Straits Chinese - Baby Sam's First Month, Sydney NSW

The Ang Ku or red coloured tortoise mould snacks with mung bean paste inside.

Making pre-wrapped Beijing duck servings.

Troika of festivity - Indian inspired  turmeric flavoured steamed rice, southern Chinese red dyed hard boiled eggs and Straits Chinese chicken curry.

Veg spring rolls being prepared fro deep frying.

Roundness and promise in life - such hard boiled eggs are also a tradition in Eastern Europe and Russia.

Nasi Kunyit - Marisa Chuah 's First Month

First month for a new infant, Marisa - and  customary practice for the Chinese community, with strong backgrounds in Malaysia and Singapore, is to mark the happy and significant occasion with the distribution to family and friends by the parents of a set that consists of chicken curry;  a pair or red coloured hard boiled eggs, still on the shell; a traditional cake referred to as the ang koo (literally, the red tortoise in the Fujian or Hokkien dialect)  and a turmeric  coloured and flavoured coconut milk steamed glutinous rice (the nasi kunyit in the Malay language).   In one swoop, this food set reflects and celebrates the multi-cultural influences of south-east Asia, incorporating the best elements in cuisine drawn from Indian, Southern Chinese, Thai and Indonesian influences.

The ang koo encompasses two essential Chinese iconic symbols - the colour red for auspicious joy and the tortoise which signifies longevity.  This cake can be accompanied by two peaches for a girl infant, or with two marbles for that of a baby boy.  To make the ang koo, one must first utilise the correct mould to imprint on the outer skin surface, and get ready ingredients as diverse as sugar, oil, mashed mung beans or mashed sweet potatoes, glutinous rice flour dough and wheat starch.  Banana leaves are cut and used to form the underlay of this snack before being steamed.

The red coloured eggs (pictured above)  remind me of Balkan traditions during the Orthodox Easter, celebrating new life, renewal and the on set of spring.

Awayofmind.blogspot  offers a recipe for nasi kunyit adapted from UnderWraps by Debbie Teoh below, acknowledgements to both:

Ingredients:

500g glutinous rice

1 tbsp ground turmeric (Kunyit serbuk)

3 pieces dried sour fruit

150ml coconut milk

1 tsp white peppercorns

1 tsp salt

Steps:

1. Soak washed rice in water mixed with ground turmeric and dried sour fruit slices overnight.

2. Wash and drain the soaked rice.

3. Combine coconut milk, peppercorns, salt and rice in a mixing bowl. Set aside for 1 hour for the flavours to infuse.

4. Steam (3) in the steamer for 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

With acknowledgements to nyonyafood.com, I reproduce their chicken curry recipe:

Ingredients:

1 Whole chicken (remove head, neck, feet and chopped into pieces)
200g Potatoes (peeled and cut into wedges)
200ml Thick coconut milk or to taste
1 sprig Curry Leaves (use only the leaves)

1 Star arise
1 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
5 tbsp Oil
1 ½ cup Water

Spice Paste (ground):

3 cloves Garlic
18 Shallots
12 Dried Chili (soaked and remove seeds)
15g Turmeric
15g Coriander seeds
1tsp Fennel
1tsp Cumin
20g Shrimp paste (toasted)
1 Lemongrass (white part only)

Seasoning
1 tbsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar

Method:

Heat up your wok, pour in 5 tbsp oil, sauté cinnamon stick, star anise and cloves, fry over low heat, add in spice paste and stir-fry until fragrant.

Add chicken, potatoes, curry leaves and fry well. Add in water, cover the pot, braise over low heat until chicken and potatoes are cooked well.

Add the thick coconut milk, salt and sugar. Continue to simmer in low heat for 20-30 minutes or until the chicken becomes tender. Remove and serve with white rice, bread, nasi kunyit, or roti jala.

A Feast For Ben Butcher

Benjamin Michael Butcher was born on 1 July this year.A month later, the immediate family, joined by other relatives and friends, celebrated this occasion by gathering at the residence of one of Ben's grand-uncles. The must-have food for such joyous occasions is the red tortoise, or the ang ku in Fujian dialect (above image), which symbolises celebration, promise and longevity. The outer shape of this Straits Chinese delicacy has a mould that represents a round tortoise - and inside is a yellow bean mix you may recognise, once you bite into it.

Above: the savoury yam cake, garnished with fresh shallot rings, chili bits and deep fried garlic. It is best eaten with a chili sauce.

Below: Singapore styled chicken curry, with potatoes and kick, from one of Ben's grandmothers.

Below: More variety of sweet dessert time cakes.

Like during an Orthodox Christmas, hard boiled eggs are made with coloured shells to signify fertility in southern Chinese practice, adopted by immigrants to South-east Asia and beyond. These eggs are not consumed plain, they are accompanied by vinegar-soaked ginger condiments. (above)

Vinegar is also a main ingredient to marinate pork with fatty layers (below), a much yearned traditional Cantonese dish that does not get made much these days because of its cholesterol and health effects.

I found this delicious dark soy sauced stir fried noodles (above) at this party for Ben. Made famous by street vendors in the Chinatown heart of the Malaysian capital city of Kuala Lumpur, I first encountered this as a university student and actually ate it beside a stinking open drain - and despite that fact, I can recall it was truly tasty.