#鱼鳔

[buffetlicious]

Mum only prepared this Pork Ribs Soup to go with the steamed rice for dinner. In the bowl are two cuts of pork, fish balls, fish maw (鱼鳔/花胶), carrots and lettuces with the soup flavoured by dried scallops. Fish maw is dried swim bladders of large fishes like croaker or sturgeon. In Asian cuisine, it is considered to be one of the top four delicacies of the sea (abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin and fish maw).

[wrecklwj]

Happy chuyi! Screenshot to stop the gif for a blessing!

Wishing everyone a prosperous, joyful, and healthy year ahead!

㊗️新年快乐，笑口常开，年年有余，事事顺利！🧧🎉🎇🍍

Blessing list:

1. 红红火火 (prosperous and affluent)

2. 好运连连 (a string of good fortune)

3. 好事发生 (good things happen)

4. 万事胜意 (good outcomes, surpassing expectations)

5. 平安喜乐 (peace and joy)

6. 蒸蒸日上 (continuous improvement)

7. 时来运转 (favourable circumstances)

8. 诸事皆宜 (things go your way)

9. 有趣有盼 (looking ahead, positive spirit)

10. 锦鲤开运 (koi fish’s good luck)

11. 无忧无虑 (carefree and untroubled)

12. 所愿所得 (all your wishes come true)

What is pencai (盆菜)?

Pencai, featured in the gif above, is a dish traditionally eaten during the Lunar New Year, composed of layers of different ingredients, symbolizing prosperity and abundance.

Recipe 1 and Recipe 2

Here’s what a typical pencai dish is composed of!

1. Chicken feet (凤爪)

2. Duck wing (鸭翅)

3. Chinese cabbage (白菜)

4. Abalone (鲍鱼)

5. Beancurd skin (腐皮)

6. Fish maw (鱼鳔)

7. Carrots (红萝卜)

8. Pork belly (五香肉)

9. Fatt choy (发菜)

10. Lotus root (莲藕)

11. Bamboo pith (竹笙)

12. Sea cucumber (海参)

13. Conpoy (干瑶柱)

14. Mushroom (香菇)

15. Prawn (虾)

[percivallorraine]

碎裂

art by@patheticnapoleonicfanggirl0521

*缪拉在死前逃亡的船上。

by Percival Lorraine

船只随着波浪摇晃，就像巨大的摇篮被顽皮的孩童大力推动，摇的人胃里翻江倒海的，很多随从都趴在船边呕吐，大概是被晃醒了，缪拉从船舱里的房间中央的床上直起身子，硬板床让他感到肩膀酸痛���他从梦中大汗淋漓的醒来，不清楚自己梦到��什么，只感觉头颅里有一团混沌的东西在晃荡着，敲钟一样敲击着他的颅骨，头涨得慌，他把放在床头的衣服穿起来，不厌其烦的一个个整理好繁缛的细节，他站起来，已经分不清自己是在摇晃着走路，还是船本身在摇晃着，房间的最前面镶着一道木门，歪歪斜斜的，和门框咬合不正，从边角的缝隙里漏出惨白的光来，一副可怜的样子。

他拉开门，门口一个年轻的侍从正侧身走过。

“请你帮我拿把梳子来…”

他感觉自己的睫毛和眼睑好像黏在一起了（分泌物），睁眼都有点困难，他的蓝眼睛看着侍从，那侍从是自己认得的，昨天还见过。侍从听到他的声音，纹满了疲惫的嘴角的肌肉挤出一个微笑，转头看着曾经的亲王，眼皮抬起来，缪拉看到他粉红的，快要张裂的内眼角，布满血丝的神经质的巩膜里，黑眼珠忽然显得如此的小，好像毕生的力气都用尽了。

“怎么了。”

那侍从嗫嚅了一下嘴唇，他张开的嘴里看得见臼齿，随后他把声音压到地上去。

“元帅…头发…”

“头发…？头发怎么了？”

他刚听到有点不解，但随即慌了神，那侍从几乎是要爬了，他像是从别人手里抢了一把镜子一样，把那个银制雕花边框的小镜子塞到缪拉手里。

缪拉把目光逐渐挪到镜子上，反光的镜子，在他身后的墙壁上投下一个闪动的光斑。

缪拉看着镜子里，他颤抖的手指触碰自己蜷曲的头发，一头乌发已经变成老妪一样的灰白。原本落在衣襟上的乌黑，一缕缕的如同撕破的灰绢一样掺杂着银线，枯槁而分叉，手指触碰了一下发尾，弯曲的指节抬起来。掀起来的发丝感觉很真实，确实嵌入了指甲下面，一阵酥麻的痒感。

好恶心，好恶心，门轴转动的嘶哑声刺激着他的神经，他居然觉得自己老了，他的面容一下子如同被拧皱的布一样扭曲起来，拉扯起来抽动的嘴角，紧握着镜子的手指上，厚重的枪茧好像一下子如同烈日下干涸的稻田一样皲裂了，他把眼皮抬起来的时候，意识到眼睑黏着睫毛的黄浊的分泌物，他站立在那里，胃液混合着胆汁好像要打开贲门一下子涌上来，舌头末端的苦和麻，这种感觉忽然一下子不真实了，他感觉自己被抽了出来，眼前不受控制的开始浮现那些令人反胃的场景，甲板上弹跳抽搐的虾，仆人在杀鱼，血红的手指，手指之间的血做的蹼一样牵扯出粘稠的鲜血和块状物，一定是抠破了鱼胆，所以鱼腥和苦的味道一下子爆开，海鱼的鳞被刀背掀起来，像是翘起来的指甲，挽起的袖子上面有暗红的血污，伴随着那只手狠狠的扎进了剖开的鱼腹，又把白花花的又缠着血红的，好比散乱的麻绳一样纠缠的鱼肠，暗绿的苦胆，泵一样收张的心脏，气球一样胀着的鱼鳔，掏出来，掏出来，太恶心了，真是太讨厌了，他深深为此感到恶心，强烈的情绪让他无法专注，他忽然又想到梳齿上的油垢，纠缠的乱发，海水的盐渍留在晾干的衣物上，咸腥的风硬的像铁，剐蹭着他的鼻腔，他想起身体里张开的贲门，趴在船缘呕吐的士兵…潮湿的泥浆让靴子地下滑腻的好比抹了油…

镜子反复碎裂，崩裂的镜面洒落一地，拼凑出他错位的五官，他的眼角即使不笑也有细纹了，年少时光洁的额头褶皱堆砌起来，在灰白的前髪的掩盖下，藏在它们的阴影里，嘴唇旁边的皮肤开始松弛，青白的胡茬落在嘴唇上边，高高簇拥着脸颊的领子旁边，鬓须也白了…

不…不要…我的光阴…在颤抖的手指的罅隙里逃逸走了，舌头好比被剪断了一样的，他一时间竟然说不出话，破碎的镜子随着船只的摇晃，他的脸不断的错位，睁大的眼睑以内，原本白瓷一样的巩膜要开始发黄了，只有蓝眼珠未曾褪色，也没有染上污浊。

他忽然听见铃铛咧嘴狂笑，模模糊糊的，也是在摇晃，但却是在马背上，马蹄才在干热的，垄起如同土地的乳房一样的田埂，他看到旁边的少年人笑着，诉说自己的梦想，他的脸在泪湿的眼睛里面看着很模糊，这是谁呢��他竟有点想不起来了，他感觉自己心里是东西一下子的松懈了，塌陷了，如同一排排倒下去的书架，余下一片狼藉，他看到被自己扔掉的圣经，因为撞击被累起褶皱的歪扭书角，散开的书页，边缘黏滞的胶，歪歪扭扭的字迹批注在空白页上，那些字如同爬虫一下忽而的扭动起来，在褶皱的纸面上蠕动着。忽然一转，又看见父亲离去的背影，母亲晃动的摇篮，他忽然感到一阵眩晕，颈椎不断刺痛，面前烧伤的白墙，熟的石灰被风大片大片的剥落下来，如同在尸体上剥离下沾满鲜血的衣服。

剖开胸腔的时候，张开的裂口里面，停止跳动的心脏在肋骨洁白的怀抱里，他想起那条鱼，很漂亮的鱼，黑色的眼珠因为没有眼睑圆睁着，鱼没有眼睑，不再有欺骗的眨眼，闪躲的目光也因此随之逸散了，银光的鱼鳞像是海的白沫。背景里有金属切割肉体，紧握锯子的手一下下拉锯的动作，血液干涸在衣服上，呈现出板结的褐色…失去了石灰的白墙，轰然倒塌，一地瓦砾，他听见死前的呢喃，这些像是在无中虐杀他，脚趾上愈合了的冻伤，又开始流脓，心里发酸，脏器好像要被胃酸腐蚀了，肌肉和骨骼都像是要自我溶解一般，他终是没有哭，也没什么可哭的。

他站在一地的瓦砾和狼藉的书本里面，镜子一次次碎裂，海风灌入他的衣袖，他深吸一口气，感受鼻腔后端浓厚的异味，他感觉灵魂又回到身体里了，只是幻觉更加汹涌的袭击他，他看见好多宝蓝色的蝴蝶，说不出名字，那些蝴蝶忽然充盈到一个昏暗窄小的房间里，包围了他和他所依靠的人，阴冷的冬夜里，毯子被一次次裹紧，他的朋友，他的战友，抱着哑火的枪，他的面靥忽而的清晰起来，忽然的和镜子里错位的影子重叠了，他感觉心脏停跳了半拍，那些蝴蝶飞散以后，余下有一只忽的扑到燃烧的灯火里了。

镜子的光斑灼烧在房间的天花板上，太阳一点点偏移，打在他的眼角里，只是过了一瞬，却像走完一生一样，仆从又站起来，他看见刚才满��惊愕和恐惧的元帅，渐渐平复下来，他挤出一个微笑，老去的漂亮的脸上，嘴角勾起了一点点微笑，或许是在逞强，谁知道呢？但是他吐出一口气，然后低头，看到镜子里的自己。

“没事，我也该老了。”

船只在大海的怀抱里摇晃着，一下下颠簸着，好比母亲摇动摇篮，舵手强健的胳膊上青筋又一次跳动着，又有人趴在船沿，不知道是想看看风景还是想呕吐。

[adzizi]

Braised Fish Maw & Shiitake Mushroom with Broccoli 鱼鳔香菇西兰花 #foodporn #sedapgiler #fyp #MYfoodie #fypsarawak #menurahmah #postbariatricsurgery #bariatricmeal #minigastricbypass #bariatricwarrior #malaysianfood #dinner

[buffetlicious]

Mum preps this Pork Ribs & Noodles Soup for our dinner. Beside the pieces of yong tau foo (酿豆腐), she also added fish maw (鱼鳔/花胶) and leafy lettuces. The slightly flatter yellow noodles to better soak up the dried scallop, sweetened broth.

[buffetlicious]

Mum is cooking tonight and I present you the Chicken & Bitter Gourd Stir-Fry with whole scallops. The chicken meat is deboned drumsticks and thighs with frozen scallops. Next dish is more premium as mum is using expensive grouper fish for this Spicy Red Grouper & Bamboo Shoot with tomato wedges for acidity.

Here is my Dinner with the above two mentioned dishes and leftover pork ribs & fish maw soup from yesterday. Mum also bought a bowl of pork & shrimp dumplings during her morning market trip to add to the dishes.

[buffetlicious]

The Reunion Dinner (年夜饭, 团年饭 or 团圆饭) is an annual feast where family members reaffirm the love and respect that bind them together as a unit. It is also known as tuanyuan (团圆) or weilu (围炉) meaning “gathering around the family hearth”. This event is of sociological significance as it is a means to ensure the solidarity of the family and its cohesiveness. Family members are expected return to the family home for reunion dinner. The more traditional Chinese families also “invite” their deceased ancestors to join them by placing offerings on the family altar. As convention dictates, all sons return to their parental homes for the occasion. Married daughters, on the other hand, join their husbands’ families for reunion dinner on Chinese New Year Eve.

This year we managed to gather all members of my brothers and their families to join us for the Reunion Dinner (团圆饭). We decided to head back to Lai Huat Signatures (来發) at Gambas as the place is conveniently located nearby and accessible for all three of the families. We made reservation for 6pm and the place is already crowded. A brief discussion on what to choose from the abbreviated menu (compared to last year), we are ready to order.

First to be served is this Fish Maw with Crab Meat Soup (蟹肉鱼鳔羹). Although we ordered the large portion (S$45), there is barely enough to fill up ten small bowls and we have eleven people. As in the pictures, there are plenty of sliced fish maw, crab meat and mushroom in a thicken soup. I drizzled some black vinegar and a dash of pepper to give it acidity and spiciness. Texture wise, the fried fish maw is on the rough side and just needs a little more time on the stove.

If you are a coffee person, you will love this Coffee Pork Ribs (咖啡排骨). The boneless pork is dredged in flour and deep-fried before coated with a layer of savoury and sweet coffee-based sauce which is bound to give you that caffeine high. I love the succulent pork slices with the bittersweet coffee sauce clinging to meat and it goes well with rice.

Sis recommended the Braised Bean Curd Skin with Kai Lan (豆根芥兰). Most of us had never tried this combination of fried knotted bean curd skin with kai lan (Chinese broccoli or Chinese kale). But my younger brother and I think that the savoury oyster sauce (I think) works with the chewy bean curd skin and the still crisp bite of the vegetable along with whole shiitake mushrooms.

[buffetlicious]

The lazy Susan was quickly filled with dishes as we continued with our reunion dinner. The Prawn Paste Chicken (虾酱鸡) featured plump and juicy mid-wings coated in a batter of fermented shrimp paste. Also known as Har Cheong Gai, it is crispy with an umami aftertaste and a hit with young and old.

The stir-fried French Bean with Dried Shrimp (虾米四季豆) might look deceptively plain but plain and simple it is not! The string beans or green beans is flash-fried with minced hae bee (dried shrimps) to absorb the wok hei (wok thermal radiation or breath of the wok) yet maintained the crunchy texture and aroma of the sea (dried shrimp). This dish was one of the highlights of the dinner.

My nephew asked for this Fried Rice with Chicken (鸡丁炒饭) as he preferred it over the steamed white rice the rest of us are having. The Yam Ring (佛钵飘香) featured a ring of deep-fried mashed yam (taro) and filled with sautéed seafood such as prawn, squid and also various vegetables. Normally one would also find cashew nuts in it, but I didn’t notice any this time. Plating is done haphazardly as the chef just poured everything into the yam ring. If I will to do it, I would place the vegetables at the bottom and present the seafood on top with a sprinkle of crunchy cashew nuts over it. Anyway, dish is passable but not fantastic in taste and an “F” for presentation.

Popeye’s power booster canned vegetable is reimagined into Spinach with Trio Eggs (三皇苋菜). To enhance the power, three kinds of egg are used – normal chicken egg, preserved century egg and salted duck egg. Finally, the eyes is also protected with goji berry or wolfberry added into the thick soup. With all the above ingredients used, how can a vegetable soup like this not be good for you?

Fish Maw & Crab Meat Soup (蟹肉鱼鳔羮) is the most expensive dish of the night at S$45 (large portion) due to the two premium ingredients. The thickened soup is chocked with the spongy fish maw, succulent crab meat and I also detected mushrooms in there. Before eating, drizzle a few drops of the black vinegar and add a dash of white pepper.

The Emperor Chicken (皇帝鸡) is also known as herbal chicken. In the olden days, the emperor’s diet was strictly prescribed and monitored by physicians, because it was important for the emperor to be in excellent health in order to focus on governing the Kingdom. This was one of the healthy dishes the emperor ate! The chicken is wrapped in the waxed paper and aluminum foil then steamed for a few hours until the meat is tender and the flavours of the herbs is infused into the chicken.

The last dish to be served is the Poached Prawns (白灼虾). If the ingredients are fresh, you just need minimum condiments and simple cooking style to bring out the best in taste. So here the prawns are boiled in basically water, ginger and scallion for a couple of minutes at most. Chinese cooking wine is then drizzled into the broth to enhance the overall flavours.

For this reunion meal, we spent S$331.76 for the dishes, steamed rice and drinks including 10% service charge. I can foresee the next year we will be back here for our dinner again. After all the food is good and the place is nearby our houses.