CNY Eve 2025 Family Reunion

 

CNY 2025 Year of Snake Celebrations

 Here are my 2025 CNY Family Celebrations Photos

Chinwse New Year 2020 - Year of the Golden Rat

This year is Elliot's Zodiac animal year, it is the year of golden rat.

Wallace's 21st Birthday Party

Birthday Cake Table Decorations

• Pandan Cake (Main Cake)
• Cake, Ice Cream (Choc, Yam), Oreo Crush
• Moist Choc Cake
• Carrot Walnut Cake
• Goodies Bowl - wafer biscuits
• 
  

Additional Food to ready 

• Tea Eggs
• Baked Nian Gao
• Chic Pea Cheese Dip
• Pineapple Pastry

Selected Menu

However, the caterer got it mixed up and we nearly lost our food, never mind that what was delivered was not ours and sent a 50 pax instead of 60 pax. 

Original Sabahan Chinese New Year Celebration Song

Lets have an "Original" Sabahan Chinese New Year Song based on a popular Kadazan Song music.

Peanut Cookies

Peanut Cookies 

Ingredients:
200 gm All purpose flour
100 gm Icing Sugar
 1tsp  Salt
 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
200 gm Roasted Peanut (Blended)
  20 gm Butter
100 gm Peanut Oil
   2 Tbp Peanut Butter
1 Egg yolk

1) Sift flour, icing sugar, salt, baking powder together.
2) Add in 200g Roasted Peanut (Blended)
3) Add in 20g of butter + 100g of peanut oil + 2tbp of peanut butter
4) Roll the dough into small round balls (10g each)
5) Use a straw to poke lightly on top of the peanut balls, add half a piece of peanut on top
6) Apply egg yolk/ egg wash

Bake 160°C for 17 minutes

Note :- I got this recipe from Irene Pang after she shared some of her peanut cookies with me. I found the cookies baked of her had strong peanut aroma and very nutty taste.

Melt-in-the-mouth Pastry

Pastries that melt in the mouth usually is quite buttery and oily. They can be difficult to handle and any wrong proportions of ingredients could end up too dry or crack or too soft. Here is one recipe that I have used over and over again. I have used it for two purposes:-

1) Pineapple Tarts Pastry
2) Mini Tarts for Fruits or Tuna Cheese (I always prefer the savoury taste.)

When I first started to make this recipe, I tried with one portion, added another portion and finally found out in one festive season, I could use 4 portions of this pastry recipe. I make them 4 portions now, store them in the fridge and use them mainly for pineapple tarts, any leftover then can consider to make Mini Tarts for Tuna Cheese or Fruits.


Melt-In-The-Mouth Pastry

250 gm Butter
330 gm Plain Flour (Superfine or Cake Flour)
 70  gm Icing Sugar
2 Tbsp Corn Flour
2 Tbsp Custard Powder (Optional)
2 Egg Yolks (lightly beaten)

1) Sift all the flour, corn flour, Custard Powder and Icing Sugar into a bowl.
2) Add in Butter
3) Mix them well with fingers
4) Add in Egg Yolks
5) Mix till smooth consistency, store them in a plastic bag and put in the fridge for an overnight before use. The pastry can be stored and use up to a week.

4 Portions Melt-In-The-Mouth Pastry

1 Kg Butter
1320 gm Plain Flour (Superfine or Cake Flour)
 280  gm Icing Sugar
8 Tbsp Corn Flour
8 Tbsp Custard Powder (Optional)
8 Egg Yolks (lightly beaten)

It takes a bit of effort to make this large portion in a large bowl but it is worth it and it is just one time job for many hundreds of delights. This 4 portions recipe could make with 2 Kg of Pineapple fillings which roughly make into 280-300 rolled Pineapples Puffs.




Here is the Pastry making photos:



Flour and sugar sieved and ready to mix in.



Divide into two plastic bags and store in fridge.

Chinese New Year "Cake"

Chinese New Year reminds me of good food and lots of endless goodies munches ! It is nimble, nimble the whole day through, from one place to another, every home tries to outdo others with their own secret recipes home-made goodies. It could be special brew of tea or juicing from own garden fruits to special fried stuff and baked goodies.


Here is the most important of all items in Chinese New Year celebrations, it is a must have, you dont make it then you have to buy it. If you can make, you probably will receive them as gifts from others who visit you.

I have modified the recipes a few times over, hoping to get the right consistency and taste that we all love.

Original Nyonya Glutinuous Rice Kuih

10 Eggs
1 litre Canned Coconut milk
500 gm Glutinuous Rice Flour
500 gm Sugar

Mix well and bake 180 C for 50-60 mins, Pierce with stick to know its done.

Remarks :- Taste really good, colour a bit pale looking, children love it. I felt its too rich in content, high in eggs, high in sugar, high in Coconut milk too !

Modified by Doria Version 1

8 Eggs
500 ml Canned Coconut milk
500 gm Glutinuous Rice Flour
500 gm Gula Melaka + 500 ml water (boiled and cooled)

This only difference was that the Kuih is darker  and richer in colour. But I still felt its a bit too sticky and the egg taste quite strong.



Modified 2.0

8 Large Eggs
500 gm Gula Melaka or Molasses in 800 ml water
500 gm Glutinous Rice
1 pack of Santan Powder

140 C bake for 1 hour
Use Silicone Mould

I made lots of this Nian Gao Kuih since 2015 (?), there is no turning back after I discovered this recipe.

Now, I made them as 4 portions size, the maximum my giant basin can hold.
It yields about 5.5 litre of fluid.
The Rectangular mould from Rebecca holds 2 litres
The Ikea Heart holds about 1-1.5 litre
The Blue flower mould (the best size) holds about 600 ml
The two small Daiso moulds hold about 400 ml each.

I think this year I have baked easily 4 rounds of 4 portions, that be 128 eggs, which is 4 trays and 8 eggs ! The costing is about RM20.70 per portion of ingredients.

Honey Roasted Peanuts - Planter's Style

Peanuts can go with anything, dishes, cold beer and just on its own.

Honey roasted peanuts used to be a special treat that could only be bought from the special import store. But with Youtube, we could learn how to make anything !

Here is one recipe I learn from Youtube. It looks very legit and do-able and seems too easy to be true. So, I set out to try it the very next day even though I was not 100% sure of the success of this recipe.

Here are the ingredients for 2 Cups of peanuts :-

1) 1 Oz Butter (melted)
2) 2 Tablespoons of Honey
3) 1/2 tsp Salt
4) 1/2 tsp Chillie Powder
5) 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
6) 1/3 Cup of Sugar

Method :-

1) Melt the butter with Honey
2) Put in salt, Chilli Powder, Garlic Powder
3) Mix well pour to Overn to roast 7-8 minutes at 160 C.
4) Take out and tour them around, roast another 5 minutes.
5) Take out and toast them to a bowl, pour sugar in by batches until well mixed.
6) Leave them to dry up for 10 minutes before eat or packing.

Since 1 Kg Peanuts is like 6.5 Cups of Peanuts, the total ingredients be :-

6 Oz Butter (melted)
12 Tablespoons of Honey
3 tsp Salt
3 tsp Chillie Powder
3 tsp Garlic Powder
1 Cup of Sugar

Comment on 25 Jan 2017, my first batch of making this, luckily I decided to try 1 Kg instead of 3 Kg as it was late at night, and I was not sure we have enough honey to cover. I measured honey and butter and mix them, I licked the spoon just to gauge the sweetness of it and then it tasted sour, I thought the honey has gone bad then I read the label "Honey with Lime" ! Oh dear, too late, I decided to be adventurous and make a sweet and sour peanuts ! Sigh ! Life sometimes is like this, we take whatever it comes and turn it for good. I am thinking may need more sugar to cover the sourness later. It be a new flavour then.

Normally, if I am tired, I will make blunders like mistaken 3 tsp as 3 TBSP, but this was really impossible to avoid, who would have thought, Honey with Lime packed exactly like honey container. I really hope they are edible despite such adventure.

Comments :-
The sourness was hidden by the sweetness, I left it too long in the oven and they turned out a bit darker colour, almost burnt. It was very oily using butter. I dont recall using so much butter or oil for roasting peanuts. Usually roasting is dry and no oil or butter added. I will need to reduce the oil in the next trial.

This year, I plan to make 3 Kg of Honey Roasted Peanuts (large white peanuts).

Hakka Abacus Dish - CNY Recipe

Pineapple Tarts Success Story 2012

Pineapple tarts are a special delicacy, especially during Chinese New Year. I do not really make these tarts at any other time of the year. So, it is like once a year affair. After few years of trying, I had a proper lesson from my friend's mum who makes famous Pineapple Tarts in Singapore for many years, she taught few of us how to make the pineapple jam from scratch. It is a lot of hard work. I only did that twice and decided to buy ready-made Pineapple jam from Thailand from Bake with me shop.

I found this pastry very good and has the melt-in-the-mouth feel.

250 gm Butter
70 gm Icing Sugar (sifted)
2 Egg Yolks lightly beaten
330 gm Plain Flour (preferably cake flour)
2 Tbsp Cornflour
2 Tbsp Custard Powder (optional)

1) Sift flours, custard powder.
2) Mix butter, icing sugar till creamy and fluffy.
3) Add the yolk, sifted flours and mix to form a  dough.
4) Put inside plastic bag or bowl, leave the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Note:- I usually make 4 portions of this recipe and store them in a plastic bag inside the fridge. This can use for 2 Kgs of Pineapples and make about 280 pieces of Pineapple tarts like these photos.

Oven temperature: 170 C (not too hot), bake 8-10 minutes depending on how hot the oven is. Have to watch them carefully. 

Ready to bake!

In the Oven

Final Touch

Lovely Tarts

Final Products

http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2011/01/pineapple-roll-tarts-for-chinese-new.html