Daily Menu

Tong Sui .....

Red beans with sago and tang yuan

Swabian Pasta - Spaetzle (Spätzle)

Spätzle

This is a very typical swabian comfort food - fresh homemade egg pasta. 
In 'swabianland', the variations are wide.  It is served as side dish to roasts as well as a main dish, eaten with a hearty sauce which is almost a staple to children. The Swabians being 'Wet Eaters', the spätzle is sometimes fried crispy and then dunked with a sauce or simply with melted butter.  Not forgetting KässSpätzle which is with melted cheese, Leberspätzle which is with fine grounded liver and the very down to earth Linzen (lentils) spätzle.  

Spätzle is culture !             

Although it is easier to buy readymades, there is something special about making it from scratch at home.   They are easy, fun to prepare (sometimes messy) and satisfying.  





Although I have a Spätzle press which I doubled as potato ricer, I still prefer to use a slotted wooden chopping board and a dough scrapper.   Even a chopping board and the back of a long knife will do as well.

Daily Menu

POMELO 

This large ancestor of the grapefruit signifies abundance, as the Chinese word for pomelo sounds like the word for "to have."

 

Pomelo, avocado, carrot in light mayo dressing, topped with radish and red beets sprouts.    Accompanied by buttered 'spring schrimps (dragons)' dressed with balsamic and argan oil.

Daily menu

Chicken (Jelly) salad

Chicken forms part of the symbolism of the dragon and phoenix. 

Chinese phoenix is an immortal bird whose rare appearances signify peace and prosperity, good marriage and the coming together of families.

Baked chicken, deboned and shredded. Arranged in a deep bowl with tomato and crunchy pickled gherkins and then smoothered in own juice which was flavoured with wine and vinegar.

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The next few days, I will be posting some typical dishes which are served during Chinese New Year (Spring Festival as the mainland Chinese refer)  to usher in wealth, happiness, and good fortune. Several of the CHINESE FOOD names are homophones for words that also mean good things.

 

PROSPEROUS FISH

The symbolism linked with eating fish during the New Year stems from its name in Chinese, yu, which sounds like the words for "rich" and "abundance" and it is believed that eating fish will help your wishes come true in the year to come. Added symbolism is achieved by cooking the fish whole, with head and tail intact.  

Playing with food

Easy carves with a fruit knife

A mandarin and shrunken thai (white) aubergine.

Note:  should have applied lemon juice to the aubergine immediately to stop browning.   

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Sticky black rice and split beans with coconut milk



Instead of the usual black rice with coconut milk, split beans are added to tease the nuttiness of the black rice.

Happy New Year

 

               HAPPY NEW YEAR