The world of Tzu Chi (Vol.110)

2019 • 05 58 ellness More Positive Energy, Less Calories When faced with food, no matter how tasty, one must exercise self-restraint in order to be able to savour the food one enjoys for the rest of one’s life. Translated by Woon Xiao Rui L ast Chinese New Year, my mother gave me two homemade glutinous rice cakes from a relative, which ended up sitting in my fridge untouched. When my mother came to visit at the end of the year, she opened the fridge and found the glutinous rice cakes, much to her dismay. She shook her head and said, “These cakes are about to turn to stone if you keep on storing them here! Buy some desiccated coconut to go with them and finish them up. Chinese NewYear is coming again in less than two months!” MostChinese familieswouldcut theglutinous rice cake into slices, coat them in an egg-and-flour batter mixture, and then deep-fry them in hot oil for a crispy, delectable delicacy. I was reminded of the time when a relative came to stay over at our house one Chinese New Year and she went to the nearby market to buy an oil-filtering funnel. Why did she come all the way to Singapore to buy a funnel? The said relative eagerly professed that since not a single funnel was to be found in our kitchen, she bought us one to be used for deep-frying glutinous rice cakes. I gave a chuckle and told her that we did not own a funnel, simply because we did not have the habit of deep-frying food. Puzzled, she asked, “How did you go about eating glutinous rice cakes then?” “I grew up eating my mother’s steamed glutinous rice cakes with desiccated coconut, so that’s how I have been eating glutinous rice cakes all along,” I replied. With a knowing smile, my relative remarked, “Like mother, like daughter, indeed.” As a child, I joined my elders in making kuih kapit , but never have I had festive snacks the likes of arrowhead chips. Once, I went to a friend’s house and saw her mother making arrowhead chips in the backyard. I observed intently as she sliced the arrowheads thinly, before patiently deep-frying the arrowhead slices in hot oil. I could not help but exclaim, “It must be tiring having to stand all the while making such a huge batch of chips!” “These few jars of chips won’t even last the whole family through the Chinese New Year season. My eldest would polish off one whole jar while watching television!” came her blunt reply, while casting a backward glance at my friend. Evidently, the extra calories we tend to pile on during the Chinese New Year season are not only attributed to the greasy dishes served at celebratory meal gatherings, but also deep-fried titbits. My friend asserted, “The peanut cookies and arrowhead chips that we snack on during Chinese New Year are all homemade. Surely they are healthier than those purchased from the store.” Before I could respond, she quickly added with a sheepish shrug, “But then again, they are essentially deep-fried despite being homemade!” Irresistible snacks I believe those who prepare their own