One Perfect Bite: chinese new year

Showing posts with label chinese new year. Show all posts

Friday, February 3, 2017

Pan-Fried Hong Kong Noodles - Chinese New Year

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...When the children were home, a Chinese dinner would include 3 main dishes plus soup and rice. These days, the Silver Fox and I just don't eat that way. That's not a bad thing. Fortunately, appetite diminishes with age, so we can still fit through the door, and when we have a dry spell, can actually bend and touch our toes. That's not to say we don't eat. It's just that a dish once meant for one now feeds two or three with ease. Tonight I made the pan-fried noodles for our dinner. While they were a main course for me, I augmented Bob's supper with Chinese-style salt and pepper pork chops, the recipe for which can be found here. Despite my best efforts, the Fox remains, a committed carnivore and I rarely get away with serving him a completely meatless meal. We both love pan-fried noodles and they make a perfect accompaniment to dishes like the chops I made for him. We have a well-stocked Asian market in town, so I have no trouble getting the noodles or the dark soy sauce called for in the recipe. Dark soy sauce is thicker in texture and despite its deep color, less salty than the everyday varieties most use for cooking. Dark soy is fermented for a longer period of time and it's usually augmented with sugar or molasses, that gives the sauce a sweet-salty flavor and viscous texture. Dark soy sauce is used solely for cooking. If you can't find it, replace it with regular soy sauce. Your noodles will be lighter in color, but their flavor will be fine. I know those of you who try this recipe will be pleased with the noodles. Here's how they are made.

Noodle Bowls - For a Quick Chinese New Year Lunch

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...We've had a busy day. The saving grace was accommodation had been made early on, so, while the day was over-scheduled, we got through it with a smile. In keeping with my plan to serve Chinese food during the Spring Festival, I whipped up these noodles for our lunch. I had asparagus and fresh mushrooms in the refrigerator, and I thought these lovely noodle bowls would be perfect for a Chinese-style lunch. While the recipe I'm featuring is not truly Chinese, in appearance, taste and execution, the noodle bowls would fit perfectly on a Chinese table. I found the recipe last summer when looking for ways to cook asparagus from a harvest so successful it caused the shelves of farm stands to sag under its weight. I can't resist a bargain and, as a result, my refrigerator shelves sagged as badly as those in the farm stands. The question than became, "now that I have it what do I do with it?" I went searching for recipes and found the original source for the noodle bowls here. While I've made few changes to the original, the dish still contains only four basic ingredients, including asparagus, mushrooms, eggs and of course, noodles. The eggs which provide the protein in this dish are handled in the same way as those that are used to make Spaghetti Carbonara. This dish, however, is more mildly flavored. The noodles are quite nice and perfect for any time of year. While I think you will enjoy them, I do not want to mislead you. This is not an Asian noodle recipe. It's for an all-American dish that happens to use Chinese noodles and sesame seeds. It has several things going for it, among which is the speed with which it can be prepared. The recipe is also scaled to feed two or three people, depending on how hungry they are, so it would make a great addition to the recipe collections of those who are now cooking for two. I know many of you have carnivores at the table, and, if you wish, chicken or pork can be added to the ingredients without changing the basic nature of the dish. The bowls can be on the table in less than 30 minutes, and as Martha use to say, "That's a good thing." Here is how the bowls are made.

Chinese Donuts and Pancakes for a New Year's Brunch

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The Silver Fox and I are having guests for brunch on Saturday. In keeping with my plan to serve Chinese food for the duration of the Spring Festival, I've put together a menu that I think our guests will enjoy. I'll be serving congee, noodles, shrimp omelets, dumplings, and creamed bok choy as well as Chinese donuts and pancakes. The recipes for these dishes have been featured on One Perfect Bite in the past, but I came across new recipes for the donuts and pancakes that I wanted to try and share with you. They are easy to make and I think your family and friends will enjoy them. Here is how they both are made.

Lion's Head Meatballs for Chinese New Year

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The Silver Fox and I use the 15 days of Spring Festival to enjoy some of our favorite Chinese dishes. Over the years, I've collected a huge number of recipes for Asian food, particularly Chinese. These meatballs are a personal favorite of mine, and I always make them during the holiday, as much for their symbolism as their wonderful flavor. There is discussion, sometimes contentious, about the origins of this dish. I favor Shanghai, but the beautiful city of Yangzhou is also a contender. Children love this dish and it's whimsy. For some, the four large meatballs represent the cardinal points of north, south, east and west. For others, they represent the blessings of felicity, prosperity, longevity and happiness. The meatballs are braised with a mild Asian cabbage in a delicious brown sauce. The finished meatballs, festooned with shreds of cabbage, do resemble a lion's head. When there are no children at the table, I opt for smaller meatballs. There are hundreds of recipes for Lion's Head; this version is based on one developed by Jacki Passmore. If you do not eat pork, or abstain from meat, you might like to try this recipe using a product called Gimmee Lean. In Shanghai these meatballs are served as an appetizer. They're also great for church suppers and other potlucks.

Long-Life Noodles for Chinese New Year

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Chinese New Year - Spring Festival - is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The year 4715 - the year of the rooster - begins on the 28th of January. Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in rooster years are observant, hardworking, resourceful, courageous, and talented. While they are confident to the point of irritation, they have a great sense of humor and are popular with those who know them. It goes without saying, they enjoy being the center of attention. I suspect they also love to eat. Food is an important part of the New Year celebration and certain foods are included for their symbolic value. Noodles are served for longevity, oranges for wealth and prosperity and a whole fish for abundance and togetherness. Today's recipe is for long-life noodles like the ones stick-stick men sold from pots that hung from shoulder poles. The noodles are served at the very beginning or at the very end of the meal. Be aware that bad luck or a shortened life is the fate of those who break or cut them into more manageable lengths. It's a pretty safe bet that those born in this lunar cycle, the Roosters, manage to keep their noodles in one very long piece. I've draped a noodle across the kitchen cabinet to give you an idea of their length. The noodles can be sauced in many ways, but I've chosen a really simple recipe to share with you tonight. I know you'll enjoy them, and if you have children or grandchildren at the table, they'll have a blast slurping the longest worms ever. Here is how they are made. Remember, the longer the noodle, the longer your life.

With Three You Get Eggroll or If You're Lucky Homemade Nian Gao

Gong Hey Fat Choy

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Happy New Year. The year of the rooster begins today, and for the next 15 days those who celebrate Chinese New Year will join with family and friends to enjoy the "lucky" foods that are associated with the holiday.

Nian gao, or year cake, is a popular dessert served during Chinese New Year. It has a history of at least a thousand years. It is considered good luck to eat the cake because the Chinese pronunciation of its name is a homonym for another word that means higher year. The cake has come to symbolize improving one's status in the coming year. It is also known as a rice cake. The cake is a sticky sweet snack that was first made as an offering to the kitchen god. It was hoped his lips would stick together as he ate it, preventing him from reporting family transgressions to the Jade Emperor. The cake is made from glutinous rice flour, Chinese brown sugar and flavored with almond extract before it is steamed. It is decorated with sesame seeds and dried red dates while it is still warm, but it must sit for at least a day to firm up for slicing.

Bob's in the Kitchen - Dragon Noodles

From the Kitchen of One Perfect Bite...We want to wish everyone who is ushering in the Year of the Goat a Happy New Year. Our celebration this year is very low-key, but we are giving the holiday a nod. The noodles that we are featuring tonight will appeal to anyone who likes noodles and the combination of sweet and hot flavors. We call these Dragon Noodles because Mary and I use enough Sriracha to please fire-eaters. The recipe that appears below suggests an amount of heat that will not be off-putting to those who are not overly fond of spicy food. Those of you who have "dragon" tendencies will want to add Sriracha to your personal taste. The recipe is simple enough to prepare on a weeknight and the use of bagged coleslaw keeps chopping to an absolute minimum. Do give these noodles, which can be on the table in 30 minutes, a try. Here is the recipe.

Bob's in the Kitchen - Sichuan Stir-Fried Chicken with Garlic Sauce

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Chinese New Year will be celebrated on the 19th of February this year. Mary wanted to post a couple of new recipes for the occasion, and, working together, we decided to make this chicken dish and Dragon Noodles that we will be featured here tomorrow night. The Sichuan chicken is a riff on a pork recipe that first appeared in Cook's Illustrated magazine. We had no pork in the freezer, so rather than run to the store we decided to adapt the recipe and use chicken thighs in its place. It worked really well. I think you will like this stir-fry, and hope you will give it a try. Here is the recipe.

Chinese New Year - Food to Celebrate the Year of the Dragon

Parade to celebrate Chinese New Year complete with red lanterns and a dragon.

Chinese or Lunar New Year is also called Spring Festival. It is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The year 4710 - the year of the dragon - begins on the 23rd of January and will last for 15 days. Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on its darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the lunar month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. Legend has it, that in ancient times Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality traits. Those born in the Year of the Dragon are powerful, energetic, sensitive, trustworthy, brave, strong and sometimes excitable. I'll bet they also love to eat. Food is an important part of the New Year celebration and certain foods are included for their symbolic value; noodles are served for longevity, oranges for wealth and prosperity and a whole fish for abundance and togetherness. I thought this would be a good time to reprise some of the Chinese recipes we've posted here. I want to wish all who will be celebrating, a happy and auspicious New Year. Gung hay fat choy, 恭喜發財.