A Taste of Time with all things Chinese

LOVE sung by the late Nat King Cole

Today is the last day of the Lunar New Year celebration. Chinese folks here and all over the world would celebrate this day with more feasting of good food with their families and close friends. Being a Christian all my life, I never quite get to celebrate it in full swing. As Chinese New year is also about traditional belief, old chinese culture of filial piety, of respect for others, and alongside with prayers and burnt offerings to the deities of Chinese belief.

Most people think that Chinese belief are a religion. I see this as a practice and a hand-me-down of a set of rules and must-do from one generation to another. Not many people now follow these practices. But some really go to great lengths to practice it.

My mom always tells me "We are Christians. We cannot pray to our ancestors or offer burnt offerings. Just follow the feasting part will do. And have respect for others who are non-Christians. Especailly your inlaws. Do anything they ask of you, minus the prayer part, offering of incense and burning of offerings."

So all these years, I played the role of a dutiful wife to Benny, a respectful daughter in law to my mother in law and an obedient child to my parents. Because I believe that despite being a Christian, I am still very much a Chinese.

My mom told me as the eldest Daughter in law, it is my duty to cook and serve my inlaws. In the begining of the early years, I can't cook at all. And I so thankful that my late father in law was so forgiving and he did all the dishes for me. Along the way, I stood by his side, helping him to prep the dishes and learn a thing or two from the old man.

And every year when I cook and prepare the feast for the family, I am reminded of him. Of how he would cook and prepare the meals. I have fond memories of him. Unfortunately none of his children are interested in cooking or prepping food. I was able to learn much from him.

This year our Reunion Eve Dinner was prepared at my new studio. Since I wanted to keep it 'halal', I chose recipes that does not have wine, pork or lard oil. Here's what I cook :



Because my mom in law was a vegetarian, I had another section just for her. Its a vegetarian steam boat pot set aside with veggies to cook and dip into



Then on the First day of CNY, we had our first meal with my mom in law. And every year, its the same food. A big steam boat pot with Napa cabbage, fish maw, fish balls swimming in chicken stock. Side dishes are braised sea cucumbers, chicken, steamed prawns.

Then we went home to change..and went to my mom's place for dinner. My mom is no longer fit to cook for so many people, so my aunt took the liberty to order food by a catering company.

This is what I mean..Chinese New Year is now all too modern. People stop cooking for families reunion dinners. In due time, no one understands the true meaning of what Chinese New Year was meant to be. Just like Christmas.

Some one ask me why I can be bothered to cook such an elaborate feast to serve the family. I find great joy to do this. Even my mom ask me.."you can just order the food, why labour over it and fuss up the whole kitchen just to cook for us?". Then Benny told her "It gives her great joy and she enjoys doing it. Plus, home cooked food are tastier, less msg, salt too."

Benny knows me too well. And with each feast I cook for the family, its always him who decides what goes on the table. In a way, you can say we planned the menu together. After all, we are feeding families closed to our hearts. The people we loved and continued to love.

This is what I cook on the 7th day of Chinese New Year..also known as the Birthday of Men or 人日. Every year without fail, I would cook and invite my parents, my sister, her hubby and my niece for this. This year, Benny invited his friend and wife and I included my cousin too. Because she stays only a few blocks from our place.

In the dishes shown, 2 of them are Seok Buay's most priced recipes. The ultimate dish was the French Seafood soup.



Today..no feasting. Because its a monday and everyone is either in school or working.

If you want the recipes for what I have cooked, go to Culinary of Fame to get it. Or if you are already a member at my KC Forum, find it there too.

Enjoy and may you have a joyous, happy year of the Dragon..filled with the abundance of Good Healthy, Love, Prosperity and Happiness.

A Tribute to my Mentor

My Saviour, My God, Written and performed by Aaron Shust


When I started Kitchen Capers forum back in July 2004, my mentor and good friend, Seok Buay taught me how to cook this delicious and most delightful French soup. I told her back then that this dish will be the FIRST recipe I will share online at the forum.

And since then, I have not stop sharing recipes online. Whether its at my forum or at other forums which I visited often.

Yesterday I cook this again for our family's lunch at home.

When I was cooking this soup, memories came flooding back to me. I was tearing all the time. Because I was reminded again, how much I loved her and how much I missed her.

When people talk about things in their life that pauses them to think about life. I could only think about food and about how Seok Buay has made an impact in my life. She left behind her legacy to share with anyone, everyone, any where and every where. She selflessly shared with me the deepest secrets to good food. Which is actually just LOVE, TIME and whole lot of PATIENCE. And these 3 key ingredients makes the best of everything you put out on the dining table.

This soup may not be cooked in the way it is explained here. If you have learnt to cook this from a French method, this method differs greatly. I fused both Western and Chinese methods of cooking to perfect this soup.

Its alot of work, alot of time and effort. But the end result was that our guests came back for seconds. It was so satisfying that they ask for a bigger bowl to have the soup and wouldn't stop at 2 bowls.

Enjoy..!



French Seafood Soup
Recipe by the late Mdm Tan Seok Buay
Re adapted by Gina Choong

Serves 10
Ingredients:
4 carrots(cut)
2 large white onions(diced finely)
8 large red tomatoes

4 flower crabs(medium size)
1kg Mussels
1 kg white clams
1 kg of large King Prawns
1 kg of squids
500g scallops
1kg salmon fillet
2 bottles of White Wine

4 litres water

Herbs/Spices: **
10 pcs of Bay Leaves(dried ones are fine)
1.5 tbsps each of the following:
Ground Thyme
Rosemary Leaves
Ground Oregano
Sage Leaves
Ground Majoram
Ground Black Pepper
Cajun

Method:
1. Clean and chop/break crab claws and cut into smaller pieces.
2. Using a large sauce pot, add 3 tbsp Olive oil and stir fry onions till fragant.
3. add all the herbs/spices into it and stir fry.
4. Add tomatoes(chop), carrots and then water
5. Cook on medium heat/fire till boiling.
6. Add all the crabs into it. Boil for 10 mins on medium heat.
7. Remove the crabs and add it each seafood item one at a time.
8. Remove each item to briefly cook it. Drained well. Set aside.
9. Remove the vegetables, puree it, and then put it back into the soup to boil for 10 minutes.
10. Then strained the pureed vegetables and discard. return the soup to the pot to cook.
11.Once it starts boiling, add in all the seafood items back into the pot.
12. Leave it to simmer for 10 mins, then add wine.
13. Serve warm..

My notes on Seok Buay's recipe:
Seok Buay uses dried herbs as she says most Asians are not used to the strong flavours if you use fresh herbs. I find this extremely true. It took a while to win friends over to try the soup.

Seok Buay says that this soup is versatile and you can just change the ingredients list each time based on what you can get from the fresh seafood market each time. And every time you cook this dish, its different again. But what stays with this dish is the love you give out to others. That's what I liked about this dish.

Who would ever thought that a humble French seafood soup would cause such an impact to someone unseen, unheard like me? In July 2004, no one knew who I was or what I was doing. And obviously no one cared too.

But this dish spin-off and started a whole new career for me. Teaching me the simple things in life and the riches you get in life isn't all about money or fame. Its the friends you made, the people that left their foot prints in your life.

So many Things...

Things , sung by Dean Martin and Nancy Sinatra

I seemed to have disappeared. Its just that I have so many things to do. To plan, to decide. For home, for work, for the studio. Today is Friday, the 13th. Not the nicest date if you want to think of all the nice things or the luckiest things..But for me, its the best today.

Because Mediacorp's Channel 8 will be featuring my store and my studio tonight. On a program called HDB Tai Tai. At 8:30pm tonight. If you are in Singapore and I guess in Asia too, you can catch this on xinmsn.com.

They came to film last October 2011. And told me just before airing it, they will let me know the date. Here are some photos we took when they came to do the filming.






They also ask me to bake cupcakes and decorate it for filming. I did so many things and my highlight was to feature our Mahjong Tiles chocolate mould and how I use it to make chocolates and painted the chinese tile. In my haste, I forgot to put it on the table for them..

They will do a voice over so it was like a silent movie when they came to film.




These are made for filming and of course its also edible! I packed these up into boxes and the crew took it with them for tea later.

And my chocolate mahjong tiles...that didn't make it to program!! sighz...






Here is the address to my shop and studio

Kitchen Capers
Block 71 #01-531F Kallang Bahru Singapore 330071
Tel : +65 6392 0159

Kitchen Capers Baking Studio
Block 71 #01-531E Kallang Bahru Singapore 330071
Tel : +65 6392 0159

I think of you all the time...

I Wish you Love, sung by Lisa Ono

I have been extremely busy with work, with my classes and with family, with the people I love. Ever since Benny quit his day job to work with me in the business, I became even more busy than ever. Maybe because I was able to do all the things I wanted to do for the business now.

But having him by my side meant we saw each other day in day out. We do things together. We have every meals together. And anywhere I wanna go, he said he will drive me there. He told his friend "I am like having honeymoon everyday"..and I told my friends that I am going on a date every day whenever I go to work.

There were things I wanted to do with him when we first got married. When we first met, and loved. But never in my wildest dreams was to have him by my side. Benny was a go-getter, strong headed. I was a risk-taker, bull headed(most of the times!). And I think we couldn't work together.

He reminded me so many times why he took out all his savings to start the shop. It was for him to retire from working for others and he still thinks we can work together. With his vast retail merchandising experience and with my risk taking marketing skills, my teaching skills and I seems to-know-everything skills, he said we could ROCK this part of the world.

In the first month, we argue alot. In fact every other day. I have struggled for 3 years alone in the business. He just joined. I don't care how many donkey years he had in retailing, but I had to have my own way of doing things and he has his too. One big fight lead us to think about us working for the good of the business and our love for each other.

And then, i took a step back. Turn to God and ask Him to show me and to teach me where I have gone wrong.

And God reminded me of my place in his life. That I was always the supporting figure in his life. Someone who stood in the background. Someone who always there when he needed help, when he needed love and attention. And there, I cried to God...

I went to Benny and I cried. And I said SORRY. And we shouldn't fight each other. But we should learn to re-live our life together again. As we need to work together every day. We should take a step back each time we need to raise our voices at each other.

Then Benny told me that at the height of his anger at that moment, he said things he shouldn't have. In turn, he need to go to God and ask for forgiveness too. And God showed him that the Key ingredient to a successful and happy marriage is to be able to fight and argue and still find love in it.

And since that fateful day we fought, we never looked back. Whenever I felt upset of the things he did, I would tell him there and then. And not bottled up inside all the time and let it grow and make a monster out of me. And if he wants things done his way, he learn to say "I need your advice, what do you think?"

and in turn, I became more mellow, more humble ..

They say that Love is a 2 way street...I believe it so. Because if you give and never get, you stop giving. Benny and I have been married for 23 years. In these 23 years there were always moments of love, moments of sadness, moments of anger. The good stuff we keep..the bad stuff we also keep but we never let it go. And that builds up over the years. We just think its okay to just cover it up like a carpet over dust.

But God told us to let it go, let it out. And He made us do that when we worked together.

So now, our business is booming. People ask us the secret of our success..how in 3 years we make good money and started a studio. The answer is LOVE...

So if the business fail, it meant that our love for each other has died. So until then, the business continues to grow and prosper as the love we have for each other grew stronger each day.

And then now, I wish you love...all of you. In your life with your better half. Its when you give and take, the things and people around you prosper. As God has intented it to be.

Peace be with you...

Wait for me...

Because He Lives (Christian Hymn)

How long do one grieve over the loss of some one dear to them? A week, a month or many years? I really don't know. My best friend, my mentor, my teacher has passed away recently. She is none other than Sister Seok Buay, the one and only person I started Kitchen Capers for. I think you must read for so long that I often talked about Seok Buay and about Kitchen Capers.

But let me write about this again. For one last time.

I created Kitchen Capers a few years after Boon's untimely death. Leaving Seok Buay and Kim San behind, weeping for him. Seok Buay seems to take forever to heal. She was often resentful of things around her and highly defensive when someone spoke of Boon.

One thing I never told anyone was why I started baking. I started to bake soon after Boon's passing. Because Seok Buay loves to bake. Buay took time away from her home, to stay away from Boon's room and his things. And she would take up a baking course in France at the famous Le Cordon Bleu. And she would come back after a few weeks and tell me of her adventures there. Seeing her so joyful, it makes me happy for her.

Then it became my personal goal in life to help her to cope with Boon's passing. I refitted my home with a baking cabinet. I would seek for Buay's advice on how to bake. In time, I pick up website design and met Prashant Patel with whom I learnt website design from. Then I started Kitchen Capers forum as a hobby site to share recipes on cooking and baking. Mainly because I was also learning..and I wanted Buay to find new hope, new purpose in life. As she was totally illiterate in computers, emails or the Internet.

I would go to her house, and suggested that she cook something she likes and to share the recipe online at the forum. In these early days in the year 2004, I started cooking, baking and documenting every recipe she had in her mind. And as she cooks, she talks and laughs at the same time. The food she serves are of course delicious..and knowing her, the love and joy in every dish she prepares can be savoured and enjoyed to the last bite.

With the popularity of social networking aka Facebook, a fellow church member wrote to me to say that Seok Buay has passed away on the 28th September 2011. I was totally in shock, because I knew she was fit as a fiddle. She was happy with life and with Kim San. Despite not having Boon around, she found joy and happiness in the things she does everyday. She found comfort reading the scriptures and peace from God whenever she prays.

And everytime when I know that she is going away to a country to serve the community, I would bake all the things she loved to eat. And that would be the signature Chocolate Walnut cookie I created for her. And she said once to me :

"Gina, wherever I am, I know you think of me. Eating this, knowing you, that's a blessing God gave to me and only to me alone"

I never share this recipe online or anywhere. It was a cookie I created just for Buay. A cookie to remind me of how much I loved her and respected her all the years she taught me to bake, to cook. She taught me to be bold, to be daring. To try out new things and not be afraid to accept failures. She would tell me about Boon and how she would teach him the same values too.

In so many ways, I know myself. I know I would not have dare to venture beyond. Not with Kitchen Capers. I mean, I started my career in computers. I taught computer programming, desktop publishing..not cooking or baking. Buay gave me so much hope which I thought I was giving to her instead.

I attended her wake on Friday, 30 September 2011..I walked and met Kim San, and I just couldn't control myself. I cried in his arms, holding Kim San tightly. And Kim San wept with me. For a moment, I could have swear the world stood still..with Kim San and I locked in each other's arms, in tears and crying out to each other.

The last time this happened, it was at Boon's funeral wake. And I was there, in the same position but it was with Buay in my arms, letting her cry her heart out to me. I had to take a day's leave from the office. I told my boss why..and he just sign my leave form and ask me to go.

Kim San told me that he blamed himself for Buay's sudden death. She was swimming in a private pool in a swimming club. Somehow, something happened..she drowned and no one came to her aid. Until minutes later, they tried to resuscitated her. By the time the ambulance came, she was pronounced dead.

Her body lied in the hospital for a day to find out the cause of death. And he said to me :

"Buay never goes swimming without me. We go together. Every day, we do things together. Going for breakfast, going for morning walks or even just to shop at the nearby market. We would be there for each other.." and then he went silent..and I could see tears forming in his eyes. I put my arms around him and try to comfort my friend.

And then he said :

"She would tell me how much she loved me. And she would openly hug me and kissed me in front of everyone." and then he smiled and continue to say

"But that is not allowed in our society. People think we are crazy"

and then I said :

"No, you are not crazy. To love and be loved is the greatest gift and to show it openly, that's pride. And that's what God intended us to do. To love and be loved...in each and every way we can."

When I left the wake, I thought to myself..okay, life goes on. Back to the office, there's work to be done. Get a hold of yourself..

But when the day ends, and all is quiet, I couldn't help but think of Buay again. When I went online at Facebook, there was a little app I had that says "What God wants you to know" and l click it to see what was the verse for the day. When I read it, I cried again.

And I shared my notes with what was given to me :

"On this day, God wants you to know
... that sometimes it may feel too hard to do it alone. Sometimes it may seem like you can't figure it out by yourself. Sometimes will and strength and courage are not enough. Sometimes in your life you will need to call out for help. Call on God. God will be there."

My response to that was :

Dear God, I have a friend who is going up there to meet you. Please see her at the gates and hold her hand and show her around your place. And when its time for me to see her, ask her to come and meet me at the gates. Tell her how much I am so gonna missed her here. And her name is Seok Buay.

So to all who know me..and knows me for Kitchen Capers..
Live and love life to the fullest each day. Tell the people you loved how much you loved him/her or them. Even if its a pet. Live like there is no tomorrow. For tomorrow may never come. At least you get to say your goodbyes, your expressions and your admiration for that person.

I know I have grieved for many, but Seok Buay will always be that special someone I hold dear to my heart, someone I loved till the end of time. And when I go up there, I know she will be at the gates. Waiting for me. Waiting to show me all the new things up there. Like she always have whenever she sees something new.

Till then, Sister Seok Buay, wait for me. Wait for me.


AMEN!

I Love You Because

I Love You Because, sung by the late Jim Reeves

I was really busy with my new baking studio, and I didn't have time to blog. But today decided to write something to update you on my life with Benny.

I was swamped with work having to manage the retail business and the new studio. I was feeling unappreciated, depressed and totally drained. All I could do everyday was to sulk or frown. There seems to be a back log of everything I had to do every day in the office.

It pains Benny to see me in this state of mind and soul. Without a doubt he knew what he had to do. He quit his full time job last Thursday, cleared his leave with the company and left. And immediately started work with me in the shop. He would fetch me to work, help me with the simple things. Help me to pack and unpack stuff. Did the labellings, handled the store when new stock came.

Sure I see him everyday when he used to work for others. But now I see more of him every day, every minute. It brings us closer. We talk a whole lot more. And we are reminded of the early days of our courtship together. How much we would tell each other the things that happen each day.

And even though going to work was a door away...he was always in the shop and I am now stuck in the baking studio, he would sms me and 'whispers' sweet nothings. Or sometimes just pop over to the studio to just ask me how I was coping.

I guess I can say I am the happiest and most blessed WOMAN in the world. Having the best job ever and having my 'lover' next to me all the time.

We go to work together. We eat our meals together. And now, he wants to spend every waking moment with me. He would even watch all those soapy drama serials on Channel 8 with me.

And yesterday he told me :

"When the business settles down, I'll take you on a holiday..to anywhere you wanna go. Its been such a long time we went on a holiday together, just the 2 of us."

I was over the moon when I heard that. It will be another year before the shop and the studio settles down. But even so, having him by my side all the time is like having a holiday.

So today I wrote in FB under my profile status :

"Going to work everyday is now like having a date with my one true love everyday. A week has just past, seems like a whole lifetime has just slipped away. So how much more you should never take Love for granted. Live and love as much as you can. Doing the things you want to do, drinking from the same cup of juice or eating from the same plate of char kway teow."

How many men would quit their jobs to work with their wives? I knew only one..Benny. But I knew of many women would quit their jobs for their husbands.

When God gave me a husband, He meant that he would last me a lifetime. And he did. I once heard an old love song which I forgotten who sang it or what was the title of it. But i remembered many of its lyrics which goes like this:

You are my one true love
Say that you never go
You'll always be the one
True love within my heart

You're like an evening star
Shinning from high above
Lighting my life for me
You are my one true love

Okay if I sound super hopelessly in love as if I was a teenager. But how can I not be? Benny makes me feel like this everyday now. Every morning, a smile on his face, hugs me or pats my back. And ask if I had a good rest last night..

Side track a bit...here are the final photos of my baking studio which went LIVE this week.