fillings or toppings, that I saw on display the other day.

The cake also came with a complimentary cute little mini Panettone – Italian leavened cake with raisins and candied orange peel.

I would guess this is the original Italian Christmas sweet loaf? And the counterpart to the German-originated Stollen. I’m more familiar with this German version of a sweet, rich, brioche-like, fruity, spicy bread/cake with a marzipan center. The tradition of eating Stollen at Christmas apparently arose from the ancient practice of the local bakers’ guild of the city of Dresden’s to present to the Bishop of Narumburg two long white breads, called “Stollen”, on Christ’s birthday and on Michaelmas. I think the characteristic oblong shape of the Stollen with a folded ridge down the center is supposed to represent the Christ Child in swaddling clothes.

The Italian Panettone is quite differently shaped. Is there a significance to this? What’s the tradition behind the Panettone? Strangely, I don’t think the English have a tradition of eating sweet breads at Christmas. I only remember and know of plum puddings with brandy sauce, rich fruit cakes and of course, my favorite, mince pies. One is supposed to eat one mince pie a day on each of the 12 days of Christmas (from 25 December through to 5 January, before the epiphany on the 6th), to ensure one has good luck in each of the coming 12 months of the new year. Interesting, huh?

Ah… fruit cake, Panettone and mince pies… it really is beginning to taste a lot like Christmas!

Copyright © 2003 Renee Kho. All rights reserved.
Please contact me for permission to copy, distribute or display any of the images and text contained in this article.

Night Scenes

After dinner, we decided to take a leisurely stroll around the food street, and stumbled upon the Winter Solstice Street Market.

Traditionally, the Chinese marked the Winter Solstice (22 December) as the start of New Year preparations. In ancient times, this time of the year meant that the harvest has been completed, and all family members that have left the ancestral home to work in other provinces would travel home to reunite with their families in preparation for the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year celebrations. The Winter Solstice would be celebrated with a family reunion dinner, and the eating of “tang yuen” (literal translation: soup dumplings) – round glutinous rice dumplings boiled in a ginger syrup soup. The modern versions of these dumplings now have fillings of peanut, black sesame or red bean.

Here are some sights (minus the sounds and smells) of the night market…

There was a mini open-air concert going on…

There were food stalls selling fruits, snacks and other traditional tid-bits. I love the smell of the chestnuts being coal-roasted (in the metal drum seen in the right hand corner)…

Fruits painstakingly and neatly arranged and displayed… it is the season for rambutans, persimmons, starfruits and Chinese fragrant pears!

We bought more durians! Yum! The aromas were so strong that they filled the car on the drive home even though the durians were in the boot!

Herbal teas to quench your thirst and to relieve “heatiness” from the body…

Traditional Teochew rice dumplings…

Dried scallops, dried sea cucumbers and dried oysters… all essential ingredients in Chinese New Year celebratory dishes…

Beautiful large (very large, I might add), plump dried oysters or “hou si” (meaning “good tidings”)…

The sky was clear, the weather cool… a beautiful end to a very pleasant evening!

Copyright © 2003 Renee Kho. All rights reserved.
Please contact me for permission to copy, distribute or display any of the images and text contained in this article.