Yam Cake

Spotted fresh taro (yam) at the market and since then I have been wondering what to make out of it.. It's great as a snack, usually I just steam it and sprinkle a little salt on it, but there are other ways to eat it too.. and I'm torn between trying to make a dim-sum style yam cake (wu tow ko), or the traditional Indonesian yam cake (we call it gethuk. It's mildly sweet and eaten with grated mature coconut flesh that is sprinkled with salt). 

I ended up choosing to make the dim-sum style, just because I've never made it before (and also because I love dried shrimp! - as a matter of fact, I love prawns so much my family nick-named me "the Queen of prawn")

Ingredients:

350 g  yam, peeled & cut into 2cm cubes

275 g rice flour

125 g corn starch

1 L water

150 g dried shrimp, soaked, then drained.

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 tbsp salt

a pinch of white pepper

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp fried shallots 

1 stalk scallion, chop finely

a few tbsp oil

1. Grease a square baking tray lightly with a little oil, set aside. (choose one that will fit in your steamer)
2. Sift the flour & corn starch together, add water, mix well & strain the mixture.
   Steam the yam pieces for about 10-15 minutes or until slightly soft.
3. Heat the oil, fry minced garlic until fragrant. Add in steamed yam cubes, salt, pepper, sugar, mix well.
4. Pour the flour mixture into the frying pan and continue stirring until the mixture thickens (about 5 mins)
5. Pour the thickened batter into the greased tray and place back into the steamer for further 30 minutes, or until cooked thoroughly.

As you steam the cake, prepare the topping:

Heat another tbsp/ 2 of oil, add in the chopped prawns & chili & spring onion. Stir until fragrant.

Mix with the fried shallots.

When the cake is done, turn it out and cut as desired, and decorate it with the topping.
I cut mine into large squares (it made for quite a filling snack!)

It's been a long, long week

So here's how the story goes.. After the last HK trip I feel exceedingly tired (I thought it was because of the sun and the long haul flights to and fro), but as I settled back home in Perth, I still feel tired, rather nauseated, and generally... so un-like me. It lasts for almost a week now, and I knew something was off, and although I'm not fond of doctor visits, I guess this time I have to make an allowance. 

Before I even make it to the doctor though, I decided to stop by the chemist to get a cold medicine, and, before I realized it, a pregnancy test. I mean, odd, but I acted on gut instinct. That morning the test came back with a single straight pink line. I felt a little relieved, at least I know my condition isn't due to pregnancy. So I make a booking with my GP for the next afternoon.

The day went by and at night time, I still didn't feel any better. Tossing and turning in my sleep is highly irregular for I'm a deep sleeper; so against all odds, by 5 am the next morning, I did another test. Waiting for a few minutes felt like an eternity, and when I came back to check on the test, still bleary-eyed, I blinked. I blinked again. I rubbed my eyes and picked up the piece of test strip. I saw two pink lines. Huh... What?

It took me awhile to return to the room, and digested the information. Is it possible for the test to be inaccurate? two tests and two different results..  So I decided to tell my other half, who became wide awake after hearing my news. Well, cutting the story short, the GP visit that afternoon confirmed it; I am around 6-7 weeks pregnant; and those hormones are responsible for my slight discomfort. And I'm on my way to becoming a new mom, in, err.. another 32 weeks.

I gotta say I have a mixed feeling. More of nervousness and uncertainty rather than excitement; I guess I didn't know what to expect, and as I'm writing this, I wonder if other women feel the same way too? or are they all happy & excited when they find out?
Well, I confirmed the news with A, and he was happy, though he was as nervous as myself initially. My mom in law was happy for sure, I saw her grinning from ear to ear, *LOL* this bub will be her first grand..son/daughter? and my parents were ecstatic. After all, they've been bugging us for the last couple of years (subtly, of course...heheheh) to start thinking of family planning. 

Yeah, all that makes me really tired.. sleepy, even.. Yay, maybe now I can sleep better!! welcome to mummy's tummy, bub!

Pregnant?