Home-Cooked this Chinese New Year

Since we couldn't balik kampong this year (because my mother-in-law was rendered immobile), it meant that there would be less (probably none) of eating at restaurants and more of (probably only) eating at home this year compared to any other year.

So, home-cooked this year it is then.  Here are just some of the dishes I cooked (and ate) this Chinese New Year (at home)...most of which I've made before and that's because CNY is not the time to dabble in dishes you're cooking for the first time.  Best to stick to what you know and what you've cooked before to avoid any untoward kitchen disasters! ;P  It also include some dishes that were outsourced.

#1 - Yee Sang

As usual, no CNY is complete without the customary tossing of yee (fish) sang (raw) for fortune and growth in the year ahead.

This year's yee sang (contributed by my sister-in-law) was a fruit yee sang with no raw fish to cater to my mother-in-law's restricted diet.

A little presentation by my sisters-in-law before tossing...nice? ^_~  Actually, there were more than six of us but we could only fit 6 pairs of chopsticks in the presentation...haha! :D

And as with any yee sang, the tossing ritual is a must.


The well-tossed yee sang ready to be devoured. ^.^

#2 - Poon Choi

My sister-in-law also contributed (as in bought) this poon choi (from Dragon-i) for one of our CNY dinners. Poon choi is one of the most well-received, not to mention convenient, dish in any potluck gathering for its variety in one pot.  This 18-ingredient poon choi consisted of sea prawns, roast chicken, pork balls, pork skin, sea cucumber, fish maw, mushrooms, abalone, dried scallops, dried oysters, pork trotters, fried beancurd, golden money bags, black moss, yam, white radish, Chinese cabbage and broccoli.

#3 - Fried Wantan

Spring rolls (and Chinese dumplings) are eaten for wishes of wealth and prosperity.  Well, my fried wantans look like spring rolls too, don't you think?  I've made these fried wantans (a signature dish of mine) before for a few CNYs in Ipoh.  I've not made these for the last couple of years as the preparation of the filling is time consuming as it needs quite a bit of slicing and chopping.  But the result of biting into a crispy, freshly fried wantan is worth every bit of work and it's always a well-received dish at any festive dinner table.

I made these fried wantans again on another day for our own consumption....and made extras for my neighbours too.

#4 - Honey Roasted Chicken Wings & Paprika Roasted Potatoes

Chicken is another dish you'll find on the reunion dining table though it's usually steamed whole.  But I don't do whole chickens as I have no such skills in chopping the chicken.  So, I resort to chicken pieces and I've made countless roast chicken recipes before, be it chicken wings or thigh, and roast potatoes too with different seasonings.  Though predominantly more suited for a western festive meal, it can work for a Chinese meal too depending on the seasoning you choose.  It's good to consider cooking something in the oven as that will free up the stove for other dishes that need to be cooked.

Both the roast potatoes (and chicken wings) were made with less charring in mind since my extended family members get freaked out with overly darkened bits.

#5 - Steamed Chinese Silver Pomfret?...erm, not quite

Yu or fish is a must for CNY as it symbolises surplus wealth.  And, of course, steaming it whole is the usual way to go.  When I was at the wet market staring at a pretty huge tau tai cheong (Chinese silver pomfret), my regular fish hawker offered to sell it to me cheap cheap, she said (well, her cheap cheap meant it was still over RM100 and I dared not ask her how much exactly).  She said pomfret is very expensive this year (and by that she meant Chinese silver or white/silver pomfret, not black pomfret, of course).  So, no, it didn't make it to the reunion table this year...just far too costly.

#6 - Prawns in Dark Soy

Of course, you need to include a dish that makes you go hee hee har har for more happiness in the new year. This year, the (fairly) large prawns I got cost about RM3 for one.  With prawns this size and the price, I allocated only one per person.  This prawns in dark soy dish is pretty straight-forward to make (I've cooked it for the Ipoh dinner table before) and it's one of my sister-in-law's favourite way of having prawns (mine too).

  #6 -  Braised Mushrooms with Abalone

Another auspicious dish is braised mushrooms with abalone for longevity and good fortune.  The easiest is to use canned abalone (they aren't cheap either at more than RM100 a can).  I added some canned button mushrooms as well.  My sister-in-law made her version of braised mushrooms with fish maw too.

I cooked this again on another day to use up the other can of abalone that my sister-in-law gave me and passed some to my neighbours too.

#7 - Stir-Fry Vegetables


My sister-in-law cooked some vegetables of baby green beans....


.....and bok choy.  Another sister-in-law also contributed Stir-Fried Lettuce and Luncheon Meat Omelette.

#8 - Bacon & Lap Cheong Fried Rice

I made two types of fried rice, one was the bacon fried rice and the other, lap cheong fried rice (shown above) just because I ran out of bacon.  These were just some of my contributions (some of which I cooked again for our own family dinners)...and if you're wondering why all the food are photographed in take-away containers, that's because they had to be transported to where my mother-in-law was recuperating due to her immobility.

Having potluck and eating at home have its perks in that you can mingle and linger to chit chat but, at the same time, it's also tiring to cook.  So much so that when my friends suggested another potluck get-together, I had to graciously decline as I reckon I've done quite enough of cooking for the few days. :P