Lunar New Year of the Water Snake

Albert Einstein once said  'We do not have to understand the world, we only have to find our way in it."
And this is how I view the Chinese cultural perspective of the Snake, an animal demonised in Western mythology but which occupies a position of awe and amazement in the East.  The Lunar New Year of the Water Snake commences on 10 February 2103, and it promises to be a year of correction and change, one in which each of us have to flexible and quick enough to grab the new opportunities arising.  We are embarking on a period when we have to find new ways to do things, look at things and think of alternatives and innovation.

The nature of the Snake can be likened to someone who is intelligent, has charismatic confidence, can shed off adversity like a second skin and is a quiet achiever. Think of people like Oprah Winfrey, Abraham Lincoln, Pablo Picasso, Bob Dylan and Kayne West - they were all born in a previous Lunar Year of the Snake.  In Asia, the Snake is revered.  The sixth day of the new Lunar Year is dedicated to a deity who protects snakes - the Chor Su Kong - and there is an iconic temple in Penang Island, my home town, dedicated to this. Think of the snake charmers in the Indian sub-continent.  The medicinal properties of snake bile are well documented.  Reflect on the hypnotic stare of a cobra. In East Asian tradition, the snake was already existent from the very beginning of recorded history.  Whilst New Zealand amazingly has no snakes, my own precinct of the Illawarra coast in New South Wales does have its fair share of snakes.

How we can better ourselves this coming year? The cultural forecast follows. Although those  born under the the sign of the Rabbit find it an excellent year ahead, Rats should keep their wealth out of sight and both  the Ox and Dragon have to be more tolerant of others who do not share their values and opinion.  Female Tigers in the entertainment industry are however favoured this coming year.  The Horse has to be cautious about infatuations and the Monkey should be wary of infidelity. Goats have increased positive contacts with influential and social contacts.  The Rooster has to be more tactful and manage change more effectively. The Dog may find love where least expected.  Boars  can face a romantically turbulent time.  Snakes themselves have to watch out for roller coaster rides in their experience of life.

It is said that for every human being, one third of his or her fate or journey in life is determined by the heavens, implying the time of birth.  Another third can be affected by the company he keeps, the parents and family grown up with and the peers who influence him.  The final third is sheer personal self-determination, mindset, soul searching and inner self.   Otherwise everyone born under the same animal sign will be clones of each other.  In deference to Mr Einstein, truly and deeply, each of us have to find our own unique way in life.

Sydney - Various Vietnamese Flavours

A nation's decision to allow immigrants of another contrasting culture always brings positive benefits to the food scene.  When different styles of cooking and cuisine utilise the local ingredients of the host country, the result can be synergistic and most delicious,  as I have observed on the Australian scene.  A specific dish, like a human being, can be elevated to a higher dimension when the environment provides a spurt of quality and nurturing. Travelling through Vietnam  recently, I could recognise with delight several familiar dishes easily available now in major centres on the Australian continent, but with a positive twist on taste, texture and presentation.  Above, charcoal grilled lemon grass flavoured chicken served to a tee , accompanied by tomato flavoured rice and cuts of lettuce, Lebanese cucumbers and red chili garnish.

Sugar cane juice is refreshing, natural and best drunk without any more added stuff.   The canes above sit next to neatly wrapped fresh vegetable rolls on the right and a pomelo on the left of the picture.  The crush of the fibre, which then oozes the juice, is then discarded as pulp, although they still remain nutritious.  The love of sugar cane is endemic throughout most of tropical Asia, and Queensland also remains a big producer of the cane.  During the Vietnamese Tet, or Lunar New Year, the canes are highly prized, as also for festive occasions in the Indian sub-continent and in Taiwan.  Sugar cane sticks are cut to serve as paddle pop sticks to hold skewers of prawn in another Viet snack.

The pho, or stock soup tenderly flavoured with various spices and then usually served with thin slices of beef or chicken, remains a favourite pick me up for lunch or dinner in many Asian dominated suburbs in Australian cities.   Star anise, cardamon,  cinnamon sticks, cloves and coriander pods are used cleverly to bring out the taste of a unique soup, and as such spices are only utilised for flavouring, they must be never found in the served soup by ensuring that the spices are in a cook mesh when used.  Leg and knuckle bones with marrow are preferred to ensure a good pho soup.  Add to that brew the effects of charred ginger and onions. Do pick the best of herbs from the market that morning -  mint, bean sprouts, chili cuts, basil, cilantro and lime slices.

Above, the sago in coconut flavours, courtesy of Raymond Lin.  Grilled coconut is strewn on top as crunchy and aromatic garnishings, to provide a contrast to the creamy dessert.  This has the best effect after a spicy or chili hot main meal.  The pandanus leaf is also valued here to bring up the taste of an otherwise neutral dessert.  Palm sugar and soy milk can also be used to enhance the overall feel and taste of the dessert.  The sago is from tapioca and constant stirring when cooking  is essential to produce a good version of this item.

Sydney Vignettes

Newtown Revisited - Sydney NSW

Newtown, a fifteen minute ride by train from Sydney city centre, lies at the nexus of university, bohemian, alternative and happy day twenty something lifestyles.  Saturday morning and the tribes come out.  Students, artists, young families, musicians, couples of every orientation, gig followers and more have hallmark moments as they commence a weekend of possibilities. Wardrobe is casual and to identify oneself with a certain crowd. The pace is easy, often filled with the aroma of coffee, unusual shopping choices and a body mark here and there, be it a tattoo or a nose ring. The day may progress to a street market, music from buskers or the intent concentration on music, books or movies.  The Whitlams had a great start at the Sandringham Hotel here before they conquered the world.

Newtown has just celebrated its first 150 years.  It is now more diverse, dynamic and interesting than it has ever been before.  Many buildings are or may seem run down, but there have been renovations inside, as old gives way to the new, or sits side by side.  Murals, wall graffiti and grubby lanes add to the character and fun.  Ethnic food can easily be easy to find as modern Australian and fusion inspirations. Victorian mansions still exist if we take our eyes way from the distractions on the streets.  These are mostly sited towards the University of Sydney side of Newtown.   Below photo shows the Trocadero, restored in 2007 (left of picture).

One of my delightful places is to spend breakky at the Campos Cafe in Missenden Road (photo above In December 2012).  King Street is the main foodie strip but there are around 600 shops in this precinct of Newtown.  John and Eliza Webster opened a business called New Town Stores and the name of a suburb took its cue.  Almost forty percent of the demographics here were born overseas, especially those speaking Greek, Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish and Thai.  Interesting enough , Newtown  is split in governance under the Sydney and Marrickville councils.

My other fav drop bys along King Street in Newtown itself and neighbouring Enmore:
The Flying Penguin
Spencer Guthrie
Black Star Pastry
Foodarama
Better Read Than Dead Bookshop
Square Peg Studios
Cafe Deli 242
Ziapis
Moo Woo Cow
Organic Pomegranate Cafe
Grub and Tucker
Cow &The Moon (Enmore)

Straits Chinese Cuisine - Comforts of Home

The har mee yoke, a soup based concoction of prawny flavours, spicy sauces, hard boiled eggs, tender pork cuts and spinach, is available throughout cafes and food courts in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.
May be of interest is this blog entry on:

http://kindlyyours.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/making-of-fujian-har-mee-yoke.html

The Jiu Hu Char, or cuttlefish stir fry, can be a test of cutting and cooking skills and maturity.  Most of the ingredients have to be deftly sliced to a fine and consistent texture, for the resulting quality affects the taste and refinement of the dish prepared. Skin peeled yam bean, peeled carrots, cabbage, soaked dried shitake mushrooms, onions, minced garlic, shredded dried cuttlefish (which has to be thoroughly rinsed before use) are the main items to gather and prepare.  Sugar, salt and pepper is utilised to taste as garnish. In addition,m this is not a vegetarian dish, for pork belly or chicken strips are also thrown into the mix.  The mixture is eaten wrapped with lettuce leaves.  At the height of the Straits Chinese culture in the 19th and early 20th centuries, this dish was a favourite of mothers-in-law to ascertain the standards of cooking by the young bride.   The yam bean and carrots are especially challenging, for modern kitchen blenders unfortunately create a mash or pulp, when this dish requires a crunchy texture to be maintained of the finely sliced vegetables.

Sauces are integral to key dishes in Straits Chinese cuisine.  Above photo show accompaniments to the Penang street food special of lobak, deep fried soya skin rolls wrapping finely cut pieces of lean pork, shredded yam beans, chopped big onion and chopped water chestnuts.  Again, experience shows up in the outcomes as one binds such ingredients with five spice powder, tapioca flour and contents of eggs.  Cucumbers are served separately in slices with the lobak rolls.

The acar awak, a spicy pickled kick starter to accompany rice based meals, comes from a blend of traditions of Thai, Malay and Indian influences, adapted quickly by the Straits Chinese as to heighten the appetite at any meal.  Never taken for breakfast, a must at wedding meals, it can be viewed as a healthy concoction, as it uses cucumber, cauliflower, pineapple, brinjal, long bean, French beans, carrots and cabbage.  Again all these ingredients need to be patiently and  finely cut, to provide bite-sized satisfaction and crunchiness and to ensure that all are adequately soaked in the right spice paste. Vegetables are also required to be scalded by a formula to activate the pickling process - and this formula uses salt, sugar, white vinegar and water. The spicy paste is another elaborate affair to make, for it requires several ingredients like tumeric, galangal, candlenuts, toasted belacan, lemon grass, coriander seeds, dried red chillies, shallots and garlic, all pounded happily together with a mortar and pestel.  These days you can find all such ingredients in an Asian outlet, preferably Thai or Malaysian.  Roasted sesame seeds and peanuts are also good to sprinkle over the final mixture before serving.  Belacan refers to the dried shrimp paste and galangal is a staple of Thai cuisine to release heightened flavours.

The above dishes were photographed at the home kitchen of Madam Foo Gaik Hwa.