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Wife Cookies


Gastro888

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Ai ya, don't jump to conclusions! :laugh:

I was surfing the 'net and found a recipe here. Problem is the measurements are not in American/metric standards. Y'all will need to do further research on the measurements in order to make them.

Who was it that wanted a recipe? spaghetttti, was it you? I think so... :huh:

Lo Poh Beng (scroll down the page)

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Sum Seng See Sing!

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After all that talk of Loh Po Beng, I got one last night as I was running around Chinatown for last minute stuff (yep, still forgot the pomelos). I'm going to have it this afternoon as a snack - when I am ready to pull my hair out that I am sitting in my office instead of visiting my family. I'll have to try that recipe sometime.

Gung Hei Fat Choi to everyone too, and as the Fai Chuns say in my office:

Dai Gut Dai Lai

Choi Yun Guang Jun

Man See Yu Yee

Cognito ergo consume - Satchel Pooch, Get Fuzzy

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Ok, if we're going to torture with more baking, snacks, etc. . . how about gai jie bang, huh? Huh? :raz: I love those...chewy, slight salty, sweet, nam yui? :wub: I think I had a picture of one in my foodblog from August.

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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Gai Jie Bang? What's that? Please describe! (So hard to Romanize Cantonese words, huh?)

Nam yui? Again, what's that? *sigh* I am being difficult for Auntie Dejah! Sorry! =)

Sartain, can you please provide the translations for your phrases? I've heard of them before but a lil' unclear on their exact meaning. Thank you!

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Gai Jie Bang?  What's that?  Please describe!  (So hard to Romanize Cantonese words, huh?)

Nam yui?  Again, what's that?  *sigh*  I am being difficult for Auntie Dejah!  Sorry!  =)

Sartain, can you please provide the translations for your phrases?  I've heard of them before but a lil' unclear on their exact meaning.  Thank you!

GAI JIE BANG= LITTLE CHICKEN COOKIE

Nam Yui = red fermented tofu

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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Dai Gut Dai Lai = Literally "Big Luck Big Prosperity"

Choi Yun Guang Jun = "Sources of wealth flow widely (freely)"

Man See Yu Yee = "Everything is as you wish"

I was back in Hong Kong in January and an insurance company gave me a whole stack of Lei See packets that had all kinds of auspicious saying on it. It certainly came in handy when I was yelling my CNY greeting into the telephone last night hoping my 90-something grandmother would hear me.

Cognito ergo consume - Satchel Pooch, Get Fuzzy

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Cool, this is only the second recipe I've seen for wife cookies. I've found one in Martin Yan's Chinatown but I'm not sure how reliable it is. If the picture of a wife cookie next to it is any indication, it'd be super flaky and wonderful. Shame that the filling in Martin Yan's recipe is made from candied papaya nad pineapple.

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Well, I don't know if it is or not. It seems authentic, ya know?

Then again, we do Maria's Bakery gift certificates. What the heck is with the watering down of our traditions? I guess I'm weird in that I'd really like to be carted in a red planquin on my wedding day instead of a limo. Ha!

Definitely check out the blog - it has faboo pictures and everything. The author (owner? blogger?) seems hecka cool with all his food postings and stuff.

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A tael equals 37.8g and one catty equals 600g.

As far as Martin Yan concerns, we Chinese never watch his show. Too much adaptations. Wife cake with candied papaya and pineapple (??) is never a wife cake.

Glad you enjoy our wife cakes, will fetch the recipe for the little chicken cookies later. Go buy some lard first, coz' that is the essence of this cookie. Quite a meaty cookie, isn't it?

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Oh, Wonderful! I will look forward to trying out your recipe for gai jie bang!

That's what so intriguing about this bang...meaty yet a sweet pastry. It's a flavour that's hard to describe, at least, it is for me. But, I love them! My sister usually brings them from Vancouver. I try to ration, but I just can't help myself! :rolleyes:

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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You mean like foo yee?  I like foo yee.  Oh man, they don't make food yee like they used to.  Oooohhh.

Sure they do! Recipes that had worked for hundreds of years, why change?

There are just good ones and there are not-so-good ones. I had tried quite a few brands. So try out different brands and pick the one(s) you like. I like the Mei Mei Foo Yu. Very soft and tasty.

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
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What the heck is with the watering down of our traditions?  I guess I'm weird in that I'd really like to be carted in a red planquin on my wedding day instead of a limo.  Ha!

Are you sure about that?

If you are true to the Chinese tradition... The bride is to be back-carried by the Mui Yun (Mui Geen) (matchmaker) from home to the planquin, and then from the planquin to the waiting groom where the wedding takes place.

Uncle Ben would you do that? (We already broke the tradition to allow a male to be Mui Yun.)

Edited by hzrt8w (log)
W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
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..... But, I love them! My sister usually brings them from Vancouver. I try to ration, but I just can't help myself! :rolleyes:

It seems that no food last too long at the Choy's residence! :raz:

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
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As for the lard, perhaps it's best to render your own?

Cha xiu bao, are you the same person who's the blogger of the website I referenced?

The traditional foo yee that we eat is no longer carried in our grocery stores. I have to hunt that jar down. It was sooo good. Had some good foo yee in Guilin, too. Yuuum.

Oh, I have to be carried piggy-back by the mui yun? Dude, no wonder Chinese girls back in the day were so skinny. Sorry, I ain't no waif - I work out. Dragon boating does a body good! :cool:

Ben, start taking your vitamins! hee hee! :laugh:

Edited by Gastro888 (log)
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OOOH!  THOSE!

I know what you're talking about now.  Don't know how to make 'em

You mean like foo yee?  I like foo yee.  Oh man, they don't make food yee like they used to.  Oooohhh.

Gastro, Foo yu is different from nam yu. They are both fermented tofu in rice wine, but nam yu also uses red rice in the process. The latter is used mainly for braising whereas fu yu can be eaten out of the jar OR for stir fries.

Sometimes when I'm eating by myself, I will just have rice with a couple squares on fu yu on top. My daughter's favourite is green beans stir-fried with fu yu.

Some people add fu yu to their char sui baos. I've never had them like that. Supposed to be very good but I'd think that would detract from the BBQ flavour. Comments on this?

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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Dejah, I add foo yu to "all" my bbq meats, including charsiu. Just adds so much more depth of flavour to the meats.

Hey, it's amazing how us Toisan people develop the same tastes. Two squares of foo yu on a bowl of hot rice is just the ticket for lunch sometimes. There's a teeny tiny salt fish (almost transparent) that I love. A handful of that, just dipped in boiling water, a couple of shakes of nuoc mam, a sprinkling of green onions on top of a bowl of rice is a great lunch.

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Dejah, I add foo yu to "all" my bbq meats, including charsiu. Just adds so much more depth of flavour to the meats.

Hey, it's amazing how us Toisan people develop the same tastes. Two squares of foo yu on a bowl of hot rice is just the ticket for lunch sometimes. There's a teeny tiny salt fish (almost transparent) that I love. A handful of that, just dipped in boiling water, a couple of shakes of nuoc mam, a sprinkling of green onions on top of a bowl of rice is a great lunch.

ok, Ben Dai gaw-gaw, I want to know how to eat those little transparent fishies with the black dot eyes!

My sister gave me a big bagful of these and she said to steam them with the rice? or deep fried then put on the rice? or as you said . . .

They keep staring at me from the cupboard. I'll try them during my break this week.

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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Dejah, I add foo yu to "all" my bbq meats, including charsiu. Just adds so much more depth of flavour to the meats.

Hey, it's amazing how us Toisan people develop the same tastes. Two squares of foo yu on a bowl of hot rice is just the ticket for lunch sometimes. There's a teeny tiny salt fish (almost transparent) that I love. A handful of that, just dipped in boiling water, a couple of shakes of nuoc mam, a sprinkling of green onions on top of a bowl of rice is a great lunch.

ok, Ben Dai gaw-gaw, I want to know how to eat those little transparent fishies with the black dot eyes!

My sister gave me a big bagful of these and she said to steam them with the rice? or deep fried then put on the rice? or as you said . . .

They keep staring at me from the cupboard. I'll try them during my break this week.

If this is the same fish that I know of then my family put it into eggs and steam it in the rice cooker. This is the same as steaming little dried shrimp, or dried scallop in eggs.

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Cool, this is only the second recipe I've seen for wife cookies. I've found one in Martin Yan's Chinatown but I'm not sure how reliable it is. If the picture of a wife cookie next to it is any indication, it'd be super flaky and wonderful. Shame that the filling in Martin Yan's recipe is made from candied papaya nad pineapple.

This is one of the foods that I'm dying to learn how to make, but where I live right now we don't have candied winter melon. Never thought about using candied papaya and pineapple. I might try that! Also, I think lo poh beng would be good with sweetened coconut.

Edited by sheetz (log)
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Cool, this is only the second recipe I've seen for wife cookies. I've found one in Martin Yan's Chinatown but I'm not sure how reliable it is. If the picture of a wife cookie next to it is any indication, it'd be super flaky and wonderful. Shame that the filling in Martin Yan's recipe is made from candied papaya nad pineapple.

This is one of the foods that I'm dying to learn how to make, but where I live right now we don't have candied winter melon. Never thought about using candied papaya and pineapple. I might try that! Also, I think lo poh beng would be good with sweetened coconut.

Sweetened coconut and sesame seeds!

So I am wondering if I can use the candied wintermelon that I bought for toon hap?

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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