mel in the milkyway: Happy Chinese New Year Eating!

currently: carrying so many food babies I will soon give birth to dumpling children and name them after the members of Switchfoot and Doctor Who characters.

Even though Chinese New Year started like a week ago, I feel that it is still valid to keep saying Chinese New Year until the 15 days are over. Or at least before I explode by the end of these holidays. Which is probable. My efforts to keep exercising have been taken over by the time that is needed to keep eating.

It's like I have Audrey II in my stomach going:
"FEED ME SEYMOUR. FEED ME ALL NIGHT LONG."
(Youtube Little Shop of Horrors if you don't get the reference...)

Anyway, here's a post to explain to you what exactly I have been so busy eating, and why in a week's time I will have gained another five kilos.

 Kuih Kapit: (pron: kway ka-pet)

Also known as Love Letters, are tasty and crispy biscuits which are so thin and sweet, one bite and they shatter in your mouth. So delicious and addictive, they're made with a simple batter and poured over a specially made mold which imprints the design onto it:

Pour, cook, peel and fold. Done :)

Cashew cookies (or traditionally made as peanut cookies)

If you enjoy shortbread, you'd enjoy these. They're not as dense as shortbread, but they have the same 'melt in your mouth' texture. Typically they're made with peanut but when you're allergic to peanuts, you find substitutions. Delicious substitutions.

Dragon Cookies

I used to think of these like little worms, but these little melt-in-your-mouth custard things are called dragon cookies, fitting for 2012's "Year of the Dragon". The red eyes btw are done with red food colouring - just two little dots to give it a face.

Kuih Bangkit (pron: kway bahn-kit)

These are bite sized coconut flavoured biscuits. These are normally put in molds and baked, however these ones didn't really retain any shape. They look quite solid, but you'd be surprised about how light and crumbly they can be when you bite them. Can't eat too much of it cause it's dry and crispy and will leave no moisture in your mouth.

Long Yook (pron: long yeook)

It may look strange, but this is flattened mince meat that has been sweetened and barbecued. Kinda like a sweet jerky, it can be really moist or really dry depending on the person that's cooked it. It's great in sandwiches too - sandwiched with white bread, some lettuce, maybe slices of cucumber = tasty :D

Pineapple Tarts

This I have been eating HEAPS of. They're bite sized soft biscuits with pineapple jam in the centre and just taste so FANTASTIC. It's like eating a shrewsberry, but softer and with pineapple. YUM.

Yee Sang (pron: Yee Sahng)

This is a very special salad that we have every Chinese New Year, and only for Chinese New Year. Vegetarian and full of flavours, this is all grated and sliced up vegetables, fruit and a bit of salmon. For ours, we have carrots, turnip, pickled ginger, fresh ginger, preserved ginger, kaffir lime leaves (I think), salmon, plum sauce, oil, sesame seeds, spring onions, nashi pear, grapefruit and coriander (that's all I can remember at least). We also put cornflakes cereal instead of deep fried won-ton skins, and there's meant to be jellyfish, but we didn't have it this year.
You spend a good amount of time prepping this salad like meal, making it look presentable - only to do the New Year Toss:

This is where everyone pitches in with a pair of chopsticks, and we mix it all. Which is good cause I don't think I'd enjoy eating a whole mouthful of ginger. It's messy, but it's fun. It's what we do :)

And that's just PART of the food I've been eating. There is just so much stuff to eat that our fridge has constant leftovers. Fattening, but fantastic.
Happy Chinese New Year Feasting!