Simple DIY Chinese New Year Cards

I've always had a thing for DIY stuff but never really had the opportunity to learn and explore. This year when I was thinking of a special way to give my parents CNY ang pau, I thought why not I make a card and have the ang pau in it? 

I didn't want to just give an ordinary ang pau like the money in it is what matters the most. It sounds so insincere to me and I want to surprise my parents with something very unique. 

But I felt a little unfair to only make cards for my parents and ended up making for my whole family and my boyfriend. 

I'll explain the simple steps to make these cards. I searched on the internet for CNY 2014 logos (those without watermark) and printed them out. Then I typed the Chinese wishes (I put them in Chinese to create a more Chinese-y feel although I'm a banana) and printed them out too. Look up in the internet if you can't type. 

The boyfriend version

Then I cut them out in tiny pieces and pasted them on the cards. You can arrange them in any way you like. Include additional stuffs such as pictures or any memorable/cute/funny items in it. 

The daddy version

I added something extra for my parents' version. It's like an envelope for me to place money in it. So that's the ang pau section. 

I made a total of five cards for my parents, boyfriend, elder sister (with my brother in law and nephew, Clovis) and my younger (with her boyfriend). I just gave them the cards today and my mom is super happy! She said she felt so touched because it's very special and all my hard work paid off! 

Sometimes it isn't about how much money you spend for your parents but rather the tiny little things that you do for them which make them feel joyful. A small token of appreciation can really lighten up your parents' life! 

Try to squeeze your creative juices and make one yourself today! :)

My Family's Annual Pre-CNY Activity

This is my male dog, Pudding with all the fried ngakus

Every year when it's the time of the year, my family would start planning on making ngaku or also known as "arrowhead" or "bud mushrooms". These are terms that I later found out, curiosity ignited after Kingsley asked me what it is in English yet I stuttered nothing. 

Basically I would share with you guys how to fry these ngakus. It is better if you have an open space with several people to help around as the tasks might be rather daunting and time-consuming so a joint labour would certainly ease up the tough work. 

My parents working on the frying

The things that you need are common cooking utensils such as wok, slicer (find one that slices thinly) and ladles. You also need to prepare cooking oil (brand of your own preference) and some kitchen tissue for oil absorbance. Do not miss out that you need containers (as many as possible) to store all the fried crispy chips. 

You can get ngaku from any hypermarkets or supermarkets and sometimes you can purchase them at a cheaper price when it gets nearer to CNY (especially when they're competing with one another). The price range should be around RM2-5 per 100gram. 

Upon purchasing the ngaku, you should peel off the skin using a peeler and this is what you will get. You can choose to leave the heads on or just cut them off. Leaving them on would help in providing a grip when slicing though. 

Then, clean and soak them overnight in salt water. This is to create some saltiness and to make the chips crispier. Don't have to be stingy on the amount of salt and afraid of them turning out too saltish ngaku doesn't absorb much. 

You may start frying the next day by slicing the ngaku directly into a wok containing hot oil. Try to fill up the wok with a lot of oil as it could be messy and hard to fry if the oil is too shallow. Use a ladle (with holes) to spoon them up when they start to turn yellowish. Place them onto spreaded kitchen tissue to absorb excess oil. 

We had to search high and low in the entire house to look for containers. Seal them using cellophane tapes and you're ready to serve them to your guests during the festive CNY season! 

Good luck!