I have been missing steamboat or ‘hot pot’ as how it is called here in US since we arrived here more than 6 months ago. So we’ve decided to have it on the first day of Chinese New Year and we have invited few friends who love spicy food to to join us for dinner. One thing good about steamboat is that you can put almost everything into it. But one very important ingredient KC misses is meat ball. We can easily get meat ball in any of the grocery shops but we can’t find the type that we like. They are either too fatty, salty or soft. So I think I should just try to make some for the Tom Yam steamboat.
I used boneless country style spare ribs as they are less fatty. I minced the meat and mixed all the seasoning using a food processor and stirred a bit until it’s gluey. Instead of frying the meat ball, I boiled them. I think the most difficult work in making meat ball is shaping them smooth and round. Mine turned out ugly but tasty though =P I should have taken a picture of KC when he tasted the meat ball. He was so happy because he missed meat ball in beef noodles soup that he used to eat in Kajang.
Besides steamboat, I have made ‘bak gua’ (pork jerky) and 2 types of cookies- Vanishing oatmeal raisin cookie and chewy chocolate chip cookie.
Vanishing oatmeal raisin cookie
chewy chocolate chip cookie
Bak gua is a must have for Chinese New Year at least for Chinese in Malaysia & Singapore. However,we can’t find it here in Hershey. It’s very different from the beef jerky which we can find in the grocery shop. So, I decided to make some too. Nevertheless, unlike the meat ball, the bak gua turned out to be ‘not as what I have expected’. It was not that tasty- without the charcoal burned taste and smell. Furthermore, I guess, the bak gua we used to buy at the roadside stall had more fats! This bak gua that I made was too ‘healthy’ to have the taste – it’s low fat, less sugar, less salt and not burned! KC decided to add more butter and honey to it and roast it longer in the oven to get the taste that he likes.
We would like to wish you all a very Happy, Prosperous, Blessed ‘Rabbit’ Chinese New Year!
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