Chinese New Year (CNY)is a very significant celebration for us Chinese peeps as it represents the beginning of a new year/chapter in our lives. I was fortunate enough to head back home to celebrate this event with my family and what better way to usher in the New Year with good food and company? CNY was a few months ago but I can still vividly remember the fireworks popping, Chinese songs playing and neighbours wandering about in the apartment corridor!
This would be the first installment on CNY 2013, so stay tuned for the second part, which, hopefully, I would be able to post up very very soon! For now, let's talk about CNY eve. I didn't get to snap many pictures of my trips to the local malls, purely because the malls were overcrowded with patrons, making it difficult to get nice "street" shoots. Will give it another crack when I get back!
Salted chicken~ something dad usually prepares for CNY and I have heard from friends that this is a very Hainanese dish. Is it really?
Braised chicken in Chinese mushroom~ this is one of our weekday dinner dishes.
Chicken chop~ I can't seem to recreate the exact replica at my aussie house, no matter how much I tried. I am pretty sure I have used the exact same ingredients/methods of preparation. However, I have this strange gut feeling (or theory) that food always taste better when it's prepared by someone else. Do you agree?
This is a dish that I would think twice before digging in when I was younger. Reason? My parents used to tell me that the fine strands of "hair" belongs to my grandma. The things parents tell you....
Dad attempted to whip up a fancy vege dish.
Steamed fish with coriander and soy sauce~ From memory, you would need to fry this fish before putting it in the steamer to cook. When I left home to study in Australia, this was one of the easiest methods that I have learnt for cooking a fish. Very easy and goes well with most types of fish. You are allowed to modify the garnishes.
Another easy method of cooking prawns that I have picked up from home. Fry some garlic, toss in your prawns and a few minutes before the prawns are ready, add appropriate amount of soy sauce. There's your sauce and marinade, all ready in under 15 minutes (or less!).
I was playing around with food styling at that time and hence, the random orange placements on the table.
CNY dinner would not be complete without a bowl of lotus root soup. Dad uses dried cuttlefish to inject a seafood scent and sweetness into the soup.
All in all, I was very very stuffed to the brim for my CNY eve dinner. Us Chinese people do believe that one must always have too much of something rather than too little at all and this applies to your fortune in the coming year!
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