~~Kung Hei Fat Choi~~
The Year of the PigThe twelfth animal that arrived was
the meticulous and resigned Pig.
1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007
Lucky Numbers: 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 16, 18, 34, 41, 48
Equivalent Western Sign: Scorpio
Element WATER
Color BLACK
Yin/Yang YIN
Direction NORTH-NORTH-WEST
Compatible with : Rooster, Ram
Less Compatible with : Pig, Rabbit, Horse, Ox, Rat, Tiger, Dog, Dragon
Least Compatible with : Snake, Monkey
Positive: The Boar can be sensible, sensual and sensitive, sweetly naive, caring, self-sacrificing, erudite, talented, open-handed, candid, outgoing, amusing, charitable, obliging, graciously hospitable and virtuous.
Negative: The Boar can also be hot-tempered, pessimistic, outrageously epicurean, earthy to a fault, sardonic, snobbish, snide, authoritarian, competitive, know-it-all, stingy, victimized and sometimes downright criminally mad at the world.
I've always been fascinated with the culture and traditions of the Chinese; my late grandfather is Chinese which makes me half Chinese. The Chinese has one of the richest and colorful traditions in history. One of our much anticipated celebrations is the Chinese New Year.
When Is It Celebrated?
Spring festival, or what is more known as the Chinese New Year, is considered one of the most important events in
How Is It Celebrated?
Generally, we prepare for this holiday by making sure everything in our life is in order, or at least under control.
By this I mean the house should be clean, rifts or problems should be resolved, wear clean or new clothes, etc. At midnight there are fireworks and firecrackers to greet the coming of the New Year. The belief behind this is that the noise created by the firecrackers will drive away evil spirits.
What's In the Menu?
After the festivities, the family will sit down to a feast. A sticky rice pudding called nian gao (or "tikoy" in my native tongue) as well as dumplings is usually present in these feasts. Nian gao is also given to family and friends, the belief behind this is that the stickiness of the nian gao will hold or bond the family together. Also, because of its' round shape and sweet taste, it is said to bring good fortune and sweetness to one's life. In my home, we usually cut the nian gao into lengthwise pieces, roll it into beaten eggs and fried. It's delicious…
The tikoy is made up of ground glutinous rice flour, wheat starch, lard, water, and sugar. The type of the latter will determine the color of the pudding. So you have a choice of brown or white tikoy. I don't have the patience yet of making this which involves steaming for 2 hours. Why slave away when you can conveniently buy one from your Chinese grocers.
There is only one way I know, sorry, like to eat it - dipped in egg and fried lightly. I've seen it in some savoury dishes but it didn't quite appeal to me.
- As you can see above the tikoy had been sliced about 1/2 - 1/4 inch thick. You may slice it further to make it smaller. If necessary, chill the tikoy first in the fridge to make it firmer and not so sticky, thus, easier to slice and handle.
- Beat an egg in a bowl. Dip the sliced tikoy pieces in the beaten egg.
- Fry on low to medium heat in a pan (preferably non-stick) with a little oil for a few minutes. Turn over to the other side. Dish up and serve.
When warm, the tikoy is quite sticky so be careful when you eat it especially if you have artificial dentures. LOL ;) This is very nice as a snack with some Oolong or Chrysanthemum tea. Kung Hei Fat Choi !
