Where is the birthday cake and the moon cakes?

Sorry no birthday cake. In my last post I ended with a photo of a candle on a macaron.  That was what I gave to my step brother, Vic on his birthday. Where is the birthday cake? Good question! Vic’s favorite cake is baked cheese cake so that was the first thing I did when I came home after attending the Demo on making Macs. (I will share with you in my next post.)  I could not find the recipe that I have used before so I found a new one at allrecipes.com  It looks easy and I followed it to the tee.  The result was disappointing! I do not think it is the recipe. I think it is my oven misbehaving. Guess what, my cheese cake had a burnt top before it is cooked.

So now what? Sometimes, when you are a desperado, you could come up with some clever ideas. Haha, I’ve some macarons in my fridge so I decided to let Vic blow the candle on a mac instead. I got to be creative when I have no birthday cake at the last minute. It worked out fine. hehe.

The three of us, me, my mum and my Quay Lo, each made a dish for Vic’s birthday dinner. My mum made no fish paste yong tau foo, my Quay Lo made Kurma prawns and I stir fried some butter garlic shimeji mushrooms and asparagus.

I think Vic enjoyed himself and was pleased with what we have installed for him.  Before he called it a night, I gave his a personal moon cake in a grand packaging. His favorite is the tradition lotus paste with egg yolk. 

Actually that was the the birds nest box. Yes, double boiled bird nest with red dates and rock sugar was the dessert for the evening. It has been quite a while since I had bird nest and it was delicious. Oooo but cannot eat so often, too expensive lah! 


After a wonderful time spent together, it is time to go home for Vic and Jeanie. As I send them to the door, I handed him another box of moon cakes to bring home to my nephews and niece. 

Then after half an hour, I received a phone call from my Jeanie. She said, “Yee Ku (2^nd sister-in-law), when I reached home, your nephew Calvin saw his dad’s personal moon cake and he asked which shop offered such an elaborate moon cake packaging? I told him it is from Quay Po Cooks. Then, when he checked out the BIG box of moon cakes you gave them, he said, why these moon cake box so light?” Before she went further, I already burst our laughing. OMG!  When he opened each and every little box, there is no moon cake inside!!  Then I realized, I have given them the wrong box, the one that I am supposed to throw away! I laughed SO HARD until all my intestines were twisted. What a way to end a happy night!! When I told my Quay Lo what happened, he shook his head but I knew what that means. “She is LUCY again!” Can you imagine if I have given that box with no moon cakes inside to one of his clients? OOOO EMBARRASSED!! I think next time, when he asked me to arrange anything for his clients, I better tell him this, “Don’t count on Lucy, Honey.” LOL!

Of the three dishes above, I think I will share my mum’s recipe with you first. Once my Quay Lo gives me the recipe for his korma prawns, I will post it. His version of korma prawns tasted a little Indian and a little "Mat Salleh". The flavor was unforgettable.


No fish paste Yong Tau Foo 

Ingredients:
12 small shitake mushroom, soaked and squeezed dry
2 red capsicum, cut into small pieces
3 pcs tau foo, cut into half and sliced 3/4 through the center

2 tbs sunflower oil

2 tsp chopped garlic

oil for frying the stuffed mushrooms, capsicum and tau foo

1/4 c chopped spring onion for garnishing

Method:

Heat oil in wok and fry all the stuffed mushrooms, capsicum and tau foo till filling is cooked and set aside. Heat 2 tbs sunflower oil and put in the chopped garlic and stir fry till fragrant. Pour in the mixture of sauce and let it simmer till thicken. Return all  the stuffed mushrooms, capsicum and tau foo in the work and coat them properly with the sauce and garnish with spring onion and serve. 

Ingredients for the fillings:
300gm minced pork
2 florets wood ear soaked and chopped
3 medium shitake mushrooms, soaked, squeezed dry and chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 egg
3 tsp corn starch
1 tsp ground white pepper
2 tsp maggie chicken stock 


Method: 
Mixed all the above throughly and let it marinate for 30 mins.


Ingredients for the sauce:
2 tbs oyster sauce
2 tbs hoi sin sauce
4 tbs water
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs sesame oil


Method:
Mix all the above and set aside for later use.

Yong Tau Foo - Featured Recipe in Group Recipes

According to Wikipedia, this dish originated in the early 1960s in a restaurant called "Chew Kuan" as "yong tau foo" stuffed with meat paste of fish and pork and that's how this dish earned its name.  Yong tau foo means stuffed bean curd.  Later, when people become more creative and started to stuff vegetables and even "yau char kwai" (Chinese oil stick) , they will still call the dish "yong tau foo". 

My Mum’s yong tau foo and Hakka yong tau foo is different.  Hakka "yong tau foo calls" for mince pork and salted fish in the fish paste.  My Mum's style of yong tau foo only use fish paste and she prefers to serve it dry with toucheo gravy.  You can serve "yong tau foo" in a number of ways.  It can be served in a clear consommé soup with or without noodles, with Curry Laksa or with “Choo Cheong Fun” (rice noddle roll). 

I love the elastic texture of the fish paste and the toucheo gravy makes is so flavorful.  I can eat at least 10 pieces of the "yong tau foo" all by myself.  LOL!

Ingredients:

½ kg fish paste (pollock fish)

½ cup corn starch

1 ts salt

½ cube chicken stock (mashed - without MSG)

½ ts white pepper

½ yellow capsicum5
 ladies fingers

½ orange capsicum

5 tofu pok

1 medium ridged gourd

5 red chilly

Salt and pepper to taste

1 small bowl of salt water (used to smoothen the fish paste filling)

1 tb chopped garlic

2 heap tb toucheo (yellow bean sauce)

2 ts sugar

Method for fish paste:

Cut up the fish into ½ inch cubes. Mix above ingredients except salt and chopped for about 2 to 3 minutes. Form the paste into a ball land toss it on the chopping board till you feel the paste is thick and elastic.  The finished paste should be smooth with no solid pieces of fish.  Put the ball of paste in a bowl and chill in the fridge for about and hour. 

Method to prepare the tau foo poks, chillies , capsicums and egg plants:

Clean all the above. For the egg plant, sliced into about ½ inch thick and slit in the middle (for stuffing). For the chillies, discard the seeds and slit in the middle and pat dry with paper towels. For the tau foo poks, poke an opening at the top surface with your finger (for stuffing). For the capsicums, quarter them and discard the seed. Set aside.

Method of stuffing and cooking:

Stuff the fish paste into the green chillies, tau foo poks, capsicums and sliced egg plants using a butter knife.  Dip butter knife into the bowl of salt water and then smoothen the fish paste. Pan-fried the  yong tau foo lightly with some cooking oil and set aside.  Heat up some oil in a wok and stir-fry the chopped garlic until light brown or fragrant. Add the taucheo (yellow bean sauce) and sugar and stir a little.  Add water and bring to boil.  When the sauce thickens, add the yong tau foo into the wok and stir well. Serve hot.