On the 12th day ...

I have been looking forward to tasting delicious Vinegared Pigs Trotters and Chicken in Rice Wine since my niece has given birth to a baby boy.   These 2 dishes are traditionally cooked on the 12th day after birth and it becomes the staple diet for the  new mother till the full month.

Rockabye baby, sleeping comfortly on his bed.

I recalled when my mother was alive and whenever she became a grandmother over again,  she would make sure that these 2 dishes  would be cooked on the 12th day and delivered personally  to the aunties and uncles (her brothers and sisters) to announce the birth of a newborn. The father of the newborn had to make a journey all over the city for this delivery. They could gave an angpow as blessing for the newborn in return.

Nowadays,  all the "aunties and uncles"  ie my siblings and myself, all come together at the newborn's house instead.   For this event, my sister in law had ordered  4 pig trotters (hand) 2 pig trotters (leg) and 4 chickens and more than 1 kg of Bentong-grown ginger! Not a lot considering such a big family!  So I helped her to prepare these before hand especially the ginger and  pig trotters got to be cooked at least 1 day beforehand for the flavour to develop on Friday. Of course, the cooking was done by the great grandmother, a accomplished cook.

 Yummy Chicken in Rice Wine.

My favourite Pig Trotters in Black Vinegar and bonus - hardboiled eggs as well.

I also  cooked another popular dish normally served during confinement period.  Since there are so many taboos on what you can eat and cannot/should not eat during confinement, this is a "safe" dish - Sweet and Salty  Mui Choy with Pork. A splash  of rice wine is added at the end of cooking.

Next I made some Steamed Yam (Taro) Cake- this is not suitable for the new mother as Taro cannot be consumed during confinement as it cause allergy and itching of the wound.

I still had some pre-fermented sponge and decided to bake some bread too.

Cranberry Cinnamon Roll

Again some Butter Buns- this time, I mixed 100 gm of butter with 60 gm of icing sugar instead of just a cube of butter.

I also make some Pan-fry Steamed Paus aka Taiwanese Paus aka momos.

  

1. Minced soft lean part of pork.  Season with soya sauce, pepper and some egg white.   Do not add salt at this stage as it will draws out the juices and make the meat tough. Leave to marinate.
2. Meanwhile  process  a small cabbage finely.
3. Mix together with the pork and now add a teaspoon of chicken stock powder and salt.
Important:  Only mix together when ready to steam the paus otherwise the salt will draw out the juices from the cabbage too.

Prepare the dough:- (can be prepared overnight and rest in fridge)
200 gm of plain flour
160 gm of pau flour
1 cup of water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon shortening.

Mix all dough and lightly knead the dough till smooth  and leave to rest for about 30 minutes.

Divide dough into 20 gm each ball.   Roll into thin circle and filled with 1 tablespoon of the meat filling.

Pleat the paus and seal the tops properly. Remember to dust the bottom of the pau with some flour to prevent it from sticking until you are ready to pan-fry them.

Heat a non-stick pan/wok. Add a bit of oil and on low heat, pan fry the paus till the bottoms are golden brown. Add about 1 cup of water ie cover half way of the pau and cover and let it simmer till paus are cooked and water has evaporated.     

Dish up and served warm with chili sauce or julienned ginger in black vinegar sauce.  

So here's to you, May and Vicky who are presently in Nepal/Bhutan for holidays. Tell me about the momos that you have eaten over there when you come home.