Cherry Tomato in Preserved Plum Syrup

It is Chinese New Year on 5th of February and we would start a half-month celebration from the 4th. The feast in the New Year’s Eve is the most important that all family members would try their best to go home on that date. Household would start planning menu and prepare ingredients weeks before.

I will be writing nine courses of recipes for this feast, including side, main, soup and dessert. New Year’s Eve is the busiest day for a home cook so I would prepare food that can be made one day before. The one in this recipe is one of them. It can be served cold or in room temperature. It’s fresh, sweet and sour, a perfect appetizer for a rich feast.

• Ingredients –
  Cherry tomatoes, 500g;
  Preserved plum/hua-mei/话梅, 30g;
  Crystal sugar, 50g;
  Lemon, 1.

How to do –
1. Prepare the syrup first. In a sauce pan, put in all preserved plums and 2 cups of water, bring to boil and let it simmer in medium heat till the liquid turns amber;

2. Add in the crystal sugar and lid on, heat off. Let the syrup cool down and the sugar melts. Sugar would turn a little sour after long cooking, so I wouldn’t suggest put in the sugar at the early stage. If you couldn’t find crystal sugar, then any other types of sugar would be good;

4. Cherry tomatoes washed. In a soup pot, put in plenty of water and bring to boil, then turn off the heat, put all tomatoes in immediately. Let them sit in the hot water for a minute. You would see the peel breaks naturally;

5. Drain and peel the tomatoes. It should be quick and easy;

6. You could use a sealed container but I would just use my serving bowl. Less washing is better anyway. Put in all peeled tomatoes, pour in the plum syrup, put two slices of lemon on top for garnishing and squeeze the juice of the rest lemon in. Cover the bowl with cling film and keep in fridge overnight;
7. Take it out from the fridge an hour before the feast if the elders or kids don’t want cold food.