mum's yearly CNY dessert

every year dunno since when, my mom started preparing this extremely time consuming dessert. it's got the ginko nut, the lotus seed, dried longans and chinese red dates.


i remember she used to ask me to knock away the ginko nut shells and remove the stems in the lotus seed. after removing the ginko nut shells, the ginko nuts have to be boiled to remove the layer of thin brown skin as well as the skin which makes the nut bitter. it can be a half a day event if it's one person doing the job. by then i'd be uber tired and my hands wrinkly coz of soaking in too much water. the cooking's left to her and prior to that, she will actually soak the ginko nuts and the lotus seeds in sugar syrup for 1 or 2 days in the fridge. only on CNY morning, she'd start the cooking.

the red dates being soaked

the ginko nuts and lotus seeds soaking in the sugar syrup

this year thankfully, it was through the shortcut method. she bought ready prepped ginko and lotus seeds. of coz the end result aint as good as the one prepped over days, but i guess it's ok for auspicious reasons. most of the time i find it quite sweet hahaha. anyway, it's a yearly dessert which can only be eaten once a year. so it's always good to start the year with lots of sweetness!! :D

the end product for this year

Here's wishing everyone

新年快乐，事事顺利，万事如意，新想事成，牛年行大运！！
发财，发财，发大财！
HUAT AH!!!