NOYA Traditional Chinese New Year Cookies

Every year about a moth before Chinese New Year you would be able to see a lot of these so-called Chinese New Year cookies at bakeries, supermarkets and etc. This year we are delighted to receive some early New Year goodies from NOYA (Tai Sun (Lim Kee) Food Industries) which we could try out some of their products that are on sales at major local supermarkets such as Cold Storage, FairPrice, Giant and etc. 

Traditional Pineapple Tarts (380g | S$10.80/jar) with good balance of base and golden pineapple jam on top. We love the taste of the pineapple jam which is not too sweet and without those commercial artificial taste.

Rolled Pineapple Tarts (380g | S$10.80/jar) with good proportion of pastry to fillings and each is coated with golden glazed layer to enhance the buttery taste of the tarts. If to make a choice between the two types of Pineapple Tarts, my vote would goes to the one with pineapple jam on top of the pastry as I felt it taste much better compared to the rolled type.

Personally I love those round Almond cookies from Hong Kong or certain pastry shop whereby the cookie will melt in your mouth when eaten. But this Almond Delights (300g, | S$10.80/jar) from NOYA was rather special with a after taste of sweet and salty mixture that makes you crave for more. And for your information this is also one of NOYA bestselling signature cookies which made from Tai Suns premium USA Almond.

This Macadamia Delights (300g | S$11.80/jar) has a slight crunch on the outside and a lovely creamy texture inside which made from top-quality of macadamias nuts from Australia. Furthermore the few of us who had tried all comes to a conclusion that this cookie has a very special taste which is quite similar to Horlicks .

The Kueh Bangkek (250g | S$6.50/jar) on the other hand was rather a bit disappointed for my taste as I was expecting something more fragrance with those melt-in-mouth texture. Although it has a light pandan fragrant but I think the taste could be better in order to bring out that traditional taste.

Traditional Jade Delights (300g | S$8.90/jar)  are actually green peas cookies in pale green colour which resembles Jade. I love the nutty and buttery flavour which comes with hint of salty taste lingering in your mouth.

Ah-Ma Love Letters (400g | S$11.80/tin) comes in those old school tin can and each piece of the Love Letters are made with traditional recipe using cane sugar. Although they are light and flake but to us we think it still lack of some coconut fragrance.

Lastly I would like to thank Esther from Tai Sun who sent us these lovely NOYA traditional Chinese New Year Cookies.

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Traditional Christmas roast oven baked pork shoulder with honey mustard and rosemary

Photo by Juta Kübarsepp for the December issue of Kodu ja Aed magazine, 2012 

Whats your traditional Christmas roast (assuming youre eating meat)? Turkey? Goose? Duck?

In Estonia its definitely pork, though roast poultry has become more popular during recent years. Ive been flirting with roast goose and actually served duck leg confit on Christmas Eve this year. It was delicious.

However, for years Ive been serving pork roast - a pork shoulder (kaelakarbonaad in Estonian) in a mustard-honey-garlic-rosemary marinade, to be more precise. I love that its a pretty fool-proof recipe, simple to make, with lots of flavour. And - as an added bonus - any leftovers are excellent on top of rye bread on the days after the party, or as part of a salad. So if youre not making it for a big family feast, you can still make the same amount and simply make several meals out of it.

So here you go. Nami-Namis traditional Christmas roast. On the photo above, its accompanied by black pudding (blood sausages) - another traditional Christmas dish.

Wish you all a lovely festive season!!!

Traditional Christmas roast
(Ahjupraad karbonaadist)
Serves about 10

2 kg boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt)
3-4 Tbsp honey
3-4 Tbsp Dijon mustard or Estonian Põltsamaa mustard
2-3 fresh rosemary sprigs (leaves only)
3 large garlic cloves
2 tsp sea salt

Finely chop garlic cloves and rosemary leaves, then mix with honey and mustard until combined.
Season the meat generously with salt, then spread the mustard-honey mixture all over the pork shoulder and massage into the meat.
Place the pork shoulder into a large ovenproof dish, cover with foil and place into a fridge or cold larder for 1-2 days.
Bring back to the room temperature about an hour before you plan to cook the meat.
If you have a meat thermometer, then stick it into the thickest part of the meat (you can do this through the kitchen foil).
Roast the meat in a pre-heated 160 C / 320 F oven for about 2,5 hours or until the meat thermometer has reached 82-85 C/ 180-185 F.
If you plan to serve gravy with your meat, then pour a cup of hot water into the baking tray half-way through the cooking. 
When the meat is cooked, remove the foil, season the meat once more lightly with salt and then bake for another 10-15 minutes at about 200-220 C/ 390-425 F, just to brown the meat  a little.

Remove the roast pork from the oven, cover again with a kitchen foil and leave to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving into thin slices.

This recipe was also included in my latest cookbook, Jõulud kodus ("Christmas at Home"), published in Estonian in November 2011. 
I also included the recipe in the December 2012 issue of Kodu & Aed magazine. 

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Traditional Icelandic fish soup halibut soup Fiskisúpa lúðusúpa

This soup is among the oldest recorded Icelandic recipes. Its sweet-sour taste is unusual for fish-based soups.

Traditionally, the recipe is given for halibut, but you can also use salmon, trout, wolf-fish or lumpfish, or other fatty fish.

1 1/2 kg fresh fish with bones, cut into pieces to fit in the pan
1 1/2 litre water
2 tbs white vinegar
2 tsp salt
2 bay leaves

50 g flour
100 ml cold water

1/2 lemon
20 prunes
1-2 tbs sugar
200 ml water

potatoes
parsley

If the prunes are dry, soak them in water for an hour or so, or cook them in a little sugar-water with the zest of the 1/2 lemon until soft. Keep them whole.

Put water, salt, vinegar and bay leaves in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the fish. skim off the scum when the liquid boils again. cook the fish until it loosens from the bones. Strain the cooking liquid into another saucepan, leaving a little in the pan with the fish to keep it moist.

Mix together the flour and cold water into a smooth paste. Bring the strained cooking liquid to the boil and pour in the flour paste in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Cook for 5-10 minutes.

When the soup is fully cooked, add the lemon juice and prunes, and if they were cooked, the prune cooking liquid with them.

Arrange the fish on a serving dish and surround with boiled potatoes, sprinkled with chopped parsley. Serve on the side with the soup.

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