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5 types of Christmas cake from around the world to make at home

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The Christmas season is incomplete without indulging in good food and great companions.

And what better way to end every Christmas feast than having a slice of Christmas cake.

If you are looking for inspiration on what to have for dessert this Christmas season, here are five types of Christmas cake around the world:

1.Fruitcake (United Kingdom and former British colonies)

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Fruitcake. Image by Pixabay.com

As a former British colony, Malaysians often associate Christmas cake with fruitcake.

The traditional Christmas cake in the UK is a round fruitcake covered in marzipan and then in white royal icing or fondant.

It is typically decorated with snow scenes and holly leaves.

The cake is made with currants, sultanas and raisin which have been soaked in alcohol such as brandy, rum and whiskey.

Thanks to the alcohol content, a fruitcake can be edible for a very long time.

For example in 2017, a 106-year-old fruitcake was discovered from explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition.

The Terra Nova Expedition or the British Antarctic Expedition was an expedition to Antarctica that took place between 1910 and 1913.

The fruitcake was described to be in “excellent condition” and the smell was “almost” edible.

Maybe it is time to store the fruitcake you made this for your future great-grandchildren?

Read on how to make it here, here and here.

2.Stollen (Germany)

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Stollen. Image by Pixabay.com

This Christmas cake is not exactly a cake but a cake-like fruit bread with yeast, water, citrus zest and flour.

There are also other ingredients such as orange peel, raisins, almonds, cinnamon and cardamon in it.

It is coated with powdered sugar or icing sugar.

Augustus the Strong (1670-1733) who was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland once ordered bakers to make a giant 1.7 tonne of stollen.

They had to custom build oversized oven and knife in order to make it happen.

Read on how to make it here, here and here.

3.Panettone (Italy)

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Panettone. Stock Image by Unsplash.com

While the Germans have their stollen, the Italians have their panettone.

Originally from Milan, it is a type of sweet bread that usually enjoyed for Christmas and New Year.

The typical shape is a cupola but some panettone also comes in octagon or frustum shape.

Unfortunately, panettone is not for those impatient bakers to make.

This is because it requires a long process that involves curing the dough.

However if you can bake sourdough at home, baking this Christmas cake should not be a problem for you.

Read on how to make it here, here and here.

4.Sponge Cake (Japan)

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For beginner and intermediate bakers out there, how about making Japanese Christmas cake?

It is a simple sponge cake, frosted with whipped cream and often with strawberries.

On top of it, there is Christmas-like decoration.

Basically, it is a strawberry cake with Christmas deco.

Here is an interesting fun fact about Christmas cake in Japan.

The term ‘Christmas Cake’ is used as a metaphor term for a woman who is unmarried after the age of 25.

It is a reference to Christmas cake which are still unsold after the 25th.

Read on how to make it here, here and here.

5.Yule Log (France, Belgium, Switzerland and some former French colonies)

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Stollen. Stock image by Unsplash.com

Also known as buche de Noel, this traditional Christmas cake is originally often served in France, Belgium, and Switzerland.

It is commonly made from a yellow sponge cake and chocolate buttercream to resemble a miniature Yule log.

The Yule log or Christmas block is a specially selected log burnt on a hearth as a winter tradition in Europe.

This particular custom is believed to derive from Germanic paganism where a portion of the log is burnt every evening until the Twelfth Night (January 6).

According to traditions, one can discern their fortunes for the new year according to how long the yule log is burnt and how many sparks it could produce.

As for the yule log cake, a fork is dragged across the icing to make it look like tree bark and powdered sugar sprinkled on top to resemble snow.

Read on how to make it here, here and here.

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3 yummy Asian steamed egg dishes you should try to make at home

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One of the easiest dishes to make at home using the most simple ingredient is none other than steamed eggs.

Due to its gelatin-like texture, many people call it ‘egg custard’.

In Asia, there are three types of steamed egg dishes originating from three different countries namely China, South Korea and Japan.

Although these dishes are prepared pretty much the same way, they are somehow different from one another.

Here are 3 Asian steamed egg dishes you should try to make at home:

1.Chinese steamed eggs

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Illustration by Arabaraba

This is the most common type of steamed egg dish because it can be found in any Chinese diaspora communities.

Originally, the dish started humbly using a simple combination of eggs, water, spring onions and salt.

Today, there are so many additional ingredients such as minced meat, shrimp, century egg, mushroom, crab meat, vegetables making the dish the more elaborated compared to its plain origin.

To make the perfect Chinese steamed eggs, the best ratio of water to eggs is said to be 1.5: 1.

Additionally, the water has to be warm.

The egg mixture is then poured into a dish and steamed until fully cooked. Remember to cover the dish when steaming or else it will have water on top of the eggs due to steam.

Here is a simple trick to make the egg custard turn out silky; strain the egg mixture before steaming it. This simple trick will make the texture of the steamed eggs to be smoother.

The common garnish for this dish is chopped spring onion and sometimes sesame oil or light soy sauce drizzled on top of the finished dish.

Read how to make Chinese steamed eggs here, here, here.

2.Gyeran-jjim

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Illustration by Arabaraba

‘Gyeran’ means ‘eggs’ in Korean while jjim refers to any steamed dish.

Even by looking at its fluffy appearance, gyeran-jjim looks different from Chinese steamed eggs.

However, the idea and mechanism behind it are still the same.

The difference is when mixing the egg mixture. To make gyeran-jjim, the eggs are sieved and whisked with water until the mixture are completely blended in a cream-like consistency.

For a more savoury taste, kelp or anchovy broth is used in place of water.

To take the dish to another level, additional ingredients such as mushrooms, peas, Korean zucchini and carrots may be added into it.

While Chinese steamed eggs are left untouched when the dish is being steamed, gyeran-jjim requires stirring while it is still in the steamer.

Before serving, garnish it using chopped scallions, gochutgaru (chili flakes) and toasted sesame seeds.

Read how to make gyeran-jjim here, here and here.

3.Chawanmushi

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Illustration by Arabaraba

Chawanmushi is made from egg mixture typically flavoured with soy sauce, dashi and miri.

You may also find other ingredients such as shiitake mushroom, ginkgo and shrimp inside your chawanmushi.

Since the name chawanmushi literally translates to ‘tea cup steam’, the dish is usually served in a tea-cup-like container.

This Japanese steamed egg dish is believed to be originated in Kyoto and Osaka during the Kansei period (1789-1801), later spreading to Edo and Nagasaki.

Another version of its origin story stated that it was brought by the foreign merchants who lived in Nagasaki and the dish instantly became a part of Shippoku.

Shippoku is a Japanese culinary style that is heavily influenced by Chinese cuisine.

During the Edo period (1603-1868), Nagasaki was the only place in Japan where foreigners including the Chinese, Dutch and Portuguese) were allowed to reside.

If you have a chance to visit Nagasaki, you must visit a local restaurant called Yossou.

Established in 1866, it has been serving chawanmushi for more than 150 years.

In the meantime, if you are making it at home try the recipe here, here and here.

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10 types of donburi you should try to make at home

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Raise your hand if you are one of those who always order a hearty bowl of donburi each time you dine at a Japanese restaurant.

Also known as Japanese rice bowl dish, a donburi consists of meat, fish, vegetables or other ingredients simmered together and served over rice.

The best thing about donburi is you can make one with ingredients that are already available in your fridge.

Enjoy your donburi with a bowl of miso soup and simple salad, and now you have a balanced meal.

This dish is perfect for those living alone or if you only need to make a meal for one.

If you are looking to spice up your dinner table, here are 10 types of donburi you can try to make at home:

1.Gyudon

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Gyudon. Image by Pixabay.com

A gyudon is made up of a bowl of rice topped with beef and onion simmered in sauce.

The sauce is usually made from dashi (fish and seaweed stock), soy sauce and mirin (sweet rice wine).

It is believed that the dish came from gyunabe, a beef hot pot found in the Kanto region of eastern Japan.

People started to pour their beef hot pot over their rice and eventually it became recipe on its own.

Here is a little fun fact about gyudon; in the aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake 1923, the dish was one of the food items readily available for Tokyo residents who were devastated by the disaster.

During this time, gyudon gained its popularity among the Japanese regardless of their status.

Before the earthquake, the dish was widely known as food for the working class.

Read how to make it here, here and here.

2.Oyakodon

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Oyakodon. Image by Pixabay.

The term oyakodon is literally translated as ‘parent and child donburi’. It is because it contains both chicken and egg.

Together with other ingredients such as sliced scallion and onions, the dish is simmered together with sauce made with soy sauce and stock.

It is unconfirmed on how the dish came about but the term ‘oyakodon’ was first mention in a newspaper advertisement dated back in 1884.

Read how to make it here, here and here.

3.Katsudon

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Katsudon. Photo by Unsplash.

If you are a fan of tonkatsu, this is the donburi for you. A tonkatsu is a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet.

According to historical records, a tonkatsu came about during the Meiji Era of Japan during the late 19th century.

The early version of the recipe was beef until the pork version of it was invented in 1899 at a Tokyo restaurant called Rengatei.

A katsudon is made with tonkatsu simmered in the sauce, caramelised onions and eggs before topping it on a bowl of rice.

Read how to make it here, here and here.

4.Karedon

Another dish that came about during the Meiji era (1868-1912) was Japanese curry.

At the time, the British was ruling the Indian subcontinent. Anglo-Indian officers of the Royal navy then brought over curry powder from India to Japan.

A karedon is consists of thickened curry flavoured dashi poured over a bowl of ice.

It is derived from curry udon.

With instant Japanese curry easily available these days, a karedon is just too easy to make at home.

5.Tamagodon

Once you master the art of making donburi sauce, it opens so many opportunities in making Japanese dishes.

The simplest donburi to make is tamagodan.

It is basically a scrambled egg mixed with sweet donburi sauce on rice.

Read how to make it here, here and here.

6.Tenshindon

A simple scrambled egg is too simple for you? Level your egg dish up by making a crab meat omelette.

After putting it on top of hot rice, then you will have a tenshindon or tenshinhan.

This dish is named after Tianjin city in Northern China.

Read how to make it here, here and here.

7.Chukadon

For a more balanced meal, try to make chukadon.

It is consists of a bowl of rice with stir-fried vegetables, onions, mushrooms and meat on top.

The name chukadon literally means Chinese-style rice bowl.

For its history, it is believed the dish came from a Chinese-style restaurant in Tokyo back in the 1930s.

The stir-fry food is actually called happosai in Japanese which most people believed is inspired by Cantonese ‘Eight Treasure’ dish.

Read how to make it here, here and here.

8.Butadon

Originally created by a restaurant owner in Hokkaido in the 1930s, a butadon is a one-bowl wonder made from stir-fired pork seasoned with soy sauce over steamed rice.

It is now not only a popular dish in Hokkaido but all over Japan.

The key of the dish is its thickly sliced pork cooked in a caramelised sweet and savoury sauce.

Read how to make it here, here and here.

9.Tendon

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Tempura donburi. Image by Pixabay.

Are you a fan of tempura? With tempura flour so easily available in supermarkets these days, you can turn your favourite vegetables into tempura at home now.

Serve your tempura over steamed rice and drizzle them with tentsuyu dipping sauce, then voila!

A tentsuyu (tempura sauce) is a simple sauce made from dashi, sake, mirin, sugar and soy sauce.

Now you have yourself a bowl of tendon or tempura donburi.

Read how to make it here, here and here.

10.Karaagedon

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Karaagedon. Image by Pixabay.com

Karaage is Japanese style fried chicken, made with marinated chicken and coated with starch or flour before deep frying them until they golden brown.

This process is different from making tempura which is not marinated and uses a batter for its coating.

The preferred part of chicken when comes to making karaage is the thigh but the breast will do too.

As for the sauce, mix soy sauce and roasted sesame oil together and add Japanese chili oil if you want it to be spicy.

Once you have your karaage, put it over steam rice and finish the dish of by drizzling Japanese mayo and the sauce.

For that extra green colour in your donburi, never forget to garnish it with green onion slices.

Read how to make it here, here, here.

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10 viral TikTok recipes that you should try at least once

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One of many ways the younger generation spent time during this Covid-19 pandemic was by spending time on TikTok.

This video-sharing focus social networking service from China is home to viral dance, comedy and cooking clips.

Thanks to TikTok, countless recipes have gone trendy as users keep on trying and sharing their takes of the recipes.

Out of these dozens of recipes, here are 10 viral TikTok recipes worth trying:

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Dalgona coffee.

1.Dalgona Coffee

No mention of viral TikTok recipes is complete without a word about dalgona coffee.

It is a beverage made by whipping equal parts instant coffee powder, sugar and hot water until it becomes creamy before adding it to hot or cold milk.

On how it became famous is all thanks to the lockdowns that came with the pandemic.

People started to publish videos of them whipping the coffee on social media like TikTok, bringing about this beverage’s overnight fame.

Read how to make it here.

2.Baked Feta Pasta

Are you a fan of the tangy, salty, acidic taste of feta cheese? If yes, this is the pasta recipe for you.

It is so simple to make.

Throw in a block of feta, tomatoes and olive oil together in a baking dish and bake it in the oven until softened.

Later, mix it all together with pasta and fresh basil.

There are many variations of this TikTok viral recipe you can find online.

Some call for red pepper flakes and others add in roasted garlic for the extra oomph of flavour.

Read how to make it here.

3.Nature’s Cereal

In February 2021, a TikTok user @naturesfood shared a recipe that he called “nature’s cereal”.

It is basically coconut water poured over a mixture of fruits such as blueberries, strawberries and blackberries served in a bowl and eaten with a spoon like cereal.

Then it wasn’t until American singer Lizzo posted a video of herself enjoying a bowl of nature’s cereal that the recipe went viral.

Those who have tried it said the meal is an energy boost and it also helps with digestion as well as any kind of constipation issues

Read how to make it here.

4.Pancake Cereal

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Pancake cereal.

Speaking of cereal, here is another viral TikTok recipe that pretty easy to make.

Take your pancake batter, instead of making a regular size pancake, use a squeeze bottle, syringe or plastic bag with the corner cut off.

Pour the batter into your choice of tool, then dispense small blobs of batter into a greased pan.

Cook these tiny pancakes into perfection. Put them into a bowl and enjoy your pancake cereal with the choice of your topping.

Read how to make it here.

5.Tortilla Wrap Hack

Rather than a new recipe, this is a fun food hack. It is basically a new method to make tortilla wrap at home.

Simply take a tortilla, cut a slit into the centre and then cover each of the four quarters of the tortilla with a different spread of ingredient.

After that, take the cut edge of the tortilla and fold it into four quarters.

The final step is to place the folded tortilla wrap in a preheated pan until it is roasted on both sides.

Read how to make it here.

Another variation of this recipe is to use seaweed instead of tortilla.

As for the fillings, use ingredients that are usually used making kimbap.

For protein, you can use luncheon meat, canned tuna, fried egg or tofu into the kimbap.

Meanwhile for veggies, use any green leafy vegetables such as lettuce or thinly slices of cucumber or carrot.

Since the seaweed is thin and easily wet, remember to squeeze out the water from any wet ingredients and do not overload your ingredients.

Read how to make it here.

6.Pesto Eggs

One of many easy viral TikTok recipes to try is pesto eggs.

We heard that Chris Evans is also a fan of this fish.

Just drops a few spoonfuls of basil pesto in a hot pan and then cracks your eggs into the pesto.

You can make scrambled egg or a sunny-side-up egg with this recipe.

Eat it like that or have it on a toast; your choice.

Read how to make it here.

7.Accordion Potatoes

Step aside Tornado Potatoes, we have a new cool kid in town and it is called Accordion Potatoes.

You guess it; the potato almost looked like an accordion at the end of this recipe. Almost.

It is actually pretty easy to make.

First of all, peel the potatoes and cut the ends off to square them up. 

Then, cut the potato lengthwise into slices to create rectangles.

After that, place the potato rectangles on your cutting board.

Do not forget to place a skewer on each side of the rectangle.

When cutting vertical slices halfway through on one side, the skewers help you not cut all the way through.

Finally bake it and enjoy it with your favourite toppings.

Read how to make it here.

8.Sushi Bake

This viral TikTok recipe is perfect for sushi lovers out there.

For the uninitiated, sushi bake is basically a deconstructed version of California roll made into a casserole.

The trend started some times in 2020.

To make one, spread the seasoned rice into a casserole dish and sprinkle with furikake.

In a large bowl, mix imitation crab meat with Kewpie mayo and cream cheese.

Then, spread the crab meat on top of the rice and sprinkle with furikake again.

Pop the sushi bake into the oven and bake it until it starts to brown.

For extra flavour, drizzle the bake sushi with extra Kewpie mayo.

Serve it with Korean seaweed snack and sliced cucumber.

Read how to make it here, here and here.

9.Cloud Bread

Perhaps one of the prettiest foods that went viral on TikTok is none other than cloud bread.

And they look like edible colourful clouds.

To make one, all you need is egg whites, sugar, cornstarch and some food colourings if you want to make your cloud bread to be colourful.

Whip your egg whites until it frothy and pale, add in the sugar until it dissolves and finally the cornstarch.

Basically, use the same technique as you making a meringue. Shape the mixture into a cloud before baking it until it turns golden.

Read how to make it here.

10.Salmon Rice Bowl

TikTok gave birth to many social media influencers and one of them is Emily Mariko.

She is known for her recipe videos filled with ASMR sounds of chopping, washing and cooking.

Mariko’s most viral video this year is when she shares a rendition of Salmon Rice Bowl.

Start by flaking the salmon and spread it on your plate. Add in rice, dash it with soy sauce, sriracha and Kewpie mayo on top.

Then, mix all the ingredients together.

To make it fancier, you can always add it other ingredients such as kimchi.

Read how to make it here.

Which viral TikTok recipe have you tried, let us know in the comment box.

All images are stock photos by Pexels.com

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The history of strawberry shortcake that you never knew

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Are you a fan of strawberry shortcake? If you are based in Kuching, one of the places you can get a hand on a strawberry shortcake is at The Hash Cafe. Pair it with a cup of hot coffee or black tea and you have the perfect afternoon tea session.

However, did you know that the dessert we know as strawberry shortcake today (especially in Asian countries) is different from its original version?

Let us take a look into the history of strawberry shortcake

First of all, there are two types of shortcake. In the American version, a shortcake is a crumbly sweet cake or biscuit that has been leavened with baking powder or baking soda.

Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, the term shortcake mainly refers to a biscuit that is similar to shortbread.

A typical shortcake is made with flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, milk or cream and sometimes egg.

Of all the desserts made from shortcake, the most popular one is none other than strawberry shortcake.

It is made from layers of shortcakes with sugared strawberry slices and whipped cream in between.

The first strawberry shortcake recipe appeared in an English cookbook in 1588.

Back then, the dessert was made from biscuits (or scones) and strawberry served with butter and sweetened cream.

By the early 20th century, the topping was replaced with heavy whipped cream.

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The Western version of strawberry shortcake using biscuits. Credit: Unsplash.

The Japanese version of strawberry shortcake

The strawberry shortcake that most Malaysians are familiar with is the Japanese version of the recipe.

And we all have to thank the founder of Fujiya Co. Ltd Rinemon Fujii for this.

Fujiya is a Japanese chain of confectionery stores and restaurants that was founded in 1910 in Yokohama.

In 1912, Fujii went to the US to learn to make Western desserts. During his stay, he was fascinated with a dessert made with butter sponge cake, sweetened fruit and whipped cream.

When he returned to Japan in 1922, Fujii came up with his own version of strawberries, whipped cream and sponge cake.

It was not until the cake appeared in TV commercials in 1958 that the dessert caught the attention of Japanese people.

The dessert is particularly famous during the Christmas season that some might refer it as Japanese Christmas cake.

Today, if you say ‘cake’, most Japanese would immediately think of this sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberry.

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The Japanese version of strawberry shortcake. Credit: Pexels.

Read about other desserts on KajoMag.com here:

Nuns or concubines: Who invented Italian pastry, cannoli?

Know the legends behind these 5 famous Chinese desserts

What you need to know about Basque burnt cheesecake

What you should know about French cake, madeleine

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What you need to know about Chinese hotpot

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Raise your hand if you love Chinese hotpot!

Putting aside that you will really need a shower after your meal, the idea of cooking everything in a pot and eating together is an experience everyone should try at least once.

Here are five things you should know about Chinese hotpot:

1.The history of Chinese hotpot

According to the book A History of Food Culture in China, the idea of hotpot cooking originates from as far back as the Neolithic era when people sat around a fire pit for communal dining.

Rongguang Zhao, Gangliu Wang, Aimee Yiran Wang stated that sitting around a fire eating dinner from a hanging pot was also a way to get warm.

A pot made of copper created during the Three Kingdoms Period (200-280AD) is now known to be the origin of hotpot.

During the mid-late Qing Dynasty, hotpot became popular among Chinese emperors.

Qianlong Emperor (1711-1799) specifically was a hardcore hotpot fan.

According to the documents from the Imperial Household Department, the emperor ate 23 different types of hotpot 66 times in one month from August 16 to September 16 in 1799.

He also ate more than 200 hotpot dishes in 1789. Qianlong’s royal hotpot included ingredients such as “sliced pheasant, wild boar meat, roe deer tenderloin, wild duck breast and squid roll”.

Qianlong was not the only Chinese emperor who enjoyed hotpot.

When his successor Jiaqing Emperor ascended the throne on Feb 9, 1796, his coronation banquet served 1,550 hotpots for the attendees.

2.The common ingredients are basic stock, protein, starch, vegetable and condiments.

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So what is a hotpot?

It is a pot of simmering broth in which diners cook their raw ingredients together.

The basic ingredients for a hotpot can be divided into five categories; the stock, protein, starch, vegetables and condiments.

For meat lovers out there, hotpot is where you can go crazy with the ingredients.

Forget about the usual pork, chicken, beef, one can opt for unconventional ingredients such as beef tongue, offal, pork brain and blood tofu.

Additionally, seafood lovers can even put in their favourite sea creatures like squid, lobster, crawfish, octopus or cuttlefish.

And of course for those who don’t mind having processed food, a hotpot can have ingredients such as beef balls, fish balls and different kinds of tofu.

As for vegetables, a hotpot may include bok choy, napa cabbage, bean sprouts, lettuce, spinach and more.

For some carbs, the common ingredients are any types of Chinese noodles, glass noodle and instant ramen and udon.

A feast of hotpot is incomplete without variety of condiments such as soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and minced garlic or ginger.

3.There are so many variations of Chinese hotpot

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A yin-yang hotpot with both spicy and non-spicy broth.

Generally, Chinese hotpot can be divided into southern style and northern style, following the cultural regions of China.

The northern style of hotpot comes with simpler broth while the southern style leads toward spicier broth and variety of dipping sauces.

Speaking of southern style hotpot, the most famous of its kind is none other than Chongqing hotpot.

Also known as spicy hotpot, it is similar to the famous Chinese malatang.

A spicy Chongqing hotpot soup base is mainly made of red chilli oil flavoured with beef fat and all kinds of spices such as bay leaf, clove and cinnamon.

Unlike the southern style hotpot which is known for its spicy and intense flavour, the northern style hotpot has milder broth.

The most common type of northern style hotpot is the instant-boiled mutton or Mongolian fire pot.

Instead of the soup base, the focus of this hotpot dish is on the main ingredients which mainly using different cut of mutton.

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The southern style hotpot is known for its spiciness.

4.Other variations of Chinese hotpot from outside of China

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Shabu-shabu spread.

The idea having a wide array of raw ingredients and cooking them together in boiling water not only can be found in China.

In Japan for instance, shabu-shabu is a hotpot dish of thinly sliced meat and vegetables boiled in water and served with dipping sauce.

It is common to cook the ingredient piece by piece right at the table while eating when it comes to shabu-shabu.

Similarly, Thai suki is a Thai variant of hotpot deriving from Chinese hotpot.

To cater to Thai taste, the dipping sauce is usually made from chilli, lime and coriander leaves.

5.Believe it or not, there is a self-heating hotpot package in the market

Let say you want to give a Chinese hotpot but lacking in companions, fret not.

There is a self-heating hotpot package available in the market which is perfect for one person.

A self-heating hotpot was first introduced in China a few year ago thanks to the rise in popularity in Sichuan-based hotpot restaurants.

It requires no external heat source and all you need is just a bottle of water.

The package include a packet of quicklime. When mixed with water, it will release enough heat to cook the hotpot.

This instant food wonder comes with many different kinds of dry ingredients like black fungus, vermicelli and mushroom as well as variety of flavours such as sweet and sour tomato, chicken pepper and Mala beef.

All images are stock photos from Pixabay.com.

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8 popular brands that are accused of being copycats

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Famous brand strategist Bernard Kelvin Clive once said, “Strong brands are not built through shortcuts and copycats.”

While this might sound encouraging for those who have original ideas, there are popular brands out there that are widely known for being copycats and making money out of it (unfortunately).

Here are eight popular brands that you might not know that are being accused of being copycats:

1.Oreo

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Did you know that the Oreo cookie is the number one selling cookie globally in the 21st century?

The sandwich cookie which consists of two chocolate biscuits with a sweet creme filling is popularly known as the ultimate dunking cookie.

Originally from the United States, this sandwich cookie is now available in over 100 countries.

Tracing back its history, Oreo was first developed and produced by the National Biscuit Company (today known as Nabisco) in 1912.

When Oreo was first came out, it was launched as an imitation of the Hydrox cookie which was introduced four years earlier in 1908.

Eventually, Oreo exceeded Hydrox in popularity, making Hydrox look like Oreo’s copycat instead.

So why did Oreo turn out to be more successful than Hydrox?

In an article published by Fortune Magazine back in 1999, author Paul Lukas wrote, “It’s a familiar story: A small fledgling company comes up with a great new product – so great that a bigger, more powerful company copies the idea. The larger firm flexes its superior distribution and promotional muscles, the smaller outfit watches helplessly as its business slips away, and that’s that – another case of the strong running roughshod over the weak.”

As for Hydrox, the sandwich cream cookie was discontinued in 1999 and then was reintroduced in 2015.

2.Lego

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Hillary Page was an English toy maker who founded the Kiddicraft toy company in 1932.

After World War II, Page designed and produced the Kiddicraft Self-Locking Building Bricks.

These bricks could be stacked on each other and were held in place by studs on the top.

On top of that, the bricks featured slits on their side that allowed doors or windows to be inserted.

Page filed a patent the basic design of 2 X 4 studded brick in 1947 and marketed it the same year.

Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen and his son Godtfred were “inspired” by Kiddicraft brick and designed their own version in 1949.

They called it The Automatic Binding Brick which later became known as Lego brick in 1953.

Since the two companies were based in two different countries and it was during the time when there was no such thing as the internet, Page didn’t know there was a rip-off of his creation being sold on the other side of the continent.

In the meantime, Page was having hard time maintaining his toy company. Tragically, he died by suicide on June 24, 1957.

Two years after his death, Lego established their British branch company and almost immediately became a hit among the children.

Did they know the predecessor of Lego bricks came from their own country?

Regardless, it was reported that Page never knew the existence Lego until his death.

Eventually in 1981, Lego bought over to the residual rights to the Kiddicraft brick designs and paid the new owners of Page’s company UK£45,000.

3.Xiaomi

Before you search ‘Xiaomi copycat’ on Google, prepare a bucket of popcorn first.

The result is a whole saga of reviews and news about Xiaomi being a poor imitation of Apple as well as the so-called rivalry between RealMe and Xiaomi.

Speaking of imitating Apple, the accusation against Xiaomi is not only limited to their smartphones, but also laptop designs and marketing strategy.

The company chairman and CEO Lei Jun was also accused of imitating Steve Jobs.

During Xiaomi’s earlier product announcements, Lei even donned dark shirts and jeans, an image known to be associated with Jobs.

4.Instagram

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When Instagram was accused of copying from Snapchat, its co-founder Kevin Systrom had something to say it about it.

Instagram’s Stories is the very same feature as its rival Snapchat wherein photos and videos shared with friends are deleted after 24 hours.

“Imagine the only car in the world was the Model T right now. Someone invents the car, it’s really cool, but do you blame other companies for also building cars that have wheels and a steering wheel and A.C. and windows? The question is what unique stuff do you build on top of it?” Systrom said.

He added, “It would be crazy if we saw something that worked with consumers that was in our domain and we didn’t decide to compete on it. I think Snapchat’s a great company, I think they’re going to continue to do well, but when you look back – they didn’t have filters, originally. They adopted filters because Instagram had filters and a lot of others were trying to adopt filters as well.”

Additionally, he argued that new products that are launched now are all remixes of existing products.

5.Miniso

If one day you have decided to be “inspired” by other people’s original ideas, might as well be honest about it.

According to Miniso’s official website, founder and CEO Ye Guofu gained inspiration for Miniso while vacationing in Japan in 2013.

He came across a number of specialty stores in Japan which stocked good quality, well-designed and inexpensive products that were mostly manufactured in China.

Most people believed that these “specialty stores” Ye visited were Uniqlo, Muji and Daiso.

If Ye took the inspiration and came up something new, Miniso might not be called a “copycat”.

The problem is the Chinese retailer markets itself as a Japanese brand.

From the store aesthetic to brand design, they share too many similarities with Muji and Uniqlo.

Moreover, their Japanese language labels were criticised for being grammatically incorrect.

Later, Miniso management admitted that they used Baidu Translate to produce their Japanese translations.

6.Sketchers

When Nike filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Skechers in 2019, Nike called them out for copying their strategy.

The lawsuit stated that, “Skechers contends it merely takes inspiration from competitor products, which it calls Skecherizing. However. Skechers’ business strategy includes copying its competitors’ designs to gain market share.”

Nike is not the only footwear company that is unhappy with Skecher’s alleged copycat strategy.

In 2021, Crocs listed Skechers as one of the companies unfairly copying its iconic foam footwear.

7.Tencent

If you are going to be a copycat, might as well be proud of it. Take it from Tencent.

The company is one of the biggest investment, gaming and entertainment conglomerates in the world.

Tencent founder and chairman, Pony Ma famously said, “To copy is not evil.”

Alibaba Group’s Jack Ma was once even quoted saying, “The problem with Tencent is the lack innovation; all of their products are copies.”

Honor of Kings, one of the mobile games launched by Tencent Games is inspired by League of Legends.

Another example is in Tencent’s popular app WeChat. What had started as an instant messaging app, some of the features such as news feed and search functions were added to challenge Chinese search engine Baidu.

They then introduced WeChat Pay to compete with Alibaba Group’s Alipay.

Today, Tencent is the world’s largest video game vendor and one of the most financially valuable companies.

8.Facebook

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Yes, this list is incomplete without the famous, giant social media app Facebook.

CNN called the social media giant a “$770 billion clone factory. The report stated, “Facebook has released a long list of copycat products lifted from Youtube, Twitch, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Slack. Facebook has taken on popular dating apps, launched a Craiglist competitor and famously ripped off Snapchat’s most popular feature Stories in 2016, shortly before the latter went public.”

When Facebook could not continue copycatting their competitors, they bought them over. That is what happened to Instagram and WhatsApp.

Earlier in 2021, the court ordered Facebook to pay USD4.72 million in damages to an Italian developer over the social network’s Nearby feature.

The feature was launched months after Business Competence introduced Faround app which was designed to help users find Facebook friends near their location.

Facebook’s strategy of copying their competitors’ products was allegedly inspired by Chinese tech companies such as Tencent.

According to emails dating back to 2012 that were revealed in an antitrust hearing in 2020, CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg agreed to a suggestion that the company quickly clone other products “to prevent our competitors from getting footholds.”

This explains why Facebook always comes up a copycat version of their competitors’ products months after they are first launched.

All photos are stock images from Pixabay.com.

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How French colonisation of Vietnam led to the birth of banh mi

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Sometimes when you eat a certain food, you are eating a piece of history.

Take banh mi, for instance. It is a type of Vietnamese sandwich made up of an airy baguette with a cirspy, thin crust filled with various ingredients like cilantro, pork sausage, pickled carrots along with chilli and mayonnaise.

While the Southern Vietnamese call it banh mi or wheat banh (bread), the Northern Vietnamese call it banh tay or western-style bread.

This sandwich would not have come into existence in the first place if Catholic evangelisation and eventually French colonisation did not take place in Vietnam.

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Image by Unsplash.com

The arrival of Catholic missionaries in Vietnam

To know the origin story of banh mi, one must understand how Catholicism arrived in the country.

One of the first missionaries to arrive in Vietnam was the Jesuit priest Alexandre de Rhodes, who arrived there in 1624.

In 1650, he returned to Europe to advocate more bishops and priests to be sent to Vietnam as about that time there were already 100,000 converts.

At first, there was little to no resistance from the local government against Catholic missionaries.

Until in 1825, emperor Ming Mang of the Nguyen dynasty banned foreign missionaries from entering Vietnam.

The emperor subsequently banned Roman Catholicism. During this time, many French missionaries were persecuted, especially after the Le Van Khoi revolt (1833-1835).

The revolt had southern Vietnamese, Vietnamese Catholics, French Catholic Missionaries and Chinese settlers under the leadership of Le Van Khoi rising up to oppose the imperial rule of Emperor Minh Mang.

It took three years for Minh Mang to suppress the rebellion. Eventually, 1,831 people were executed and buried in a mass grave.

Minh Mang’s successor Thieu Tri also upheld the anti-Catholic policy, although his approach was not as aggressive as Minh Mang.

It is believed that the Vietnamese sandwich had already existed by that time since the word ‘banh mi’ was found in Jean-Louis Taberd’ 1830s dictionary Dictionarium Latino-Annamiticum.

With the news of the deaths of their citizens reached France, the French Foreign Minister Francois Guizot sent a fleet to Southeast Asia in 1843.

The aim was to support British efforts in China and at the same time fight the persecution of French missionaries in Vietnam.

Since then, the French conquest begun until they finally took complete control of Vietnam in 1887 with the formation of La Federation Indochinnoise.

Banh mi during French-colonised Vietnam

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Banh mi and beer. Image by Pexels.com

The French colonists brought along their language and food such as coffee, baguette and pate chaud during the colonisation of Vietnam.

At first, the locals could not enjoy French cuisine as they were too expensive.

French baguette in particular was a luxury due to the imported wheat at that time.

However during this period, the local Chinese were hired as chefs and cooked for the French.

They learned the skills to make French cuisine including the art of making bread.

Eventually, the Vietnamese twerked the recipe a bit by putting more yeast and water to make it lighter.

When the wheat import was interrupted during World War I, the local bakers started to be creative.

They began mixing cheap rice flour when making the bread.

Unexpectedly, the move made the bread fluffier, allowing the locals to afford to buy bread.

While the French loved to eat their baguettes with chicken liver or goose liver pate, the Vietnamese were not a big fan of these combos.

Thus, they started to make their own fillings.

The banh mi that we now know of today was founded some time in the 1950s.

With pickled carrot, radish, cucumber and cilantro as well as source of protein such as ham, pork, chicken or fried egg, it is now a whole new dish, different from its French origin.

Today, different eateries and stalls have their own version of banh mi.

Customers can even customise their own by requesting which ingredients they preferred to put into their bread.

It is definitely a must-try food when visiting The Land of Blue Dragon.

As author Mina Holland stated in her book The Edible Atlas: Around the World In Thirty-Nine Cuisines, “Banh mi are something of an edible reminder of Vietnam’s imperial past, fusing the bread of coloniser and fillings of the colonised. A banh mi sandwich is a fantastic route into Vietnamese food. It is both an introduction to the crisp acid flavours and a morsel of edible history.”

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10 easy and amazing ways to use frozen puff pastry

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If you love baked goods, one of the most important ingredients to have in your fridge is frozen puff pastry.

Unless you are a culinary expert and you know how to make your own puff pastry, then you might not need this ingredient.

Also known as pate feuilletee, it is a flaky light pastry made from laminated dough composed of dough and butter or other solid fat.

The butter is put inside the dough, making what they called a paton which is repeatedly folded and rolled out before baking.

Making your own puff pastry is a long, tedious work. Nowadays thanks to culinary innovation, we can easily buy the instant version of puff pastry.

Once you have this in your fridge, here are 10 easy ways to your frozen puff pastry:

1.Sardine puff

Malaysians love having sardine puff for their afternoon tea.

To make the filling, you need a can of sardines in tomato sauce. Drain the sardines, and let your creativity flow. Do you like spicy food? Add in some chili powder or ground chilli. Need extra taste and texture? Add in diced onion or carrots.

After you prepare your filling, make your sardine puff with the frozen puff pastry in mold it into whatever shape you want.

Check out the recipes here, here and here.

2.Tuna puff

Instead of canned sardine, how about using canned tuna?

There are so many varieties of canned tuna out there.

Choose your favourite and flavour it according to your taste.

Then, make your own tuna puff using frozen puff pastry.

Check out the recipes here, here and here.

3.Curry Puff

Do you have leftover curry from last night’s dinner?

Or do you have a canned curry sitting around in the pantry?

What better way to use it besides making curry puff using frozen puff pastry?

4.Pigs in a Blanket

In the United States, the term ‘pigs in a blanket’ commonly refers to hot dogs in croissant dough.

Instead of croissant dough, how about using frozen puff pastry?

The idea is still the same; to roll cocktail sausages using the dough and bake them to perfection.

You can also use normal sized sausages and cut them into pieces.

Check out the recipes here, here and here.

5.Pot Pie

To make pot pie using frozen puff pastry, you need to some cooking.

You need boneless chicken, mixed vegetables as well as ingredients such as cream, flour and butter to thicken the filling.

With this recipe, you are ready to have a hearty meal instead of dessert.

Check out the recipes here, here and here.

6.Puff pastry pizza

Speaking of a hearty meal, use frozen puff pastry as a pizza base and you will have a puff pastry pizza.

As for the toppings, you can go for simple ingredients such as tomato puree and mozzarella cheese or you can go crazy with it.

Check out the recipes here, here and here.

7.Chocolate Puff

Are you a fan of chocolate? How about making chocolate puff?

The easiest way to make one is to sprinkle chocolate chips on your dough and roll it like a croissant.

After baking, the chocolate chips will melt and you have a nice layer of chocolate in your puff pastry.

Check out the recipes here, here and here.

8.Fruit tart

Here is another super easy recipe to use frozen puff pastry.

Basically, you need cream cheese and fruits of your choice.

Spread cream cheese on top of the dough, top it with fruits and sprinkle some icing sugar on top.

Bake it until your pastry is cooked.

Check out the recipes here, here and here.

9.Palmier

A palmier is a French pastry that known for its many names including pig’s ear, palm heart and elephant heart.

Using only three ingredients including puff pastry, butter and sugar, you can make a palmier at the comfort of your home.

Check out the recipe here.

10.Baked Apple Roses

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Image by Unsplash.com

This puff pastry dessert is not only delicious but also pretty to look at.

Besides frozen puff pastry, you need thinly sliced apple, sugar, butter and cinnamon powder.

The idea is to place apple slices along one long edge of dough with the slices overlapped slightly.

Then fold bottom half of the dough over the apple slices to form a shape that looks like a rose.

Check out the recipes here, here and here.

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Salak fruit: 5 things you might not know about this unique fruit

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Some people call salak fruit ‘snake fruit’ because of its reddish brown scaly skin which reminds one of snakeskin.

However, the salak tree belong to the palm tree family and is native to Malaysia and Indonesia.

The fruit can be peeled by first pinching the pointed tip of the fruit, and then peeling the skin away to reveal pearly edible cloves which closely resemble a peeled garlic.

As for the flavour, it tastes acidic and sweet with an apple-like texture.

Here are five things you might not know about the salak fruit:

1.It has been featured on the Malaysian stamp

On Feb 27, 1999, a Malaysian stamp was issued featuring the salak fruit.

It was under the rare fruits series of stamps.

The species that was featured on the stamp was Salacca grabrecens.

2.There are many types of salak cultivar out there

Overall, there are at least 30 salak cultivars (which is short for ‘cultivated varieties’) out there.

Some of the popular cultivars are salak pondoh and salak Bali.

In Indonesia, salak Bali is the most expensive type: It is smaller than the normal salak and apparently the sweetest of its kind.

Meanwhile in Malaysia, the most famous type is salak madu (honey).

3.The health benefits of salak fruit

Many studies have been done on the nutritional values of salak fruit.

A study by Thai researchers published in 2013 for instance, showed that salak plum possessed antioxidant properties.

Other studies showed that the tropical fruit contains vital nutrients such as calcium, iron, potassium, vitamin C and beta caroteene.

It is estimated that 100gm of salak fruit can provide approximately 82 calories and contains 4 per cent fat and 1 per cent protein.

4.Place that is named after the salak tree

Pasir Salak is a riverside town located in Perak, Malaysia.

Legend has that the town was named after the sandy riverbank that was once covered by salak fruit skins.

Hence the name ‘Pasir Salak’, ‘Pasir’ as in sand in Malay.

Some history buffs would recognise the place as where British colonial official J.W.W. Birch was assassinated in 1875, and event which would later caused British intervention in local conflicts leading to the outbreak of the Perak War.

Meanwhile, in Malaysia’s neighbouring country of Indonesia in West Java, there is an eroded volcano called Mount Salak.

Contrary to popular belief that the name is derived from the salak tree, Mount Salak’s name actually comes from a Sanskrit word.

According to Sundanese tradition, the name comes from the Sanskrit word ‘Salaka’ which means ‘silver’.

Hence, Mount Salak can also be referred to as Silver Mountain.

5.Some of the salak products you should try

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Image by Pixabay.

Salak candies, salak juice and pickled (jeruk) salak are some of the yummy delicacies made from this fruit.

Thanks to modern technology, you can order these products through online shopping if you cannot find them in your local stores.

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