Reunion Dinner Spread

My Reunion Dinner Spread! Now that I've cooked for 10, I feel like I can conquer the world.




My paternal grandma! Now a proud greatgrandmother of 6! She brought her signature Eight Fortune Pig's Trotters (usually duck) and the Sang Choi wrap with mengkuang and dried sotong.



My must-have menu for the Reunion Dinner:

Blanched white chicken, or in Cantonese, Sap Kai.
Simply immerse the defrosted whole chicken in a pot of boiling water with added crushed ginger, spring onions and salt. There is a variation of the cooking time required. Some say right after immersing the chicken, switch off the fire and let it be. I usually like to leave it boiling for 5 min before i switch of the fire. Me no like Salmonella.

Prawns. In Cantonese, prawns is 'ha', so having this dish mean laughing =happiness. You know, ha ha ha ha ha. Ha ha siu.
I marinated a whole bunch with Chinese Rice Wine, sesame oil, chopped garlic, slices of ginger, pepper and sugar. Then steam for about 5 min until they turn red.

Fish. Nian nian you yu. Abundance every year.
Usually the whole fish, with head and tail intact. Or just the head. For a headstart, ya know. Usually simply steamed with ginger, garlic, spring onion, Chinese parsley and light soya sauce.

Roast pork dish. Coz Chinese and pork are best friends.
I simply stir fry stall-bought roast pork (sliced into biteable size) with ginger and leek.

Vegetables. No particular preference here. But I think the brighter the colour, the merrier! Broccoli, red pepper, yellow pepper, those type.

Soup. No watercress soup because in Cantonese, sai yong choi sounds like chai leong which means pitiful. Kesian...

Abalone. Bao yu means guaranteed abundance.
Surprisingly, it is best eaten just. like. that. I immersed the whole abalone straight from the can, into boiling water for a few minutes, then let it sit in it until ready to be served. I sliced the abalone thinly, arranged them on a small plate and serve with halved lime. Like oysters.

I guess I will be keeping this tradition every year!