This is a new Chinese New Year cookie recipe I invented for 2010. I didn't know how to name it so I just name it as it because this cookie is baked in a pizzelle maker. It stays crispy after it's cold and it stays that way which I like because I didn't want to bake or toast it again. This was a recipe I accidentally created last year but it was a plain version. For this year, I added pandan paste and additional white sesame seeds. Since the majority of the flour used was rice flour, to me it tasted like rice cookie with the fragrant of coconut milk, sesame seeds and Screwpine leaf (pandan). Edda loved this and has been asking for it everyday.
This is a pretty common Chinese sweet soup in Malaysia. I know I didn't like this soup when I was little or when I was back in Malaysia. It is just not my thing especially the lotus seeds and lily buds, not something that youngster would like. But as I got older, my taste bud changed as I am more into healthy food these days or food that would provide benefit to my body as to the opposite. I came into this soup again and the benefits of drinking this simple soup really changed my mind about this soup. This soup is said to be supporting heart, nourish kidney, fight memory loss, insomnia, loss of appetite, nourish brain especially for students or white collar workers who need to use brain to think a lot and anti-aging. I believed in Chinese medicinal soup for prevention and overall body wellness so I guess I will cook this sweet soup frequently from now on. Yeah, I thought my girls wouldn't like this soup but surprisingly they both loved it, even finishing all the lotus seeds, longan, wolfberries and lily buds I gave them. I seriously thought they wouldn't eat the lotus seeds and lily buds like when I was young.
We loved Vietnamese fried spring rolls (Cha Gio). I loved the texture and crispiness of fried rice paper, it added a touch of difference from the usual fried Chinese spring rolls or egg rolls. It was quite pricey to order it in a restaurant as it costs about $2 a piece. So, I decided to make it at home. I got to put more ingredients in my filling as usually what we got at a restaurant was filled with minimal ingredients. It was definitely a treat but I hated that my hair smelled of fried oil afterward.
I love this canned chickpeas, it provides such a convenient for me. I have since used it in stir-fried, my version of Japanese curry and baked it as snack. Sharing with you the crispy snack version. You can create your own seasoning mix for the chickpeas as well. A healthy and easy snack for your afternoon.
While shopping at the Asian market, I saw this interesting dried tofu knots. It looked like the dried beancurd sticks but tie in a knot. I wanted to buy but hesitated because I never eaten or cook with this before thus I passed it up. Then, months ago while spending a night at my friend's house, I was introduced to this by her mother in-law. I learned a few cooking tips from her MIL as well and she told me I only need to soften this with cold water and not the hot water. She made Bak Kut Teh (Malaysian Herbal Pork Ribs Soup) with this tofu knots and I had a chance to try it. Needless to say I loved it as I love anything made with tofu, as it is healthy! So, recently while shopping at the Asian market in Denver, I bought few packets of this to cook at home. This is good as a side dish for steamboat/hotpot too.
