In week 8, we got the chance to be taught by our principal, Mdm Ng Chuen Yin, to make a traditional Hakka dish, Suan Pan Zi, which is also known as Yam Abacus seeds.
This traditional dish is usually eaten during festivals as it signifies wealth.
It was an interesting experience making it, from mashing the yam to frying the “abacus seeds” with other ingredients like chicken, cuttlefish and mushrooms.
THOUGHTS?
JAMIE: Although i dont really like the yam but the process of making the suan pan zi was enjoyable especially when you can choose your friend to cook this dish with you. I used to think that Chinese food is just a combination of ingredients and stir frying them together but now i know that it is a tedious process and i also learned more about teamwork.
XIN YING: It was my first time in the school kitchens so it was an eye-opener for me. I used to think that it was all child’s play when it comes to the making of foods like the “abacus seed” but after this meaningful workshop, now i know that to be able to produce these delicious and delicate proportions, we have to go through a tedious process pod steaming the yam for quite a long time first. Nonetheless, i feel that this workshop was fun and worth a second go!
JOANNA: Since I am a higher music student, this was my first time in the school kitchen. I thought that making food but just fun and fun alone, I thought it was easy and like a Funtime with my friends, but I realised that it wasn’t always easy and there were harder processes and things my friends didn’t want to do, like cutting the squid. Also, I realised that when handling fire, we must be really careful as fire is a very dangerous thing.
CHAI RONG: Although I did not enjoy yam, which then suan pan zi was mainly made of, the process of making the dish was still very enjoyable! I used to think that Chinese cuisine is just random combination of ingredients. Through the workshop, I know know more about and was able to get an deeper understanding of Chinese cuisine such as the oftentimes used stir-frying method, and the use of sauces. Also, because this workshop required three students to work together, it taught me much more about teamwork and coordination, especially since cooking the dish was complicated and involved a lot of steps. In conclusion, I benefited a lot from this meaningful workshop!
XIN YI: I had never thought I would have the chance to make this dish, much less to be taught by our own principal! It was an eye-opening experience to make this dish as it took some time trying to get the dough to the right texture. However, it was fun moulding it to the abacus shape with my friends as we joked around when the abacus seeds we had moulded looked funny. I used to think that Chinese dishes were just steamed ingredients with soup, but it turns out that I was wrong! I now think that making Chinese dishes requires a lot of patience and time as it includes ingredients that are handmade, for example dumplings.
109 Group 2 