my mom called me up yesterday n told me she was in the midst of making the zhangs. then i asked her 'mi, can u reserve like mayb 2 bakzhangs inside the freezer for me? then wait til i go back, i can makan.' she was like laughing off at my silly idea (but dont understand bah, kenot do that meh, mi?) and told me she's gonna make again when i go back. think think, good also what.. at least i've got the fresh zhangs! :D
mi always make like 2-3 types of zhangs, each with different main ingredient; pork's, chicken's, and khee chang. reason for making chicken's is because most of us dont eat pork. Few years back, after pa was diagnosed with that dunno-what-it's-called penyakit (can no longer consume anything from the grains family, like oats, barley, glutinous rice, or even rice (not too much of the nasi wangi); thats y hav to cook special rice for him), mi will make the a few special rice zhangs for him. i dont know whether do they sell chicken's zhangs? i hardly (or never) eat the zhangs that are sold outside. eat mainly the one that my mom make. weeks before the dragon boat festival, mi and few of us would sit infront on the tv in the evening n start picking the nasi pulut while watching tv, n yes, picking one grain by one grain, in order to separate the rice grain from the glutinous grain cos mi's very particular about that, she can't stand seeing a biji/bijis of rice grain when she pau the kheezhangs. i remember last time, whenever my mom make those bakzhangs, me and my sisters would stand alongside with her, each holding a leaf and try to imitate my mom, follow her steps by steps to 'produce' a bakzhang. but each time, me, as the youngest, n the most dumbest of all (i know nothing, except whalloping those zhangs.Besides, i'm not as kiang ('pandai' in hockien)as my elder sisters. i'm pun ka pun chiu (as in 'dumb/cacated' hands n legs in hockien) (perhaps that explains why my mother never sent me to sewing class and stuff.) (so see, pity my husband next time. sure kenot eat home-made zhangs. im gonna be a really 'lousy'wife, cos i dont sew only knit, i dont bau ('wrap' in hockien) bakzhang only eat zhangs. kidding.l0l.) So get back to the bau bakzhangs session (story). I always get scolded in the end because of my dumbness (dont know how to hold the zhang well, especially when it's turn to scoop in some meats (the fillings) onto the top of the layer of rice). i think u'll hv to know how many portion of meats to put in, or how many portion of rice on the outside and the hardest part would be the one when u try to cover the whole thing up (like holding the leaf and try to cover it up by balut-ing the zhang up.) Either the liau (fillings=meat) or the rice is too much, then it wouldn't be nice, and would burst if the leaf is too small for the zhang (i think). After getting scolded by mom, it's either for being 'cacat' or because of my clumsiness which screw me up, i would just stormed out from the kitchen, getting mad cos i can never learnt to pau bakzhangs successfully and would sometimes sneak in to get the freshly steamed bakzhang!and well, because of that, i never learnt how to bau bakzhangs anymore. it's been probably close to two years since i dint get the chance to eat or at least watch mi+(sometimes my sisters who help mi out)pau bakzhangs. Only when the bakzhangs day comes, can i recall back the silly, but sweet+funny moment. Looking back, that's one of the few occasions around the year (other than cny reunion dinner n some other occasions), that me n my siblings would actually help out in the kitchen. Usually we have zhangs straight on for a couple of days. now that i think back, i'm amazed on how can we dont get sick from eating the same thing for like days. phew. with orders from family friends and her friends and sisters' frens, usually mi will make a lot of zhangs, like probably take 2-3 days to make zhangs. And mi never complaint. it seems that she enjoys making the zhangs (provided no one is there to kacau her when she make the zhangs i think). i suddenly remember that before i left for sg that morning, i went to pasar with mom, a fren of her place an order like 20 biji of zhangs. then later i asked mi how much is she going to charge her for the zhangs. then mi said 'old price, rm2'. then i said 'how can!! so cheap?? haiyo. shud charge rm2.50 or 2.80 each OR MORE!! u wun earn in that case u know, mi. haiyo!' then mi said 'fren bah. no need kira so much. they dont pau but i do so just hv to make an extra 20 when i make the zhangs for our own." but it's clear that, she not only make for our own, but also for others, cos usually we will give away some of the zhangs to our family frens and relatives. Now that third sista and me not at home, i think bakzhangs day will be different for mi this year cause there'll be minus one person to help her pau bakzhangs, and there'll be minus one person there to help her to whallop up the bakzhangs! i miss kehbahzhangs (chicken filling zhangs)+ kheezhangs super much, mi! miss dipping the kheezhangs into the kaya/sugar!yummyyummy! what triggers me to write this blog is that, there are like 1 ppl calling all the way to the states and 2 other telling me tru msn that they've just got the zhangs from my mom! how unfair... :'(
