The Food Canon

The Rabbits are here

Once a year, some in the Chinese community here will be craving for Rabbit fish.

Some call it the "Chinese New Year Fish" or "Pai-Lin Yue."

For a few days in a year - and only for a few days - the ones caught and sold in local markets are full of creamy roe and wilt, with little of the usual fishy taste inside the stomach. This is the period when they get ready to spawn. I suppose its' rich tummy is a sign of prosperity. For most, it is just tradition and taste.

It is a special Chinese New Year delicacy. During that period, they come with a premium price, fetching up to $100 per kilo. Crazy.

This year, they missed the boat and arrived way too late, being perhaps the leap year.

Fried Sea Bass - Thai style. Perhaps I won't call this a 101 dish but to Thais, fried fish with some condiments is a basic dish.

I have always been keen on eating at home.

There is something special about the family gathering around the dining table. I feel that a home is less than one if the kitchen and dining table is not used regularly. At least I grew up in one where the home centered around them.  

As I have mentioned elsewhere, I started learning to cook soon after I started working as I always wanted to recreate some of the dishes I grew up with. When the kids came, my Mum came down from PJ to stay with us. It became less necessary for me to be in the kitchen. Mum was providing the daily spread. We could look forward to returning home to dinner everyday. Sometimes I will call her to ask what's for dinner. She will always say a phrase in Cantonese which rhymes. "I won't let you know and will let your heart keep wondering."

After my Mum passed away, for a while, we were quite at a lost as to our daily meals. We tried "tingkat" home delivery meals. They sent dinner in these stacked containers. You have to eat whatever is delivered to you. The food was often bland and rather tasteless. After two weeks of trying to appreciate these meals, one evening, we just could not carry on. Not even after we have said grace! I told my wife to cancel the arrangements.

That was when I made a new resolution to resume home cooking.

Readers of this blog and cooks will know that I have a fascination for Thai dishes. (Check the list here)

The thing is, I do enjoy cooking them. There is a simplicity, balance of flavours and a refined quality about the recipes which I find attractive. Most are fast to make, some under ten minutes of cooking time. The essential  ingredients are available here and so they can be made 'from scratch.' And presentation wise, they always look appealing and appetising.

The good thing about dabbling in another cuisine is you can get new ideas for your own. Already, I am thinking that my Mum's Nonya Chicken Curry can be modified to improve on its presentation and taste experience.

I have made green curry chicken many times, improving the recipes along the way as I begin to understand this dish more. I was in a cooking class in Bangkok recently and some ideas I picked up added to my learning experience.

Even if you have no interest in this dish, there are ideas you can pick up regarding the fundamentals of curry-making. So, read on. 

Nicely shot by Japhia Wong

Celebrating Chinese New Year in Petaling Jaya (Malaysia) is always a special experience. It is a return to my roots. Each time my uncle (my father's younger brother, Pak Leong) visits, I find out a bit more about my past.  

My second paternal Uncle: he has many fascinating stories to tell

Apparently, our group of Hakkas came from the north ("Holam"), the very same one that Sun Yat Sen hailed from. They migrated to Guangdong. Some moved on to Hong Kong during the 1911 Revolution. Some, because of the ease of travel in the British empire, migrated to Malaysia.

We have relatives in London, Canada, USA and even some in Surinam. Hakkas indeed have migration in their blood. Always in search for a better life. I suppose I continued the trend when I became a Singaporean this year.

I found out that my father studied till Form 3 before he started working as a book-keeper. He was a good writer (in Chinese) and was a regular columnist in some local papers. He was also very interested in cooking. At one point, he was cooking by day and counting by night.

A Reunion spread which my Mum cooked in 2004

Chinese New Year is around the corner.

If you are planning for a home-cooked dinner for your reunion, I am sure you have already started making plans. By now, you should be clearing your fridge & freezer to free up storage space. Some dried goods can be bought way in advance. If you have not bought your meats and seafood, expect to pay premium prices. And yes, go real early in the morning to your fav wet market.

Each family has a different heritage and tradition and some dishes will be repeated every year.

This year, we are regathering at my childhood home in Petaling Jaya. It is a place of many memories. It is also a place which testifies of God's grace as He has indeed blessed us over the years. I had some dark childhood memories of this place as for one long period, it was being used as a gambling den. I can recall a police raid once and a stranger rushing in and hiding under my bed. All these are long gone as God's light has shone into my home ever since. 

Tom Yum Soup: All the photos were taken from my Iphone 3 GS - they don't look too bad. Won't be changing my name to Food Apple anytime soon though.

I love to cook (what's new).

And I love cooking lessons.

If I have the time and opportunity to learn from someone , I will.

My best teacher? My late mum of course.

The best class was her commercial kitchen. Not that she had the time and patience to give me a "class." At a very young age, I became a free extra hand in her kitchen. Something needed to be washed, chopped, pounded, squeezed or stir-fried. When I become strong enough to hold her wok chan in her large commercial work kitchen - which looked even huger to a child - I did. I simply had to learn because she needed help. My Mum was a patient woman and hardly lose her temper when something went wrong. And she had this great sense of humor, which you can imagine, can be rather crude and colorful in her native Hokkien and Cantonese.

I am in Bangkok and interestingly, yesterday, I went back in time as we learnt how to squeeze coconut milk, pound in the granite mortar etc.