Kuantan 2009

I have always wanted to post an entry on our "vacation" to Kuantan but have not have the chance to do so due to time constraints. We went to Kuantan in April 2009. It was not a planned vacation but rather a business trip for hubby. We just followed him there and dropped by at the seaside on the way back to Malacca. I think this place is called Teluk Chempedak.

Dragon Boat Festival 2009

This year, the Dragon Boat Festival falls on 28th May 2009. This festival is celebrated every year on the 5th day of the 5th month of the Lunar Calendar.

There are a number of theories behind the origin of this festival. Based on one of the most widely known legend, this day is to honour Qu Yuan, a scholar and minister who commited suicide. A descendant of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin, Qu was banished for opposing the alliance. Qu Yuan was accused of treason. During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry, for which he is now remembered. Twenty-eight years later, Qin conquered the Chu capital. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month. It is said that the local people, who admired him, threw food into the river to feed the fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of "zongzi" (dumpling). The local people were also said to have paddled out on boats, either to scare the fish away or to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat racing.

Just like last year, this year I also made dumplings. I woke up at 5am to prepare the dumplings. I completed wrapping the dumplings at about 9am. I made 3 bundles, consisting of 35 dumplings. The first 2 bundles does not have much fillings as I was afraid that the fillings might not be enough. The last few dumplings has the most fillings. I fare very badly in the estimation of the ingredients as I end up with quite some unused fillings.

Steamed Yam Cake

I made steamed yam cake last week. This is either the 3rd or 4th time that I have made this cake. The taste was nice and texture was a bit on the hard side. But my neighbour said she likes it this way. It is not hard as for "HARD" but only not that soft. I also think the texture is acceptable. This time around, I use lesser ingredients. I only use yam, dried shrimps, shallots, rice flour and seasonings. I have ommited meat. But I put in lots and lots of yam. Therefore, the cake is very frangrant. Most of the time, the steamed yam cake that is commercially available or prepared by other people has lesser yam and more flour. But the one that I made this time has more yam than flour. As such, it is much yummier....We finished the cake within 2 days.

Recipe for Steamed Yam Cake

450g yam, diced

250g rice flour
60g dried shrimps
1 tbsp five-spice powder
1 tbsp white pepper
3 cups water
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp sugar
7 pips shallots
3 tbsp oil
Dash of dark soy sauce

Method

Heat oil in wok and saute shallots. Remove shallots and leave oil in wok. Put dried shrimps in the wok and saute. Remove 1/2 amount of dried shrimps and add in 1/2 amount of sauted shallots in wok. Add yam and stir-fry for 1 minutes. Add 1 cup of water into the wok. Let it boil. In the meantime, add remaining water into the flour and mix thoroughly. Add the batter into the wok and add in all the seasonings and dark soy sauce. Cook till the batter is a bit thicker. Then scoope the batter into a pre-greased tray (I used a 26cm tray). Steam the cake for approximately 1 hour, till it is set and firm. Then garnish with the remaining sauted shallots and dried shrimps.

Hubby's 30th Birthday

Hubby's birthday falls on 7th May. The cake that I made for him this year is Mocha Marble Cheesecake. The cake looks thinner as I only have 500g of cheese in the fridge. The recipe calls for 700g of cheese. Therefore, I have to adjust all the rest of the ingredients to correspond with the amount of the cheese available. However, I prepared too much chocolate portion. Therefore, the marble pattern was not that evident on the cake. Nevertheless, it still taste very nice. Yummy!!! (Although the picture of the cake does not look impressive, the real cake is REALLY impressive. Forgive me, I am not a good photographer). As for the dinner, I cooked some noodle. Other than that, I also prepared 3 red hardboiled eggs. I believe it is not that hard to figure out why 3.....