A big
NI HAO MA? (how are you?)
from the Editor.
Just been
reading a very interesting
article in BBC Focus
magazine about the research
behind successful people
from differing backgrounds
i.e. computer programmers,
musicians, sports people
etc.
The
scientists wanted to find
out if there is such a thing
as the talented person that
puts very little effort into
being world class in their
particular field of
endeavour.
They look
into the training of a group
of violinists, the findings
were very interesting, at
age 4/5 they were doing
about the same amount of
practice but by 9/10 the
hours for the training had
gone up for the very good
but stayed the same for the
good.
By age
13/14 the hours had gone up
again for the outstanding
and the hours of training
had gone up to about 6 hours
a day for the truly world
class who were the ones
dedicated enough to go the
extra mile for the love of
their music.
The
common thread was the
ability to up the work rate
and the training and to not
become jaded by the
repetition.
There are
no truly gifted people that
find it easy to become
exceptional in any given
task, the old adage “the
harder I work the luckier I
become’ really is true.
The
talent is in finding ways to
make the training fun and
enjoyable!
Enjoy
the rest of your newsletter
we have recipes, news from
the China trip, new classes,
websites to visit and more.
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Hot and spicy
Malaysian recipe for cold days
Recipe: Curry Laksa/Curry Mee,
serves 4-6 people. Adated from
Kuali.com
Ingredients:
600g shelled cockles/bloody clams
(optional), 500g prawns, steamed and
shelled; use the heads to sweeten the
stock by liquidising them with 500ml
water, 3 to 4 pieces soaked cuttlefish
heads, 200g fried soya bean cubes/tow
pok (halved or quartered), cut into
cubes (optional), 300g shredded, cooked
chicken meat, 500g blanched bean
sprouts, 600g blanched yellow noodles,
300g blanched vermicelli/rice sticks,
1kg grated coconut, mixed with 4 litres
water and squeezed for the coconut milk
to be used as main stock
Seasoning:
4 tbsp salt or to taste, 1 1/2 tbsp rock
sugar, 1/2 tbsp MSG (optional)
Spices (finely ground):
100g shallots, 25g garlic, 3 tbsp
coriander seeds, 4 tbsp chilli paste, 2
tbsp sliced lemon grass, 10 peppercorns,
1/2 tbsp belacan (Malaysian shrimp
paste) granules
Chili oil: 110g chili
paste. 25g garlic, pounded, 175ml to
200ml oil
Method:
Heat 1/2 cup oil to saute the spices
till fragrant. Add in salt, rock sugar
and 500ml general santan and bring to a
low boil till sugar dissolves. Add in
the rest of the coconut milk, tow pok.
When soup comes to a boil, add prawn
stock and seasoning, then bring to just
boiling point. Remove from fire and use
stock as a soup for the yellow noodles
and vermicelli. (Should the gravy or
stock curdle, strain it.)
For the chili oil: Saute garlic and
chili paste in oil until the chili
disintegrates and oil floats to the
surface. (Use this to garnish when
serving.)
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