Yellow Dragon Fruit Pitahaya 麒麟果

This is our latest fruit-ilicious discovery!  We always like to share whenever we find a new fruit of outstanding deliciousness and boy-o is this fruit delicioso!!  I'm sure y'all have seen the red dragon fruit before as it has been quite popular for many years now.  But to be honest we've been avoiding the red skinned dragon fruit for a while now, finding that the taste is quite 'meh' nowadays.  Maybe from over production?  Don't know, just know that it doesn't taste as nice as it used to.

We found these yellow skinned fruit in the sale bin the other day and decided to try them, not even knowing that they were related to the red dragon fruit at all.  Upon consuming we found that the white flesh of this yellow dragon fruit 麒麟果 so refreshingly sweet and juicy that we actually went back to the store for more the next day and the next...  Nom, nom!  It's soooo good!

Mashed Tofu with Century Egg 涼拌皮蛋豆腐

Alright, I'll admit right off the bat that this ain't the most good looking dish.  The first time I beheld it at our neighborhood Taiwanese restaurant I was like "whaat the heck!"  But man, oh, man once we started eating this Mashed Tofu and Century Egg 涼拌皮蛋豆腐, it was baboom!  Flavor texture explosion!  Most favorite tofu dish ever, have to order it every time and everyone takes turns scraping the bottom of the glass serving jar.

This is a riff, if you will, on the traditional Tofu and Century Eggs 皮蛋豆腐 where the tofu and eggs are served arranged prettily but separately on a dish.  Which is how I've always eaten it and it sure is yummy.  But mash up this dish, chill it and somehow it turns the flavor up by a WOW factor as well as adding a lovely creaminess.  Once you get a taste you just can't stop, it's really that good!

Quick Basic Congee with Century Egg 皮蛋粥

This is another way to make basic congee, except waaay faster!  Basic Congee is Cantonese style of rice porridge, cooked down to a dreamy creaminess that beats every other rice porridge you'll ever have!  This basic congee is then mixed with other meat and veggie ingredients to make the final delectable congee-as-meal dish.

Congee is a wonderful comfort food, pleasing to both the tummy and the heart.  But basic congee such as our Basic Congee with Dried Scallops and Tofu Skin takes quite a while to cook.  My hubby discovered this alternative Basic Congee with Century Egg 皮蛋粥 that not only cuts the cooking time by two-thirds but also tastes just as if not more delicious.   

Sampan Congee 艇仔粥

Burrr….I’m still feeling a wee bit of the chill of winter nipping at my toes these days, how about y’all, dear readers?  When you’re a bit cold inside and out there’s nothing better than a warm soul soothing bowl of velvety congee chock full of all kinds of yummilicious bite sized edibles.  Comfort food all the way!

We’ve been on a kind of congee kick lately and our latest is this fabulous queen of congees, the Sampan Congee Tang Jai Jook 艇仔粥, a creamy congee filled with delectable treasures from the sea and the land and then some.  The name 'sampan congee' comes from the many small boats, called sampans 艇仔, that ply the many waterways of Guangzhou (Guangzhou is smack in the middle of a large delta area, FYI) from whence is congee first emerged.

Chinese Candied Cashews 蜜汁腰果

Here's another Chinese New Year post, a most delicious snack, perfect to have around to serve guest and friends during the new year festivities.  These Chinese Candied Cashews 蜜汁腰果 are quick and easy to make and good enough you're going to want to make it again and again.  So yummy and they are shaped like gold ingots of old, giving lucky vibes to all who partake!

Chinese Prosperity Cake Fa Gao 新年發糕

It’s the new Chinese year, dear readers, and we’re ready to start it off with our lovely fortune guaranteeing Chinese Prosperity Cakes Fa Gao 新年發糕!

These simple but gorgeous sweetened flour cakes or buns are steamed until they dramatically rise and then crack into a distinctive and attractive pattern. This ‘explosion’ of these buns, made in the event of the new year, indicates that your upcoming year will be prosperous!  Cool trick, amirite?

Before we go on, let me quantify a teensy bit.  Your prosperity will be predicted by the mysterious gods of bun fortune, BUT you gotta make sure that your buns actually do achieve that ‘explosion’ effect. Your buns might just not ‘explode’ at all (guess how I know that LOL). 

Fish Congee 魚粥

Congee love!  More congee goodness!  We move onto the fabulous traditional Cantonese Fish Congee  魚粥 which is my favorite congee of all time!  Smooth creamy warm congee with just cooked, tender and delicious pieces of fish, what more could a gal ask for?

Basic Congee with Dried Scallop and Tofu Skin 腐竹瑤柱粥

There are tons of recipes for congee out there, and I can totally understand why.  Rice cooked into a soupy mess is delicious, filling and soothing to the soul.  But honestly a lot of the recipes labeled as congee are not really congee.  Rather, they are recipes for delicious rice porridge.  This is a recipe for traditional Cantonese style Chinese congee 粥, a different creature altogether from rice porridge.

Traditional congee or 粥 is thick and creamy and perfect for showing off the simple yet aromatic flavor of rice.   It is so popular a part of the Cantonese eating repertoire that there are dedicated restaurants that serve delicious congee all year round in HK.  Which is saying a lot considering the super high rents in this functional city.  

But it's actually pretty easy to make traditional congee at home.  The most basic congee you can make is with just rice, water and salt.  Today, however, we're kicking it up a notch or three by introducing the more sophisticated classic Basic Congee with Dried Scallop and Tofu Skin 腐竹瑤柱粥, a deliciously creamy congee, ever so delicately flavored with beancurd and scallop.

Mini Gingerbread House

Mini gingerbread houses!  Oh what fun it is to bling out our house, hey!  Instead of making one big gingerbread house to adorn our Christmas table we decided this year to make lotsa mini gingerbread houses so that we could spread the love by gifting them to friends and family.  

These mini ginger bread houses are soooo cute, if I say so myself, and just the perfect little gift.   My little girl and I had so much fun blinging these wee houses and are totally excited for gift opening day!

Chrysanthemum Flower Tea Jelly 菊花茶凍

Like  a moment frozen in time, so does this little jelly capture the beauty of the delicate chrysanthemum flower.  This little dessert is a riff on the classic relaxing and rejuvenating Chinese Chrysanthemum Tea (click link to check out how to brew some!) which is beloved by young and old.  

For myself, the joy of the chrysanthemum tea has always been the fact that flowers, yes! actual flowers, are used in the tea.  Dried, twisted and wrinkled flowers, that, once blessed with hot water, will blossom to the full of their original, delicate, dancing beauty.  Fascinating!

We capture the beauty of this tea, of that moment of blossoming, with our Chrysanthemum Flower Jelly 菊花茶凍, where the delicate taste of this flower tea can be enjoyed against the full glory of the flower's beauty.