As I was going through some of the cookbooks I have worked on, memories of watching and helping my grandmother preparing food at home triggered a flood of nostalgia and a tinge of regret. Some cookbook authors have inherited legacies of written recipes from their ancestors. Alas, I cannot boast of inheriting recipes handed down by my grandmother or my mother. I can only rely on my memories and to cook from my heart.
I spent a good 10 years growing up with this grand old lady. She had learned to master cooking although she grew up in a well to do family in Guangzhou. Forced to leave her family behind she came to Malaya with nothing however, it did not dampen her spirits.
Widowed at a young age,( her goldsmith husband was murdered) with a meager salary, she managed to put food on the table for her three children, my mother and her two younger brothers. By the time I arrived, she was already in her early sixties.
I remember all too well, preparing delicious dishes, especially for the festivals. It was a major event for her as she would use her private savings to buy the best quality ingredients. We had to wait for this very special occasion once a year. Her eight treasure duck , pig trotters in ginger vinegar, dried octopus fried rice, ginger chicken in homemade wine soup, superior soy prawns, home made waxed pork belly, fried glutinous rice, steamed radish cake and of course her piece de resistance ........ her peanut puffs, left us wanting for more the next day too.
Using the best peanut oil, which was known as the infamous "Cock Brand" (they also made one of the most delicious peanut butter spread I've ever eaten during the 70's) she slowly mixes it into the flour, gently kneading and pulling till it turns into a soft dough. There was no need for measures, just passion.
I would be instructed to cut round pastry skins using an old drinking glass. Crushed sugary peanuts would fill up the wrappers waiting to be coaxed, crimped and turned into petite dainty peanut puffs. Each puff would then be fried to a golden perfection. Leftover dough would then be turned into pieces of art to please the God of the Kitchen ...... miniature mandarin oranges, peaches, lily bulbs, prosperity pillows, each carrying significant auspicious meanings invoking blessings for the new year.
She lived well into her seventies, still cooking and teaching all the women in the family. Of course, Auntie no 1 is the only one who still carries on the tradition of preparing grandmother's dishes during Chinese New Year, which includes the peanut puffs.
Though I have not master the art of making traditional peanut puffs, I will definitely make an attempt before the next Spring Festival. In fact, just the very thought of this makes me want to make a batch of peanut butter now using organic peanuts of course. That, is another topic to write on next time.
