110. CNY 2020 - Many Firsts

2020 It's the Rat Year!

and there are many first time experiences this chinese new year period.

the unforgettable firsts...
- for one, it's our first cny without mama :(
- also our first cny without aidan - since he's in jakarta for internship
- and then, mummy and daddy went off to a cruise Lol
- NO POPIAH!
- wuhan lockdown & coronavirus corvid-19 scare around the world omg

firsts
- cooking with tini - her 1st year with us
- cooking stewed mushrooms and fatt choy
- cooking without prawns or crabs because Christen's just done appendix surgery
- cooking bakwan kepeting with water chestnuts
- making a very huge chinese cabbage soup with dried scallops, ikan bilis/tepoh powder, sea cucmber, abalone, 2 chinese cabbages, 1/2 round cabbage, 2 packets of bobo or dodo fishballs...
- cooking leeks teochew style and as simple as possible
- playing with Hannah and Gabby
- taking a fast car ride home in ryan's modified mercedez sports
- french braids and did not dye my hair this year...
- pork knuckle teochew & thai braised style (tau yew bak)

Chinese Mushroom Stew

Recipe: Chinese Mushroom Stew

CNY Day1 - 25 jan 2020

Ingredients

- chopped garlic & ginger

- Dried Chinese Mushrooms

- Fa Choy

- Straw Mushrooms

- Sauce Mix

- Optional: Abalone, Dried Oysters

Sauce Mix

- oyster sauce

- light soya sauce

- shaoxing wine

- pinch of salt & sugar

- white pepper

- fried garlic & garlic flavoured oil

- sesame oil

- stock (from boiling chicken feet or lightly flavoured stock from veg or seafood or meat)

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a lot of cooking....

flower mushrooms and fatt choy

dinner

flower mushrooms and fatt choy

these are the ingredients for starting to cook teochew tau yew bak
unfortunately, the pic of the pork knuckle is blurred till unrecognizable!!!

INGREDIENTS:
garlic, star anise, mushrooms, crushed peppercorns sugar, salt to taste, corriander roots.
after this, braise the pork with dark soya sauce, water, red dates (x12)