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New Year's Goh and Snacks

Yuki

By Yuki
in China: Cooking & Baking

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hzrt8w

hzrt8w

Posted
Posted
Never heard of those!  Are they specific to HK or the West Coast?

Hong Kong? Maybe. I grew up eating it.

West Coast? Shouldn't be. You should be able to find it in the Chinese grocery stores in DC or Philly. New York for sure.

In the snack section. Don't pick those with sugar glaze on surface or sesame. Dan San looks plain, and also has 2 sheets twisted together from the inside out. Looks sort of like a double bow tie. The savory flavor with characteristic taste of Nam Yu is what makes it delicious.

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
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Tepee

Tepee

Posted
Posted

Neen go, anyone? I made this for dessert tonight and did it disappear quick.

To make:

Open up a softened love-letter (the fan-shaped ones).

Insert a piece of neen go.

Steam for 10 minutes.

Then pop into the oven to crisp the love-letter for 5-10 minutes.

Neengo will still remain gooey.

gallery_12248_984_41625.jpg

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

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Tepee

Tepee

Posted
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Neen go?  TP, are you getting a head start celebrating the year of the dog or....?

Chey! It would be rancid by the dog's first bark if this is for next year.

Nooooooo.....this is from a well-hoarded stock.

Go for it, Shiewie. Since you like your love-letters soft, omit the oven step.

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

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Yuki

Yuki

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  • Topic Starter
Posted

My grandma just got back from Hong Kong and brought back some new year goh and snacks. One of the snacks is the special deep fried taro ball(they are usually only available during new year)....... I don't know what makes them more speical than taro chips but I just love them. She also made a batch of taro goh for me. :smile: How much I wish to celebrate new year again in Hong Kong but I don't think that is ever going to happen. :sad:

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hzrt8w

hzrt8w

Posted
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..... How much I wish to celebrate new year again in Hong Kong but I don't think that is ever going to happen. :sad:

Ever is a strong word. Why not? All it takes is a plane ticket...

Being in the States for so long and in a small family, I got used to not having Chinese New Year celebrations... But I always welcome red pockets! :raz:

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
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Tepee

Tepee

Posted
Posted (edited)
Love Letters?

Not sure what those are. Someone show me a pictrue other than the neen go stuffed one.

Those look gooey and sweet and yummy!

Love-letters are called gai dan geun in cantonese. You can see it in this post, the right-most biscuit. In Malay, it's called kuih kapit or kuih belanda. It's either rolled as shown here or folded like the other picture. Don't know how it got its loveletter name, though. To romanticise it, I would imagine it would have been started once upon a time, when overcome by the festive air, some lover would have sneaked a note into one of these to his over-chaperoned girlfriend. :raz:

Edited by Tepee (log)

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

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Laksa

Laksa

Posted
Posted (edited)
Don't know how it got its loveletter name, though. To romanticise it, I would imagine...

As the story goes, two brothers in Fujian province were both seeking the hand in marriage of the same fair maiden. The two brothers were called Da Niu and Da Xiang.

As the courtship progressed, it became apparent that Da Niu had more success than his brother in this romantic pursuit, and people in the village began speculating about when the two would wed. Da Xiang, in a last, desperate effort, worked day and night on a plan to win over the maiden's heart.

Being an excellent cookie/biscuit chef, Da Xiang devised a way to express his feelings by creating the sweetest and most delicious cookie ever known in China, and at the same time, get a message to the fair maiden. You see, by this time, she had stopped returning his phone calls.

Da Xiang, in addition to being a great cookie chef, possessed a devious mind. He decided that the message he would write would expose his brother as a lazy layabout, a fact well known in their household, but one which Da Niu had expertly hidden from everyone else. If the fair maiden learnt how lazy his brother was, surely she would think twice about marrying him, thereby opening the door for Da Xiang to step in.

With metalworking tools in hand, Da Xiang formed in perfect calligraphy onto a metal plate these words:

大牛比较懒 (da4 niu2 bi3 jiao4 lan3)

which means, Da Niu is more lazy.

After pausing for only a brief moment to admire his handiwork, Da Xiang immediately poured cookie batter onto the heated metal plate, thereby making the first incarnation of what we all know and enjoy today.

As soon as the cookie was done, Da Xiang sent the family servant rushing to the fair maiden's house with the "love letter".

The fair maiden's puzzlement at seeing the servant turned to pleasure when she realized what he had brought. In a cruel twist of fate, the fair maiden made the mistake of thinking that Da Niu had sent her the surprise snack.

As her eyes took in the exquisite beauty of the characters on the cookie, and as bewilderment gave way to comprehension, a smile formed on her face. Even before her tastebuds had had the chance to succumb to the sublime sweetness of the cookie, she sent urgent word to Da Niu that they must get married at once!

On hearing the news, Da Xiang was overwrought with grief. What had gone wrong with his plan? You see, the imprint of the calligraphy on the metal plate had reversed itself on the cookie! D'oh!

Edited by Laksa (log)
Dinner and a Show!
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Dejah

Dejah

Posted
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That's a cool story!

I remember the love letters now that I've seen the picture. Thanks, Tepee et al.

In one of the other threads...perhaps in Chinese candy, I mentioned about a treat made with eggs etc, like a very thin pancake with cilantro on top. It may have been the same ingredients as love letters, except it was flat and not folded. Once, the wind caught it as I left the shop and it all blew away except for what was between my fingers :sad:

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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Pan

Pan

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Posted
[...]

On hearing the news, Da Xiang was overwrought with grief.  What had gone wrong with his plan?  You see, the imprint of the calligraphy on the metal plate had reversed itself on the cookie!  D'oh!

What do the characters mean when reversed?

Michael aka "Pan"

 

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Tepee

Tepee

Posted
Posted (edited)
[...]

On hearing the news, Da Xiang was overwrought with grief.  What had gone wrong with his plan?  You see, the imprint of the calligraphy on the metal plate had reversed itself on the cookie!  D'oh!

What do the characters mean when reversed?

:blush::rolleyes::laugh: Oh my!!!!!!!!! Michael, you don't want to know!!!!!!!!!!!

Ai yoh! Laksa, oh, Laksa, where did you unearth that classic tale from? I tell you I'm so inspired to draw a chinese comic strip of that. I'll certainly look at my loveletters differently from now on....... Wahahhhahahaha....

Edited by Tepee (log)

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

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Tepee

Tepee

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My dear Laksa, do you honestly expect me to believe that you don't know the punchline of this (very graphic) tale? Anyway, a married woman I may be, but those words shall not leave these lips.

By the way, you should have added a word of caution before you started the story. Do not have any liquid in mouth before the following read.

Edited by Tepee (log)

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

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Shiewie

Shiewie

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Posted
To the Da Niu story ---- I can reverse all but the 'Jiao Lan'.  Any  hints?
That, my Innocent One (not that I'm not innocent), is the vital word. Perhaps, like me, it's not in your vocabulary.  :biggrin:

The two vital words when reversed and pronounced in Fujianese (Hokkien) means penis.

Haha, good yarn David :laugh::raz: - even received a PM telling to check out the thread. But that can't really the story behind the name love letters for kuih kapit / gai dan guen, can it :shock: ?

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Laksa

Laksa

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Posted

Oh boy, do I have egg (roll) on my face. That's the last time I relate any story my Fujianese friend tells me. And you know what? He comes across as such a paragon of innocence and virtue... *shake head*

As penance, I shall now go to eat a boxful of stale love letters. And I won't even crisp them up in the oven first.

Dinner and a Show!
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Dejah

Dejah

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Oh boy, do I have egg (roll) on my face.  That's the last time I relate any story my Fujianese friend tells me.  And you know what?  He comes across as such a paragon of innocence and virtue... *shake head*

As penance, I shall now go to eat a boxful of stale love letters.  And I won't even crisp them up in the oven first.

I believe I may need to take the gai mo so to all of you! :angry::rolleyes::laugh:

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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Dejah

Dejah

Posted
Posted
Hold that gai mo so! Who was the one who said,
That's a cool story!

:rolleyes::smile:

That's before she knew the real punchline of the story. :biggrin:

That is so funny! :laugh:

My face is still red. I can't read any Chinese... :sad: But I like romantic stories,regardless of the "punchline"! :laugh::laugh:

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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