Braised Pig Trotters with Nam Yu Beancurd 【南乳花生燉豬手】

My son's godmother sent me this braised pig trotters made by her mother in law during Chinese new year, it was so tasty that I had to ask for the recipe right away!

春节的时候俊宝的干妈给我送了一锅她婆婆做的的南乳花生发菜猪手，味道好的不得了，我马上把食谱问了来，老人家的手艺必须要学了保留下来哦！

Multigrain Potato Buns

Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns!
One a penny, two a penny, Hot cross buns!
If you have no daughters, give them to your sons.
One a penny two a penny, Hot cross buns!

My son A has been into this song for days, so much so that he started asking for hot cross buns at home!

So I made this multigrain potato buns with custard "cross" on it, he was thrilled and had two in one day! It is a lot considering his petite appetite!

Fish Head Noodle Soup【鱼头米粉】

Fish head noodle is a very common noodle soup back home, I can still vividly remember the image of my  ex-colleague Katherine having this as lunch almost every day for 3 months!

Well..... It is definitely a very tasty dish, a good blend of milky soup base, sourish vegetables and crunchy fried fish head! 

鱼头米粉是马来西亚一个很有名的汤粉，特别的鲜香。配上炸酥的鱼头块，淡奶，酸菜和番茄，味道很是丰富，让人吃了还想要吃呢！

Stir-Fried Glutinous Rice 【生炒糯米饭】

Fried glutinous rice is a very famous dish in Chinese Dim Sum place, most restaurants now pre-cooked the rice and stir fry like the normal fried rice would to reduce cooking time.

The shortcut was created simply because the traditional way to make this dish is rather time consuming and tedious. It started with soaking the glutinous rice for hours and stir-fry it in a wok, the rice is then being cook slowly by adding sauces in batches until the rice is completely cooked, this method resulting in rice that retaining its shape and is much chewy and less gooey in texture.

If you have time, try making this dish the traditional way, you will find a brand new experience and may even fall in love with it!

Masala Arbi (Arvi/Colocasia) 【香辣芋艿 】

I was pretty surprised to see this small yam in India market when I lived there. I bought it to made yam rice but it didn't turn out to be the same like the normal yam will do.

I had this Arbi again at my mother in law's place later, it was made into Masala Arbi, it tasted really good and had since became one of my favorite foods.

芋艿在我家乡是中秋节煮了沾糖吃的，平时不怎么去做它，所以我一直以为它是中秋的应节食品而已。在印度居住时，第一次在菜市场看见它时我挺惊讶的，我还以为这东西只有中国人才有呢！

印度人做这个芋奶的方式跟我们完全不一样，他们把它做成香辣的菜肴，也很好吃喔！

Vegetarian Char Siu

Like I mentioned in my previous post of Vegetarian dish Longevity, it is a family tradition to eat only vegetarian foods on the first day of Chinese New Year. This vegetarian Char Siu is one of the dishes that is well loved in the family.

It was rather easy to prepare this dish back home, you can buy ready made Char Siu and fry it. Since I have not seen any ready made char siu here in the Asian supermarket, I decided to make it at home. 

【印式奶油鸡块】 Butter Chicken （Murgh Makhni)

印度奶油鸡块大概是很多人第一次接触印度菜时都会尝试的一道菜。它相对温和的味道，比起其他香辣的印巴菜更容易入口。

这道菜在家做也不难，是个请客时不错的选择噢！

Butter chicken is probably one of the first Indian/Pakistani dishes that many people encounter when they tried to experience Indian cuisine. Most likely to be one of the not so exotic ones compared to it's much spicier peers.

I was often asked about this dish and its recipe, it is about time to write one! I just love that when someone asked for it, I can just send out a link!

Longevity Dish (Vegetarian Steamed Chinese Cabbage)

It is a tradition in my family to have only vegetarian food on the first day of Lunar New Year. It was said that being vegetarian for this particular day will bring luck for the whole year. I had a feeling that it was just a nicer way to make us eat more vegetables after the feast on the New year eve.

It is also mandatory in our family to have Chinese Cabbage (Thng Pek) for Chinese New year meal, as it symbolize longevity, the cabbage has to be prepared without cutting it crosswise, it has to retain its shape and to be eaten whole.

I made this vegetarian dish using whole cabbage leaves with some stewed gluten, it is very presentable and delicious. A good vegetable dish for Chinese New Year, and a good way to upkeep the family heritage!