Having been living in Ireland for so long, I thought I should sit back and look back how much I have changed and how my life has changed over the last 7 years.
There are loads of similarity between home and here but the differences are grater I think. Definitely worth to put some thoughts in this. Perhaps I should start taking note of these things as I always wanted to do – it’s meaningful as its part of my life and its fun too. Where should I start is the big question. You know the way there are always so many ideas and snapshots pop in and out of your memory and brain every so often while you are either driving, washing dishes, having a shower or went out for walk, somehow trigger by a song on the radio or whatever – whenever you don’t have a pen in your hand and wrote down the things you want to write down. That really is my pet hate.
Well, I guess these things will come again eventually but at the moment they are just stored under a big pile of to do lists and unread magazines or current affairs in my not very sophisticated little brain. Don’t you worry, I will dig ye all out nice and slowly. I never thought that I would have so much space and time for myself as a mother of two and a wife of a very kind husband. Perhaps I have come to the right place to live? Perhaps 我祖上有積德? Who knows, one thing I know for sure is that I am happy and will try to continuing feeling the same for the rest of my life.
Wednesday 15 August 2007
There’s no place like home – Taiwan
Hector Ó hEochagáin (an feamous Irish speaking TV presenter) did a great job introducing Taiwan in his travel programme on TG4. Here is something different I want to share with you about this beautiful Island, formally called Ilha Formosa, that lies off the southeastern coast of mainland Asia, across the Taiwan Straits from Mainland China.
If you ask me what do I miss most about home, I would say food mostly rather then my family and friends! Food is so different but delicious back home so when it comes to home sickness, the easy solution for me is to make some Taiwanese cuisine myself to cure it. I always have a long list of things to buy and bring back from home and 99% of them are either my favourite food or the cooking ingredients that I can’t get in Dublin like preserved mustard leaves, rice wine, dried bamboo, dried tofu …etc. You probably think I am mad but these things sure taste better than they sound.
There are a few places that are always on my “must visit” list every time when I go home. These include the restaurant that only sells dumplings and nothing else, the Shabu-Shabu (DIY hotpot), the Tepanyaki and the food courts in the shopping centre. The night market is the place I would probably go more then once for the distinctly Taiwanese snacks such as stinky tofu, BBQ squid on skewer, Oyster pancake, salty deep fried chicken, the Chinese herbal medicine ribs, mixed seafood soup, steam bun, tea eggs, savoury pancakes and etc. And of course I must include my parents home in the list – nothing beats home cuisine.
I am not working for the Taiwan Tourism Board but I must say Taiwan is a fantastic holiday destination if you ever want to fly that far to South East Asia. Taipei is the capital and is only few hours away from most European’s main popular holiday destinations such as Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur so definitely worth a stop over. Taiwan is known not only for its famous IT industry but also its towering mountains. It is home to the highest mountain in Northeast Asia – YuShan, the height of which is nearly 4000 meters above the sea level. What might have caught your eyes and heart is Taipei. It is a busy, 24 hour, city that never sleeps. The night life is amazing, with 24 hour Karaoke boxes, bowling alleys, bookstores, cafes, convenience stores, shopping centre and cinemas etc. I have to mention the night markets again where you can get pretty much everything you need for the price of half the normal shops. It also is a place where you can try out your bargaining skills.
Having been living in Ireland for 7 years, I think the most common question people always ask is “was it a culture shock when you first arrived in Ireland?”, “not as much of a shock as you would get if you visit Taiwan” is my default answer! You can find a lot of information and facts about Taiwan in the lonelyplanet or the internet so I am not going to copy and paste. I just want to mention a few things that I found where there’s a great difference between the two countries – culture wise.
Festival
Taiwan has ghost festival to fete the departed spirits of our ancestors in the underworld. We would invite all the ghosts and dead out on the 15th of the 7th lunar month and offer them loads of meat, fruit and wine to make peace with them. We would burn the “underworld” money for them to spend. In Ireland, you have Halloween. The difference is there are hundred of uninvited kids that dress up badly and knock on your door asking for food and sweets. I always wonder what they would do if I say “trick please”! Ireland has its world famous St. Patrick’s festival which will attract hundreds of thousands people all over the world watch the very sad parade and it’s so sad that they have to get very drunk and forget about it the very next day. No one can really explain to me why and what this festival is about but I know one thing for sure – it’s to do with the St Patrick who got rid of all the snakes out of this Island. We have a festival and it has something to do with the snake too. The festival is a commemoration of the patriotic scholar, poet, and statesman Cyu Yuan. But I personally like the fairy tale story about this festival. A snake fairy come down to earth to visit as a white snake. A man saw the snake but didn’t kill it. The snake fairy was so happy that she became a woman and married the man to thank him for saving her life.
Wedding
Irish would spend a fortune and more then 12 hours entertaining their wedding guests. The clever Taiwanese would make a fortune by getting married and the ceremony/celebration last no more then 4 hours. This is because the traditional wedding gift is a red envelope containing cash, so the bride and groom get quite a lot of money rather than 50 crystal bowls. For the wedding day itself it is important to pick a lucky date and time slot to get married. This is based on the lunar calendar and a combination of birthdays of both bride and groom. The wedding ceremony normally takes place at the groom’s house; everyone will then head to the restaurant for a banquet or a marquee banquet outside the house. Before the wedding the groom’s party has to go to the bride’s house to pick up the bride and take her back to his own house within the time frame set before for the short ceremony. For the ceremony itself, tea is served, rings are exchanged, and the ghosts of the ancestors are informed of the marriage by lighting incense and saying some prayers. After that it’s off to the banquet.
People
Taiwanese people are often straight talking. They will let you know straight away that you have a bad haircut or when you have gained a few pounds or even when you have funny shirts on you! Irish people do need to talk straight sometimes especially when women go shopping for clothes – they do need an honest opinion “that dress makes your bum look big” rather then “you look grand”!
If you ask me what do I miss most about home, I would say food mostly rather then my family and friends! Food is so different but delicious back home so when it comes to home sickness, the easy solution for me is to make some Taiwanese cuisine myself to cure it. I always have a long list of things to buy and bring back from home and 99% of them are either my favourite food or the cooking ingredients that I can’t get in Dublin like preserved mustard leaves, rice wine, dried bamboo, dried tofu …etc. You probably think I am mad but these things sure taste better than they sound.
There are a few places that are always on my “must visit” list every time when I go home. These include the restaurant that only sells dumplings and nothing else, the Shabu-Shabu (DIY hotpot), the Tepanyaki and the food courts in the shopping centre. The night market is the place I would probably go more then once for the distinctly Taiwanese snacks such as stinky tofu, BBQ squid on skewer, Oyster pancake, salty deep fried chicken, the Chinese herbal medicine ribs, mixed seafood soup, steam bun, tea eggs, savoury pancakes and etc. And of course I must include my parents home in the list – nothing beats home cuisine.
I am not working for the Taiwan Tourism Board but I must say Taiwan is a fantastic holiday destination if you ever want to fly that far to South East Asia. Taipei is the capital and is only few hours away from most European’s main popular holiday destinations such as Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur so definitely worth a stop over. Taiwan is known not only for its famous IT industry but also its towering mountains. It is home to the highest mountain in Northeast Asia – YuShan, the height of which is nearly 4000 meters above the sea level. What might have caught your eyes and heart is Taipei. It is a busy, 24 hour, city that never sleeps. The night life is amazing, with 24 hour Karaoke boxes, bowling alleys, bookstores, cafes, convenience stores, shopping centre and cinemas etc. I have to mention the night markets again where you can get pretty much everything you need for the price of half the normal shops. It also is a place where you can try out your bargaining skills.
Having been living in Ireland for 7 years, I think the most common question people always ask is “was it a culture shock when you first arrived in Ireland?”, “not as much of a shock as you would get if you visit Taiwan” is my default answer! You can find a lot of information and facts about Taiwan in the lonelyplanet or the internet so I am not going to copy and paste. I just want to mention a few things that I found where there’s a great difference between the two countries – culture wise.
Festival
Taiwan has ghost festival to fete the departed spirits of our ancestors in the underworld. We would invite all the ghosts and dead out on the 15th of the 7th lunar month and offer them loads of meat, fruit and wine to make peace with them. We would burn the “underworld” money for them to spend. In Ireland, you have Halloween. The difference is there are hundred of uninvited kids that dress up badly and knock on your door asking for food and sweets. I always wonder what they would do if I say “trick please”! Ireland has its world famous St. Patrick’s festival which will attract hundreds of thousands people all over the world watch the very sad parade and it’s so sad that they have to get very drunk and forget about it the very next day. No one can really explain to me why and what this festival is about but I know one thing for sure – it’s to do with the St Patrick who got rid of all the snakes out of this Island. We have a festival and it has something to do with the snake too. The festival is a commemoration of the patriotic scholar, poet, and statesman Cyu Yuan. But I personally like the fairy tale story about this festival. A snake fairy come down to earth to visit as a white snake. A man saw the snake but didn’t kill it. The snake fairy was so happy that she became a woman and married the man to thank him for saving her life.
Wedding
Irish would spend a fortune and more then 12 hours entertaining their wedding guests. The clever Taiwanese would make a fortune by getting married and the ceremony/celebration last no more then 4 hours. This is because the traditional wedding gift is a red envelope containing cash, so the bride and groom get quite a lot of money rather than 50 crystal bowls. For the wedding day itself it is important to pick a lucky date and time slot to get married. This is based on the lunar calendar and a combination of birthdays of both bride and groom. The wedding ceremony normally takes place at the groom’s house; everyone will then head to the restaurant for a banquet or a marquee banquet outside the house. Before the wedding the groom’s party has to go to the bride’s house to pick up the bride and take her back to his own house within the time frame set before for the short ceremony. For the ceremony itself, tea is served, rings are exchanged, and the ghosts of the ancestors are informed of the marriage by lighting incense and saying some prayers. After that it’s off to the banquet.
People
Taiwanese people are often straight talking. They will let you know straight away that you have a bad haircut or when you have gained a few pounds or even when you have funny shirts on you! Irish people do need to talk straight sometimes especially when women go shopping for clothes – they do need an honest opinion “that dress makes your bum look big” rather then “you look grand”!
Gift Voucher
My brother’s birthday is coming up…what I can get him for his birthday. I thought I would like to get him something different this time just to show that I still have a bit of creativity! I don’t want to get him T-shirts or toiletry stuff like I used to buy for him anymore. Those things could just end up sitting at a corner of a shelf somewhere!
After two days of brain storming – got an idea, Ding!! Why not get him a gift voucher for a romantic dinner for two at a beautiful and expensive restaurant in town! Delighted for myself to be able to come up with this idea so turn on the computer and went straight to Google TW.
Search…餐廳禮券 got no luck….Search…飯店禮券 got no luck either….Search…..高雄市那裡吃最好, thought might get some clues……nope! Not a hope! Keep searching…..and willing to comprise for something less so perhaps a gift voucher for some nice shop will do….Search for….購物禮券….nope! Ok, maybe just 禮券 will do I thought….NO! Ok, try if there’s any company sell ideas online…..so I searched…生日禮物點子, no found nothing…. Almost give up and thinking maybe just sends him a card and be damn with. Last try, search for 線上購物…. found a lot of crap website selling IT, PC or crap gift stuff….nothing decent for a man or anywhere close to what I am looking for.
At last, I tried 網購 and finally found one company does leisure and restaurant sort of stuff on the 5th page! Problem solved….I got him a gift voucher for a dinner for two at a 5 star hotel and 2 movie tickets. What a treat I thought!! What I really want to say is why the clever Taiwanese who owns restaurants and hotels don’t have this sort of services on their websites? It’s not difficult; it’s possible but why not? Started to wonder is it the dishonesty that causing the high cost to print the anti-thief voucher?
After two days of brain storming – got an idea, Ding!! Why not get him a gift voucher for a romantic dinner for two at a beautiful and expensive restaurant in town! Delighted for myself to be able to come up with this idea so turn on the computer and went straight to Google TW.
Search…餐廳禮券 got no luck….Search…飯店禮券 got no luck either….Search…..高雄市那裡吃最好, thought might get some clues……nope! Not a hope! Keep searching…..and willing to comprise for something less so perhaps a gift voucher for some nice shop will do….Search for….購物禮券….nope! Ok, maybe just 禮券 will do I thought….NO! Ok, try if there’s any company sell ideas online…..so I searched…生日禮物點子, no found nothing…. Almost give up and thinking maybe just sends him a card and be damn with. Last try, search for 線上購物…. found a lot of crap website selling IT, PC or crap gift stuff….nothing decent for a man or anywhere close to what I am looking for.
At last, I tried 網購 and finally found one company does leisure and restaurant sort of stuff on the 5th page! Problem solved….I got him a gift voucher for a dinner for two at a 5 star hotel and 2 movie tickets. What a treat I thought!! What I really want to say is why the clever Taiwanese who owns restaurants and hotels don’t have this sort of services on their websites? It’s not difficult; it’s possible but why not? Started to wonder is it the dishonesty that causing the high cost to print the anti-thief voucher?
在愛爾蘭包粽子過端午！
端午節快到了，想吃粽子又買不到的海外華人‧‧‧自己DIY巴！！！！
ZhongZi - a glutinous rice dumpling stuffed with ingredients such as pork, dried shitake mushrooms, dried shrimps, bamboo shoots etc wrapped in bamboo leaves - It is meant to honor the patriotic scholar and statesman Cyu Yuan poet at the Dragon Boat Festival on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month
(Makes 10 ZhongZi
1. 20 sheets of bamboo leaves
2. 10 cotton strings
3. 1000 g glutinous rice
4. 200 g pork steak
5. 50 g dried shitake mushroom
6. 30 g dried shrimps
7. 10 red shallot
8. 1 tin of bamboo shoots
9. 100 g dried radish
10. 100 g dried tofu
11. 1 cup sun flower oil
12. 1 cup soy sauce
13. Salt and ground white pepper for seasoning
Preparation:
Soak the rice over night. Wash, rinse and keep them in a colander
Soak the bamboo leaves flat in warm water over night.
Rinse and leave them flat
Soak the dried shitake mushrooms and dried shrimps in boiling water for 30 minutes. Wash, rinse and pat dry with the kitchen paper
Peal the red shallot (mind your eyes) Put the soaked shitake mushrooms, shrimps and red shallots in a food processor for few seconds or until finely chopped. Put aside in a bowl.
Finely chop the bamboo shoots and dried tofu
Chop the pork into small cubes
Cooking:
Heat the oil in a big non-stick wok for 2 minutes, stir in the shitake mushrooms, shrimps and red shallots and fry for 5 minutes or until the shallots turn golden
Stir in the pork cubes and fry for 10 minutes or until it’s cooked
Stir in the bamboo shoots, chopped dried radish and dried tofu and fry for another 5 minutes
Put in the soy sauce and seasoning with salt and ground white pepper to the taste you like (you can put in some chili sauce if you like it spicy)
Stir fry for another few minutes and the stuffing is ready to use.
Wrapping:
Put 2 bamboo leaves together in opposite direction one on top the other, hold the leaves and fold it round in the middle and make a funnel till both ends are laid over each other in one direction.
Put about 1/20 of rice and 1/10 of stuffing on top of it, then cover the stuffing by another 1/20 of the rice.
Fold the leaves up to seal the open side of the funnel and tie the bundle with the string.
Make sure that the bundle is tied neither too tight nor too loose. This helps make sure that the ingredients are well cooked and won’t fall out.
Put the wrapped ZhungZi in a steamer (or rice cooker) and stream for 2 hours.
(alternately, you can put the ZhungZi in a pot and cover up with water and cook for 2 hours)
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