Chai bo

sibu chai bo

My paternal grandma used to make chai bo when I was 13 or 14 and I loved eating that. My sister, naturally siding against me, claimed my maternal grandmother’s deep fried version is better. It’s hard to describe the taste of chai bo, just like it’s hard to describe the taste of century eggs.

chai bo

It’s sweet for one, but savory at the same time. Umami would be the closest thing to describing it. It’s an excellent appetizer! My grandma makes a mean dish of this and they knew I was coming over for dinner so the staples that I love were there – braised pork, chai bo, two century eggs.

I had two helpings of rice.

chai bo grandma

You just gotta love home cooked meals. You just gotta love family.

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55 thoughts on “Chai bo”

  1. I love love love Chai Bo with egg. With Hei Bi even better. When you described it as sweet yet savory, Umami just popped into my mind. πŸ˜› Seriously, you don’t want to be a sensory panelist to detect threshold for pure Umami solutions, they are horrible. I rather taste bitter solutions. Errrr… maybe neither one. HB, your grandma has beautiful skin!

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  2. fish fish: I love it too! Umami right? What do you call chai bo in English?
    Thanks! My paternal side looks younger than they actually are, you’ll never guess the age of my grandma. πŸ™‚
    Michelle Chin: Nooooooooooooooooooooo!111111111
    Chai bo should NEVER be deep fried. πŸ™‚
    It’s good enough as it is. Awesome. It should be prepped with sugar. πŸ™‚
    Lion: Yeah, I’m lucky in this sense. πŸ™‚
    I have good paternal relationships and I’m close to my aunts and grandma. πŸ™‚
    mrputun: Sorry bro, I don’t know myself…er, can someone with clarify here? What is chai bo is English? πŸ™‚
    gypsy-on-the-move: It’s an awesome dish right! I love the taste, it’s unsurpassable by anything else (except century eggs). πŸ™‚
    foodcrazee: I must admit, I never had chai bo in soup. Heng Hua way is to do it like this. Foochows like to deep fry it. I prefer it the Heng Hua way. πŸ™‚

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  3. Say this to my preteen, and he’ll puke. Anyway, teens will be teens. They need some hard trashing in years to come during their college years living on their own before bowing and begging for such simplicity goodness. Agree? Haiz..LOL!

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  4. Chai Poh/Choy Poh is preserved chopped radish with preservatives. Like fresh mustard preserved to become HUM CHOY.Duck eggs preserved with preservatives become HUM TANN.Duck eggs, chicken eggs or quail eggs can be preserved with preservatives to become PEI TANN. See? It’s all about preservation and the ingredients put in to preserve the food.You know preserved plums, Suen Mui?? LOL! I’m laughing when typing this. LOL. Sorry for such self-tickled humour. πŸ˜‰ Lovely blog and love reading.LOL!

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  5. KY: It is indeed awesome stuff! πŸ™‚
    Goes well with anything!
    Yvonne: Yeah, I used to hate the stuff when I was a kid but I love it to bits now. πŸ™‚
    Radish! =D
    Thanks for the clarification Yvonne! πŸ™‚
    Cheers for reading! =D
    Chai bo is great stuff!

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  6. HB, you or your sister must learn this cooking for it an heirloom to be pass down to every generations. Next your little neice when she grow up with also have it for her own family too. So best way is to write it down as special recipes and photos of it for family history files.

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  7. Erica: Yeah, it’s actually very good stuff. I don’t like it deep fried coz it stands very well on it’s own. πŸ™‚
    I shall get the recipe! πŸ™‚

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  8. i always ask for more ‘chai bo’ when ordering fried diced carrot cake…
    i liked it for the ‘crunch’ it provides…..

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  9. ciki: I love eating it just like that! =D
    Pure gold. πŸ™‚
    eiling: I just got one shirt and I was running around the entire day doing my passport so I changed into an old shirt. T_T
    imantulen: The taste is very awesome too!
    It’s like century eggs, it never gets old for me. πŸ™‚
    noname: Yeah, he looks more like my grandma than my grandad. πŸ™‚
    Magnolia: Interesting! I love eating it just like that with rice and pork though. πŸ™‚
    Ya thanks to Yvonne I finally know what chai bo is in English. πŸ™‚

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  10. debbie: It’s radish! I just learned it from Yvonne. It’s preserved chopped radish and it’s awesome! πŸ™‚

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  11. Eiliing: Poor HB, nobody to look after him. Only one shirt to wear for the rest ofthe year. You should do his laundry πŸ™‚

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  12. Redbabe: Yeah that’s a good combination too! πŸ™‚
    Chai bo with eggs. Sorry to hear about your grandma. πŸ™
    annna: Me too!
    …and chai bo is popiah is awesome too! πŸ™‚
    But the best is eaten just as it is, second would be with Sarawak style char kueh tiaw. πŸ™‚
    rocket: Er…I have my own laundry bro. πŸ™‚

    Reply
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