Yesterday 18 Feb 2015, was our Chinese new year eve, everyone that is working from all parts of the world is back at their home at this time to have reunion dinner with their families, but I didn’t went back, I was in India. Reason being I just started my career over here and it’s not possible to take my leave after working for a month. My family did told to start work after chinese new year, but I didn’t want that, I have completed my national service back in 31 Oct 2014, and I have been idling back at home in Singapore for a period of nearly two months, and if I start work after chinese new year, it would be me, Idling for another 1 more month, which I think it’s highly impossible for me.
So, I uses the App: Line to call up my mum last night while she’s having the reunion dinner back at home, they were having steamboat which is also called ‘Hot pot’.
Hot pot (also known as steamboat in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Brunei), refers to several East Asian varieties of stew, consisting of a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of the dining table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table. Typical hot pot dishes include thinly slicedmeat, leaf vegetables, mushrooms, wontons, egg dumplings, and seafood. Vegetables, fish and meat should be fresh. The cooked food is usually eaten with a dipping sauce. In many areas, hot pot meals are often eaten in the winter during supper time.
I requested a half day off yesterday from my boss as I told him that it’s new year eve and I’m suppose to have reunion dinner, so may I request for a half day off so i can prepare my dinner back at home. My boss, staying in Singapore for the past 14 years, definitely understand the importance of a reunion dinner, perhaps he may even accustom to it. So i went to Star bazaar inside one of the mall in magarpatta city named: Season. I must admit that I should have come to the super market the first thing I came to Pune, I have been here in Pune for a month, I mean not counting travelling here and there, yea, I’m in Pune for a month, and I have not been to Star Bazaar before.
What so special about this star bazaar?
It is because, they have this!
From the left, it’s the Vegetarian Oyster Flavored Sauce usually we use it to fry our vegetable, chicken, almost anything, and it’s delicious, and it’s the authentic chinese fry. Don’t ask me how is it vegetarian when they use oyster? I can only tell you, it’s like a mock sauce where by they uses mushroom to substitute it with Oyster.
In the middle you can see it’s Light soy sauce, when we say soy sauce, the first thing that comes to your mind is just simply soy sauce right? I understand that in India, there’s only one type of soy sauce, but that soy sauce that you have been using for cooking, it’s the ‘Dark’ soysauce that we are refering it to, and it’s not what I always use to marinate the fish, chicken etc. So I manage to get the light soy sauce in star bazaar under the international goods section.
Last but not least: ‘Sesame Oil’ I have been searching for this for a very very very long time! In India it’s Tulip oil, if i’m not wrong, but the tulip oil that India have, doesn’t have that particular smell, it’s a type of aroma that brings out the flavor in the food, if somehow your place do sell this, buy a small bottle of it, open it up when you reach home, and smell it. You can add in soup, or you can use a bit of it to stir pan fry your chicken, or you can use it to marinate your chicken, trust me, it taste awfully delicious.
So right after purchasing all the food, I went straight back home to prepare the food for the evening.
Had to prepare the broth for 3 hours, using corn, cabbage, mushroom, minced chicken balls, fish bone, chicken bone to boil it with low fire. The broth is then use as the soup base for the ‘Hot pot’. Chicken were being sliced into Chota pieces so that it’s easy to cook using the induction cooker while we are seated in the living room, same goes for the fish, and then the prawn were being wash and left on a plate for consumption.
I don’t know if you guys have heard of this campaign: #EyeamIndian where by north east indian are getting discriminated, reason being they have those chinese eyes that looks different. So to make a stand for themselves, people all over India have been doing the ‘EyeamIndian campaign to support the north east Indian, and so we did too! Doing something special for the people on new year eve!
And thanks for the company guys! Even though I prepared everything but still you guys took out the time to accompany me and of course sharing the cost of the food etc. And of course, having the ‘hot pot’ for the very first time, I got to teach all of them how to prepare the food and how to have them! Of course, at the last part, they wishes everyone 新年快乐 which means Happy New year in Mandarin.
Tension NAHI Hai Life SAHI Hai 