Teochew Mooncake (With Yam and Pumpkin Fillings) 【潮州芋头南瓜月饼】

With Mid-autumn festival just around the corner, it is the time of the year again to enjoy the mid-autumn delicacy Mooncake. 

I made the cute piggy mooncake using the Cantonese mooncake recipe before. This year I decided to try something different and go all the way traditional to make this very old fashion Teochew "Orh-Nee" Mooncake. 

With pumpkin in the season, I even substitute the egg yolk with pumpkin paste filling, which to my great surprise, turned out to be super tasty and looks almost identical to egg yolk!A delightful surprise indeed!

中秋节快到了，又到了社交媒体满屏都是月饼的时候。我前几年做了一次小猪猪月饼后，因为家门前的Costco开始卖台湾产的广式月饼，就一直没有再开工做月饼。

今年我想做点不同的月饼，就选择了这款传统的潮州月饼。这款月饼因为工序复杂，也比较不经放，因此市面上是越来越难买到了。

我不是很喜欢月饼里的咸蛋黄，最近南瓜当季，就做了南瓜芋泥的双色馅，出来的效果很惊艳，除了特别美味之外。南瓜馅还被好多朋友误因为是咸蛋黄呢！

Mint Cucumber Juice 薄荷黄瓜汁

I rescued two cucumber plants from Walmart sometimes end of Summer, they were wilting and turning yellow and Walmart was pretty much giving up on them already.

I planted it at the edge of my raised bed against the backyard fence with a trellis, after days of carefully watering and feeding, the cucumber revived and flourished to two very healthy plants that yield good fruits.

Together with the Mint Syrup that I made using the mint leaves from my backyard, I made this refreshing and almost (the sugar, you see?) detoxifying drink. Just love it!

夏末的时候有一天我到沃尔玛买东西，看见它门口摆着两棵快枯死的黄瓜苗，开着几朵细细小小的黄花，看着让人心疼。我最终还是忍不住把它们买了回家。

我把它们移植到后院菜园子的角落靠近篱笆的地方，勤浇水和施肥的几周之后，两棵黄瓜都满血复活了! 后来还给我结了好多的瓜。

今天摘一根新鲜的瓜，加上一小勺后院薄荷做的薄荷糖浆，很清凉好喝哦！

Dried Yard-Long Bean braised Ribs 【豇豆干炖排骨】

The Asian dried their vegetables a lot around the end of summer/beginning of autumn--when the hours of sunshine are still long enough and air mostly cold and dry.

The dried vegetables will then be stored for consumption during the months when fresh vegetables are not readily available.

Dried Yard-long bean is one of the kind, drying the vegetables intensified the flavor of the vegetable and gives a completely different texture to it, which makes it very suitable for braising.

Dried Yard-long bean is especially good when braised with pork/ribs. This dish is so good that I ended up having another bowl of rice with it!

很多亚洲家庭喜欢在秋初把菜园子收成的蔬菜晒制成菜干留着冬天时没什么青菜吃的时候炖了吃。

我很久前听过一位朋友说豇豆/豆角干炖肉非常好吃，我自小就爱吃豇豆，但干豇豆却从来都没尝试过，于是干豇豆好吃我就记挂上了。

前阵子在我家附近的大华99发现了干豇豆，买回来和排骨一起炖上。结果那天晚餐又多加了一碗饭。

Mint Limeade & Mint Syrup 【薄荷柠檬水& 薄荷糖浆】

I have a mint plant in my backyard that has been with us for years, it survived a few winters and always managed to come back to flourish. I normally used the leaves to make Pudina chutney or garnish to dishes.

This year I started using fresh mint leaves to make mint syrup to be used in different drinks and desserts. It is so good that I made so many batches in the span of few weeks! My mint plant can hardly keep up with my demand!

我家的后院种了一盆薄荷，每年冬天它都会枯萎冬眠，我会给它施肥加土。第二年春天它也绝不例外地再次钻出土来，又会茂盛地生长一个春夏。

薄荷叶我一般只会拿来做印式薄荷沾酱或饮料食品的点缀。所以种的薄荷也用得不是特别多。

今年夏天我做了这款薄荷糖浆，用来做好多不同的饮料。家人都好喜欢，一个月内我就做了好几瓶。结果后院的薄荷都长不够我用了呢!

【多用途干捞粉肉臊】Minced Meat Sauce for Gon Loh Fun (and more)

Braised minced pork is a very versatile condiment in Malaysia.  It is vastly used in noodle dishes like Gon Lou Lai Fun and noodle soups.

It can also be used to make different kind of dishes like Potato and minced meat stew.

这款肉臊是马来西亚人习惯的味道，可用在各种不同的面食和菜肴里。做一罐放冰箱里，要做家乡美食就很简单啦！

Taiwanese Braised Napa Cabbage 台式白菜卤

One of the side dishes that I enjoyed much during my visit to Taiwan was this Taiwanese Braised Cabbage. The Napa cabbage in this dish is so tender and sweet, goes well with steamed rice and braised pork.

The Asian supermarket near me is currently selling lots of Napa Cabbage as the season approaching fall. I brought one back to make this dish at home. I also find the fried pork rinds which is (in my opinion) essential to this dish as it soaked up most of the gravy and gives very nice chewy texture to the dish!

去台湾玩的时候我如果去吃小吃店里的卤肉饭或封肉饭的话，就一定会点一份这个白菜卤。非常喜欢卤得糯糯的白菜，非常香甜美味。

入秋时超市开始摆出非常棒的大白菜，买一颗回来做这个白菜卤，非常下饭好吃，里边的猪皮吸饱了汤汁，非常香。

Thai Lettuce Wraps 泰式生菜包

My husband N went to the gym last weekend and came home demanding high protein low carb lunch.  

I have some organic minced chicken breast and romaine lettuce in the fridge, so here it is, Thai Chicken lettuce wraps for lunch!

俊爹周末时去健身房回来就要求高蛋白低碳水化合物的午餐。冰箱里有一包有机肉末和一包生菜，我就做了这款泰式生菜包。加点切碎的辣椒，香辣好吃又饱肚哦！

Pineapple Chicken Satay & Pineapple Satay Sauce 【黄梨沙爹/黄梨沙爹酱】

I had the famous Kota Laksamana Pineapple Satay during my last visit to Malaysia, it was really nice as the pineapple sauce really adds not only flavor but a good refreshing touch to the skewers!

I created the recipe few weeks back when my friend invited us over for a BBQ at her house. The chicken marinated with some Pineapple turned out really tender and the sauce really compliments the satay, all the guests liked it very much.

今年春节回乡的时候和朋友们到马六甲吃了这款有名的黄梨沙爹。加了黄梨制作的酱料吃起来很清爽，不油腻，也不容易上火。

回美之后有一天朋友请我们到她家一起烧烤聚餐，我就做了这款黄梨沙爹，加了黄梨酱腌制的鸡肉烤好非常的嫩。沾了好吃的黄梨沙爹酱，当天来的客人们都很喜欢哦！