Chixe

I ate this for dinner yesterday, an easy-to-prepare recipe(no pan-frying or deep frying):

Ingredients:

a.
1 silken bean curd, cubed.
1 sprig spring onion, chopped

b.
1 piece Chicken breast fillet, sliced thinly
3 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame seed oil
2 tsp rice wine
2 pips garlic, pounded
1 inch ginger, pounded
(marinated)

c.
30ml water(more juice will come out of the chicken and the bean curd during cooking)

Serving suggestion: 1-2 persons

Method:

1. Grease a ceramic or standard-steel pot with a little corn oil.
2. arrange the marinated chicken in it.
3. Put the silken bean curd cubes on it.
5. Sprinkle 50% of the chopped onion on top.
6. Steam for 10 to 20 minutes or till cooked.
7. Turn off heat and sprinkle the remaining chopped spring onion on the cooked bean curd.

Served with hot white rice, preferably steamed rice which has more moisture.

If you are a typical Chinese or Korean, have you ever been frustrated to find westernized Chinese or Korean names on Television and on any printed media?

Let me be clear to you all about the formation of our names. Our family names normally precede the second ones, like Lo Sin Yee(My Chinese Name-Lo is a surname while Sin Yee being my second name) and Kim Bui(Korean Name-Kim is a surname). However, our second names will usually come before the surnames once they have been westernized. Mine will become Sin Yee Lo while the Korean name will be read as Bui Kim. I think they sound awkward enough. The alteration seems to downplay the significance of our ancestral names.

What if we change the formation of western names the Chinese way? Maybe it should be done in the coming Beijing Olympic. The following are the altered names:

Original Altered name
George Bush --- Bush George
Britney Spears --- Spears Britney
Brad Pitt ---- Pitt Brad
Tiger Woods ----- Woods Tiger

If I find all westernized Chinese names odd, what do you think of 'Chinesized' Western names like the ones above?

Have you ever joined in the fun of the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration with your Chinese friends? Like many other Malaysian Chinese, I share the joy with my multi-racial friends through the practice of open-house. We make every one a highly- honoured guest by serving them the best of meals and entertainments. Ang Pows, or red packets with money inside are generously given to their children as well. Even the local lion dance troupes are largely made up of non-Chinese. It's not a surprise to see many being able to sing or hum Chinese New Year songs. They also light firecrackers and launch fireworks as though the occasion were theirs.

Friends, Have you ever engaged in the festival? Please feel free to tell me your view or observation.

2-0-0-8 : It is year of the rat this year according to the Chinese Lunar Calender. How perplexing it is for such a species to head the Chinese zodiac while they are considered as pests and the preys of our cute feline friends in reality.

As an extreme hater of rats, I see any one of them, be it a fully-grown adult or a teeny-weeny one, as an image of devilish filth and terror. A sudden, careless thought of their gray coat of dirt-soaked fur will cast a pall over my jolliest dream. The scratching sounds of their savage digging claws from the ceiling above make my heart palpitate and my veins throb with a racing fear.

I woke up at 6 a.m. this morning, feeling good and victorious. It has never been easy for me to be out of bed that early and I found it an achievement. What good tidings! Alleluia, praise the Lord! I opened the windows and invited the cool-scented early morning air to stream into my room. The sky was awakening in a shimmering iridescence, with striated hues of gold, white and azure painted across the celestial zone. The morning suffused me with more vividness and energy like the fluffs of resplendent clouds above. In high-spirit, I was humming Cat Steven's 'Morning has broken' all the way down to the sitting room. Could not wait to be basked in the morning splendor, I opened the door and took my first stride on the porch floor. It, unexpectedly, landed onto something soft and wet. I retracted my step immediately and cast a look at the 'thing'. To my horror, it was a DEAD RAT! A Half-Eaten One in a pool of blood! All the pleasant feelings I had of the morning were gone in that very instant. Which darn cat had left such a 'new year gift' at my door step?

If pig trotters and chicken drumsticks have always looked good from a gourmet's point of view, what about a rat which was reduced to its bottom body then? Yucks! It made me stop thinking of breakfast right away. I could see the slivers of its broken muzzle and intestines around the carcass. From the fat hind legs of the unlucky rodent, I could tell that it had once been a huge rat. The sight of its severed testicles disgusted me even more and I felt like vomiting. Having no choice, I had to get rid of the body myself before it attracted flies and ants.

I swept the rat into a dust pan soon as I could and had it throw into a garbage bin two blocks away from my house. I had a fierce rash of goosebumps all over my body and it had taken me quite a long while to get over the feeling after repeated washings of the broom, the dust pan and my feet.

It was a violent end for the pitiful rat to start the new year. On comparison, the cat predator could be licking its paws in satisfaction now. I had not felt sympathetic to it at first. Nevertheless, I started to mourn its fate when imagining how lively it had been before being ruthlessly gnawed, killed and mutilated. Some humans are like the dead rat too - misunderstood, weak, poor, grimy, prejudiced or abused before their tragic ends.They have always been the first group we should help and yet they get the littlest care.

In your state of comfort, have you ever repelled any thing which is seen as unworthy and loathsome? How many of our friends live like rats and suffer to no end in the hands of those who have pleasures over their woes? Their rights have been denied and there is no one to speak up for them. Have you ever thought of helping them but have been too powerless or afraid to do it?

'

Do you have any recipe for low fat ice cream? I think the one that I always make is quite fattening. I picked up the skill from a friend.

The following is my recipe:

Ingredients A:
3 egg yolks
3 spoonfuls of confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Ingredients B
450g full cream evaporated milk
3 teaspoons cornstarch(dissolved in three spoonfuls of water)

Ingredients C
250ml whipped cream
3 spoonfuls confectioner's sugar

Ingredients D
2 teaspoons gelatin powder(dissolved in three teaspoons of warm water)

Method:
1. Beat ingredients A till stiff (at top speed).
2. Mix the full cream milk and starch water together.
3. Combine ingredients A and B in a standard steel bowl.
4. Par-boil the batter(keep stirring with a spoon) till
it becomes 1/5 thickened.
5. Set it aside to cool.
6. Beat the whipped cream and fold in the sugar
gradually till a peak is formed(at top speed).
7. Combine it with ingredients A and B with an egg beater at the lowest speed.
8. Add in the gelatin and stir evenly.
9. Pour the mixture into a plastic tub and keep it in the freezer.
10. When it has become partially set, beat it with the egg beater at the lowest speed again.
11. Repeat the same thing after three to four hours.
12. The ice-cream will become beautifully smooth and set the next day.

I find the home-made ice-cream a mite too creamy. Is it all right if I substitute egg yolks with egg white? Is it really a must using whipped cream? Will the ice-cream be less smooth if I use skimmed milk?

The taking of sheep placenta for beauty purposes is no longer a new practice among women. The number of men taking it is also on the rise. I have ever taken it and am amazed by its results.

I had a serious breakout ten years ago. I looked absolutely horrible because there was practically no 'non-affected' area on my countenance. I had tried a lot of facial products but none of them worked for me. At one time I used a product which caused me a serious allergy. Burning sensations were all over my face and I could hardly open my mouth because the skin around was too taut and dry. It had taken me months to be completely healed from it. The horrid scars had almost ruined my look. Seeing me depressed, a female friend recommended me to take Sheep Placenta capsules. Though the product was extremely pricey, I grabbed it without a thought. I took the capsules consistently every day. By the time I returned for work after a two-month long year-end break, my friends and colleagues were amazed to see my much improved complexion. It was much smoother and most scars had been lightened. I also felt more energetic than before.

I no longer take sheep placenta. It has become way too expensive these days. The one I am taking now is a plant -based product. Sometimes, I do have a strong urge to use the product again. However, I have misgivings towards it because quite a number of my friends told me that the food supplement may pose high risk to health.Some even said that it was not suitable for men.

Is it safe to continue taking sheep placenta for a long term? Ladies (and gentlemen), please share your knowledge of this food supplement with me.

I am throwing a special tea party now. I have plenty of goodies for you to eat and you may bring yours from home for sharing with me. There may be something lacking on the table or in the kitchen but I will suggest some other things for you. You have the right to accept or decline and suggest something in return. You may imagine the taste and comment on it. Feel free to take any one along to the party. They may be your real friends, your favourite fictitious characters or your favourite political leaders. They may also be the ones you hate.

Other than food and drinks, you may comment on anything inside and outside my house. Just imagine them with your creativity as far as possible. I 'll have no hard feelings towards any funny things said. I just want to learn the right way to host the occasion and the right things to say.....

Okay, what would you like to drink? Coffee or Tea?

I was assaulted by a man on my way home one dark night(two days ago after submitting two articles to 9rules- one on fried rice and the other on a funny tale). He pushed me to the ground from behind . He was trying to snatch my laptop knapsack away but I was able to struggle free and ran quickly from the spot. The man then got onto his friend's motorcycle and gave me a crazy chase. He soon caught me up and threw something to me. I did not bother to check what the thing was and managed to run to a safer place through a short cut.

I went to the police station later to lodge a police report. However, the desk officer there found my report suspicious. He kept interogating me rudely . I had been meek to his harshness at first but soon burst into anger, particularly after he had declared that I made up the story. I told him off that he was rude and incompetent as a policeman. It was only then that he listened properly to my recount and promised to investigate.

Before I went home, the silly policeman advised me to remember any assaulter's face as well as his vehicle's number if ever the incident happened again. He had normally found it a waste of time for one to lodge a police report without knowing anything about the attacker. The remarks offended me right away. It was difficult for me to do that that time. For one thing, it happened in the dark . For another, I was too shocked and traumatized. I retorted almost immediately, saying that it was unbecoming of him to mention things like that as a police man. He apologized to me.

I am still angry when recalling the two incidents, strangely more towards the police officer. Many friends of mine had ever faced the same unpleasant experience when lodging reports in the same place.Is it the way all policemen deal with every report-lodger? Have you any idea how to lodge it without being humiliated by them?

P.S: My body is still aching after the assault. There are some bruises and scratches on my arms and legs.