CNY : Citrus 柑

柑一直都同农历新年挂钩。没有柑的农历新年就是少了那么一点点喜气，而柑就是年年赶在农历新年出场。

以前只有芦柑和焦柑两种。

焦柑来时是一箱一箱的。几片粗板钉成长箱，里面装了满满的元气。卸了柑，余下的木箱即被弃在一旁，没了利用价值。

当年在农大混日子时，手头还算蛮紧。除了填饱肚子、还房租等日常费用，完全没有预算买机票回乡过年。当然没有闲钱买书橱存书。

每每经过水果摊，看那被丢弃的芦柑木箱，实在不符合环保意识。脑经转下，便顺手拿了几个像样的回宿舍，稍微清洗后边塔起来变书橱了。虽然不能登大雅之堂，但是就有那寒酸书生的气质。二十年后的今天，肯定添加了一些古早味。

20年来，芦柑的价钱上上下下，最便宜时一盒S果大概8令吉，约共60余粒。L果大概30余粒。十分廉宜。难怪当时盛行抛柑。

这么样的贱价，柑农吃什么呀！

现在哪，什么碰柑、蜜柑都有。又大、又美、又甜!

加上商家刻意包装，山鸡变凤凰。美美的礼盒，才放那几粒柑，价钱可给脸咯！

CNY : Tidbits by edibee

 

Fried Nián Gāo 煎番薯年糕

Nián gāo ( 年糕 ) is a pastry prepared from glutinous rice flour and a lot of sugar, traditionally associated with Chinese New Year.  

The sticky sweet snack was believed to be an offering to the Kitchen God, when after eating the cake, his mouth will be stuck, and thus cannot badmouth the family in front of the Jade Emperor.

Nián gāo, when freshly steam, is soft and sticky.  It can be stored for months, only get moldy if properly kept.  By then, it become so hard to consume.  

Still edible, the aged nián gāo need to be cleaned of the mold, then cut to discard a bit of the outer layer.  It is then cut into pieces of about 5mm thick.  Together with sweet potato and yam, it is deep-fried coated with batter.

Best served hot with kopi-o.

step 1 : cut nián gāo and sweet potato

 step 2 : coat with batter, fry in shallow oil

step 3 : first the nián gāo side, then flip over to sweet potato

step 4 : drain the oil

CNY : Canned Shellfishes

CNY : 绿豆饼

绿豆饼是砂拉越传统糕点。带着绿豆的香气，入口即化。

首先，先把绿豆炒熟，然后去皮，豆仁磨成粉。然后搅入麦芽糖，放进模型即可。

三言两语的制作过程，却耗时费力，一点也不简单。

CNY : 春卷 Spring Rolls

Spring rolls are literally translate from Chinese word ’春卷‘  ( pronounced chūn juǎn ), are originally snacks prepared during first day of spring ( 立春), to celebrate and mark the first day of the spring.  It is also known as popiah ( 薄饼 in Hokkien dialect ) in Southern China, Malaysia and Singapore.   

Spring rolls are made of sweet or savory fillings wrapped in a thin flour-made crêpes, fried or non-fried.  The fillings varies, mostly combinations of vegetables and meats. 

The popiah’s filling consists of julienned French bean, jicama, chinese leek, carrot, cabbage ; bean sprout ( taugeh ) ; tofu ; and minced pork.  The tofu is carefully cut into small long pieces, and deep fried till golden in colour.

In a big wok, stir fry the minced pork till its half cooked.  Then put in all the ingredients except the taugeh.  Keep on stir fry till everything is cooked.  Don’t add any water.  Lastly, add in the taugeh, and a substantial amount of pepper powder and salt to taste.

As the ingredients sweat during the cooking, the broth need to be strained out.  Otherwise, the popiah would be too damp and slurry, and caused the popiah crêpes to rupture. 

first, place some filling on the lower corner of the popiah crepe ...
add chili sauce ...

roll up the crepe a bit ...

fold-in both left and right corners ...

proceed to roll the crepe ...

finish !

Popiah, as my family fondly call it, is prepared especially during CNYs.   As we skipped meals while busying visiting ( 拜年 ) relatives and friends, popiahs are eaten to fill in the no-so-hungry stomach.   Besides, everyone was lazy to cook anyway.

CNY : 煎年糕

年糕

年糕切片后粘面糊

油煎好的年糕

CNY : Kuih Kapit

Kuih Kapit is another traditional Malay kuih somehow managed to find its way into Chinese homes.   In our home, it is called “kuis’pit”, a derivative from the word ‘kuih kapit’, I guess.

I have never participated in the making of kuih kapit, but I’ve heard the story and the process for so many times, ( thanks to my mother )  that I can visualize the process, as though I've already mastered the kuis’pit making .

The main ingredient of kuih kapit are of course flour, sugar, and eggs.   Most of the times, coconut milk is added to make it more fragrant.

The ingredients are mixed into a watery batter.  Then, the batter is pour onto the scissor-like round metal plate, and kapit.  ( kapit in Malay means ‘clamp’, thus the name kuih kapit ).  After heated over charcoal for a while, the metal plate is open and the cooked-round-thin-layer batter is remove and double-fold into a quarter or rolled into a cylinder.    The folding or rolling must be done in a jiffy, while its still hot and soft.  Once its cool, it will hardened, and its impossible to shape it anymore.

Every year, one or two weeks before CNY, Grandma from Matu will send us a tin of rolled kuih kapit.  The kuih need to be stored in an air-tight container.  The most easily available one are metal tin used to store biscuits.  (  Those tins are almost obsolete now )

We used to suck MILO or milk, using a cylinder kuih kapit, as though it is a straw.  Of course, it will softened and shatter soon after in contact with liquid.  So, we will need 4-5 kuis’pit to finish a cup of MILO.