eG Foodblog: hzrt8w - A week of Chinese New Year celebration

[cats2]

These looked like hugh green onions.  But the label said "sweet red onion".

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These look like red bunching onions.

I just turned 48 in January.  I was thrilled to think that I was born in the year of the pig, but then I realized that I was born the year BEFORE the year of the pig, since my birthday happened before CNY.  Right? 

What am I?

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The year of the dog is before year of the pig. So you were born in 1959? Every year Chinese New Year (which is based on lunar calendar) lands on a different date in the solar calendar. If we have access to the lunar calendar back to 1959 we'll know.

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Here's a web site where you can convert Gregorian to lunar. Just choose your yr! It looks like the first day of the new yr was Feb 8th in 1959, therefore a birthday in Jan 1959 should be Wu-xu (yr of the dog), correct?

[SheenaGreena]

When you go to these farmer's markets, you have to know your stuff.  Often the labels are wrong.  I am not sure what this is.  Some kind of gourd?

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Butternut squash, "delicata" variety like it says on the sign. It's similar to pumpkin, acorn squash, and kabocha.

And another pumkin like gourd?

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These look to me like what's sold here as "Korean melons," a mild cucumber-like squash, though I could be wrong.

These looked like hugh green onions.  But the label said "sweet red onion".

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Perhaps they're the sprouts of red onions -- the stems do appear a bit red.

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those 2nd squashes aren't korean melons. They are just some variety of squash. Korean melons are lighter yellow, have smoother skin, and are not as oblong in shape.

I too am born in the year of the pig, so this is my year and I will do my part by definitely eating more pork.

so I think that on chinese new year the chinese eat a red bean based soup? Koreans do the same, except we eat our red bean soup with small mochi balls in it, its very good and good for you. I dont celebrate chinese new year, but I will definitely make this in the new future because its so delicious

[miladyinsanity]

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

You sound like you had a great reunion dinner. I couldn't taste any of the CNY delicacies (I'm recovering from a germ thing of some sort), which leaves me awfully sad because I won't be here for CNY for the next 3 years.

[SuzySushi]

Being that many Chinese don’t want to “kill” on the first day of Chinese New Year, we would be a vegetarian for… half a day.  Last night’s dinner was some simple vegetable stir-fries, Chinese style of course.

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I have a question about CNY vegetarian meals. You used dried shrimp and oyster sauce in your dinner. Are those ingredients typically considered "vegetarian" for CNY? (The most popular dish for CNY here is jai.)

[I_call_the_duck]

Kung Hey Fat Choy!

Ah Leung, I'm just catching up on your blog. What great fun. It's great that we get to share your CNY week.

So judging by your clues. I guess you're 48. We have two pigs in the family--my BIL, and my nephew. I am not a pig, but I certainly acted like one this weekend.

Edited February 19, 2007 by I_call_the_duck (log)

[I_call_the_duck]

Sorry, double post.

Edited February 19, 2007 by I_call_the_duck (log)

[hzrt8w]

I would like say I am taking special pride in this blog; it's the last one in which I had a part in the planning, before my personal circumstances made it necessary for me to give up my volunteer work for the eG Society...  A special thanks to you, and Happy New Year.

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Hi Susan: It's very nice that you dropped in. Thank you for the invitation to do this foodblog! It is a lot of work but a lot of fun too!

I hope everything works out for you. I am hanging on for the time being, and wondering if one day I may need to give up some volunteer work too. Happy New Year to you!

[hzrt8w]

Kung Hey Fat Choy!

Thanks for blogging. I am looking forward to more of this.

Geekdom, of any kind, is so much fun. And then there's the food.

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Kung Hey Fat Choy to you too Kouign Aman!

I will get to my "geek" part later on this week. So stay tuned!

[hzrt8w]

Ah Leung, thanks for the suggestions on the markets.  What do you think of the farmers markets on Sundays under the freeway?  It's the only one that I've been to in this area, with the exception of the on on Thursdays out on Florin Rd, which isn't always convenient.  Do you know of better ones in the area?

It's been my understanding that New Canton and Eastern Empire are also top notch Chinese cuisine.  Is that your impression?

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Stephanie:

I posted some pictures on my visit to the Sacramento farmer's market yesterday. My overall impression was that the quality of the vegetables I found was just so-so, and the prices I saw was not much better than the ones I had seen in Asian markets such as SF Supermarket. Being that their hours are limited - only once a week in the morning, I don't find the value in going to it.

New Canton - I love it. It is one of the best Chinese restaurants in Sacramento that I know. Unfortunately... they are closed. Has been for 1/2 year or something. I love the dim sum they made. Not sure what's coming in to take its place.

I have not heard of Eastern Empire before. Where is it? May be I can try it out!

[SuzySushi]

those 2nd squashes aren't korean melons.  They are just some variety of squash.  Korean melons are lighter yellow, have smoother skin, and are not as oblong in shape.

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Thanks, Sheena! Glad to know the difference.

[hzrt8w]

Ah Leung, Kung Hay Fat Choy!!

...

It's interesting that you say that Chinese restaurants in "Yee Fow" (Sacramento) is second-rate. I'm more familiar with the Chinese restaurants in "Sam Fow" (Stockton) and of course "Dai Fow" (San Francisco or Frisco). I have always wondered what the Chinese community in Sacramento was like, considering Sacramento was supposedly larger than Stockton.

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Hey Russell! How the heck are you? Kung Hay Fat Choy to you too!

We ARE about the same age, yaaa? And we should know how to enjoy life! You sure have a much better access to all the top-notch restaurants than me.

The Chinese population in Sacramento, by and large and for whatever reason, has tamed down their demand for the extra edge. In Cantonese, we call it "tsui tsim" (sharp mouth) - meaning the ability to taste even the minute difference in a dish prepared by different restaurants. There are many Chinese restaurants in this area, and many of them have strong patronage. But to me they always seem just one notch below the good ones commonly found in San Francisco and the Bay Area.

To name a few of my personal favorites:

Koi Palace (Daly City)

Asian Pearl (Richmond)

Hong Kong East Ocean (Emeryville)

Fook Yuen (Millbrae)

Zen Peninsula (Millbrae)

Mayflower (San Francisco)

Parc Hong Kong (San Francisco)

There are just too many to mention them all.

[hzrt8w]

P.S. I'm a foodie and a technogeek--does two out of three count for anything?

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Hi Ellen! We'll work on the third part and make another honorable Chinese out of you!

[hzrt8w]

Well, you are not much for sweets. More for me, then! I LOVE egg tarts. LOVE them so much, I could marry a boy who would bake them for me. But, I have trouble telling if they will be good just by looking at them, and sometimes I get some with a chewy pastry and a much too sweet, rubbery custard. YUCK. One reason that I

enjoy Chinese sweets and baked goods is that they are not so sweet.

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What you said is very true. In general Hong Kong western pastries are much less sweet. That goes to cakes, tarts, breads, etc.. In fact a unique (I think) Hong Kong adaptation is to use savory fillings to make bread (buns). BBQ pork buns, curry beef buns, hot dog buns - to name a few. I always like those and only the Hong Kong style bakeries would make them.

I am usually disappointed at the bakery items offered at the Taiwanese-run bakery shops. They just do it differently.

As for the egg tarts: You can kind of tell by the look sometimes. Check out the color of the egg tart filling: shinny or dull? any crack? The crust: look flaky or solid? Burnt or too pale? And you can skip those that don't look too appealing.

[mizducky]

Minced some garlic and got some small dried shrimp.

First fried the dried shrimp on the pan with a couple of teaspoons of oil and let the fragrance develop.

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Learning new stuff already! Ah Leung, I notice that, unlike in other recipes, here you didn't soak the dried shrimp before cooking them. Do they plump up a bit when fried without rehydrating? Or get crunchier?

I just adore all the dried ingredients that are part of Asian cuisines. The flavors are more intense and the textures are chewier than their fresh counterparts, which makes them much more interesting to cook with, let alone to eat. My budget loves their low prices, especially considering how big a volume of food they reconstitute to--and then there's the much longer shelf life. Plus I feel so healthy eating them!

[hzrt8w]

I went to do some year-end shopping last week. Here are some pictures that I took.

There is a small floral shop in the same mall as SF Supermarket that sells seasonal floral items. I guess I don’t need to tell you their address.

Mandarin orange tree. A small tree like this already produces two dozen Mandarin oranges. Buy a Mandarin orange, you can eat for a day. Plant a Mandarin orange tree, you can eat for life!

This is the bigger variety: Tangerine.

And this is the smallest in the variety: kumquat. Most of the fruits on this tree were still green.

Trigs from plum trees. We buy this to decorate at home for Chinese New Year. They usually bloom around Chinese New Year. “Mui Fa”. It is also China’s National Flower.

You buy one of these trigs, put it in a large size vase (like the ones in Koi Palace) and add water. Flowers will start blooming in a few days.

This is another flower plant that Chinese like for CNY: “Shui Sin”. Sorry… don’t know what the English name is. It has a very strong fragrance. I think some perfume makers extract the fragrance from these flowers to make perfume.

[mizducky]

This is another flower plant that Chinese like for CNY:  “Shui Sin”.  Sorry… don’t know what the English name is.  It has a very strong fragrance.  I think some perfume makers extract the fragrance from these flowers to make perfume.

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I'm far from a flowering plant expert, but those look very much like some kind of jonquil/daffodil/narcissus relative. A little creative Googling turned up this flowering plant -- is this the right one?

[hzrt8w]

This is S.F. Supermarket where I did my Chinese New Year food shopping.

It is located at Stockton Blvd crossing 65th Street.

They had all kinds of seasonal candies, sugar-glazed nuts and melons for the new year.

Sugar-glazed lotus seeds.

Sugar-glazed coconut shreds in different colors.

Some toffee kind of candies.

Gold coins from large to small. I loved these gold coins when I was a kid. It’s pure chocolate inside!

The store sold these gift baskets, already wrapped. I remember when my father took me to visit relatives during Chinese New Year, he always bought some gift baskets filled with fruits, candies. Some even with a bottle of brandy.

Sugar-glazed coconut strips.

Interesting! They package something into a container that looks like a giant firecracker!

Crispy candy. Probably some kind of ground peanuts mixed with toffee.

“So Kwok”. These are deep-fried dough with ground peanuts and sugar inside.

Chinese call these “Siu Hau Zho” (a jujube date that resembles a smiling mouth). Deep-fried dough with sesame seeds sprinkled on the outside.

Sugar-glazed lotus root slices.

“Jin Dui” – deep-fried dough made from glutinous rice flower. The filling is sweet, made with smashed red beans. The outside is coated with sesame seeds. And… they are hollow!

More sugar-glazed lotus seeds.

Sweet ginger. I think these are ginger-flavored soft candies.

Roasted water melon seeds. I bought one of these.

This is a package for candies and it is shaped like a “Yuen Bo” – the ancient Chinese gold ingot.

More gold coins!

“Lei See” candies. Not sure what’s inside.

Small candies that shaped like gold ingots.

Sugar-glazed winter melon.

Sugar-glazed water chestnuts.

Again, sugar-glazed coconut shreds. I bought one of these because they were the smallest that I could find.

You can buy each of the sugar-glazed melons/seeds and candies separately and put them in a serving tray. Or you can buy one of these combinations. The package is the serving tray.

Cantonese call these “Tsuen Hop”.

Boy… this was the largest that I had seen. Felt very heavy too.

If I had bought one of these, I don’t know how long it would take me to finish it.

Edited February 20, 2007 by hzrt8w (log)

[Mooshmouse]

“Lei See” candies.  Not sure what’s inside.

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Can I offer some help? Inside the red and gold foil packets are strawberry-flavoured hard candies that have a chewy centre. A childhood favourite of mine, I still have a soft spot for them when CNY rolls around.

Happy Year of the Golden Boar!

[annecros]

A Rabbit bounding in here to wish you a happy and prosperous New Year!

I am enjoying this blog very much, and appreciate everything I am learning. We have so many Asian markets in the area, but they are very intimidating. The farmer's markets festure a suprising amount of fruits and vegetables from the eastern hemisphere as well. This is helping me get a bit more confident when I walk in the door, or up to the stall.

I am looking forward to the rest of the week. Good job, I know it is a lot of hard work.

[C. sapidus]

Gold coins from large to small.  I loved these gold coins when I was a kid.  It’s pure chocolate inside!

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I loved those gold coins, too! My parents used to pack the coins in our Christmas stockings, along with an orange in the toe, a Mad magazine, a nutcracker, and an assortment of unshelled nuts - usually walnuts, Brazil nuts, almonds, and hazelnuts. They would hang the stocking on our bedroom door after we went to sleep. I think they wanted us to stay occupied as long as possible Christmas morning.

Thanks for the pleasant memory!

[Kouign Aman]

This is another flower plant that Chinese like for CNY:  “Shui Sin”.  Sorry… don’t know what the English name is.  It has a very strong fragrance.  I think some perfume makers extract the fragrance from these flowers to make perfume.

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I'm far from a flowering plant expert, but those look very much like some kind of jonquil/daffodil/narcissus relative. A little creative Googling turned up this flowering plant -- is this the right one?

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Looks like a narcissus to me too. Also called PaperWhite. Very strong scent. Some like it, some think it stinks.

[Dejah]

I went to do some year-end shopping last week.  Here are some pictures that I took.

Trigs from plum trees.  We buy this to decorate at home for Chinese New Year.  They usually bloom around Chinese New Year.  “Mui Fa”.  It is also China’s National Flower.

You buy one of these trigs, put it in a large size vase (like the ones in Koi Palace) and add water.  Flowers will start blooming in a few days.

This is another flower plant that Chinese like for CNY:  “Shui Sin”.  Sorry… don’t know what the English name is.  It has a very strong fragrance.  I think some perfume makers extract the fragrance from these flowers to make perfume.

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Those twigs are so big they look more like the actual trees?

I think the "Shui Sin" is known as "paperwhites"

I have forced them before in time for CNY, but I don't like the fragrance. It gives me a headache.

It makes me even sadder to see all those beautiful plants standing OUTSIDE while my trees are nekkid!

ETA: Ooopsss...Kouign Aman beat me to the paperwhites.

In addtion to strawberry flavour candies, the package I bought this year were coconut flavoured in assorted coloured foil wrappers. They were a nice change.

Instead of gold coins, I bought gum fah sung (golden peanuts) for my grandson. The chocolate they use is terrible tho'.

Edited February 20, 2007 by Dejah (log)

[Domestic Goddess]

A rooster wheezing in to wish you Kung Hei Fat Choy Ah Leung! I have been monitoring your blog for the past couple of days but couldn't post because of my asthma attacks. I am so happy to see you blogging. I have always pointed out your pictorial recipes to my hubby and ask him to choose what he wants for our supper tonight. I call you my "Master" and hubby calls me your grasshopper. LOL

Most of the Chinese candies you have featured can be found in the Philippines too. I think I have sampled the chocolate coins, candied coconut (yuck!), candied ginger and chest nuts, watermelon seeds (salted but not dyed red); we even have pumpkin seeds too. Like you, I don't have a sweet tooth (considered a black sheep in my sweet tooth family). Anyway, here's to more blog posts and scrumptious pictures.

[Mooshmouse]

In addtion to strawberry flavour candies, the package I bought this year were coconut flavoured in assorted coloured foil wrappers. They were a nice change.

Instead of gold coins, I bought gum fah sung (golden peanuts) for my grandson. The chocolate they use is terrible tho'.

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Heads up Dejah and any other Chinese-Canadians: during CNY, Purdy's sells gold-foil-wrapped chocolate coins that are of fairly good quality milk chocolate, better than a lot of the generic ones that I've tasted. I've tried those coconut-flavoured lucky candies; they're okay, but I much prefer the strawberry ones.

Like Domestic Goddess before me, I'm also a Rooster... Earth Rooster to be exact. My husband is an Earth Pig and our son is a Fire Snake. Keep up the great blog!

[I_call_the_duck]

I've never seen the coconut in different colors before. We've only had the white color. I'm not a huge fan of the sweets myself, so my favorite were the seeds.

What we were discussing this weekend was the different translation of some of the animals. Pig-boar, sheep-ram-goat, rooster-cock, cow-ox. What is this all about? Is it just in the translation?

(BTW, I'm a sheep. baa)