Chinese Lucky/Prosperity Charm

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and so is Chinese New Year. In conjunction with both celebrations, this month I am going to write about all things RED and PINK. I will surely post photos of the RED or PINK things (depends on what I see and took at the time).

For today, it is going to be this Chinese luck charm Colin got from his friend. The year 2007 is the year of the boar/pig, hence the boar charm, tied with the 3 Chinese coins. I'm no expert on Chinese feng shui but according to my research, the boar symbolises wealth and prosperity, while the 3 coins act as amulets against disease-bearing demons. The coins also symbolises money.

~ Colin's Chinese lucky charm

Coincidentally, Colin was born in the year of the boar. He certainly hopes that 2007 will bring more luck and money into his life. I sure do hope so, because more money for him, means more money to shop for me! Lol!!! I think that's all about the RED item for today. Will keep posting more interesting stuff soon, that is if you guys promise to keep reading!

====================

Oh, I so need to post this. Some of my friends requested for me to post my recipes on my blog. I have no idea why, but heck, here it goes. Let's start with a photo of what I had for lunch today. It may not look like an average food a Malaysian would eat, but I was tad lazy to cook. Anyways, the recipe for today is Sambal Tumis. Sounds simple, right? Trust me, this sambal is superb especially eaten with hot rice and sliced cucumber, ulam style.

~ White rice with sambal tumis and egg

By the way, in case you're wondering, I didn't fry the egg. Instead, I steamed it while the rice is being cooked. How to prepare the sambal tumis, you ask? Here it goes:

Ingredients:

Anchovies

Belacan

Chilli paste

Yellow onion (finely chopped)

Cooking oil

Salt and sugar

Preparation:

Firstly, fry the anchovies. Pour a few tablespoons of cooking oil BEFOREHAND, duh! Lol. Stir occasionally until the anchovies turn brownish.

Then, throw in your chopped onions. Stir fry till the onion becomes a little soft. That means it's half cooked.

Then, mix the chilli paste into the anchovies and onion. The chilli paste is where you get the reddish colour from. Don't forget to put in the belacan. If you have lesung batu or pestle and mortar, use it to soften the belacan. You can mix some sugar and salt this time, according to your liking. If you like it spicy, you may add shopped cili padi too. Stir for a couple of minutes, and you're done!

====================

Hope you enjoyed reading and try it out! =) I would love to know how your sambal tumis turns out.