Two types of "Choong"
Square based pyramid shape
Inside of "Toong Koon Choong"
Inside of "Belacan Choong"
This is my favorite childhood food. This bowl of black soya sauce pork can make me eat 2 bowls of rice. It is definitely not a good idea if I plan to be on a “diet mode”.
It has since become my kid’s favorite dish too. They will call it “mum’s very nice rice pork!”
The secret recipe is….. good quality Or Tau Yew (black / thick soya sauce). If you noticed, Hokkien dishes are mainly black or dark in color. If I can name them; Hokkien Mee, Hokkien Chicken Rice, Lobak, Braised Haisum(sea cucumber), Or Thau Kueh ( Yam cake) etc….. … even the Hokkien girls are darker than Cantonese… haha.
A basket full of buns
Dinner Buns
Cheese Buns
We ate all these buns in one day.... believe it or not?
I’ve not touched bread dough for more than 10 years, simply because I was too lazy to bake. Re-calling those days when my kids were very young and my hands were full of chores, yet, I could spend time making bread?!?! I guess it was the distraction I needed.
Some of us in MSG(Mother Support Group) used to share recipes in baking. One session, I volunteered to demonstrate making “Whole Meal Loaf”. Those were the days where electric bread makers were not introduced yet; so, it was handmade from scratch. When it was done, the joy of smelling Freshly Baked Bread was indescribable, and then we proceed to savor it with coffee and tea and chit-chatting. How wonderful….
Last week, after one decade, I decided to try making bread again. I was quite doubtful at first when the dough was not rising; I guess I was too impatient as yeast needs time to rise. Surprisingly it was quite well done. All I need now is more practice and those sausage buns will look nicer in shapes!
Recipe for Dinner Buns above:
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups of fresh milk
¼ warm water
40 gr butter
4 cups of high protein flour
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp fine salt
2 tsp yeast.
Methods:
In a small bowl, place ¼ warm water and 1tsp of sugar. Mix well, add in yeast; let it create foam.
In a mixing bowl, put in all remaining ingredients plus the yeast solution above and make dough from it. Let it rise for about ½ hour or more. Punch down and make shapes accordingly. Set aside to rise for about ½ hour before baking.
Brush with eggs and sesame if preferred before baking.
My papa. He was a simple man who lived a simple life. He was not an influential person in society. He lived peaceably and humbly raised up 13 children through God’s grace.
My papa was very musical. He played the piano (folk style) and the harmonica too. My first music lessons were coached by him. He taught me solfage from young in a fun and creative way, before anyone heard of junior music courses.
He was quite a multilingual person. It was quite fun to learn all the other languages from him. He could converse comfortably in Punjabi, Tamil, Malay, Japanese, Hakka, Teochew, and other dialects. He would teach me those languages by associating them with hokkien words and funny phrases. Till today I can still remember those words vividly.
My papa went home to be with the Lord in November 1995. He did not leave behind any material wealth but a valuable legacy. He taught me to believe in my dreams.
When I was very young, I always wanted to have a piano. Even though financially we could never afford a piano, my papa would always encourage me to continue to hope and dream for one. He would sometimes asked me “where do we put the piano when we bought one?” Or sometimes, he would say, “ maybe we should put it at this corner.” We both realize many times that this dream will most probably never materialize. However he continued to hope and would never stop dreaming with me. This dream of owning my own piano would many times prove to be that inspiration that helped me through many difficult and trying times.
Eventually, we did own a piano – 6 years later. Every morning when I wake up and saw the piano in the hall, joy and excitement would well up within. Indeed dreams do come true. I recall the initial days where papa and me would take turns to play the piano until he was bed ridden many years later.
After I got my driving license, it was papa who encouraged me to dream and hope for a car. I got my first car 10 years later. Looking back, it was through my papa’s influences that I am who I am today.
Papa, I am still dreaming dreams …… Thank you,pa.
