FUZHOU BRAISED TOFU 香乾

香乾
Fuzhou Braised Tofu
is one of the popular delicacies among the Fuzhous in Sitiawan.

These are only available in the morning in the local markets.

If you are late, get from some of the 'ju chou' restaurants.

It may be served plain after slicing
or
cook Fuzhou Popiah
or
braised with pork or chicken or duck.

These are made with firm tofu,
braising until tender and flavorful!

Fuzhou Braised Tofu

10 cubes of firm tofu, cut half

2 plants scallion (green onions)

80g superior light soya sauce

25g sugar

1/4 tsp maggi seasoning

1/8 tsp salt, to taste

2 Tbsp dark soya sauce

500ml water (more to cover the tofu)

1. combine all seasoning & bring to a boil

2. in a slow cooker, put the whole plant of scallion at the base of the pot

3. arrange the tofu closely together in the pot, layer by layer

4. pour the hot seasoning sauce over the tofu, add more boiling water if necessary

5. simmer but do not boil, for 3 hours

6. let cool when done.

Note: 

1. Can leave the tofu to soak in the hot slow cooker overnight.

    Remove them the next day.

FUZHOU POPIAH 春餅

福州春餅

Fuzhou Popiah

Those days we only have it once a year

i.e. during Spring time 春季

Chinese New Year

Nowadays the popiah skin is easily available

(can get from the local market)

so we tend to have it more often.

Fuzhou Popiah is somewhat like the Nonya Yiu Hu Char

because the basic ingredients & preparation are quite similar

except that Roasted Cuttle fish strips is omitted.

This is the Fuzhou Popiah filling

Fuzhou Popiah
Filling:
1/2 mengkuang, cut in thin strips
1" carrots, cut in thin strips
1 Fuzhou Tofu, cut in strips
some shrimps, shelled
1-2 Tbsp minced pork
1/2 handful bean sprouts
some garlic, smashed & coarsely chopped

Seasoning:
1 tsp oyster sauce
salt & pepper to taste

Wrapping:
10 popiah skin
10 lettuce, leaves, optional
fried shallots, must have!
spring onions, chopped
chilli sauce, optional

Method:
1. heat up kuali, add 1 Tbsp cooking oil
2. fry garlic until fragrant, add minced pork & shrimps to fry
3. add carrots & mengkuang to fry
4. add enough water to cook, until mengkuang is soft & tender
5. when the water is almost dry, add tofu, bean sprouts & seasoning
6. dish up & ready to serve
7. place a sheet of the popiah wrapper on a plate
8. smear some chilli sauce, if used, on the popiah skin
9. line it with lettuce & place some filling to side of the skin & wrap up
10. serve hot or deep fried for crunch.

HONG ZHAO LU DAN

紅糟滷蛋
HONG ZHAO LU DAN

After extracting the red rice wine, 

I usually keep the Ang Chow 紅糟 in bottles

to be used for cooking chicken, pork or mee sua.

I was attracted to Chef Fiona Lau's sharing 2 days ago, "Hong Zhao Lu Dan"

The colour was so bright and red!

So beautiful and appropriate for the coming CNY Celebration!

I have used less Ang Chow

so the colour not as bright as hers.

Nevertheless, the taste is good.

I have to agree with Fiona Lau that it is highly addictive, cannot stop eating ....

Here is her recipe if you are interested:

Hing Zhao Lu Dan

20 small eggs, hard boiled & de-shelled

160-200g red rice wine residue

700g broth (chicken or vegetable)

1 Tbsp dark soya sauce (to make colour more vibrant)

2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp sugar

40g old ginger, sliced

3 Tbsp sesame oil

1. in Medium to low fire, fry ginger slices in sesame oil until fragrant

2. add red residue and fry 2-3min, taking care not to burn it (it will be bitter if burnt!)
3. add broth, salt, soya sauce and sugar
4. add boiled eggs and bring to a boil, turn to low heat and cook for 10min
5. turn off heat and soak eggs for 2-3 hours or overnight before serving 

DOUBLE BOILED FOOCHOW RICE WINE CHICKEN SOUP

Double Boiled Foochow Rice Wine Chicken Soup

best served hot.

I love it because the soup is clear and flavourful

and 

the chicken is tender.

Foochow Rice Wine is made from Glutinous rice,

so it may be cooling, 

as such ginger slices are added when cooking with Foochow Rice Wine.

With slices of ginger added

it helps to expel wind from the body too.

This is recommended 

for ladies during confinement.

Of course,

you can remove the skin from the chicken

so that it is not so oily.

If you are interested,

this is the recipe:

You will need:

1/4 kampong chicken cut into bite size

few slices of old ginger

1/4 cup rice wine

1.5 cup water

1) all ingredients into the double boiler and steam for 2 hours until chicken is tender

2) serve hot

FOOCHOW ZHING DONG PIANG

福州征東餅
Foochow Zhing Dong Piang

In Sitiawan
there are 2 types of common traditional Foochow Biscuits,
namely: Kompiang and Zhing Dong Piang

Kompiang is salty and chewy
whereas
Zhing Dong Piang is sweet and soft.

Both these biscuits
have a hole in the centre of the biscuits.

Those days in Fuzhou, China,
during the World War II
these biscuits were baked in a large earthen ware.

They were then strung together
for the soldiers to bring to the battle field,
by hanging on the neck.

Hence its name, Zhing Dong Piang (War of the East)

If you like to try, here is the recipe....

Zhing Dong Piang

150g water

250g bread flour

3/4 tsp instant yeast

20g sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cooking oil

1) all ingredients into the bread machine, bread dough cycle

     and allow to proof until double, about 50min

2) the dough should be quite sticky. Divide dough into 4 balls

3) poke your finger into the centre of the ball and swirl with your finger inside the hole

4) place the dough on the parchment lined baking tray to proof for another 50min

5) bake in preheated oven 200'C for 20min

6) allow to cool on rack when done

FOOCHOW ANGCHOW JIAN BIANG

福州煎饼

FOOCHOW JIAN BIANG

Recently when I was in Kuala Lumpur

my Brother in Law, Doa Ming

brought us to a Foochow Coffee Shop for breakfast.

It was there that I tasted 

a Foochow Bao 

made of angchow chicken.

I love it so much that I started experimenting,

trying to come out with a better version,

hence this

Foochow Angchow Jian Biang.

It is crispy on the outside,

flavourful on the inside.

I love it.

The filling is juicy and delicious.

Here is the recipe if you are keen.

I started by cooking the filling first.

Filling

(A) 1 Tbsp plain flour

       100ml water

(B) 300g chicken meat, cut into cubes

      100g mengkuang, sliced thinly

      1 Tbsp old ginger, minced

      1 plant Chinese Celery

      2-3 Tbsp cooking oil

      1/2 tsp sesame oil

      2 tsp sugar

      2 tsp angchow

      1 tsp salt

      pepper to taste

Method

1) combine plain flour & water & cook to thicken.

     leave aside until required

2) heat up cooking oil, add ginger & fry until fragrant

3) add sesame oil and mengkuang, continue frying

4) add chicken

5) add angchow and the rest of the seasoning and continue cooking

6) some water may be added if it is too dry

7) when chicken is cooked, add the flour sauce to thicken

8) let cool until required

Bread Dough

150g bread flour

40g cake flour

1/2 tsp salt

30g sugar

1/2 tsp dry yeast

30g water

40g fresh milk

10g cream

40g egg

20g butter

1) all ingredients into the bread machine, bread dough cycle 1.5 hours

2) divide dough into 6-8 balls

3) press flat and wrap the filling

4) place on a parchment to proof until double, about an hour

5) heat up a pan at low heat, and place the buns into the pan, cover it

     Make sure the heat is low so that it will not burn. 

6) when the buns turn golden brown, flip over to cook the other side, cover again.

7) serve warm if you want it crispy

FOOCHOW RED CHOW PORK

Foochow Red Chow Pork

is 

a traditional Foochow dish

served during grand feasts like weddings and birthdays!

The pork belly is cut into chunks

and simmered to tender, not soft!

I have almost forgot about this dish

until my hubby requested.

The ingredients are simple and easy to cook.

If you are interested...

Foochow Red Chow Pork

300g pork belly, cut into bigger than bite size

3-4 slices old ginger

3 Tbsp red yeast residue (chow)

sugar, salt & pepper to taste

1/4 tsp sesame oil, optional

1) heat up some oil in a small saucepan

2) add ginger slices and fry until fragrant

3) add pork and toss & turn until the meat shrinks

4) add chow and mix well, add water enough to cover the meat

5) cover and bring to a boil, allow to simmer until meat is tender

6) add seasoning.

7) serve with steamed rice.

Note:

This dish tastes better if a little more sugar is added 

FOOCHOW SALTED EGG - CHOW LONN

Foochow people love their red rice wine

so much so that

other than cooking with it,

they also preserve vegetables, CHOW CHAI 

and 

eggs, CHOW LONN

with the red rice wine residue or lee.

Many of us like salted egg.
Some like it hard boiled to eat with plain porridge,
others like it smashed up and cooked with porridge
or
steamed with meat

More additions to the list include:
steaming together 3 types of eggs, salted, century and hen egg
and
deep fried salted egg yolk chicken or prawns


This is my grandmother's preparation
of Foochow salted egg, Chow Lonn

This is just duck egg salted with the residue (lee) from red yeast rice wine.
If you soak it longer the egg white will turn pinkist
and the wine taste will be stronger
but
the egg will be too salty

My grandmother is a Hu Chew Noin
She came from Fuzhou,
China

She married and stayed in "San Tiaw Lu", today better known as Simpang Tiga,  Sitiawan. When my grandfather passed away, the youngest uncle was only a toddler.  She single handedly raised up her 7 children, 6 boys and a girl. Although she could not afford to send her children to university education, all of them were able to learn, and master a skill to earn a good living.

Her cooking is more of simple and with inexpensive ingredients.  Nevertheless, all of us grandchildren, including her own children missed the dishes she prepared for us during Chinese New Year celebration. Simple it might be, but it was prepared with much patience and abundance of her love for us.

Here is her recipe if you are interested

Chow Lonn
400 ml water
175-200g salt
5 duck eggs, wiped clean
5-10 Tablespoon wine residue (CHOW)

1) Boil together salt & water
2) leave to cool
3) put eggs in a bottle
4) mix wine residue (Chow) into the cooled brine
5) pour onto the eggs in the bottle & cover
6) the eggs will be ready16-21 days, depend on how saltish you like
7) hard boil to enjoy

Note:
1. chow lonn has a wine taste and is usually enjoyed with plain porridge
2. chow or rice wine residue can be omitted to make plain salted egg.

FOOCHOW LYCHEE PORK

荔枝肉
Lizhi Rou
a traditional dish in Fujian province
and
 loved by the Fuzhou people

In Fuzhou, Lizhi Rou is presented in various forms,
but
basically these are pork meat balls
 in Sweet and sour sauce.

To make the meat balls look like Lychee
the pork is not minced
but
 cut into small pieces
to
 create the uneven sides when fried,
similar
 in appearance to lychee skin

This dish is bright red in colour.
It gets its colour from their signature, traditional rice wine lees or residue.

To let people know that it is Lizhi Rou
Some lychees are used to decorate the sides of the dish
or
stir in canned lychee before dishing up
(make sure not all the lychee get the red colour)

Until now
I am sure you know how to prepare this dish

Marinate pork pieces with fish sauce, sugar, pepper & salt
not forgetting the most important ingredient,
Wine Lees

Tapioca flour or corn flour
together with beaten egg is used to bind the small pieces of pork
to make into balls

These meat balls are then deep fried
and
then cooked in Sweet & sour sauce.

Oops!
Almost forgot, use some fat so that the meat balls can be tender and nice!

Enjoy!

FOOCHOW PEANUT DUMPLING

It is the time of the year again

5th Day of the 5th month of the Lunar calendar

Duan Wu Zei

or

Zhongzi Zei as many prefer to call it


There is a story behind it, as Ellie Lee puts it:

Foochows 

make their rice dumpling with 2 simple ingredients,

glutinous rice & peanuts.

Today in Sitiawan

you can find Foochow dumplings with red bean paste filling

sold throughout the year

My late mother in law 

usually bought one big bundle of 30 dumplings 

to celebrate the occasion

My mom likes to make her own dumplings.

Foochow Dumplings is not readily available in Ipoh where we reside.

It is also the time of the year that all of us girls in the family
sit together to help wrap these dumplings.

If  you are interested 

I would like to share you the following recipe

Foochow Peanut Dumpling

1 kg glutinous rice, soaked overnight or at least 4 hours

200g peanuts, with skin on (boiled until soften)

2 tsp salt

2-3 tsp alkali water

400g red bean paste, divide into 20 balls of 20g each (optional)*

Bamboo leaves & hempstring

soaked in boiling water overnight to soften, cleaned

1. drain rice, add salt & alkali water, mix well

2. mix in 1/2 soften peanuts

3. fold bamboo leaf into a cone, add 1 Tbsp rice

4. put 1 ball of red bean paste in, & cover with more rice

5. fold the leaf to cover the cone & fold in the sides

6. use a hempstring to secure the sides. 

7. cook in a pressure cooker (beans function)

8. when cooked, remember to hang the dumplings up so that it will not be soggy

Homemade red bean paste filling

250g red bean

165g sugar

50g oil

Day 1

1. boil red bean until soft, use pressure cooker

    let cool overnight

Day 2

1. blend the beans until fine

2. fry blended beans with sugar & oil until mixture leaves the side of pan

3. let cool overnight

FOOCHOW WANTON SKIN SOUP

Huchiew Bek Nuk Pui Toong

is 

a soup cooked with dried wanton skin.

Alkali water is used in making the wanton skin.

So, the vegetables becomes soft & tender

when added to this soup

These are large pieces of wanton skin,

purposely cut and dried for cooking this dish.

You can get it from most Sundry shops in Sitiawan

and 

even in some of the shops selling grains & rice in Ipoh

When more wanton skin is added to the soup

it becomes a meal

This is my mom's favourite

Nothing fancy about this dish.

Just a simple soup base 

with pork slices, shrimps and vegetables

FOOCHOW DEA LONN OR OYSTER OMELETTE

Dea Lonn

is a popular Foochow dish in Sitiawan.

You can only find this in a few restaurants that serve traditional dishes.

Many modern restaurants in Sitiawan

have adapted this dish 

to suit the taste buds of the majority 'foreigners' 

who came hunting for authentic Foochow dishes.

By this I mean,

 they add shredded onions, parley, chili & spring onions.

Some even added shrimps!

Originally it was just egg and oyster
fried in a pool of  fuming hot oil!

The fragrance of the crispy omelette
and
the taste of juicy interior was simply irresistible.

It is served hot
straight from the frying pan!

I used this frozen oyster
because I could not get fresh ones.

If you are interested in the recipe:

Dea Lonn

a handful of oyster, cleaned & drained

1 egg beaten

1 Tbsp corn flour

1/2 tsp fish sauce

salt & pepper to taste

4-5 Tbsp oil for frying (the omelette will not absorb all the oil)

1. add seasoning to beaten egg, then beat in corn flour (ok to have lumps)

2. add oyster & mix well, set aside

3. heat oil in a wok to very hot

4. to test oil, drop a little egg into it. If it floats immediately, it is ready

5. pour egg into the hot oil, swirl the pan to allow oil to crisp up the sides
6. when the bottom is golden brown, turn over to cook the other side
7. dish up with a slotted ladle to allow excess oil to drip through.
8. serve hot with chili sauce

FOOCHOW (FUZHOU) RICE CAKE - BA KUI

One special food

of the Foochows or Fuzhou dialects 

is the White Rice Cake,

commonly known as 'Ba Kui' in Foochow

It is only served during Chinese New Year.

This white rice cake is easy to make.

However, many prefer to buy the freshly made ones from the wet markets

or

vacuum packed ones from the supermarkets.

Yet, there are others who prefer to use the authentic dried ones

 imported from Fuzhou, China.

If you like to make from scratch:

White Rice Cake

220g rice flour

220g boiling water

pinch of salt

1. pour boiling water over the rice flour, mix well

2. knead to a smooth paste

3. press the dough into a small bread pan

4. steam for 1-1.5 hrs until cooked

5. let cool completely before slicing with an oiled knife

If using dried rice cake, pour boiling water over a handful of dried rice sticks, 

and leave to soak until soft.

To cook Ba Kui

a handful of rice cakes

4 pips garlic, chopped finely

sliced pork

some shelled prawns

Chinese sausage, sliced thinly 

2 leeks, sliced

vegetable of your choice

4 spring onions, cut

1 egg beaten

Seasoning: mix together

1/2 Tbsp thick soya sauce

1 Tbsp light soya sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp oyster sauce

salt & pepper to taste

Thickener:1 Tbsp corn flour+1 Tbsp water (if required)

1. just before your meal

    fry garlic in 1.5 Tbsp oil & 1 tsp sesame oil

2. add Chinese sausage, pork and prawns

3. next, throw in leeks and other vegetables, stir fry quickly

4. add steamed rice sticks, stir fry & add some water

5. add beaten eggs, cover the pan & cook for a few minutes

6. add seasoning & give it a quick stir

7. add spring onions & stir in thicker if necessary

8. serve immediately

Note:

The ingredients used for frying the rice cakes is not fixed

but up to individual tastes and fancy.

FOOCHOW (FUZHOU) NIAN GAO

Nian Gao in Mandarin
is New Year Cake, by direct translation.

Nian Gao
is a delicacy only available during Chinese New Year.

Foochow (Fuzhou) community
make their Nian Gao
different from other dialects.

It has additional ingredients
like taro (yam), peanuts and red dates.

Unlike traditional Chinese Nian Gao,
these are made with tapioca flour instead of glutinous rice flour.

Foochow like to cook with tapioca flour.
Their noodles Lonn Yen are also made from tapioca flour.

If you like to taste this authentic
Fuzhou Nian Gao
here is the recipe:

Foochow (Fuzhou) Nian Gao

(A) 8 oz yam, shredded

      1.7 oz peanuts, pre-boiled to soften

      some red dates, slit & soak awhile to soften

(B) mix together: 3.5 oz tapioca flour

                             1 Tbsp glutinous rice flour

                             1/2 tsp 5-spice powder

(C) 2.5 oz brown sugar

      1.5 oz white sugar

      6.75 oz water

      0.6 oz oil

      pinch of salt

1. Bring (C) to a boil, add peanuts

2. add yam & bring to simmer until almost dry, do not stir

3. remove from heat, mix in dry ingredients (B)

4. pour into a parchment lined steaming pan

5. arrange some red dates on the top of the cake & steam for 1-1.5 hr

6. let cool completely and chill until required

 Sliced Nian Gao

Pan fried Nian Gao

To serve:
1. slice nian gao into 1/4" thick
2. dip in beaten egg
3. pan fried until soft, serve

FOOCHOW HOON NGAN

Soupy Huchiew Hoon Ngan

is a common staple food

to the Foochows

Hoon Ngan or Beehoon

comes in 2 sizes

Thick one is used here in this traditional dish,

whereas the thin ones are commonly used by other dialects

To the non Foochows

it may not be as popular as the Foochow Mian Sian

but 

it is surely welcomed in most Foochow homes

Its pinkish colour

comes from the little Foochow Rice Wine residue

which is added while cooking this traditional dish

My mother is very particular of the type of beehoon used.
She insists that this beehoon from Fijian, China
is good
because it does not break easily
and
able to remain in shape when soaked in the soup for long hours!

During Festive occasions,
My late mother-in-law usually cooked a big pot
and left on the counter
for us to dish out as much as we want!

As the family members came home at different hours
for the Celebration,
the last group was still able to get its share of
delicious hoon ngan!

Indeed,
this is particularly popular
for gathering of large group of people
who come in different timing
and
yet able to enjoy a bowl of warm hoon ngan.
(although not steaming hot, still tastes nice)

Cooking this Hoon Ngan is no fuss at all.
Just cook it as you will when cooking any type of noodles
with added
Foochow Rice Wine Residue
to give its pinkish colour

FOOCHOW AH OO JIOK

Fuzhou people in China celebrate
 'U Kou Jei' 拗九节 ,
also known as
'How Lon Jei' 孝顺节 

on the 29th day of the 1st month

in the Lunar calendar

世界福卅人才有的节日.. 

拗九节又称后九节,孝順节. 在我国的福卅同郷已鮮少庆祝，可能也忘記了”孝順粥”的味道。

“尊敬老人，孝顺父母”是中华民族优良的传统美德。
我呼吁全马的同鄕每年农历正月廿九日也一起来庆祝“拗九节”。

百善孝为先，㊗天下父母身体健康，阖家幸福！
愿天下的子女都能常回家看看。

On this Festive day, every household will cook 

'U Kou Jiok'  拗九粥 or 'Ah Oo Jiok' 阿烏粥

'Jiok' is porridge,
and U kou sounds like dirty
in Foochow dialect.

It is cooked with 

glutinous rice, brown sugar, groundnuts, red dates, raisins & dried longan.

This porridge is offered to ancestors, and

given to friends & relatives.

Married daughters will bring a bowl of this porridge

to present it to her parents as a sign of filiapiety.

'Kou' 九 in Foochow is 9

The Foochow people believe that the number 9 is bad luck

so the porridge is presented to people whose age

 has the number 9 , 明九 (ming kou) e.g.9 yrs old, 19, 29 etc

or 

hidden 9, 暗九 (ang kou) e.g. 18 yrs old, 27, 36 etc

to ward off evil or bad luck for that particular year!

As such, olden days Foochow believe that 

it can help to ward off evil,

kick out poverty

and 

bring luck to the person receiving it.

The tradition started from the story

目连救母

Mulian 目连 ，a peasant girl

brought food for the mother who was in jail.

To prevent the jailer from confiscating the food again

she sprinkled a handful of black sesame seeds onto the bowl of porridge

to make it look black and dirty.

Hence the name, 'Ah Oo Jiok'

'Oo' 烏 in Foochow is black

When asked what was it that she brought,

she told him it was 'Oo Kou Jiok'

'Oo Kou' sounds like 垢 in Foochow
meaning dirt!

The jailer let her go

thinking that the poor peasant girl
had nothing better to bring than the dirty porridge!

My mom is very particular about this porridge.
She insists all of us, married daughters
to bring a bowl for her on this
29th day of the 1st Lunar month.

She likes to have an hard boiled egg in this porridge
The egg, which signifies peace, further enhances
the meaning of this porridge! 

Foochow sisters out there,
if you are interested, try this recipe

Foochow Ah Oo Jiok

50g peanuts, boiled to soften

110g glutinous rice

25 pcs red dates

50g raisins

30g dried longan

2 heaped Tbsp brown sugar

1) to make porridge, bring to a boil with sufficient water, 

    all the above ingredients except sugar

2) let simmer until rice is soft, add brown sugar, sweetened to taste

3) serve warm or cold

Taiping Foochow Association

Sitiawan

FOOCHOW YU PAIN

Foochow Char Yu Pain

is 

none other than the sweet and sour fish

commonly served in restaurants.

It is my grandson's favorite!

He loves the thick. sweet & sour sauce

and

the thick slices of fried fish!

Simple it may look
but the skill in mastering the consistency of taste 
to your individual liking
is what it matters.

Some like it sweet
some like it sour
so this dish is cooked to suit individual taste buds

Do not worry,
just a bit of this and that
and 
you will soon be there!

Char Yu Pain

7-8 slices of white fish fillet

2-3 Tbsp tapioca or corn flour
oil for deep frying fish

1 big onions, quartered

1 chili, cut (optional)

1 tomato, quartered

1 spring onions, cut into 1" length

few slices of old ginger

2-3 Tbsp tomato sauce

1/4 cup water

few slices of carrots

1 tsp sugar

salt & pepper to taste

sauce thickener: corn flour+ water

1) marinate fish slices with salt & pepper

2) heat oil for deep frying

3) coat fish slices into tapioca or corn flour & fry until golden

4) remove & discard oil from wok

5) heat up 1 Tbsp oil & fry ginger, onions & cut chili until fragrant

6) add tomato sauce, carrots, water & tomato pieces
7) add sugar, salt & pepper to taste
8) mix in thickener to thicken the gravy
9) add fried fish pieces & spring onions, toss & dish up
10) enjoy

FOOCHOW EIGHT JEWEL RICE

Eight Jewel Rice

八宝飯

when spoken in Foochow dialect is

either

"Bei Koh Bhon' 八菓飯 meaning 8 fruits rice 
or
"Bei Po Bhon" 八宝飯 meaning 8 treasure rice

is a popular dish during Festive Seasons and Celebrations Dinners

Basically this is just

a bowl of glutinous rice topped with some dried fruits!

Any choice of 4 to 5 types or even more
from the following list will do:

soft boiled lotus seeds, cooked gingko nuts, roasted groundnuts,

dried longan, dried golden lime, red dates,

barley pearls, melon seeds, raisins,
sweet winter melon strips,

 green & red cherries (for colour) 

& shredded red plum strips ( for mild sour taste)  ...........

To break the monotony of the thick layer of rice,

and to add some colour,

a layer of mashed yam (oor nay) or golden sweet potato may be added 
as an in between layer within the rice portion

Foochow Eight Jewel Rice

Ingredients:

1) 2 cups glutinous rice, rinsed, 

                and soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight

2) 150g yam, a) sliced & steamed until cooked

                   b) while still hot, add 35g sugar & 7g cooking oil and mash until smooth
                   c) add some boiled water if necessary
                   

3) choice of at least 4 types from the list

    - dried fruits, chopped or cut

    - leave the soft boil nuts whole

    - groundnuts or walnuts, roasted & ground, to be added upon serving
             

Method:

1) steam glutinous rice, use enough water to cover the top of rice, for 35min, until cooked

2) stir in 8g cooking oil & 90g sugar (to taste), mix well and leave to cool
3) sprinkle some water on chosen dried fruits & steam for 5min to soften

4) spread the steamed dried fruits onto the base of a medium size bowl or 5 small ones

5) add a layer of rice, alternate with mashed yam

6) topped with another layer of rice, press in and level
7) sprinkle some water on the rice and steam on high heat for 10-20 min 

8) to serve, overturn the bowl onto a serving plate

9) topped with some chopped groundnuts & serve immediately

   

The softened dried fruits are arranged at the bottom of a metal bowl
before adding the steamed rice

Once over turned on a serving plate
the fruits are on top




If you prefer
all dried fruits can be mixed together 
before putting at the base

FOOCHOW DEA PIANG - OYSTER CAKE

Dea Piang in Foochow 
is

Oyster Biscuits

Fuzhou
is rich in sea food
Oyster is abundant, big and juicy ones

Big ones are used to make Dea Piang,
and Dea Lonn (Oyster Pancake)

While the smaller ones are used to cook noodles
and make soups

In Malaysia,
oysters are scarce and expensive

 Foochow here often replace it with

soft shelled or white Shrimps 

However, the Foochow people in Sitiawan
still use small oysters 
to make the Khor Ta Au (tofu soup)
or traditional soup noodles (char ju mian)

Traditionally Dea Piang is made from Soya bean pulp

quite a tedious preparation

but if you get to taste it

you will know it is different from

those sold in town

which are made from flour only

I want to express my gratitude to my sister in law, Pauline 
for sharing with me 
her family's traditional recipe 

Dea Piang

50g soya beans soaked overnight, blended with 

150g water

1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup glutinous flour
1/2 tsp salt & pepper to taste
spring onions, chopped
70g osyter or shrimps, marinate with sugar, salt & pepper

60g ground meat, marinate with salt & pepper (optional)

Oil for deep frying

Method:

1) combine soya bean pulp with the rest of the ingredients
2) leave aside while you prepare the wok

3) heat up the flat base ladle in oil

4) scoop some soya bean batter into the heated flat base ladle

5) put 2 oyster or 2-3 prawns, spring onions & a small meat ball onto the batter
6) pour another scoop of batter on top of the filling

6) deep fry in the hot oil

7) lightly shake the ladle & the cake will come off in one piece

8) continue frying until golden

9) do the same for the rest of the batter

10) serve hot with chili sauce

Flat base ladle