Certain dishes are eaten during the Chinese New Year because of their symbolic meaning, where certain words, pronunciation, or even the presentation of the dish itself represent wealth, joy or luck.
This classic dessert is known as “fu chuk yi mai pak koh tong sui”, which translates to barley, beancurd and ginkgo nut dessert soup. It signifies having wealth, as “fu” means “having prosperity” or “being prosperous”. So why not start your New Year with a bowl of sweet, sweet wealth?
Fu chuk yi mai pak koh tong sui is excellent when served during Chinese reunion dinner, and is really easy to make. Give it a try!
Ingredients
- 100g ginkgo nuts, cracked and deshelled
- 100g barley
- 3 pieces fu chuk (beancurd sheets, the soft kind)
- 5 blocks honeycomb sugar
- 2 eggs
- 8-12 cups of water
Method
- Rinse the barley with clean running water, and gently pat the fu chuk sheets with a slightly damp cloth to remove any dust.
- Crack the eggs into a bowl, beat and set aside.
- Add 8-12 cups of water to a pot and pour in the clean barley.
- Place on the stove on medium heat and bring to a boil. Add the fu chuk and ginkgo nuts once the water starts boiling. Allow to boil for up to 30 minutes, until the barley is fully cooked.
- When the fu chuk has broken up and the ginkgo nuts are soft, add the honeycomb sugar. You can adjust the sweetness to your liking.
- Create a “flower egg” by pouring the beaten egg slowly into the pot in a thin stream while stirring its contents continuously. This creates fine threads of cooked egg in the dessert. Turn off the heat immediately after pouring in the egg as you don’t want it to overcook.
- Serve the dessert warm. For extra “wow” factor, use a pretty Chinese porcelain bowl and ceramic spoon. Enjoy!
Tip
- Beancurd sheets are available from your local morning market. There are two varieties – the hard type more suited for frying, and the soft type usually used for desserts.
This article first appeared in butterkicap.com.
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