This post is a tribute to Aunties. I have just become one, my gorgeous niece was born a tad earlier than expected on the 25th of May. She is tiny but utterly perfect and so very beautiful. I am so proud of my brother and sister-in-law! She is my parents’ first precious grandbaby (aside from their ‘Grand-dog’ Toby) so she is going to be absolutely adored and spoiled rotten! I cannot wait until Covid restrictions ease a bit more so I can go and meet her.
My brother's and I are lucky to have several Aunties. My mother has three sisters and my father has three sisters-in-law. As children, we remember the stuff, the sweets and toys and presents. Our Aunties have such varied personalities but we three kids were lavished with love and affection and generally spoiled rotten equally by all of them. The quiet, gentle, thoughtful Auntie who would take us to Woolworths (showing my age here) and buy us as much pick and mix as we liked because she knew we weren’t allowed it at home normally. The fun, energetic, patient Auntie who would play with us and cuddle us in equal measure, who enjoyed our company as much as we enjoyed hers. The loud, stern, Disney singing Auntie who would threaten us with the most disgusting punishments for misbehaving but who would also buy us the most weird and wonderful Christmas presents that utterly dismayed our parents (the sourest or sour sweets and chocolate pooping Reindeers spring to mind). The Aunties-in-law who would buy us clothes and toys that our parent would never have approved of. You know who you are and we love you all!
Photo right: Three Aunties and my Mother
I have always felt a bond with my mother’s sisters, I think because they were around for a lot of my early childhood. We were all living in Ireland and we saw each other nearly everyday for a long time and them at least once a week after we moved to another town. I remember my Aunts stealing chicken wings off the racks of chickens Grandma had just roasted in the takeaway and encouraging me to do the same because then they wouldn’t get in trouble for it. When they moved away, we went from seeing them a few times a week to seeing them once every couple of years. Seeing them and our cousins was a huge part of the joy of family holidays to Wales and to Hong Kong. In Wales we’d be welcomed with a big bowl of my eldest Aunt’s amazing congee and movie nights with our cousins meant treats unheard of at home like chips, chicken kievs and chicken nuggets. In Hong Kong, we would normally eat out to take advantage of all the foods we could not get at home but we would also have family dinners in my paternal Grandmother’s flat. My Aunt would sometimes make steamed eggs for these meals. I would ask my mom to make this at home in Ireland but she would always say that your Auntie Helen makes it better. This dish is a favourite of many children in our family, my Grandma made it, my cousin loves it when his mom makes it and we also love it. It’s actually made with relatively simple ingredients but it tricky to get right. It’s a dish with minced pork and/or prawns and eggs gently whisked with stock. This is steamed until the egg is set and silky smooth. After much pestering I finally got a recipe from my Aunt. She is much too modest and did not deem her recipe worthy of writing down but it is so good!
In her own words:
‘One of our favourite dishes from childhood is the steamed egg. I remember our mother using a steel dish to cook the eggs in, on top of the rice in the rice cooker. There would usually be some minced pork or small shrimps in this dish and it was so popular with us that we would fight over who would get the plate last, to mix with our last bit of rice so to clean off every last bit of egg sticking to the side of the plate.
While in Hong Kong, I tried to replicate the dish but was not successful. The eggs got done too quickly and the air bubbles made it almost like a honey comb, the smooth texture was lost. Luckily, I found using a small Pyrex dish slowed the cooking process and it fit into the rice cooker fine and ever since the eggs always turn out perfect. It's one of my son's favourite dishes.
The most important ingredient in this dish is the stock, just using eggs and water is too bland, chicken stock makes it much tastier. The minced pork or prawns should be cooked before-hand because the slow cooking process may not cook any raw ingredients through.
Ingredients:
-Two to three eggs (if you want to make a large dish, more eggs can be added)
-Chicken stock, twice the volume of the eggs or a little more if you like it wobblier or less if you like it firmer.
-Minced pork or prawns lightly pan fried. Optional plain is nice too.
-Salt and white pepper to season.
Method:
Beat the eggs and stir in the stock (don't beat again, so there are less bubbles) and then add the mince or prawns in a Pyrex dish with lid. Rest it a little so any bubbles will escape.
It can be steamed if the dish is small enough but I found that you can actually bake it in the oven. I suggest medium heat (160C) for about half an hour. But it is a bit trial and error over the time and temperature, if you find the eggs won't set because its watery, beat in another egg, steam or bake it some more. It will set. Have fun trying.’
Thank you Auntie Helen! I definitely recommend giving this a try. My mother says that Grandma made it often for them because it was a good way of making expensive ingredients like eggs, pork and prawns serve more people. I just think it’s so delicious! Spoon it over a bowl of plain white rice, perhaps with a sprinkle of sliced spring onions and a drizzle of soy sauce for the most comforting taste sensation.
Photo right: Aunties of both varieties with Mom and me.
Then there are those honorary Aunties we all have, the chosen ones, my mother’s close friends. They say that friends are the family that you choose for yourself and I’m sure this was true for my mother. Once her sisters moved away, she had to rely much more on her friends for companionship and support. We have many beloved honorary Aunties but there's one special mention. As a child I was once asked by my mother’s sisters, who was my favourite Auntie, my response was not the expected one, I considered the options and decided on Auntie Ger. Ger is one of my mother’s closest friends and she indulged us just as much as our other Aunties. She too lived abroad but we would see her a handful of times each year and always at Christmas. We adored her because she was so interested in us. She asked us about ourselves, she wanted to know what we liked and were interested in. Not many other adults in our lives asked for our opinions and listened. She also gave us the coolest clothes, the ones nobody else had. We were the envy of other kids! Such kudos!
As an adult, I appreciate how much love all our Aunties have for us and I am so grateful for each of them. Their love and support is simpler and carries much less expectation than that of our parents. They seem to find our transition from children to teenagers to adults easier to deal with than our parents. They bridge a gap because they help us to see our parents as people too. Much to my mother’s discomfort and sometimes, outrage, they tell us stories about what they were like as children, teenagers and adults themselves. We get an idea how they were before they got married and had us. I now know that I get my obsession with shoes and handbags from my Mom, among other things.
My Aunties are wonderful. From these loving and generous women, I have learned how to be an Auntie myself. I am well prepared! I am already an honorary Auntie to some of my friends’ children and my cousin has two gorgeous little ones. I love being Auntie Viv! To my brand-new niece and my honorary nieces and nephews, I promise to indulge you to the dismay of your parents. I promise to listen to you and value your opinions. I promise to support you and champion your independence and individuality. I will endeavour to know what you consider cool and hip and trendy so that I can give you presents that you will love even if they will likely dismay your parents. I will always cook you your favourite foods and bake you your favourite cakes. Especially for our precious new niece, I promise to tell you all the embarrassing stories you want about your father so that you have something to use against him in arguments. I promise to have an endless supply of hugs and to love you no matter what.
All of that is if I can actually get to you through your Grand-Aunties (or is it Great-Aunties?!). Competition for your attention and affection is going to be fierce! You are so loved already!
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