Monday, June 8, 2009

ATaste of Happiness / 幸福的滋味

If you are wondering what happen to me for the past week, well I was back home in Singapore to spend some quality time with my family and friends during school holidays. A total of 9 days, but I still felt it was way too soon to come back, haha! However this trip has been a more then fruitful one since I was able to spend time with my mother and learn how to make her homemade Hokkien meat dumplings! My mother bought all the ingredients, step through every detail with me from washing the bamboo leaves, to adding every little specific spice to the ingredients and lastly, patiently teach me how to wrap the dumplings making sure it does not leak during the boiling process. After 4 long hours of anticipation and enjoying the wonderful fragrance filled in the house, we finally got to unravel and taste those wonderful dumplings. When I bite into one...I can say it's really a taste of happiness.
It really hard to describe to you readers out there how a home make delicacy taste, but I bet you can follow me if I try to describe it to you. It's a taste of home, warm, the familiar essence that your mom uses and love...oh of course it taste wonderful!
I did question myself why did I wait so long to learn this wonderful skill and recipe from my mom. Well I guess being oversea for so many years plus my girls being so young contribute a large part to it. But nothing is too late I assure you, I was truly grateful to my mother for doing this for me and she even complimented me even though I was not too good on the wrapping. All I can say is you're the best mom! And that is why being able to have quality time with my mother and learning this from her is truly a taste of happiness for me. ;)
Unfortunately I do not think I can share my mother's recipe with everyone. In the whole process of learning this, I know I have captured the overall technique and most of the ingredients, but it's really hard to accurately put them into words and steps. Hence till I can finally do it own my own and formulate it into my own recipe, I will then post out the dumpling recipe. ;) Wish me luck!

9 comments:

Kitchen Corner said...

Hi Honey Bee Sweets,
I oould understand how meaningful and how tasty the dumplings is. I believe that homemade is always the best especially you work it from your heart which it'll never could buy. The dumplings looks really yummy!

Sweet Tooth said...

The dumplings look great and were awesome. It is like a perfect symphony with all the ingredients.

It truely is the taste of happiness

Unknown said...

They look so good! Wish I could taste them :)
I have yet to learn from my mum. She keeps postponing it as she's taking care of my grandma. But I have bought all the ingredients, now just waiting. Hmmmph....

Passionate About Baking said...

Wow HBS, aren't you one born-to-be-chef? Your mum spend hours explaining to you once, and you did it just like how she has done it over decades?? My my! I'm impressed, very very impressed!
Yes, I was raving to my colleagues how I missed my mum's dumplings too. She has stopped making since my granny passed away. Now, I hardly ever taste home-made dumplings.
Can you freeze one for me please? When you come back to Sgp for your next trip, care to bring one back for me? My friend told me if you freeze it, you can keep for months... PLEASE???

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Grace. Yes, I bet when you get to bake with your love ones, you tend to enjoy the end product even more, right? In other words, it's priceless. ;)

Thanks Sweet Tooth! Your encouragement means more then you know. ;) Still have plenty of dumplings...enjoy them while they last!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Haha, Jane, you are making me sound like a genius! No larr, my mom was with me every step of the way. She was literally the one doing most of the stuff, I was there to learn only. Hmmm...I hope there will be some left when I go back to Singapore. Sure! I will bring back one for you...provided I remember to pack it then, heehee!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Sure Ee Peng, I was intending to surprise you ladies with the dumplings tonite. ;) Hope you ladies will like it! ;)

quizzine said...

I missed the chance to learn dumpling-making from my mum as I always take for granted that she'll be around forever. I can imagine the 'taste of happiness' that you described, and this feeling/taste can be duplicated.
Cheers,

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Glad that you know what I mean quizzine. I guess I kind of realize how much I missed my mother's cooking through the long years overseas. I sure hope I can impart this to my children the next time...to keep the tradition going. :)