nin nin yau yue - homemade coconut fish nian gao

happy new year!
nin nin yau yue - a year of plenty...

nian gao is delish and not too hard to make... just alot of steaming... and steam.. and heat...

why spend $10+ on a fancy looking but hard as rock nian gao when one can whip one up at home for peanuts?!
8 easy steps to coconut fish nian gao
1)180g white sugar + 150 mL water -> bring to boil until sugar dissolves and let cool
2)200g glutinous rice flour + 100g wheat flour (tung mein) + 25g rice flour -> seive
3)all flour together -> stir in 400mL coconut milk let it rest until no lumps
4)stir cool sugar solution into flour mix -> stir in 1 tbsp oil (no lumps)
5)take 1/3 cup of above mixture and mix with orange food colouring
6)grease plastic fish mould -> dot with orange mix -> steam over high heat 3 min
7)orange mix semi set -> top up fish mould with white mix -> steam for 1 hour
8)invert coconut nian gao out of mould -> let cool and YUM!
and there was enough batter / mix for 2 extra mini nian gaos too! it does help if one has a plastic fish mould though (i got mine from shanghai st HK - best place for kitchen gadgets)

my bday cake - cherry cream cheese white chocolate pandoro

this was the second attempt in pandoro transformation - into a sour cherry cream cheese white chocolate cake topped with almond pieces...







YUM!
this was even more delish than the last pandoro bday cake!

rehydration tonic

everything has been drying up under the 30+ degree heat... as our indoor temp surpasses the 30-degree mark, rehydration is the order of the day...
instead of spending lots of $$ buying H20 / SK II rehydration masks or electrolyte fluids etc... DIY is the go
hence...
peeled apple and ya pear segments...

dried figs...

water to cover in my trusty pressure cooker...

lovely when chilled... v refreshing!

cheap and cheerful bday cake

it is snowflake's happy bday today - happy bday!
we decided to do it cheap this year (with the eco downturn / stock market tsunami and all)...
remember the pandoros from coles sitting in the igloo downstairs?

i took one out and divided in half... one for snowflake today... one for me a few days later...
i divided the half into another half... then sandwiched a layer of my homemade strawberry jam...
lovely!
then to the chocolate ganache - a block of dark i bought b4 during sale... abit of butter... and a dash of cream over a waterbath...
the molten lava was poured onto the starshaped mountain...
a sprinkle of blitzed whole almonds covered the flaws in the pouring... it was then put in the fridge for setting...
with abit of make up - 3 strawberries... a happy bday sign... flame dancing over candles...
there you have it - snowflake's chocolate strawberry and almond pandoro bday cake! just like store bought (in looks and in taste)

and it only cost <$5! <$2 if you only count the cake as the trimmings were sitting in the pantry all along... bargain! yum!

a day in our japan trip 08: knives at aritsugu

22/12/08 mcduck and i was in kyoto... it was our 2nd day in japan... we went to the iconic nishiki market... it looked abit like central market in adelaide (with more histories attached)... speciality shops galore... then i spotted ARITSUGU!
the 450 y o knife shop, since 1560... 1560! middle ages?!
this most exquisite wrapping cloth was a gift from the sales lady...

she kept on telling me not to spend 44000 yen on a top of the range blue steel kansai style usuba... "those are for professionals... the only difference is that the edge holds sharper for longer..." she recommended the 13000+ yen one for home use... after much deliberation (with my calculator)... i resisted parting with $700+ aud, instead i parted with $250 and took her recommendation to heart...

i have to say... when i got back home... i did regreted not taking the plunge with the $700 knife... but this new aritsugu knife of mine, is the sharpest one i have ever cut with! now i understand how the chefs on iron chef can cut so quickly with such precision!
i have to be extra careful with my fingers from now on...
NB: aritsugu has two distinct shops - one in kyoto one in tokyo... i was abit confused to begin with... after enquiring the sales lady... she reluctantly told me in a soft voice on the side that the 2 shops parted about 100 yrs ago and now are both running by themselves - therefore they have slightly diff range and slightly diff method of forging their knives...
and which one is better?? i think from a pure touristy point of view, i have to say kyoto aritsugu, because
1)shop front is v appealing and it is located at nishiki market kyoto - much older than tsujiki market in tokyo... the knife shop has been there or there abouts for 450yrs!
2)better display of products - with window display on both walls and central counter display... not just knives but other cooking instruments as well
3)knives are hand sharpened while you wait with freebie (2-kanji) inscription on the blade for free
3)special counter for after purchase presentation - how to use / sharper /take care of knife at home explained by sales lady with good english speaking skills
4)wrapped in rice paper, in carboard, then in box with foam and instructions, then aritsugu wrapping paper and aritsugu silk wrapping cloth (freebie - would have cost an extra 1000-2000 yen in souvenier shops), then all together in a paper bag

new year bargain 2: cards and tape

cards : $0.72 per pack of 16
tape : $0.48 per pack of 3
time to stock up for x mas 09!
where? coles special aisle

new year bargain 1: pandoro

during a casual trip to coles, i spotted a $15+ cake for sale, reduced to $2.75... and it has an expiry date of june 09...
pandoro - the italian x mas cake (partner of the more well known panettone)
so i quickly bought 2 - thinking of dressing them for our next bday in the household - cream & berries combo with dusted icing sugar and strawberries on top...hmmm
or ganache it with a river of choco-cream... almond flakes on top...yummm

here are some more decor' ideas...

just thinking of the $$ i can save by not buying breadtop cakes or michel's cakes makes me want to go back to coles to get more...