A friend gave me a shark fin melon and I have been waiting to do something special with it besides just soup and tong sui.

I was chatting to a friend last week and she told me that she simply loves this melon and could I plan to plant a lot in my garden next year so she can have a few. Shockingly I have found out from her that these melons can be kept for a long long time even years!

Anyway she said some people treat them as noodles and so this light bulb moment was hatched. I want to turn this one into a nice bowl of mock glass noodles soup. I am happy it turned out quite well.

Next I would be using crab stock and even chicken with shredded chicken. The possibilities are endless.

Cantonese Century Egg and Pork Congee – Pei Tan Chok ( 皮蛋瘦肉粥 ) is a very warming meal.

I call this a meal, not a dish as it is a whole meal in a bowl. Warm and satisfying, nourishing and comforting. Once in a while I love to cook this as eating it is just a comfort to me when I am feeling in need of a hug and a little bit of loving. Recently I felt the need for a lot of hugs and a lot of loving hence this dish.

I bought some mini century eggs I want to try but I won’t be buying them again as I prefer the yolks of the big ones as they are more moist and succulent.

Congee wise I love both the Teochew 潮州 Cháozhōu or Cantonese 广东Guǎngdōng style.

Teochew 潮州 Cháozhōu style of congee is where the rice is boiled till they ‘flowered’ just split open and then it’s taken off the heat.

Cantonese 广东Guǎngdōng style is where the rice is boiled and boiled till you get a thick consistency.

However I take congee any which way as long as they are good.

Once in a while I have a hankering to boil this soup. It brings me down memory lane when my father would take us to this restaurant in the middle of Pandungan Roak, Kuching, Sarawak.

No matter what dishes the parents ordered, there will always be this soup. I guess it is because we, the children love it so much and easier to add to rice and eat as children like soupy rice.

I have been meaning to cook this and i have bought some sweetcorn before I sliced a chunk off my right thumb so I have to wait until now to satisfied my craving and to blog this.

Drinking this, memories of my early teens comes back in flood. My years growing up in Kuching were some of the best times of my life.

A good soup with a balance of sweetness from the fresh sweetcorn kennels and the tasty pork balls with cuttlefish, the fresh ground Sarawak pepper …… happy belly.

I hope those who have not tired before might try this for it’s good and quite tasty.

When I lost my old blog this dish is one that I missed the most. I promised myself I must put this recipe back onto my blog but I have been a bit lazy due to the Chinese new Year celebrations.

This is also the dish that made my very British husband fell totally in love with spinach and I often only need to serve him this one dish and plain boiled rice. He often tell me don’t cook other dishes if I cook this one. Funny mat Salleh!

Recently I was chatting with a friend and she requested this recipe of mine so I cooked it the other day and took some pics.

We are having a heatwave in the UK and it’s hard to cook or put the oven on during the day as the temperature has been reaching the 30’s Celsius! So I have decided to make pâté last night and just un-mould, into the fridge to chill this morning. Later I will just slice to serve for lunch. It’s an easy enough dish and it only needs to be in the oven for about 50 minutes. 

Terrine of chicken, pork and sausage meat pâté is a recipe I made up because hubby is not a huge fan of chicken livers so I omitted using them. Most pâté of course contains chicken livers. I make this once a year during the summer months. Not sure why really as it can be served throughout the year.  I have also added a touch of brandy and sherry. This  terrine of chicken, pork and sausage meat pâté is very easy to make and keeps well in the fridge for at least a week wrapped well. Once you have started making it you can of course add spinach, mushrooms or anything else you fancy. 

It also makes a good starter dish for a party and the bonus is that you can make days ahead. Another terrine I like to make is smoked salmon and cheese. 

Preserved Mustard (Mui Choy) with Mince Pork (梅菜肉碎) is my favourite childhood Hakka dish. My mother used to cook Mui Choy with mince pork for us but I remembered hers to bit a tad sweeter than mine.  It is because I am conscious of eating less sugar over the years that I do not use a lot of sugar in my dishes. I drink black coffee and my tea with a just a touch of milk. 

I still remember when I first found Mui Choy in UK. I was jumping up and down looking like a crazed woman in the supermarket! That was more than 2 decades since I last ate and hubby was very amused.  

While I was talking with my friends this morning about cooking this Hakka Mui Choy with mince pork, two of them asked me why theirs always so salty and another said she love this dish but hers always too salty too. So I have decided to do a write up of what to me is a simple dish but then again I home cook 99% of my food and I can always consult my mother. As usual my recipe is from my mother and I always said it’s just a guide. Use my tips and cook it seasoned to your taste. Enjoy.

Gyoza? Jiaozi? (餃子). The original Japanese or Chinese dumplings or even pot stickers in America?  I once made Malaysian currypuffs for hubby’s work as they were having a training day by a gentlemen from the US. He took one look at my currypuffs and pronounced ‘I love these pot stickers’ Needless to say hubby had fun informing him otherwise. 

These dumplings consist of ground protein and vegetable fillings that are wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by pressing the edges together. Finished goyza can be boiled, steamed or pan-fried. I have even seen people deep frying them.  

However I usually fry mine for a minute in a little oil before adding water and cover the pan to steam them till dry. Then I uncover and allow them to fry for a bit till the bottom is crispy with a touch of oil.  

You can substitute the fillings and marinate according to your taste.