HOW GOD WANTS US TO LIVE OUR LIVES

As human we have our selfish ideas
Thinking that God is just like one of us
Everything belongs to Him
And that we are under His control!

God is fair! He always gives us a choice
He is not a tyrant Nor an un-reachable God
He provided for us even before we were born
He has every right to take control over us.

He sacrificed His one and only Son
The sinless one, hung on the tree
Just to reconcile us back to Him
So that we can call Him Abba Father

The Father's abundant love for us
Is clearly shown in the cross
And by His stripes we have been healed
Body, soul and spirit!

By this, we know that God wants us to live
An abundant life, free of pain & sufferings
Then, why does God still allow sufferings?
Know you not it is our choice?

Turn back to God and He will make all things right
He will comfort you and heal your brokenness
His heart aches even more when we are in pain
Seeing us not accepting His provision in the cross

Remember our God is a good And faithful God
He forgets your sins and accepts you as you are
Gives you the privilege of a son
And let you come face to face with Him

This is our God, ever so forgiving
So, do not go on a detour anymore
Come back to Him
His wide open arms are waiting for you.

GOD OF HOPE

How many of us Are willing to let go
And ask God to take control of our lives?
Especially we think that God is so far away
And that He is too busy to hear our cries?

Have you ever ponder on His Words and His promises?
Is God really out of sight and out of mind?
If you dare to try God, you will surely see God's hand
For if we call out His name, He will surely hear us!

He is not far from us. He is right here with us.
We believe that our body is the temple of God
And that He never leaves us Nor forsake us
He is more than willing to stretch out His helping hands!

Many of us tend to forget what God has done for us, and
Not giving Glory to God for what He has done in our lives
Instead, murmuring about our prayers not answered
And also being blinded by the circumstances around us!

Since the beginning of time, God has plans for His children
He is a good God, undoubtly His plans are good
Trust Him and He will guide us to embark on His plan
We will see Hope if we will let Him take control of our lives!

FOOCHOW LU MIEN

Lu Mien

spoken in Foochow dialect 

is 

yellow noodles

in thick dark soup

This dark soup is actually made from

the sauce derived from 

cooking the pork 

It gets its authentic taste from bamboo shoots.
We can only get fresh bamboo shoots from Sitiawan fresh market.
 So glad now we can get canned ones quite easily.

To start

we must cook the pork 

in dark soya sauce & some simple ingredients

Pork is then sliced & 

the sauce is used to cook soup by adding stock

To shorten the procedure
very often char siu is used to replace the dark pork belly!

pork belly 

1) marinated in black sauce, soya sauce, sugar, pepper, a little

    5 spice powder & salt

2) pan seared the pork (optional)
3) add the marinate & some water to cook through 

Soup:
stock, can be from ikan bilis or bones
garlic, minced
fresh shrimps
fish cake & cuttle fish, sliced
scallion, cut into 1" length
pork belly, sliced (I replaced some with char siew for colour)
1 egg, beaten
thickener, 2 Tbsp corn flour + water

Optional: (but will give authentic lu mien taste)
bamboo shoot, sliced
cabbage, cut into pieces
dried lily bulb (golden needle in Foochow), soaked & knotted
dried black fungus (mumi). soaked

For added natural flavour (to replace the chicken powder)
suggested by Ding Mee Ling, my very good Fuzhou friend in Sitiawan-
add 2 whole big onions to the soup while boiling the stock

1) fry garlic in oil & add stock, pork stew gravy & bring to a boil
2) add shrimps, fish cake, cuttle fish & sliced stew pork
3) once boiled, add more black sauce to darken the colour
4) add salt, pepper & chicken powder to taste
5) thicken the soup with thickener & stir in beaten egg & scallion
6) cook noodles separately in plain water & put into a serving bowl
7) pour dark soup over & enjoy

Note: This is best eaten with 
           1) chopped garlic in vinegar &
           2) kampong koh chiili sauce

SUGAR BUNS

I have adapted this recipe form

Mandy Ng's Sunny Sugar Bun with Butter Filling

I prefer my bread 

with added oat brans or wholemeal

so

I have replaced part of the flour 

Sugar Buns

Bun:

1 large egg

135g cold milk

250g bread flour, I replaced 25g with oat bran

3g instant yeast

30g sugar

3g salt

30g butter

Filling:

60g butter )

30g icing sugar )

pinch of salt )

15g egg )

60g milk powder ) mix all & leave in fridge until required

1) everything goes into the bread machine, bread dough cycle

2) let proof 1 hour while I prepare the filling

3) divide into 12 portions, and form into balls

4) roll flat each ball & wrap a heaped teaspoon filling into each ball

5) leave on baking sheet to rise for 60min or until double

6) egg wash before sending into the oven

6) bake in preheated oven of 160'C for 20min

FOOCHOW MEAT PAU

Foochow people 

make their Meat Pau different from other dialects

They are generous with the filling

They like to mince the meat 

and

shaped into a ball

wrapped around a piece of egg

You can easily buy this pau from 

any coffee shop in Sitiawan

or 

Pau cottage factory

in Simpang Tiga

a small town in Sitiawan

Foochow Pau

Filling:

140g minced pork

60g big onions, chopped

2 tsp ginger, chopped

1/2 tsp dark soya sauce

1/2 tsp chicken powder

1 tsp soya sauce

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

1/2 tsp chinese wine

1 tsp corn flour

3 Tbsp water

2 hard boiled eggs, quartered

1) Mix all ingredients except water, last item in the list

2) stir thoroughly until it is  very well mixed

3) add water by the Tbsp, stir well until water has been absorbed

4) add the next Tbsp of water and do the same

5) when the last tablespoon of water has been absorbed, leave it in the fridge

6) divide into 8 portions when ready to wrap pau

Pau:

165g pau flour, sifted

25g sugar

13g shortening

90g water

1/2 tsp yeast

1/2 tsp double action baking powder

1) place all ingredients in bread machine, dough cycle

2) let dough rest 1/2 hour

3) divide dough into 8 portions, roll into balls

4) roll flat, place a meat ball in the centre, press in 1 pc egg

5) wrap up & seal

6) place on grease proof paper & leave in steamer

7) let proof for 20min in the steamer

8) steam pau for 20min 

9) leave pau in steamer for 5min before opening cover

SESAME SEED BALLS

Crispy and sweet

you can never have enough

if you do not mind the oil

I have made these several times

with glutinous rice flour, combining both raw & cooked (tang mien)

This time

I replaced some flour with mashed sweet potato

and

I find it softer

without losing its crispiness on the outside

and

overall tastes even better 

Some call it Sesame Seed Ball 

others call it Jin Doi

However you name it

it is simply flour wrapped with filling

coated with sesame seed

and

deep fried

Filling can be either 

red bean paste or

lotus seed paste or

peanut sugar

If you like to try making some, just follow this recipe below:

Sesame Seed Ball

Pastry:

20g tang mien flour

40g boiling water

50g sweet potato, cooked & mashed

100g glutinous rice flour

28g shortening

60g water

1) pour boiling water over tang mien & stir to combine

2) mix all ingredients together and knead until smooth

3) divide into 10 portions, form into balls

4) roll flat & wrap filling according to your liking

5) dip in water & coat with sesame seed

6) deep fry until golden, remove

Filling:

95g peanuts, toasted

40g sugar

1) blend or pulse together & leave aside

CRISPY IKAN BILIS

Ever wonder why some can fry so crispy ikan bilis?

The answer is:

1) type of ikan bilis used 

2) the method  of   frying

I bought the right type of ikan bilis, 

one that is meant for frying snacks

then I

1) rinse the ikan bilis under running water and 

2) fry in heated oil until quite dry

3) remove & heat up the oil again

4) one more time, pour the ikan bilis back to the hot oil

5) remove when the ikan bilis is dry 

6) leave the ikan bilis in kitchen towel to remove excess oil

7) and there you go, Crispy Ikan Bilis

Note:

1) Some like it fried with some groundnuts

2) some like it with sugar & chilli added

Whatever way you like, just do it!

SCALLION PANCAKE

Scallion Pancake

a

popular dessert among the Chinese

It can be crispy 

if 

you do not mind the additional oil added

& 

It can be fragrant of 'wok' 

if you do not mind it a bit burn

when fried under higher heat

The steps are easy 

as follows:

Scallion Pancake

240g all purpose flour

230g boiling water

salt to taste

cooking oil

1.5 cups of chopped scallion

1) pour boiling water slowly into flour, mixing

2) when combined, cover & leave aside for 20min

3) knead to form a smooth dough, cover & leave for 30min

4) divide dough into 3 portions

5) each portion, roll flat, oil the surface & sprinkle salt & scallion 

6) roll up like a swiss roll

7) turn & form the roll into a circle, with ends tucked in

8) roll flat to 1/2" thickness

9) heat pan, oil & put the pancake onto the hot pan

10) cover & allow to cook for 2min, flip over & cook the other side

11) flip over & oil both surface & continue cooking until done

12) serve hot

Note: If you are generous with oil, it will be crispy

BALTIC CRUISE

All flew in from various places: Butterworth, Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur 

and met up with Singapore group 

at Changi Airport

to depart together to Copenhagan

On the day of arrival
full of energy 
we walked round Copenhagan

till late at night
standing in front of the closed Lego shop

Denmark
The House Of Lego

Watch out!

A Pick Pocket Caught In Action

This picture was taken by David Sim while he was in Copenhagan

almost the same time as we were there

He posted the picture on Facebook!

On board the ship

Approaching Stokholm

Special thanks to Bro Daw Ching
for 
waking up at 4am 
to capture the beautiful scene
while
 we were all sound asleep 

See what I bought from Copenhagan: 

SEA CUCUMBER

After soaking 48 hours, cleaning, boiling 90min, & soaking another 24 hours

Finally on the table

crunchy & nice

A TRIP TO CONEY ISLAND

A trip to Coney Island

by Ethan

still in his note book

SHOKUPAN

Shokupan 

is soft and springy

made with

Tang Zhong

& whipping cream 

I have adapted the recipe from Mandy Ng

Tang Zhong

20g bread flour +

100g water - mix well & stir over low heat until slightly thicken

                      and can see the bottom of pot

                      remove from heat & left to cool

Dough

all of the Tang Zhong

10g whipping cream

85g milk

1 large egg

30g butter

6g salt

30g cooked quinoa

280g bread flour

30g brown sugar

4g instant yeast

1) all dough ingredients go into the bread machine according to list

2) dough cycle, 1.5hrs

3) take out & shape into 10 balls

4) arrange on baking tray to rise for 1 hour

5) when ready to go into the oven, brush top with milk & decorate with

    sesame seeds or pumpkin seeds

6) bake in preheated oven @200'C for 15min

METAL BOY IS HERE

Ethan 

our 8 year old grandson

likes to write stories

His recollection

 on stories he read

coupled with his wild imagination

His stories are always action packed

There is never a dull moment

in the story

Much thinking and planning has been done

on the characters

and their behavior

Even their names have been carefully chosen

to create effectiveness

Good attempt for his age

Keep it up Ethan!

'Metal Boy Is Here'

was written when he was 7 years old

PANNA COTTA

Panna cotta is a soft pudding

made with boiled cream,

sugar & gelatin.

Panna cotta is smooth,

with a gently wobble.

It gives a melt-in-the-mouth texture.

Adding cut fruits into the pudding 

or

simply drizzle a sauce over to garnish

I assure you 

it will taste luxurious

& 

looks beautiful

For added colour & flavour

replace some liquid with

fruit puree

Ingredients:

1 tsp gelatin

20g water

160g cream

160g milk

15g sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Method:

1) sprinkle gelatin onto the water

2) heat gelatin water, add cream & sugar (Do not boil)

3) when gelatin & sugar have dissolved, remove from heat

4) add milk, vanilla extract & salt

5) stir in fruits if using

6) pour into moulds or ramskins

7) refrigerate 4 hours to set