New Year's Goh and Snacks

[Dejah]

GASTRO,

I love how you are posting familiar Toisanese words like "kok" and "jai bee". I haven't heard those terms for ages!

Yuki, that neen goh looks great! I leave that chore to my s-i-l, b ut I gave her the recipe;-)

I love matay goh...sticky, chewy, sweet.mmmmmmmm

I took lobak goh for my collegues lunch today. Now, I have to make another one so there would be enough for 2 pieces each for 26 students.

How about agar agar? (dye choi goh, oi toy gow)

BTW, the lobak goh I made last night had just the right firmness. It held its shpae when I cut it into slices. Once fried, you can still pick them up with your fingers, but soft when you bite into it. Hope to get pics up today.

[Gastro888]

Dejah - I'm glad you like it! =)

Matay goh is too sweet for me - but I don't have much of a sweet tooth! My mom loves it and when I eat it, my teeth rattle.

My mom asked me what I would like for the choy neen dinner next week and I said lobak goh and she said no, it was too much trouble! Ai ya...

I never heard of the other gohs you're referring to.

[Dejah]

My mom asked me what I would like for the choy neen dinner next week and I said lobak goh and she said no, it was too much trouble!  Ai ya...

I never heard of the other gohs you're referring to.

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Lobak goh is a lot of work...soaking, chopping, shredding, boiling, stir-frying, mixing, then steaming for an hour! When hubby came in late last night, he though the dog had made a mess in the basement. That's how strong the smell was. But he sure enjoyed the slices I fried up for lunch.

Dye choi goh (agar agar) is the really firm jelly that is made from seaweed called agar agar. I posted a picture of it somewhere here.

[Dejah]

Just got some pictures processed and up on my website. Rather than taking time to figure out how to upload into the post ( I am an illiterate techie ) I am posting the URL.

http://www.hillmans.soupbo.com/soos/lobakgoh.html

Enjoy!

[Transparent]

Just got some pictures processed and up on my website. Rather than taking time to figure out how to upload into the post ( I am an illiterate techie ) I am posting the URL.

http://www.hillmans.soupbo.com/soos/lobakgoh.html

Enjoy!

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Oh dear god. Those blocks of lobak goh look like you could build a house with them. How can you even lift them up? They look delicious though. I think I'd have multiple comas going through one of those "bricks" of goh.

Yuki, that looks great as well. I've never seen a coconut goh sweetened with brown sugar slabs before.

I think I saw a whitish goh wrapped in a leaf and plastic wrap while shopping for CNY candies. It was dotted with darkish orbs (I couldn't make them out; I was in a hurry). I wonder what it was.

[Dejah]

Those bricks may look solid, but after pan frying, they were very light.

The texture was perfect for cutting into 1/2 " slices for frying. Grace Young suggests oyster sauce for dipping. I prefer the chili soya.

[Yuki]

I still don't think the recipe I got was great so it might be better to ask for other coconut neen goh recipe. It is like basic neen goh but just with the addition of coconut milk.

Dejah, it is interesting how you shredded the turnip, my family just cut them into thick strip of around 1 cm. We used to shred them with the machine but then one time the machine broke down so we had to cut them by hand. Since I am the youngest so I got the work of cutting them. I was lazy and cut them all that big.... but it actually turned out really well. So from then on, my family uses thick strip of turnip to make loh bak goh.

[Dejah]

Yuki,

I have julienned the daikon in the past. . . but laziness set in.

I can't remember if it made much difference in the texture. However I always cut the daikon by hand when I make savory tong yuen. I like big pieces then!

[Ben Hong]

I wonder if Canjet or Air Canada has a seat sale on these days. I wanna visit with that beauty er, ah, your family. Yum.

[Tepee]

I think this might be too early but I made coconut neen goh yesterday and is now having them for breakfast. They turned out really soft (I like that) but there is not enough coconut flavour. I will need to search for a new recipe.

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Yuki, your neen goh is killing me. I want some NOW! About your comment on the coconut flavor, do you use coconut milk in cartons or fresh coconut milk? I find there's nothing like the fresh thing, so much more fragrant. And you might want to line your pan with banana leaves.

Dejah, your goh is so loaded with liu (ingredients). I'm the greedy type, I love my goh generously filled, and yours look sooooooo good!

[Yuki]

I think this might be too early but I made coconut neen goh yesterday and is now having them for breakfast. They turned out really soft (I like that) but there is not enough coconut flavour. I will need to search for a new recipe.

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Yuki, your neen goh is killing me. I want some NOW! About your comment on the coconut flavor, do you use coconut milk in cartons or fresh coconut milk? I find there's nothing like the fresh thing, so much more fragrant. And you might want to line your pan with banana leaves.

Dejah, your goh is so loaded with liu (ingredients). I'm the greedy type, I love my goh generously filled, and yours look sooooooo good!

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I used coconut milk from a can and it was a really cheap brand. I need to go the store to stock up the good kind with more coconut flavour. Umm... I don't know how I am going to get banana leaves. Do they have to be fresh?

[Tepee]

Well, I haven't tried dry leaves before so I can't really say, although the same reasoning for the coconut milk should apply here. You have to wash and blanch the leaves to soften and make them more supple before you can mould them into your tin. HTH. How many hours did you steam your neen go? The color looks good.

[Yuki]

Well, I haven't tried dry leaves before so I can't really say, although the same reasoning for the coconut milk should apply here. You have to wash and blanch the leaves to soften and make them more supple before you can mould them into your tin. HTH. How many hours did you steam your neen go? The color looks good.

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I just steamed it for one hour and thought I didn't steam it long enough since it is really wobbly. The neen go turned out to be lighter than I though neen go are suppose to be, maybe the white coconut milk made it lighter in color.

[plunk]

Dejah, your goh looks so amazing I can practically taste it. If you ever happen to type out your recipes for your children ..

Edited February 4, 2005 by plunk (log)

[Dejah]

Dejah, your goh looks so amazing I can practically taste it. If you ever happen to type out your recipes for your children .. 

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Hey Plunk! Long time no see! Spring break is coming soon, so we may get a chance to chat again.

Do you have Grace Young's Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen? I used her recipe as reference. For ingredients I used lap cheung instead of lap yuk ( only because I didn't have any on hand). For my pan (10" x 3"), I used 4 cups of flour and nearly 3 cups water( soaking liquid). I have to make a third cake this weekend after I get a hold of lap yuk.

I made the second cake this afternoon. When I came home from teaching my evening class, I cut the cakes all into pieces, fried them up and packed them all into the fridge ( my cold garage) to take to school tomorrow. 26 international students will have their goh tomoorow at lunch time.

Teepee, the cakes do have "ho daw liu", eh? I think it's the restaurant mentality...big and loads of. . . I figured if I have to spend so much time preparing, I might have well load it up! I shop like that too!

[LT Wong]

Well, I haven't tried dry leaves before so I can't really say, although the same reasoning for the coconut milk should apply here. You have to wash and blanch the leaves to soften and make them more supple before you can mould them into your tin. HTH. How many hours did you steam your neen go? The color looks good.

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I just steamed it for one hour and thought I didn't steam it long enough since it is really wobbly. The neen go turned out to be lighter than I though neen go are suppose to be, maybe the white coconut milk made it lighter in color.

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We normally do not eat the neen go until it is rock hard. We let it dry in the open air (sometimes under the sun if we can catch it). We sliced them and dip it in eggs and fry them. Other ways of eating them is to sandwich pieces of yam between sliced neen go, fry them and eat them. My cousin likes to eat them fried and coated with freshly grated coconut.

I attempted making them once, but gave up 2 hours into the steaming. My neighbour, who used to make it yearly (but has given up three years ago), said she steamed it for about 12 hours! A friend of my grandmother confirmed it and she steamed it even longer - 16 hours. Can anyone else confirm this length of steaming?

[plunk]

Do you have Grace Young's  Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen? I used her recipe as reference. For ingredients I used lap cheung instead of lap yuk ( only because I didn't have any on hand).  For my pan (10" x 3"), I used 4 cups of flour and nearly 3 cups water( soaking liquid). I have to make a third cake  this weekend after I get a hold of lap yuk.

Yes I do! I haven't looked at it in a while, thanks for the reminder. I'm going back to Victoria this weekend to visit the families, maybe I can mooch some goh off them :)

[Gastro888]

You can make the goh with lap yuk AND lap cheng, right? I wonder if you can put roasted pork in it or would it be a no-no?

[spaghetttti]

Oh please help me, I'm dying here! Everything looks splendid! Tepee, your kuih bangkit look both gorgeous & oh so cute. Yuki your neen goh.... heaven. And Madame Dejah never ceases to amaze me, those lo bak goh are mmmagnifico!

This is probably the closest I'll ever get to some decent neen goh. They're called dodol keranjang = basket taffy. My favorite supermarket has a great CNY promotion going on. It's got all kinds of preserved plums, lemons, peaches, etc., sunflower & watermelon seeds and I even scored some White Rabbit candy today!

Imlek celebrations will be held all over Bandung, with dragon performances and fireworks next week!

I heard that traditions here call for steamed neen goh topped with grated coconut or sliced & fried in a batter or just dipped beaten eggs then pan fried, as Yuki has done (?).

What's your recommendation?

[Gastro888]

Oooh, pretty! What's the green cake, spaghetttti? Pandan flavor?

[Dejah]

You can make the goh with lap yuk AND lap cheng, right?  I wonder if you can put roasted pork in it or would it be a no-no?

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Sure you can put in lap cheng and lap yuk. Don't know about the BBQ pork as the flavour is not as intense as the cured meats and may be buried. The lobak has such a strong odour when it is cooking, but really not after it is cooked. So the flavours are from the ingredients. I have used reconstituted scallops in place of dried shrimps. I will make one with scallops for my mom and family.

[Dejah]

I heard that traditions here call for steamed neen goh topped with grated coconut or sliced & fried in a batter or just dipped beaten eggs then pan fried, as Yuki has done (?). 

What's your recommendation?

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I like to just plunk a piece in the microwave to soften then chew , chew, chew! Gotta be careful if you have false teeth ( so says my Mom )

Not much for the battered kind, but I do like'em dipped in egg then fried.

LTwong: Are you sure your relatives and friends weren't pulling your leg? 12 - 16 hours? How big was their cake?! Grace Young's recipe said 35-40 minutes on high heat. Mom's recipe said 1 hour and the slices were firm enough to fry.

Hope to have pictures of another traditional Chinese "pastry" to post this evening. Mom,

s-i-l and I are making tay doi this afternoon.

[Ben Hong]

After following this thread, I definitely have to get to Brandon for CNY.

[Dejah]

Ok, here's the latest effort in making "tay doi" or "Chee jie" for New Years celebration:

http://www.hillmans.soupbo.com/soos/seedball.html

The method here involves one extra step when compared to Grace Young's. We made up and cooked some slurry before adding it to the flour, whereas Young just adds cooled sugar syrup to the flour.

Mom said we don't blow air into the pockets now for sanitatary reasons. Besides, she said she doesn't want to because of "old people's breath"!

Unfortunately, these balls collapse when they cool down. But she assures me that's what they are supposed to do! I snuck one to taste. Regardless of how long I drained it, there was still a lot of oil in the pastry. There was a very thin layer of crunch on the outside. The rest was sweet, soft, and chewy. We used only diced sugared lotus nut for filling. These will now be kept safe from tasters until after the offering on New Years Day.

I think we will make gnow lan yuen tomorrow!

[Yuki]

Ok, here's the latest effort in making "tay doi" or "Chee jie" for New Years celebration:

http://www.hillmans.soupbo.com/soos/seedball.html

The method here involves one extra step when compared to Grace Young's. We made up and cooked some slurry before adding it to the flour, whereas Young just adds cooled sugar syrup to the flour.

Mom said we don't blow air into the pockets now for sanitatary reasons. Besides, she said she doesn't want to because of "old people's breath"!

Unfortunately, these balls collapse when they cool down. But she assures me that's what they are supposed to do! I snuck one to taste. Regardless of how long I drained it, there was still a lot of oil in the pastry.  There was a very thin layer of crunch on the outside. The rest was sweet, soft, and chewy. We used only diced sugared lotus nut for filling. These will now be kept safe from tasters until after the offering on New Years Day.

I think we will make gnow lan yuen tomorrow!

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Ahh, I admire your popo and she must be a really good cook. This year my grandma is in Hong Kong so no one is going to deep fry anything for us.