I must admit this – cooking IS a luxurious hobby to have, given that one must have many condiments and ingredients to start with in order to feed each of these recipes. I can’t do that here in Durham anymore. Baking soda? Chuck. Teriyaki sauce? Chuck. Garam Masala? Chuck. Can’t find it here either.
I couldn’t find cheap oysters anywhere in the supermarkets; neither do I want to be cheated to buy daylight -obbing groceries in Tiong Bahru Market again. So I resorted to using prawns to replace the oysters that are commonly used in this traditional Hokkien dish, hence the self-named dish.
The remaining glutinous rice in the cupboard wasn’t that difficult to deal with after I discovered that it can be easily cooked with the microwave. (thanks to the mango sticky rice). I thought I’ll give it a try, microwaving it instead of the conventional way of steaming (I’ve never succeeded with the latter method). The result was perfect! The rice was soft and sticky, just as any glutinous dish should be!
I’ve never made any cakes which can be eaten without first going through the oven. It’s really magical to see how the dough first becomes evenly coloured with the continuous (and tedious) kneading, flattened to become the outer covering of the paste, and then ‘snowy’ after chilling. It’s also so much cheaper to make them ourselves – we’ve calculated a possible turnover of $100 even if we sell them cheaper than the market rate. I’m already planning ahead for a possibly lucrative retirement.
Roy Willis, 2006
Done with one of the last academic books before I immerse myself back in the virtual world of Otherland.
