Chinese New Year is upon us this weekend, and if you haven't already gotten your new year goodies, it's probably too late to join the last-minute mob in queuing to buy them now.

What to do, then? Make your own lah.

Here are recipes for six goodies you can try your hand at making to impress your guests when they come over to bai nian, or just to hang out:

1. Salted egg yolk cookies (via)

If you're the visual sort:

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The full recipe:

Ingredients (for about 60 pieces) :

85g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

40g caster sugar

1/8 tsp salt

125g all purpose flour

10g cornflour

1/8 tsp baking powder

2 cooked salted egg yolks, briefly mashed (about 35g)

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten to glaze

black or white sesame seeds to sprinkle

Instructions:

1. Using a wooden spoon or an electric mixer, Beat the butter, sugar and salt until they are well mixed and fluffy with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer. Do not over beat.

2. Pour the flour, cornflour, baking powder and salted egg yolks into a medium coarse sieve and use a spoon to sift and press the flour-salted-yolk mixture into the butter mixture.

3. Knead the mixture into a dough.

4. Wrap dough in cling film and allow it to rest in the fridge for at least 30 mins.

5. Line baking trays with baking paper and preheat oven to 170°C.

6. Place dough on a lightly floured surface to roll into 3 mm thickness and cut them into shapes with a cookie cutter.

7. Brush with egg yolk (egg wash) and sprinkle sesame seeds on them.

8. Bake for 15 mins or until golden brown and leave the cookies to cool.

2. Arrowhead chips/Chiku chips (via)

If you're the visual sort:

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The full recipe:

Ingredients:

500g Arrowhead bulbs

Fresh cooking oil for frying

Instructions:

1. Cut off both ends of the arrowhead bulbs. Using a peeler, remove the skin.

2. Wash the peeled bulbs and set it aside to dry.

3. Slice the arrowhead bulb with a mandoline slicer handle. Slice the bulb over hot oil in a pan if you want a crispy batch of arrowhead chips. Do not slice too many into the oil or the slices will stick together.

4. Fry the chips over medium flame until golden brown. Leave the chips to cool.

3. Seaweed crackers (via)

If you're the visual sort:

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The full recipe:

Ingredients:

Egg white

Popiah skin (cut into pieces)

Sea weed (cut into pieces)

Oil for deep frying

Instructions:

1. Beat the egg white.

2. Brush a layer of egg white over the popiah skin.

3. Put a piece of sea weed over the popiah skin.

4. Fry the sea weed popiah pieces till they are golden in colour.

4. Bak kwa (via)

As it turns out, you can make your own bak kwa at less than $15/kg.

The full recipe:

Ingredients:

1kg minced pork/chicken/beef (the fattier it is, the more tender, juicy and fragrant)

100g sugar (caster, fine, white, brown- your choice)

2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 tablespoons shao xing wine (Chinese rice wine)

1 tablespoon kecap manis (dark caramel sauce is recommended here)

1/2 teaspoon five spice powder

1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey

Pepper and salt to taste

Red liquid food colouring (optional)

Instructions:

1. Mix the all the ingredients thoroughly, ensuring the lumpy meat becomes gooey, so it will not fall into pieces when cooking.

2. Refrigerate the mixture overnight or 6-8 hours.

3. Thaw the meat from out of the fridge and give it a good stir to make it more gooey.

4. Pre-heat oven 150 deg C

5. Spread out the meat on cling wrap and transfer to baking tray and place in oven with oven door opened.

6. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 150 deg C with oven door open.

7. Once meat is dried, remove from oven and cool. Increase oven temperature to 220 deg C.

8. Cut into smaller pieces and return to oven.

9. Bake for 10 minutes at 220 deg C, or until charred.

5. Peanut cookies (via)

If you're the visual sort:

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The full recipe:

Ingredients:

400g plain flour

250g icing sugar

400g ground peanuts

250 ml peanut oil (can be any cooking oil)

Instructions:

1. Mix flour, icing sugar and ground peanuts evenly.

2. After mixing the ingredients well, add in the peanut oil.

3. Continue mixing till a dough forms.

4. Knead the dough and use a cutter to cut the dough into pieces.

5. Brush with egg wash.

6. Bake in 180ºC oven for 15 to 20 mins or till lightly brown.

6. Pineapple tarts (via)

If you're the visual sort:

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The full recipe (refer to the link if you want to add small flower crusts to make them more chio):

Ingredients:

150g butter (cold), cut into cubes

120g all-purpose flour, sifted

120g self-raising flour, sifted

1/4tsp salt

1 egg yolk

2tbsp ice water

340g pineapple jam, formed into lime-sized balls, 5g each

1 egg yolk

1tbsp milk or water

Instructions:

1. Sift and mix all-purpose flour, self raising flour and salt in a large bowl.

2. Add in cold butter cubes.

3. Using a pastry cutter, cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. This is to create flaky layers in the pineapple tarts.

4. Mix together the egg yolk and ice cold water. Then add them into the mixture.

5. Knead the mixture till a dough forms.

6. Cover with cling wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up the dough.

7. Divide the chilled dough in halves for better handling. Work on one half first and leave the other half chilled in refrigerator.

8. Using a rolling pin, roll the chilled pastry dough into 5mm thick on a lightly floured board. Use a pineapple tart cutter to cut the dough into pieces of tart bases.

8. Brush with egg wash.

9. Preheat the oven to 175°C then bake the tart bases for 10 mins or so.

10. Add the rolled pineapple jam onto the tart shell and bake for another 5-6mins or till light brown.

You're welcome, and enjoy! Happy Chinese New Year!

Top photo collage from various sources, as credited above

Related articles:

8 Chinese New Year snacks too good to feed your guests

Here are the calories in Chinese New Year snacks equivalent to a bowl of white rice

8 plants that are good for Chinese New Year and also for the air in your house

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