Kung Hee Fat Choy, Year of the Pig

[lavagal]

Aloha! Kung Hee Fat Choy, here's to the Year of the Pig not being as disastrous as some predict!

The young lady who teaches my girls piano is Chinese, lives up the street, and her parents are from China. In fact, her mother is on staff as one of our school's cleaners. I just love this family. I feel so lucky to have such a bright and brilliant instructor for my girls.
Anyway, at the close of today's lesson, her mother brought out for me three wonderful deep-fried sesame coated hollow delicacies that had some bits of perhaps charsui and green onion in it. They looked like char sui bao, but they were hollow, crispy, and oh-so-sinful to eat since they were fried in oil. It was as though the frying actually made them inflate.

Does anyone know what these were? I will ask the mom at work when I see her at school Tuesday, but I couldn't help but bring it up. And no, shame on this foodie for eating them as we walked home instead of waiting to take a photo!!!

[Miulang]

Re: Kung Hee Fat Choy, Year of the Pig

Aloha! Kung Hee Fat Choy, here's to the Year of the Pig not being as disastrous as some predict!

The young lady who teaches my girls piano is Chinese, lives up the street, and her parents are from China. In fact, her mother is on staff as one of our school's cleaners. I just love this family. I feel so lucky to have such a bright and brilliant instructor for my girls.
Anyway, at the close of today's lesson, her mother brought out for me three wonderful deep-fried sesame coated hollow delicacies that had some bits of perhaps charsui and green onion in it. They looked like char sui bao, but they were hollow, crispy, and oh-so-sinful to eat since they were fried in oil. It was as though the frying actually made them inflate.

Does anyone know what these were? I will ask the mom at work when I see her at school Tuesday, but I couldn't help but bring it up. And no, shame on this foodie for eating them as we walked home instead of waiting to take a photo!!!

I think they are a kind of "gok" (deep fried unsweetened glutinous rice balls) called hom sui gok. They may be called something slightly different, depending on the Chinese dialect spoken. I love those things as much as I love gien doi --the deep fried unsweetened glutinous rice balls filled with shredded coconut and peanuts and covered with sesame seeds--which seems ubiquitous to Hawai'i because the ones up here come filled with lotus seed paste only .

At a Hong Kongese dim sum place we frequent, we usually have these (are they kinda shaped like little footballs?) with either a shrimp or char siu filling.

Miulang

[Miulang]

Re: Kung Hee Fat Choy, Year of the Pig

In honor of Chinese New Year, here is a beautiful, fascinating story about a group of Chinese-American young adults from San Francisco who went to China to discover their Asian roots via a unique program called "In Search of Roots".

From the article, it appears that many of the Chinese families in Hawai'i also might originally have emigrated from the area around the town of Toysan (Taishan) in Guangdong Province. What a beautiful way to complete a cultural circle!

Miulang

P.S. Here is an interpretation of what the "Year of the Fire Pig" means to those born this year.

[lavagal]

Re: Kung Hee Fat Choy, Year of the Pig

Miulang,
I'll get back to you on the delight I had today...it didn't have much in it at all, which is often the case for those flavors that stay with you longest.

[Adri]

Re: Kung Hee Fat Choy, Year of the Pig

Anyway, at the close of today's lesson, her mother brought out for me three wonderful deep-fried sesame coated hollow delicacies that had some bits of perhaps charsui and green onion in it. They looked like char sui bao, but they were hollow, crispy, and oh-so-sinful to eat since they were fried in oil. It was as though the frying actually made them inflate.

I think you might be describing jin dui.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...BS:en%26sa%3DN

It is often stuffed with lotus or bean paste but these days can be stuffed with lots of different ingredients.

[lavagal]

Re: Kung Hee Fat Choy, Year of the Pig

oh my Adri, are you a food photographer? Such great photos! And yes, it looked very much like that, but really primarily hollow. Warm, chewy, oily, sesame (ends in the e sound, haha). I hope it bodes well that my girls and I shared these, kid 2 had a miniscule amount.

[Miulang]

Re: Kung Hee Fat Choy, Year of the Pig

Jin dui (gien doi) are round; hom sui gok are football (oval) shaped. Both get their chewy-crunchy textures from the glutinous rice (mochi) flour. They get puffy because in the process of being deep fried, they are kind of squished against the side of the pot. I don't know why, but that's what makes them "puffy" and "hollow". Here's a photo from Reed's "Ono Kine Grindz" that shows both the jin dui and the hom sui gok. The jin dui is the round one covered with sesame seeds and the hom sui gok is the football shaped one.

Miulang

[Adri]

Re: Kung Hee Fat Choy, Year of the Pig

oh my Adri, are you a food photographer? Such great photos! And yes, it looked very much like that, but really primarily hollow. Warm, chewy, oily, sesame (ends in the e sound, haha). I hope it bodes well that my girls and I shared these, kid 2 had a miniscule amount.

hee! No, I'm sorry, I am only a google~r. I didna take the photos, just linked to them. Jin dui is mostly hollow.

Miulang: I've had (and liked) taro gok but don't think I've had hom sui gok. Probably for the best *g* It's not like I need another deep fried food to love.

[lavagal]

Re: Kung Hee Fat Choy, Year of the Pig

I just have to add this final thing before I dive into bed:

I have not been feeling very good all weekend. Friday I called in sick for the first time in two years! Bad headaches, just overall lousy feeling. Took my cardio and yoga classes but wasn't getting much better...Then Michelle gave me these delights and I don't know if I was graced with a Chinese blessing or what, but I haven't felt this good all weekend. So I do want to put some stock in a couple of delectables made truly with love. It really made a difference.

And on another note, my husband has been under the weather, too, and said he had a couple he found at work, not even warm anymore, and he started feeling better, too! So gee, let me just say mahalo to the Chinese who blessed us today. Kung Hee Fat Choy and good night.

[speedtek]

Re: Kung Hee Fat Choy, Year of the Pig

well according to Chinese Buddists we are not suppose to eat any living animal meat including seafood. and we cant take out the trash or wash clothes or clean the house for 3 days. This year I decided to follow tradition so hopefully my life will turn around.

from about.com:
Buddha's Delight (Jai) is traditionally served on the first day of the Chinese New Year, both to help cleanse out the body and to honor a Buddhist tradition that nothing living should be killed on the first day of the New Year. Turnip Cake (Lo Bak) is a non-vegetarian treat that is also frequently served on Chinese New Year's Day, to symbolize prosperity and rising fortune.

read this also:
http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mrot...NA/taboos.html

hahaha I just read the whole thing and I am guilty of at least half of the things on the list! oh well try again next year!

[na alii]

Re: Kung Hee Fat Choy, Year of the Pig

This is my year as I was born the Year of the Boar.