Wednesday, 4 December 2019

Sabah Rice Wine and a dish

This topic is mainly talking about how I made my 1st attempt of  Sabah homemade rice wine and making a dish with it, which is very popular in Sabah and also for women undergoing confinement period.

Lihing , Malaysian rice wine originates from Sabah , is made from glutinous rice and natural yeast. They were left to ferment for at least 3 months. The wine is either sweet, or bitter sweet but the most popular is the bitter sweet taste.

The natural rice wine yeast, also known as Sasad or Ragi by the locals, is actually made from mold and rice flour,  which is in a form of solid round pieces, as picture below shows.
This particular yeast is needed  for fermentation.
The amount of these yeast used, depends on the amount of rice we used. For example 5 kilo rice to the whole bag of yeast shown in the picture. 

This Sasad/ragi or rice wine yeast can be easily bought from the wet market . There are big, medium and small wine yeast hanging up for display and sale.


These smallest Rice Wine yeast are for making bitter sweet rice wine which is the most popular.

Medium size wine cake are for sweet wine which is not as popular because the wine can be too sweet for some people's taste.
Large wine yeast for  not so bitter or sweet rice wine, How true? So I bought these too for experiment.
There is some tobacco added to the bottom of the bag, to minimze the invasion of rice weavils, a kind of rice pest.
One of the stall vendors selling natural rice wine yeast and local tobacco( sigup) for years in the market. She admits she cannot make good Lihing as Darine, another vendor from the store next to her.

Darine, a friendly, active lady in her early 70's (she looks 10 years younger than her age), speaks good english. She told me how she learnt to make the  Lihing type of wine,  from her aunty who lived up to the age of 105 before she passed away. Darine believes Lihing has been introduced to Sabah since 1882 by the Chinese and after intermarriage with our natives, it has been passed on to the Sino Kadazan ( Chinese and Kadazan) and the Kadazan.

Darine has been making Lihing for many years now. Being an expert in Lihing, she said the best Lihing is still those bitter sweet one. Reminds me of my daughter's mother in law who is also an expert in Lihing, said the same, that the bitter sweet type is rated the best. Lihing gives good result if  fermented for 3-4 months old.
These 2 ladies don't mind posing their pictures for my blog😂

Ingredients for Sabah Rice wine
1 kilo of glutinous rice can produce about a bottle and half of Lihing

the whole of this rice wine yeast is for a 5 kilo rice
Therefore I only used 20 small cakes for a kilo of this yeast.
I put into a zip lock bag and crush the cake with a pounder or hammer to become powdery
Wine yeast ready to ferment the rice
Wash the glutinous rice. Some bloggers said not to wash the rice for better result but i still choose to wash. After 4 wash, the rice was drained.

and only half cooked the rice in the rice cooker.

Leave the rice out in a tray to cool.
Rice must be completely cooled or it will turn sour during fermentation
Sprinkle the crushed sasad/Ragi/ wine yeast over the cooled rice and mixed well

I  used a  clay pot to store the the well-mixed rice.
 Cover with cling plastic before placing the cover of the pot.
Task almost complete
Label the pot with date as a reminder when was the wine fermented started.I labelled it for 1 month but later changed my mind to 3 months.


Some Superstitious traditional ways of the Dos and Don'ts for preparing the rice wine
Quiet environment.
 happy mood or the wine will turn sour.
Don't touch the pot or eat sour stuff if one has period/menses.

How true was that?  I am not a believer but it is not difficult to follow these superstitious rules because in my house, we don't have children screaming their heads out or running about. To be in happy mood is also not difficult to follow because when you are in the mood to prepare something, you are actually happy. 
It makes more sense if I said we need to concentrate on  what we are doing😂. That's it!

Some like to add a little colour to the wine ,so adding a handful of  black or red glutinous rice will do the trick. 
I was told a half cooked rice is best as it helps to ferment better??? I am not sure😜


  My first attempt  Rice Wine -  A success 😂😋.
This rice wine shown here has been fermented in the clay pot for 3 months .


With the sieve , I slowly scooped out the wine with a cup to pour into a bottle.

Result of a 3 months old Rice wine during bottling which looked like soya bean milk- 23/11/2019
the next day the wine looks clearer - 24/11/2019

30/11/2019
One week later, it turned into a beautiful clear amber . I reused a whisky bottle and the wine looks like whisky😂😂😂

Chicken Wine is a very delicious and nutritious dish especially those undergoing confinement period.

Corn fed chicken meat are used preferably for it's texture and a good rice wine of course.
Black fungus, goji berries and ginger were added for more flavour.

When I was in my confinement period. my mother cooked a pot of chicken wine everyday for a month! It's a belief from old folks that it may help us recover faster😅 from our confinement period.

 Chicken Wine 
If you have followed my blog before, you may know that I have written a dish called Chicken in ginger wine. Yes. This recipe is the same except the wine used here is rice wine.
To make a good chicken wine, the wine is the key,but also the type of ginger  and selection of good cornfed chicken, makes the dish A1.

 Ingredients:
half Chicken -chopped into bite pieces
5 Black fungus-woody ear
a handful of goji berries
1 thumbsize ginger
2 cup rice wine (Lihing)
200 ml chicken broth
2 tabsp cooking oil or sesame oil
 salt if needed

 Method
1.Marinate chicken pieces with salt . Leave for at least 30 mins
2. slice ginger into thin slices
3. Heat 2 tabsp oil in a pot
4. Fry the ginger till slightly brown
5. Add Chicken pieces and fry a min
6. Add black fungus and goji berries
7. Let it cook for 2 min in slow fire
8.Add chicken stock
9. Let to boil and then simmer 15 mins
10. Add Lihing and simmer for 5 mins
11.Season according to your taste
Serve hot with rice



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Friday, 29 November 2019

The Garden - A conducive environment for students



What does it take to create a simple garden? 
Whether it's big, small or tiny, You have to start with small practical ideas and grow from there. 
It takes time and patience, as modification and changes take place all the time. A lot of effort and hard work too but once it's done, it's rewarding and amazing, remembering that at all times, this kind of work never stops. A beautiful garden can bring great joy and give peace of mind😊😍. 

A friend shared me an interesting article by Edward Ng of Glowbest about the 4 hormones in our body. The chemical aspect to happiness 
 Why and how we need these 4 hormones Endorphins, Dopamine, Serotonin and Oxytocin to stay happy. ☺️
I applied these thoughts to my gardening hobby, and it make sense😂😂😂.

When I do gardening, which is also a form of excercise, my body releases Endorphins. 
This hormone helps the body to cope with the pain of exercising. 
So we enjoy gardening because these hormone makes us happy.

The second hormone Dopamine is when we accomplish small or big tasks, it releases various levels of Dopamine. A good example is my passion fruit, which I planted about a year ago. When the plant became prolific, giving shades to my back yard, beautiful flowers giving out a nice smell,  abundant fruits dangling on the trellis making the garden look pretty. I feel proud and happy, especially when accomplishments were acknowledged and appreciated by my family and friends or even strangers.

The third hormone Serotonin is released when we act in a way that benefits others, such as going an extra mile to give something to others or to nature or society. This is where I shared my successful passion fruit plant to the world by writing a short story about it in my blog at no cost.

The last happy hormone is the Oxytocin, this is getting close to friends and family.
 Even hugging your family dog, cat, children and chicken😜 (i did have a few 😂 and it was fun having them around) playing in the garden releases Oxytocin.
No wonder I always feel good and happy when I do my gardening. 

So this is one of the ways how to be happy😂.

In 2019, I was invited by Puan Sharifah, the director of this college for a visit. 
I was amazed to see a massive, beautiful, well maintained garden there. I was told the swing, the tables, chairs, benches, and some of the stuff at the fish pond were recycled stuff.
The created garden was the result of team work by the staff and students of the college such as the drivers, clerks, attendants, students, lecturers and herself. 
 The garden also has a 'gazebo"! 
A 'gazebo' is a small building usually in the garden with a roof and open sides where most of the garden can be seen and enjoyed. The word 'Gazebo' to some, said in the 18th century as a joke word combining "gaze" with the Latin suffix "Ebo" meaning "I shall", therefore ending the meaning as " I shall see". 
This garden has created a friendly environment for nursing and allied health students.

Gazebo in the middle of the garden

 A fish pond 😍


 Look at those fishes swimming gracefully💗

Awwww.... And these  little ducklings.🤣 
They are soooooo cute.💓💓 This cute video was contributed by Sharifah🌹


Students relaxing in front of the big fish pond. 
Breathing fresh air is much healthier in the garden.

The pond was also created by her colleagues and students, using many ideas to make the filters from recycled bottles. It is a great place to sit around, watching the fish swimming freely, and feeling the cool breeze blowing against your face. Amazing!👍


A short video for the fish pond😍

Filtering system for the fish pond, intelligently created by staff and students 


This lovely Mural painting is the original sketch of Puan Sharifah, and her students painted it for her as appreciation for teaching and guidance to become future nurses👍. The creative arrangement of rocks and plants to look like a 3D pond was also her idea. "Wow, these works are of excellent quality. So authentic!" The painting showed a deer on a hillslope, a tortoise on the big rock splashed by cool running river and an owl sitting on the branch of a tree in the forest. What did the painter have in mind when she drew this picture , I wonder?

Student Nurses' Corner

Medical Assistant's Corner. 
Behind the tutors and students, 
I noticed an "ambulance ". 🤔 

At a closer look, it's an artwork of an "ambulance", made from scaffolding and recycled metal scrap. 😁

 Internet access and electrical outlet at the Gazebo for students. 


Handmade benches at the 'gazebo ' for those who want to rest or relax with full view of the garden.

Creative art work for benches and chair from unwanted tree trunks.
 
Sitting area under the shades of trees in front of the fish pond. 

There was also a quiet corner called "The Dusun Hut" for those seeking solitude, to reflect and meditate😁
This cute little hut, reminds me of the Red Indian hut/tent in America/ Canada 🤣

This is everyone's favorite corner. It has a beautiful swing! It's lovely to watch students and staff enjoying this swing. The swing was also created by the director of this college, Puan Sharifah who is the brainchild of this garden project. 
Thank you, Sharifah🌹for contributing this lovely video clip. With the slow motion and right music in it, it's lovely to watch repetitively. wow!😂 I can imagine if a bride is on it, she will look very beautiful and special! 😍

Can anyone recognise this beautiful elegant VVIP lady ? 😁😇

Bridging the gap rustically; peaceful oasis amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life, a perfect example of many hands working in symphony.💓
 
This little bridge was completed before Nurses Day😊

Apart from the "gazebo", fish pond, a bridge and the swing, I was also amazed by the beautiful plants in the garden. Let's see if you can recognise any of them? 

Lipstick Palm is one of the most colourful and exotic palm tree's in the world!

Araucaria pine - a very popular ornamental tree in the garden

Ape plant sometimes called the "Elephant ears" are often used as landscaping plants, to give out a tropical appearance and ability to provide a shade in a garden.

Chinese windmill palm is one of the hardiest palms which has been cultivated in China and Japan for thousands of years
I am not sure of this one, is it Lily?
Broad leaf Palm Lily (Cordyline rubra) is an evergreen Australian plant found in warm rainforest. The broad, glossy, dark pinkish leaves glows like luminated plants making the garden looks magical, just like the movie called "Avatar"😂.
Costus Spiralis produce beautiful flowers when blooming season starts.
Lucky plant- Chinese believe to plant right in front of your house to bring in Luck! But don't look for me if you don't strike your lottery.😜
Bird nest fern is non poisonous. 
Fern has been shown to filter formaldehyde, Xylene and toluene.
Dracaena Fragran is also known as "happy plant" or "Corn plant", a popular ornamental  indoor and outdoor houseplant which produce fragrant flowers.

ZZ plant remove toxic air such as Toluene and Xylene from indoor air.

Chinese Evergreen helps to improve air quality by filtering the polluted air and toxin. 
This plant produces oxygen which assists in productivity and enriching health and well being, both in living and working spaces.  

Before I end this topic, I would like to thank my friend, Puan Sharifah for this pleasant visit as I got the opportunity to see such beautiful amazing garden in the college. ☺️

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