Chap Goh Mei means "the lunar 15th CNY dinner" in Hokkien. The Chinese New Year lasts 15 days, and Chap Goh Mei is the last day of the CNY. For some Chinese families, they mark the end of the 15 days of CNY with a dinner celebration. So does my family.
This was the evening of Chap Goh Mei's setting sun before dinner. I thought it was rather unusual and weird yet beautiful, that was why I snapped this photo.
This was our Chap Goh Mei dinner! Usually we would have dinner with my extended family of grandma, cousins, aunts and uncles. However this year, we decided we should just have our own dinner as everyone was too busy to get together. I cooked dinner.
Sis bought a small Yu Sheng again so that we could Lo Hei for the final round for this year. The sashimi slices that came with the Yu Sheng were pathetic.....
.... so we decided to "加料", add something more.... a can of abalone!
My Prosperity Dish - which included... Facai (the tiny black strips) which sounds like "to prosper" is a must, Fish Maw, Leek (sounds like "counting money"), Carrots, Pork, Chinese Mushrooms. First, braised the fish maw and facai for 20 minutes until they were soft, before adding the pork, mushrooms, carrots, and finally the leek. Yum yum!!
My Luxury Dish - XO Sesame Oil Chicken. The Chicken pieces were marinated beforehand, then stir fry ginger slices with sesame oil before adding chicken. Stir frying them for a while before adding dark and light soya sauce, little oyster sauce, and water. Simmer for about 20 minutes and add a dash of XO Cognac. Smelled so good!
My Fulfilling Dish - Lotus Root Soup. It is a common soup in my household. Ingredients used were pork ribs, dried scallops, lotus root, dried longan, red dates, wolfberries, peanuts or red beans.
My Auspicious Dish - Tiger Prawns in Tomato Sauce. Tiger prawns are one of my favourite but we seldom cook them at home unless it is a special occasion. I had wanted to simply steam them with garlic but my mom wanted them in tomato sauce. So I stir-fry loads of chopped garlic till fragrant, and fry the huge prawns till they were 3/4 cooked before taking them out. Then I fry chopped onions before adding my mix of tomato sauce, vinegar, pasta sauce, chilli sauce, sugar, which made a great gravy, and then added the prawns in again and simmer till they were cooked.
We had the Lo Hei before our dinner. May we prosper and achieve everything we wish for this year! May my grandma and parents be healthy and free from any illnesses and pain. May my sis and BIL prosper in the business and career. May my niece and nephew attain great results for the PSLE and top class respectively this year.
Delish Yu Sheng with the generous abalone strips. Thus this was my simple Chap Goh Mei dinner, end of CNY celebrations.
You know the CNY is over when you see the pussy willows being dumped outside like this. Note: I am NOT the culprit!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment