十全十美【盆菜】Poon Choi

【盆菜是一种混合了十几种食材的客家大菜，是源于香港新界元朗客家围村的传统菜式，深圳和香港新界的饮食习俗。是许多地区过年时的传统大菜】

今年除夕前我买好材料准备做盆菜团年饭时吃，结果却在除夕前染疫了。休整了十几天，算是完全痊愈了，趁元宵在即，就把盆菜做好，元宵节吃也很好哦！

Poon Choi is a type of Hakka dish made with more than a dozen of dishes/ingredients. It is a traditional dish from the Hakka Village in Yuen Long, New Territories, Hong Kong, and the eating customs of Shenzhen and the New Territories of Hong Kong. 

It is a traditional Chinese New Year dish in many regions.

I intended to make this dish for New Year's Eve this year, and bought the ingredients in preparation for the event. Just to find out that I contracted COVID-19 before New Year's Eve. 

After resting for more than ten days and is fully recovered. While it is still within the 15th days of CNY, I decided to complete my Poon Choi to celebrate Chap Goh Meh !

【福州芋泥】FooChow Or Nee

 

第一次吃芋泥是在马来西亚一家有名的福州餐厅，甜甜糯糯的芋泥是非常好的甜点，吃过让人久久不忘。

去年春节的时候我做了一批芋泥，成品非常好。却一直没机会写食谱，今年春节再做一次，写个食谱记录一下。

I had this Or Nee （taro dessert）the first time at a famous FooChow restaurant in Malaysia many years ago, on my grand father's birthday party. It is sweet and very fragrant, makes it a very good dessert. 

I made a batch of this Or Nee during Chinese New Year last year, and it turned out very good. But I have never had a chance to write a recipe. 

I make the same dessert again this year and decided to write the recipe down.

【大黄米年糕】Glutinous Millet Steamed Cake

大黄米又叫“黍”，是去了壳的黍子的果实，在古代被列为五谷之一。它比小米稍微大一点，颜色淡黄，煮熟以后非常黏。

大黄米中氨基酸的含量，几乎是大米和小麦的两倍，大黄米是粗粮，它有润肺、通便、养阴补虚功效。

再过一个礼拜就是农历新年了，今年买了一包中国西北产的大黄米，就用它来做一个中国北方吃的年糕吧！

Glutinous millet, was listed as one of the five grains in ancient times. It is yellow in color, and very sticky when cooked. The content of amino acids in millet is almost twice that of rice and wheat, thus it is a very good choice of carb in a balance diet.

The Lunar New Year is only one week away. I bought a bag of glutinous millet from the Northwestern China, and made this rice cake that is normally eaten during Chinese New Year in the North China!

【妈蜜排骨】Marmite Spare Ribs

朋友Ying姐去欧洲旅游时给我带来一瓶妈蜜（Marmite），妈蜜是一种使用酵母对酿造啤酒时产生的副产品进行二次发酵后生成的一种深褐色的、非常咸的干酱；是欧洲国家如英国所喜爱的酱料之一。

作为英联邦国家之一的马来西亚在饮食习惯上也很受曾经的统治国影响，而妈蜜，则是这段被统治历史的印证之一。这个酱料后来被融入到本地的烹饪方式里二次创作，这款妈蜜鸡就是其中一款啦！

My close friend Sister Ying brought me a bottle of Marmite as a souvenir from her Europe trip. Marmite is a kind of dark brown paste, a side product from beer brewing. It is one of the favorite sauces in European countries such as the United Kingdom.

As one of the British Commonwealth nations, Malaysia also is influenced by the former ruling country in terms of eating habits, and Marmite is one of the influence brought by the British. It was later being used in some of the local dishes and this Marmite Spare Rib is one of them.

【杂粮芋头糕】Multi grain Yam Cake/Orh Kuih

芋头糕，萝卜糕和金瓜糕是星马人经常在早餐和茶点吃的糕点。我们喜欢把糕点沾上特制的叁巴辣椒酱或甜酱，再配上一杯浓浓的咖啡乌（就是不加奶只加糖的黑咖啡），实在是简单又风味十足的茶点。

今天做了一款杂粮版的，味道更有层次，更健康好吃哦！

This was my all time favorite for breakfast and teatime. I never fail to get one from the Pasar Malam or morning market whenever I sees one. But the sad thing is, even in Malaysia, a good Yam cake is still hard to come by.

This version I made today is a healthier version using multigrain, it is healthier and tasted as good!

【西洋菜蜜】Watercress Honey Drink

我曾在香港待过两个月，非常享受香港的美食，尤其是各式各样的茶餐厅美食。而这款西洋菜蜜饮料是我觉得特别新奇的一款饮料，因为西洋菜在我家乡都是拿来炖汤的，所以我经常点了来喝。

美东这几天特别冷，刚好买了两把西洋菜，为这几天因为暖气开太足而变得干燥的体质做一锅润肺去燥的西洋菜蜜吧！

I spent two months in Hong Kong sometimes ago and really enjoyed the food in Hong Kong. This watercress honey drink is a type of drink that many restaurants serve, very unique and refreshing.

Since it is not too hard to make it at home, I decided to make a pot of this drink for this winter day.

【印式米豆煎饼】Dosa/Thosai （Idli/Dosa Batter recipe)

这个米豆煎饼是我在印度的时候很喜欢的一个早餐，健康营养，全天然发酵的做法对肠胃非常的好，很容易消化，是素食很好的一个选择。

发酵过的米豆糊带有天然的酵菌，容易消化，对肠胃很好的哦！

Dosa used to be my breakfast everyday for a long time when I first visited India, I find it very light and nutritious. I was also amazed by the way the batter  was prepared when I started preparing it at home, it is so natural and simple, yet the result is so intriguing.

Homemade idli/Dosa dough is so useful and could be made into different kind of snacks easily, the mix could be used for :Dosa,Uttapam, Besan Uttapam and Fried Idli.

【马来椰香烤鸡】Ayam Percik/Malaysian Grilled Spiced Chicken With Coconut Milk

这款烤鸡是在家乡时夜市里很受欢迎的一款美食，出国后我很喜欢做了来宴客，因为可以事前准备好，宴客当天烤熟即可，非常方便。

You can find this grill chicken in almost all the night and morning market in Malaysia, it is often sold together with Satay. 

I like preparing this grilled chicken for BBQ and party here in the States, it could be prepared in advance and grilled to charred and done before serving. Very easy and well loved by guests.