Another year had passed. I am now a one year soldier.
I remembered mum making rice dumplings aka bak chang every year without fail, so that our family could have fresh, piping hot glutunous rice dumplings filled with meat, chinese mushrooms, dried prawns (hae bee), salted eggs and peanuts wrapped with bamboo leaves, tied up and boiled in hot water till cooked. Yes, i would be busily washing the leaves and sis will be cutting garlic and shallots to fry the meat. When the piping hot bak changs are ready to be served, we would have that for dinner. And yes, i made bak chang before enlistment last year.
And mum always told me that granny makes bak chang really fast. She could wrapped a bak chang in 20 seconds. And that was really fast. Come to think of it, indeed, it was fast.
Until granny passed away peacefully on Vesak Day this year at her home in Ayer Tawah, Perak.
No longer will i be able to see granny wrapped bak chang for her sons and daughter-in-laws, grandchildrens and her great grandchildren.
I remembered that dad cried quietly when granny leaves this world, after grandpa passed away 19 years ago. As a son, i do not know what to do to ease the pain dad is going through.
When mum told me that dad was hit by a NSF on a motorbike while driving on an expressway for work this morning, i was in a state of confusion. Thank goodness it was not a serious injury that requires amputation, but somehow i am worried for dad. He's old, and he has been losing concentration at work lately.
The Chinese had a tradition to be observed: no making of festive goodies in conjunction with festive seasons for a year when someone in the family passes away. And thus, we are not allowed to make any bak chang for Dumpling festival and tangyuans (glutunous rice balls) for Winter Solstics, which falls 3 days before X'mas this year. And no making of new year cakes for CNY this year. We could only have them by buying.
Tash was right: you can buy bak changs outside for this year. But no matter how great those expensive ingredients were included for making a perfect rice dumpling, it still cannot beat the taste of a simple home made bak chang.
Tomorrow, Tash will be enjoying his favourite nonya bak chang and sio bak chang for lunch and dinner, while we will be having factory made bak chang on the dining table for dinner.
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