红龟粿 Ang Ku Kueh

Ang ku kueh is 红龟粿 in Chinese Hokkien dialect, meaning ‘red tortoise cake’.  It is made of glutinous rice flour, with vary fillings, ranging from the favorite red bean paste and lotus seed paste to the less popular green bean paste, peanut, crated coconut, to exotic taste of durian and many more.

Ang ku kueh, as the name suggested, is red in colour.  Yet, ‘ang’ doesn’t mean ‘red’ in everyone’s eyes.  ( serious colour blind duh ! ) Some like it yellow, pink, blue, purple, white, and whatever food colourings can offer. 

To make ang ku kueh, first the filling is wrap in a dough made of glutinous rice flour.  Then, the filled-dough is put in a special-made wood mould.  ( There are plastic-made mould too  ! )  The quantity of the dough-filing should be just enough to fill the mould.   The dough will be nicely shaped into a tortoise-like feature, with a big Chinese character ‘寿’, which means ‘longevity’, in the center. 

Tortoise signify longevity in Chinese.  The character ‘寿’ clearly imply that.  Just in case someone thinks its not a tortoise.  That’s how it get its name in the first place : red tortoise cake !

The dough is then put on a piece of cut banana leaf.  Ang ku kueh is meant to be steam.  Nobody deep fry or bake it so far.  So, after steam it for a while in a steamer, the dough turns slimy and sticky.  It need to be brushed with some edible oil to prevent them from sticking together.

Ang ku kuehs are prepared for CNYs, and as an offering the Chinese deities.  They are also important during birthday celebration of the elderly , and newborn baby’s first month celebration.

Yet, now one need not to wait for special occasion to enjoy ang ku kuehs.  It is now available year round, sold in stalls on the street, in both morning and night markets,  and even in shopping malls.

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.  

CNY : 鸡蛋糕 Bahulu

Bahulu is a traditional Malay cake made of mainly sugar, flour and eggs.  It is normally made during festive season, but now its easily available in the market.  

Although Wikipedia says that it’s a Malay delicacy, I remember fondly as a child, my Grandma in Julau made this kuih for CNY.  It is called 鸡蛋糕 ( literally means ‘egg cake’) in Hokkien dialect.  We the cousins will help her with the chores.  It was fun as we can play with fire. 

Those days, the batter was cooked in a special metal mold over charcoal.  It was indeed a dangerous task.  Fire and kids are dynamite combinations.  That’s why, I remembered still being supervised by Uncle Yii 小叔.

The shape of the cake varies, depending on the mould.   Some butter is first applied on the mould, then the batter is pour in the mould...  The mould is then covered for a few minute with a plate with heated charcoal.   Normally, a fine stick is use to stick into the cake to check if its cooked.  

菜心鸡肉丸汤

Ingredient

菜心 Choy sum ( in Cantonese ) ( Brassica rapa periviridis )

鸡肉丸 Chicken meatball

Method

把蒜头爆香。加入鸡肉丸、绍兴酒， 稍炒。

加入一碗分量的清水，煮沸。

放进菜心，滚一滚。

加少许盐，胡椒粉即可。

虽然是简单了点，不过方便、又有营养。清清淡淡的，有家的感觉。

鸡肉丸可以鸡胸肉、江鱼仔、瘦肉代之。

Amino Acids

Amino acids are critical to life.  They have many functions in metabolism, carrying genetic codes, and as the building blocks of proteins. 

Of the 22 standard amino acids, 9 are called essential amino acids.  it is because the human body CANNOT synthesize them from other compounds at the level needed for normal growth, so they must be obtained from food.  The 9 essential amino acids are: Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lycine, Methionin, Phenyalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, and Valine.

Arginine, Cysteine, Taurine, and Tyrosine are semi-essential amino acids in children, because the metabolic pathway that synthesize them are not fully developed.  Thus children must obtain them from food.

Taurine is not exactly an amino acid, although it is an acid containing an amino group, yet lacks of a carboxyl group. 

Glutamine, Selonocysteine, and Serine too are semi-essential amino acids.  They become conditionally essentially in certain situations, eg. intensive athletic training, certain gastrointestinal disorders, liver disorders, metabolic diseases, physical stress etc  

Alanine, Asparagine, Aspartic Acid, Glutamic Acid, Glycine, Ornithine, and Proline are non-essential amino acids, meaning they can be manufactured by the human body, and do not need to be obtained directly through the diet.

Amino acids bond together into chains polypeptides. One or more polypeptides folded into globular or fibrous form biochemical compound called proteins.

Vegans, peoples on low protein diets, peoples with eating disorders, or diseased are often be at risk of deficient of essential and semi-essential amino acids.  Although the non-essential amino acids can be manufacture by human body, deficiency may still occur if intake of protein foods are insufficient.

Deficiency of amino acids may cause enzyme disorders, hormone disorders, metabolic disorders, which leads to headaches, dizziness, fatigues, growth disorder, reproduction problems, hair and nail disorders, organ disorders, failure of immune functions, even depression and mental retardation.

Foods rich in amino acids are : eggs, meats, poultries, dairy products, seafood, legumes, seeds, and some vegetables and fruits.

Cari Makan @ Seri Petaling - 点心

大家城点心茶楼

140, Jalan Radin Anum 1,

Taman Seri Petaling,

Seri Petaling,

57000 Kuala Lumpur 

鸡窝包

Cari Makan @ Chow Kit, KL - 鱼头米粉 & 肉骨茶

陶香肉骨茶鱼头米粉

No 2, Jalan Tiong Nam

Chow Kit

Kuala Lumpur