little bitty girl

I haven't had a chance to post about my own family Christmas dinner yet because, frankly, I am still digesting all the food. There is nothing quite like celebrating with the people you feel most comfortable with in your life. It's really strange and I know that I always seem in awe that my family and I get along so well. I think it's because throughout the years, I have just come to notice how lucky I am to truly enjoy the company of my family and that not many people have this. Don't get me wrong, it's not always hunky dory as we're all also a bunch of opinionated hot heads but we always make up in the end.

The great thing about Kang family dinners is that we're A.D.D. eaters and need a wide variety. This will sound like a really weird Christmas dinner to most people in North America but really there is only so much turkey one can eat over the holidays. We each always just make what we like and so our meals are a real mix. There is also the consideration that my dad is a pretty traditional Chinese food eater so we tend to make Asian dishes.

Our Christmas dinner consisted of -
Appetizer
Poh Piah, a soft shelled type of Malaysian spring roll filled with veggies and shirmp
Roti Jala, (loosely translated to Net Bread) my mum makes a shell that looks like a fish net and wraps curried chicken cooked until completely tender and flakey

Main Course
Korean BBQ Short Ribs
Sauteed Long Bok Choy
Spicy Black Bean Clams
Cashew Nut Chicken
Steamed Red Snapper with a Ginger-Garlic Sauce
all served with rice (of course!)

Dessert
Individual angel cake, layered with raspberry compote, sliced fresh stawberries soaked in rum, whipped cream and topped with lemon custard and icing sugar. This was provided by Ken, with the cream whipped by Irene.

My mum was super cute and made us all goodie baskets. She made these delicious meringues, topped with chocolate, pear shaped cookies with cashew nuts, Indonesian layer cake and the best one - pineapple filled swan tarts. Stefan was super fascinated by them and was very surprised when he discovered they were not made from a mold but individually made by hand. I don't think his mum was such a "crafty" type baker although she does make this unbelievable baked cheesecake that people would give up their newborns for. (At least for a day.) As my mum was describing to Stefan how she made them, he promptly chomped one down without ceremony. I think she was a little heartbroken he ate them so fast!

We all howled with laughter. He told my mum that in the future she should just make him one special one and the rest without all the detail because he cares more for quantity and taste instead of the finesse. She just sulked at him. It makes me really happy that they have such a wonderful rapport.

We then spent the rest of the night laughing, drinking, playing Backgammon and watching March of The Penguins. Sigh! Now it's over. Until CHINESE NEW YEAR!! Woo hoo!