CNY favourites

'Kam' in Chinese sounds like gold and what can be more auspicious than that. So, you'll see these at homes, offices, shops and just about everywhere during this festival. We love these miniature 'kam' about the size of ping pong balls. They are super sweet, very fragrant and less fibrous than their bigger cousins. Yummy.

These were my mum's cny favourite and we always have it during the festival. When young, this, to me was a special candy we could only get during cny and didn't realised it actually was a fruit. It was only much later in my life that I finally got to taste persimmon in its fresh state and by then I was already fiercely loyal to its dried version.

Dried figs. Not a very traditionally cny fare but I found this rather fresh dried fig recently and fell in love with it. This sundry shop keeper said they only have them during the cny period. Normally, the dried fig we get are very much drier and harder and can only be used in cooking soups but this, when washed, can be eaten as is or serve in salad thinly sliced.

Another must-have for the coming lunar new year.

What would we do without these sausages? Can you imagine clay pot rice without these?

Am I just being biased when I think that these Chinese sausages know no peers where taste and texture are concerned?

The simple act of steaming these on top of cooking rice would filled the whole kitchen with its wonderful distinct aroma. I could just eat these with boiled rice.

And to me, they meant more than just another new year's food.

They bring memories of the time we were in Seattle many, many years ago in summer, so it was long after the Chinese new year festival.

K, myself and two of our children - a six-years-old and a baby were there for about 3 weeks when K did his training.

After a few days of steaks, potatoes, pizza and pasta, I just got so homesick for rice and anything Chinese!

Mentioned over a phone conversation with Mee Fung who was in LA and she immediately sent through the post a small rice-cooker packed with a bag of rice and guess what?... yes, two packets of these gorgeous sausages and what could have been more Chinese than these.
I carefully rationed these precious commodities to last our entire stay in Seattle. To me, that was the ultimate comfort food then.

And I thank God for sisters!

This was not the family favourite until recent years when I started making it into chips. Now they couldn't get enough of arrowroot chips (I deep-fried more than 6 kg of these for the last cny). I still prefer arrowroot stew with chicken, Chinese sausage and leek but not many share my sentiment.

Here are but a few of our cny favourites and the list can go on and on. They are the little things that help make the festive season so special and colorful.

Jo