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Nancy’s Fiery Fare:
Happy New Year!
by Nancy Gerlach, Fiery-Foods.com Food Editor
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Recipes in this Issue: |
You’re probably thinking I’m a little late or way, way early, but if this were China, you would be getting ready to celebrate the start of the Lunar New Year. Dating from around 2600 B.C., this event is the longest continuous recorded celebration in history.
Chinese New Years follows the Lunar calendar which, like the Western calendar, runs for a year but is based on the cycles of the moon not on the days in a month. The Spring Festival, as it’s now popularly know, starts the beginning of spring and can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February. The calendar also follows a 12-year cycle with each year named after an animal. The legend surrounding the naming is that the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from earth, but only 12 twelve came to bid him farewell. As a reward he named a year after each animal, and the years in the order in which they arrived. A persons’ personality is supposedly influenced by the animal ruling the year in which they were born. The lunar year begins on the 12th of February and 2002 is the Year of the Horse. People born under this sign are said to be active, energetic, and possess a quick wit, with an easy going personality
Preparations for spiritual cleansing are begun a month before the actual new year. Business accounts are put in order, ledgers balanced, debts cleared, and old grudges settled. The house is given a thorough cleaning to sweep away any bad luck to make way for the good in the up-coming year. People also give their doors and windows new paint, usually red, and decorate with red and gold paper cuts printed with New Years wishes such as happiness, wealth and longevity.
The eve of the New Year is steeped in tradition and rituals which are carefully observed. The entire family comes together for a supper feast consisting of foods that have a special significance. Foods such as prawns for good fortune and happiness, meat for wealth, chicken for prosperity, and noodles for a long life. An even number of dishes is served as an odd number will bring bad luck. After dinner the family plays cards or board games, with every light in the house turned on while waiting for start of the new year. At midnight, fireworks light up the sky and the sound of firecrackers fill the air. Fifteen days later another celebration, the Festival of Lanterns, marks the end of the New Year season.
So, even though December 31st has come and gone, you can still celebrate or even have another New Years celebration, Chinese-style. Since no party is complete without good food, I’ve included some hot and spicy Chinese dishes for you to include in your festivities. Have a "kung hei fat choy"---a prosperous New Year!
Recipes
Xinjiang Lamb and Chile Barbecue
The region located next to Mongolia, called Xinjiang, is noted for its barbecue lamb, or mutton, even though lamb is rarely eaten in other parts of China. In fact, the Mongolian tribes were the ones who introduced lamb to the rest of China. It’s easy to visualize this simple barbecue being prepared by the nomads on the steppes of Xinjiang. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.
1/4 cup lemon juice, fresh preferred
2 tablespoons Asian red chile oil (available in Asian markets)
2 tablespoons rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons crushed Sichuan peppercorns
½ teaspoon minced ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 ½- pounds lamb, cut in 2-inch cubes
8 jalapeños, cut in half lengthwise
4 sesame seed buns
Chopped green onions, including some of the greens
Chopped fresh cilantro
In a non-reactive bowl, combine the lemon juice, chile oil, wine, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, peppercorns, ginger, and salt and blend well. Add the lamb and jalapenos and marinate them in the refrigerator overnight or for 2 hours at room temperature.
Drain the mixture and reserve the marinade. Thread the meat on skewers, alternating with the jalapeño halves. Place the skewers under a broiler or grill over a medium-hot fire until medium-rare, about 15 minutes. Baste occasionally with the marinade.
Serve the lamb and chiles in the buns topped with the chopped onions and cilantro.
Yields: 4 to 6 servings
Heat Scale: Medium Hot
This cold chicken salad is not really strange--just delicious! It gets its name from the sauce which is salty, sweet, sour and hot, all in one dish. In the Chinese province of Hunan where the summers are hot, a cool yet pungent entree is always welcome. This is a great way to recycle left-over chicken. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.
Dressing:
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 ½ tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon sesame paste (available in Asian markets) or smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon Chinese red chile oil (available in Asian markets)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons ground Sichuan peppercorns
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced ginger
½ teaspoon crushed red chile flakes
Salad:
8 ounces cooked chicken, chopped
2 green onions, chopped including some of the greens
1 cucumber, ½ cubed and ½ sliced
Shredded lettuce
Garnish: 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
Crushed red chile flakes
Chopped fresh cilantro
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the dressing and mix well. Allow the dressing to sit for a couple of hours to blend the flavors.
Toss the chicken, green onions, and cubed cucumber in the dressing. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
To serve: Make a bed of the lettuce on individual serving plates. Arrange the sliced cucumbers on the lettuce, top with the chicken salad and garnish with the peanuts, chile flakes, and cilantro.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Heat Scale: Medium
I’ve substituted shrimp for the prawns in this dish as they are more available and less expensive. And after all, prawns are just really big shrimp. Since they signify good fortune and happiness they are usually included in a traditional New Year’s feast. If you want to increase the heat, use either small dried red chiles or crushed chiles as increasing the chile paste will change the flavor of the dish.
2 teaspoons vegetable oil, peanut preferred
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil, divided
1 cup snow peas
3 jalapeño chiles, stems and seeds removed, sliced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
½ cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Asian chili paste (available in Asian markets)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups cooked white rice
In a wok or heavy skillet, heat the vegetable oil and half the sesame oil until very hot. Add the snow peas and stir-fry for 1 minute. Remove the peas and pour off all but a teaspoon of the oil.
Add the remaining sesame oil and heat. Add the jalapeños and garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the shrimp and fry until the shrimp turns pink, about 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp and keep warm.
Combine the vinegar, ketchup, chili paste, sugar and cornstarch together and mix to blend.
Raise the heat under the wok, and pour in the vinegar blend. Heat the sauce, stirring constantly until it thickens. Lower the heat, add the mushrooms, return the shrimp and peas to the wok, and heat through.
Serve the shrimp in a bowl accompanied by the white rice.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Heat Scale: Medium
Pasta is not only used by the Italians--remember that Marco Polo visited China and pasta was a favorite in China when he showed up. Since noodles are associated with a long and happy life they are always served at special occasions such as birthdays and New Year’s. These noodles can be served as an appetizer as well as with meats or roasts and the orange oil can be used in a variety of ways such as replacing unflavored oil in stir-frying.
1 pound thin egg noodles
8 ounces bean sprouts
6 ounces cooked pork, finely shredded
1 stalk celery, diagonally cut
2 carrots, diagonally cut
6 green onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup Chile Orange Oil, recipe below
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup cashew nuts
In a large kettle, heat 4 quarts of water until boiling, add the noodles and cook until done. Remove the noodles and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process.
Heat additional water in the kettle until very hot but not boiling. Blanch the bean sprouts for 10 seconds in hot water. Remove and plunge the sprouts in cold water to stop the cooking process.
To make the dressing, combine the chile oil, soy sauce, and sugar in a bowl and blend well. Toss the noodles in ½ of the dressing and place them on a large serving platter.
Toss the bean sprouts, pork, celery, carrots, and onions with the remaining dressing and heap on the noodles. Garnish with the cilantro and cashews and serve.
Yield: 6 servings
Heat Scale: Medium
Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.
2 cups peanut oil
6 to 8 japones chiles, or substitute other small dried red chiles
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Zest of 2 oranges, finely minced
1 tablespoon Chinese black bean paste (available in Asian markets)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Heat the oil in a wok or heavy skilled until a chile will "sputter" when dropped in the oil. Combine all the remaining ingredients, add to the oil, and simmer for 5 minutes, being very careful not to let any ingredients burn.
Remove the pan from the heat and allow the oil to steep overnight. Strain the oil before using.
Yield: 2 cups
Heat Scale: Medium Hot
This elegant vegetable is a great accompaniment to any meal--not only with Chinese foods. The dish must be prepared with fresh asparagus, never frozen. If asparagus is out of season substitute green beans or broccoli.
1 pound fresh asparagus, cut in 1 ½½ to 2-inch pieces
2 teaspoons vegetable oil, peanut preferred
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon crushed red chile
1 heaping tablespoon hot hoison sauce (available in Asian markets)
1/4 cup rice wine
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon vinegar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
In a large kettle or saucepan, heat a quart of water until boiling, blanch the asparagus 10 to 20 seconds. Remove and immediately immerse the asparagus in ice water to stop the cooking process.
In a wok or heavy skillet heat the oil, add the asparagus and garlic and stir fry for 1 minute.
Add the chile, hoison sauce, wine, sugar and vinegar. Stir-fry for another 2 minutes or until the asparagus is tender but still crisp.
To serve, place the asparagus in a serving bowl or on a platter and garnish with the walnuts.
Yield: 4 servings
Heat Scale: Medium
