The rice flour that has been dried and cut into small pieces.
SIBU (Feb 7): Every Chinese New Year, almost every Cantonese Guangning family will busily prepare the community’s special biscuits known as gangsa.
Made from rice flour coated with ground soya beans, the beloved Guangning dessert is a must-have for the festival.
Despite its popularity, production has decreased over the years as fewer and fewer families know how to make the biscuits.
Kong Chiung San’s family is one of the few remaining families in Sungai Tellian, Durin continuing the tradition.
“I do not know how to do it. My wife and my son learned it from other people, and they experimented with it themselves; that was like more than 10 years ago.
“Last time, there were many families who knew how to do it. I know one old couple used to do it, but after his wife passed away, then, that old man fell ill, no one from the family continued with this tradition. It is sad because that knowledge and skills just disappeared in the family,” he said.
Kong, who is 67 years old, said one of the reasons many families stopped making gangsa is because it is a tedious process.
According to him, the dough needs to be shaped into thin layers which are then steamed until cooked and hardened.
After that, the layers of dough are dried outdoors before being cut into small pieces.
Chiung San’s family members fry gangsa.
“Once we cut into small pieces, we place them in a plastic container and make sure they are airtight. If there are people ordering it from us, then we take them out and fry them.
“We started drying them since last year August until October. After that, we could not do anymore because of the rainy season,” he pointed out.
He added the frying process normally starts in December or a month before Chinese New Year.
Kong said the first few years when they started to make these biscuits, it was a learning period.
“At first, the quality was not very good, it was a bit hard, but now, it is very crunchy. These few years I can say we improved a lot,” he said.
He said while his wife and son make the biscuits, his job is to market, sell, and deliver to those who order.
He runs a stall at Sibu Jaya and the Iban community would place orders for Christmas, while for Chinese New Year, orders come in from Kuching, Miri, and even Peninsular Malaysia.
“We could do this because our son is helping us. I think without my son, my wife and I would not be able to do it because the job is tedious. Some of my relatives do not even want to do it,” he said.
Apart from gangsa, he said they also made another Guangning favourite – sweet potato balls.
He said whenever there is a food or fun fair, sweet potato is a favourite among Sibu folk.
Chiung San’s wife Sze Kui Chua coats gangsa with ground soya bean.
Sibu Guangning Association treasurer Kong Sien Chih said all desserts usually made during Chinese New Year are part of the community’s culture.
“Last time, Guangning men only married Guangning women, now, they are married to Foochow or Hokkien, so it is mixed already, but I think our culture still remains.
“We have many delicacies and desserts. Some of course, no one is doing it anymore, maybe they are not very popular, but some I believe will continue. I really hope that our younger generation will continue this culture and not let them die away,” he said.
Sien Chih recalled his mother used to make gangsa a few weeks before Chinese New Year.
He said in the olden days, most of the desserts were made by the women of the household, usually the wife.
Association secretary Kong Sen Leau believes gangsa will continue to be produced as it has been commercialised.
“You can buy gangsa in the supermarket now. So, not only will it be preserved, but it will be developed. I once bought gangsa which was made by the Foochow people, so I believe it has a future to be developed,” he added.
The association’s women’s bureau chief Kong Sek Yin called on the Guangning community to learn how to make the biscuits as it is part of their culture.
“Yes, you can find them in the market now. The difference is the quality and the taste. I believe the Guangning community must continue with this culture as this is our specialty,” she said.
She admitted that while she knows how to make some Guangning desserts, she is not an expert when it comes to gangsa.
“Our association always welcomes people from our community to give lessons to our community to make these desserts so that we will continue this culture,” she added.