Chinese New Year part 11: Lion Dance舞狮

One thing I can't "afford" to miss is the lion dance during the Chinese New Year. Lion dance is regarded as a guardian culture traditionally.

Personally, i think lion dancing is more popular than dragon dancing. (Don't know why, but I guess that dragon dancing needs a bigger space). It is believed that the loud beating sounds of the drums and cymbals can shoo away the evil and bad spirits.

See the thing that the guy is holding?! That's a cymbal. According to the legend, it can be used to chase away the evil spirits.

Lion dancing is a Chinese traditional dance which is also widely perform for opening business nowadays. The lion dance is also claimed to be able to bring fortune for people.

Lion dance is kinda related to Kung Fu and the performers are usually teens from the local kung fu club. Don't be too surprise if you see a little boy performing or beating the drums when the "lion" is on its move!!


A resting "lion". Preparing for the show!

p/s: I need some help here. Actually, I have recorded the whole lion dance and I really feel like sharing. However, I couldn't upload it on my blog. Do you have any idea how to upload it??

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Chinese New Year part 10: Chinese New Year Snacks 新年点心

Kuih Kapit, Kuih Bangkit, various types of cookies, biscuits and cakes...... are another fun part of the Chinese New Year.

Every year, after the reunion dinner, my grandmother will bring out the snacks from the kitchen and put them on the coffee table as servings for the guests. There's a special casing for those "good-looking snacks" so that they would be neatly arranged in it. And me, as usual, will finish the whole box of snacks before the guests come. (A very bad and greedy habit!!! HAHA)


Regarding the kuih bangkit and kuih kapit that I have just mentioned (highly recommended), I got a few tips on how to make them from my grandmother's friends. Of course, nowadays you don't need to spend so much time and energy baking these stuffs. Just a visit to the shopping mall, you will find tonnes of them. However, the process of making is quite fun too!

Kuih Kapit
Ingredients:
125g of rice flour (sifted)
35g plain flour (sifted)
oil (2 grease mould)
155g granulated sugar (ground)
500-625ml coconut milk (from 1 coconut)
3 eggs
2 egg yolks

Method:
1) Combine the sifted ingredients with sugar.
2) Add in coconut milk and all eggs, stir well.
3) Strain into a bowl.
4) Grease a kuih kapit mould by using a piece of muslin cloth dipped into oil. Heat mould over charcoal fire.
5) When hot, pour a little butter onto the mould (lose mould and bake for 30 seconds on each side).
6) Open mould to check if kuih kapit is golden. Remove and fold into 1/4 at once. Press lightly to level surface.
7) Cool and store in an airtight container.


See the kuih kapit moulds up there?! Nowadays they are quite rare, took me a great effort to find them. At last, found it in the Peranakan Museum.



Kuih Bangkit
Ingredients:
510g tapioca flour
2 tablespoons of cornflour
1 grade 'A' egg
140g thick coconut milk
110g castor sugar
a few drops of vanilla essence
2 pandan leaves
(makes 50 pieces)

Method:
1) Fry both types of flour with pandan leaves for 5-7 minutes. Leave to cool, then sieve.
2) Cream sugar and egg until fluffy. Add vanilla essence. Then add thick coconut milk gradually.
3) Set aside 1/2 cup of egg mixture and 1/2 cup of flour.
4) Combine the remaining flour and egg. Knead until well mixed and soft. (If dough is tough, add extra egg mixture and if it's too soft, add extra flour.
5) Roll out dough about 1/2cm thick on lightly floured surface and cut with cutter (into desired shapes).
6) Bake cookies at 180'C for 2 minutes.

A good kuih bangkit will melt in your mouth unlike those hard ones which really get me on my nerves.

Coconut Candy 椰子糖

Mini Pineapple Tarts 迷你黄梨饼


Ribbon Kuih 蝴蝶结饼


Peanut Cookies 花生饼


Sesame Biscuits 芝麻饼


Muruku 印度饼
Although this is an Indian snack, I still don't know why it's so widely-eaten during Chinese New Year. But no doubt, it's tasty.

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Chinese New Year part 9: Ba Gua 肉干- Bee Cheng Hiang 美珍香

Ba Gua 肉干or bakkwa is a famous Chinese delicacy fancied by all. Bakkwa are smoked and roasted pork which are quite similar to the jerky. One of the most popular bakkwa seller in Malaysia is Bee Cheng Hiang 美珍香.


Bee Cheng Hiang outlet in Queensbay Mall, Penang

Sausage (either pork or chicken)
These are quite similar to the Taiwan Hot Dog that I had posted up sometime ago.


Ba Gua/Bakkwa 肉干
Ba Gua or Bakkwa is a Chinese salty-sweet dried meat product which is believed to come from the jerky family. Mostly made of pork. Quite tasty and you can eat is straight away (no problem if you want to heat it). A piece of bakkwa and bread will be a very convenient breakfast for all.

Pork Floss 肉松
This is also my favourite too. I often eat it with congee or with plain bread. Give it a try!

Except floss, bakkwa and sausage, many kinds of snacks can be found in the Bee Cheng Hiang outlets. They have pineapple tarts, mini-sized sausage and so on. Want to know more?! Head to the nearest Bee Cheng Hiang outlet.

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