Monday 19 December 2016

BBQ Flavored Chips


I've been doing a spot of gardening during the weekends and was reminded of how gardening has brought such great joy to my life. As I was clearing the dried leaves outside my door, it felt like just recently that I was scrambling like mad to get the house cleaned up in time for Chinese New Year. Guess what?


Yup. Those pesky ngaku (arrowhead roots) are already available at the supermarkets which means one thing and one thing only. Chinese New Year is coming!

In another 2 weeks or so, 2016 will be over. I feel that 2016 went by so fast, too fast in fact. Or is it me? Is this a sign of getting older? I will be 50 years old next year. Gawd. 50. But I still feel like I am 12. Muahahaha!! Talk about young at heart 😜

I don't really care about my age. Most of the time,  don't even think about it. In fact whenever the subject comes up (like filling up forms or some kaypoh person has the nerve to ask), I have to pause and calculate. 

So. Since I don't really care and I want to be happy, I bought some of these.


They are kind of pricey right now. I remember they were dirt cheap when I started buying them a few years ago.

And I made these. BBQ flavored ngaku chips. hee..hee..hee...


I spent a few hours in the kitchen slicing the ngaku and frying them in hot oil. While they were draining and still hot, I sprinkled them with my homemade BBQ spice rub.

Hey, these are good. Very good!


And that's it. That's my last ngaku project even before 2017 Chinese New Year begins. The last time I fried these was here and here. No more. Too much work.

So if you are having itchy butt syndrome and you encounter ngaku while out grocery shopping,  you can torture yourself in the kitchen like I did.

And while you are at it, I shall sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor. Crunchh...crunchhh...crunchhhh....mmmmmm......

50 comments:

  1. I loves this, so far, i have not seen any of it yet...

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  2. CNY is coming fast! I also thinking of starting do some spring cleaning this week so by the time CNY comes, I wouldnt be cleaning like mad woman.

    Yum yum. I love this chip. But cannot eat too much. Sorr throat later. ^^

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    1. Yes, the strategy is to start now hah..hah...

      Me too can't eat too much, but I cannot tahan and suffer later...

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  3. Your arrowhead chips I'm sure taste a lot better than those sold outside coz yours have that extra ingredient of homemade BBQ spice rub added in. I don't have to torture myself with all the work since there are no fans of ngaku chips in my family...hehe! ;)

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    1. You can always make some and send them over to TM or to PH! Christmas and NY is all about giving!

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    2. I have to wait till my mourning period is over at August 2017 to celebrate CNY but I sincerely welcome all cookies, chips and CNY Nin Gao!! Thank you Mun for remembering me.

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    3. Kris : Ah, fortunate are those not addicted to ngaku chips! I don't buy those sold outside simply because they are too expensive. But I can clearly understand why because it is so labor intensive.

      Mun : Eh, Kris got other better things to do lah. hah..hah...

      TM : You should send Mun a big hamper for thinking about you :)

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    4. PH: You're so right. Sorry...I guess I'm not that giving...hah..hah...

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    5. Me neither. Sendiri masak, sendiri makan. LOL!

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  4. Wah dah ada jual arrow head ya area umah PH..kat Png belum nampak lg kat pasar raya..kalau beli awal2 harga sangat mahal...tunggu banyak siket br boleh beli....Nak buat bukan main lama lagi nk siap..makan sat jer jrup krap...1/2jam clear balang adehhh

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    1. Lina, sekarang ni mahal. Tapi kalau nak beli dekat2 time raya, ramai orang berebut! Tu yang tak syiok.

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  5. I shall borrow the words of TM here. Please give me your address and I will deliver the ngakus to your house for you to make them into chips. I love to eat ngaku chips. Hint Hint! ;)

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    1. Oh no..hah..hah...I learnt my lesson (yet again) never to start a ngaku project because I always regret it halfway through frying >.<

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  6. Age is just a number. You are young at heart and full of energy to whip up good meals, cakes and chips in your kitchen. :)

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    1. Oh! Thank you. Most times, I still feel like a kid :D

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  7. Those are mighty fine slices - you must be rather skilled with a knife. I imagine if I tried the same, I'd end up with fat chunky pieces rather than your beauties.

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    Replies
    1. My secret - I used a mandolin! But I had a few close calls and almost sliced my fingertip :(

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  8. Replies
    1. Thank you! But dun wan to make anymore :(

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  9. Kaknoor pun pernah buat keropok ngaku ni PH
    Mmg sedapp tpi tahun ni belum lah
    Teringin lah pulak tengok ngaku PH ni
    Mesti nk kena cari lepas ni
    Sedpppp kann

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    Replies
    1. Kak Noor, banyak kerja buat keropok ngaku. Menyesal gak hari tu masa buat. Tapi rasa berbaloi bila tengah ngap depan TV. hah..hah...

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  10. I always could finish one whole tin of fried Ngaku in one day! I could see how much work to peel, slice and fry them all. No wonder they are so expensive.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, we are paying for the labor. I can finish one canister in one sitting. That's bad. LOL!

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  11. 2016 has been quite a roller-coaster of a year for many people, ya. part of me is looking forward to next year, and a part of me is also apprehensive about the shocks and surprises that 2017 will bring ... i guess most of us might feel that way. i also have mixed feelings about ngaku - i want to eat it endlessly, but i know its effect on my waistline will also be endless! :D 50 does seem like a high number, but as long as you're happy and healthy, the number shouldn't trouble us! :)

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    1. Yeah, I feel like that too, out of the fire into the frying pan situation. From what I hear, next year will be bad economically. In fact when I go out shopping I can feel that there is lack of "energy" in the retail sector. As for ngaku, I wonder of the sales would be brisk like prior years. That may be an indicator hee..hee..

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  12. This is a sign that Chinese new year is on the way right PH? I never know what to do with this arrow head, somehow i want to ask nyonya yg beli what to do, how to cook it, oh..rupanya bole buat kerepek😂😂

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    1. Yes, ticer Azimah, arrowhead macam sinonim dengan raya Cina. Arrowhead boleh masak dengan ayam. Tapi PH tak pernah try lah sebab selalunya makan sebagai kerepek.

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  13. My kids' favourite!! I must buy them for CNY every year... nahhh... too lazy to do them myself.. maybe will end up failing too.. perhaps I tumpang someone else to fry for me this year... hmmm... hope she agrees!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, that lady you wanna tumpang is super rajin and can make all sorts of things :)

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  14. WHAT????? Cleaning for Chinese New Year already??? Oh my oh my!!! It's not even Christmas yet and of course, I have not done a thing! My girl loves this arrowroot thing, yours look so good - paper thin!

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    Replies
    1. I need to have a headstart and I learnt a lesson for being tardy early this year.

      I used a mandolin to do the slicing, hence the paper thin cuts.

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  15. Hi Phong Hong, you made me nervous. I haven't started baking cookies. Plan disrupted due to my mom's op and hospitalisation. Think there won't be much time to bake cookies. Mood all gone.

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    1. Hi Kimmy! Please, don't be nervous. I acah-acah only. This is the only thing remotely CNY that I made. I don't have plans to bake CNY cookies. Take a break from the usual CNY routine and focus on helping your mum get well. That is more important. As for cookies, make do with the commercial ones. I know they can be expensive :(

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  16. What a yummy treat, PH! I've never seen these before, but the chips look so yummy! Have a wonderful week, dear! xoxo

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    Replies
    1. Never? Then don't ever because these things are terribly addictive and not good for the figure. LOL!

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  17. Have not bought any yet coz price is still still expensive. Yummy to eat but difficult to fry

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, wait later to buy. I dun wan oredi. LOL!

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  18. You made me have craving for chips :P

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  19. 2016 went by fast for me too :( I've fried arrowhead chips once and I didn't eat any of them, I also don't know why LOL Most probably I tend to sore throat if I eat fried food and I don't want to be sick during CNY :P

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    1. Aiyo, fry and then don't eat. LOL! It's better not to eat lah, so oily and so fattening >.<

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  20. PH
    Kalau nampak this buah ngaku..tandanya chinese new year dah dekat..i suka makan ni..tapi malas buat..sebab buatnya 1 jam makannya 1 minit!..lol..tapi prefer rasa original dia..lemak2 gitu...

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    1. Betul, Ayu. Too much work buat kerepak ni. Makan kejap aje. Punah my diet. LOL!

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  21. So nyaku is back? I hope this year there will be ample supply. I expect this year it will be quite pricey due to the lower value of our ringgit.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, it's back! You are right, not cheap as they were before.

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  22. Mcm kerepek ubilah PH....
    Actually i dah pernah dengar pasal kerepek Ngaku ni. Everywhere peoples talk abaut Ngaku chips ni....cuma i je yg tak mahu cuba PH haha ....

    Oh... buah CNY jugaklah ni yeh.... mcm limau Mandrin.
    Number is not important CH, yg penting jiwa sentiasa muda haha.....

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    Replies
    1. Hainom, lebih baik jangan cuba sebab boleh ketagih. hah..hah...

      Ya, ngaku ni kira dia keluar masa CNY jer. Setuju sangat, jiwa dan minda mesti muda selalu hah..hah...

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  23. CH pernah beli di Tesco Ngaku ni PH..
    Konon nak buat kerepek ni lah..
    Tapi tak berapa nak menjadi cryspy macam PH..
    Nak cuba buat ikut cara PH lah..

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    Replies
    1. Yati kena hiris nipis2 kemudian goreng sampai tak nampak gelembung (bubbles) semasa menggoreng. Baru angkat. Selamat mencuba.

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