Chinese New Year

Feb. 16, 2008

Recipes from Web:

Buddah’s Delight

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/233790

We combined elements of several recipes:

Recipe 1:

Extremely subtle and very delicate, this special dish, called Buddha's Delight because it's completely vegetarian, is all about texture. The biggest challenge in making it is finding the right ingredients, but the reward is worth the effort. Prepared with fresh vegetables, this recipe is sublime. If you can't find them fresh, don't be tempted to use canned (frozen bamboo shoots and ginkgo nuts are acceptable, however). Traditional Buddha's Delight doesn't call for garlic, but we find it makes all the difference. The recipe also serves 4 as a fabulous vegetarian main course.

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Servings: Makes 8 servings (as part of a Chinese meal).

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Ingredients

12 large dried black mushrooms (3 oz)

5 cups boiling-hot water plus additional for soaking bean curd skins

2 dried bean curd skins (2 oz total)

1/2 lb fresh or thawed frozen large bamboo shoots

2 to 3 oz very thin bean thread noodles (2 small skeins; also known as cellophane, glass, or mung bean noodles)

1 (1/2-lb) firm fresh tofu cake, or 1/2 cake from a 14- to 16-oz package, rinsed and drained

2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil

1 (1/2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and very thinly sliced 2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cup peeled shelled fresh or frozen ginkgo nuts

1/3 cup vegetarian oyster sauce

1/4 cup light soy sauce (preferably Pearl River Bridge brand)

1/4 cup Chinese rice wine (preferably Shaoxing) or medium-dry Sherry

3/4 teaspoon sugar

2 cups fresh soybean sprouts (1/4 lb)

2 romaine hearts, trimmed and quartered lengthwise, then cut into 2-inch pieces (6 cups)

Preparation

Soak mushrooms in 5 cups boiling-hot water in a bowl, keeping them submerged with a small plate and turning mushrooms over occasionally, until softened and cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes. Squeeze excess liquid from caps back into bowl and reserve liquid, then cut out and discard stems from mushrooms. Cut caps into 1-inch wedges.

While mushrooms soak, carefully break bean curd skins in half crosswise, then halve each portion crosswise again. Transfer to a bowl, then add enough boiling-hot water to cover and soak, turning occasionally, until softened, about 30 minutes.

If using fresh bamboo, trim bottoms of shoots, then halve shoots lengthwise with a sharp heavy knife. Pull off and discard leaves from shoots, then remove any blemishes with a sharp paring knife (don't worry about natural dotted pattern along base of shoots).

Cover fresh or frozen bamboo with cold water by 1 inch in a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes, then drain in a colander and rinse under cold water. Repeat boiling and rinsing, then arrange bamboo halves, cut sides down, on a cutting board and cut bamboo lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

Soak noodles in cold water to cover until softened, about 5 minutes, then drain in colander and transfer to a bowl.

Drain bean curd skins in colander. When cool enough to handle, squeeze dry and cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces.

Halve tofu lengthwise, then cut each half crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart wide heavy pot over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add mushrooms, bean curd skins, bamboo, and ginkgo nuts and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar and simmer 1 minute. Add reserved mushroom-soaking liquid and bring to a boil. Gently stir in tofu and soybean sprouts, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Gently stir in noodles and simmer, covered, 5 minutes. Add romaine hearts (pot will be full) and turn to coat, then simmer, covered, until romaine is tender, about 5 minutes.

Cooks' notes:

• Mushrooms, bean curd skins, and noodles can be soaked (but not drained) 1 day ahead and chilled in their soaking liquid separately, covered. Drain (reserve mushroom-soaking liquid) before using.

• Bamboo shoots can be cooked 1 day ahead and cooled completely, then cut and chilled in cold water, covered. Drain before using.

• Buddha's Delight, without romaine, can be made 2 hours ahead and kept at room temperature, uncovered. Bring to a boil and proceed with recipe.

Recipe 2:

http://ginkgopages.blogspot.com/2006/01/jai-delight-in-chinese-new-year.html

1 31/2-ounce package bean-thread noodles

20 small dried black mushrooms

1/2 ounce cloud ears

1/2 cup tiger lily buds

20 small dried jujubes (Chinese red dates)

1/2 ounce fat choy (black seaweed)

1/4 cup dried lotus seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon vegetable or peanut oil

11/2-inch piece ginger

8 to 12 dried oysters, soaked overnight in water to cover

3/4 cup shelled ginkgo nuts

2 ounces dried bean curd sticks (also called dried bean flour skins)

4 ounces snow peas, strings removed

8 to 10 ounces tofu, cut into 3/4-inch dice

8 fresh or canned water chestnuts, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup sliced bamboo shoots, rinsed and drained

4 to 8 fresh arrowheads, lightly scraped with stems intact

12 pieces dao pok (fried wheat gluten)

2 cups finely shredded Napa cabbage

1 tablespoon red bean curd

1 tablespoon fermented bean curd

Seasoning mixture:

3 cups water

1 tablespoon sugar

4 teaspoons oyster sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Soak the bean-thread noodles in water for 2 hours. Put the mushrooms in a small bowl with hot water. Let stand 30 to 45 minutes to soften. Cut and discard the stems. Rinse the caps, squeeze dry and cut into quarter-inch-thick slices.

Put the cloud ears, tiger lily buds, jujubes, fat choy and lotus seeds in separate bowls, add hot water to cover and soak for 30 minutes. Rinse the cloud ears well, drain, cut and discard any hard parts. Rinse and drain the tiger lily buds, cut the hard ends. Drain the jujubes. Rinse the fat choy and put it in a small saucepan with the salt, 1 teaspoon of the oil, the ginger and water to cover. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat and let stand 10 minutes. Drain the fat choy and gently squeeze out the water.

Open the lotus seeds and discard the bitter green parts inside. Put the lotus seeds in a small saucepan with water to cover, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain.

Rinse the soaked oysters to remove any sand. Trim off any tough parts. Steam the oysters in a small dish for 10 minutes over medium heat until soft. Put the ginkgo nuts in a small saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer five minutes. Drain, then skin. Break the bean curd sticks into two- to three-inch pieces. Soak for 30 minutes in a small saucepan with water to cover, simmer about 10 minutes to soften, then drain. Drain the bean thread noodles, then cut into six-inch lengths.

(You can prepare the recipe to this point one day in advance. Cover the individual ingredients separately and refrigerate.)

Blanch the snow peas in boiling water for 30 seconds. Rinse them under cold water and drain. Combine ingredients for the seasoning mixture in a medium bowl and set aside.

Combine the mushrooms, cloud ears, tiger lily buds, fat choy, lotus seeds, oysters, ginkgo nuts, tofu, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, arrowheads and dao pok (fried wheat gluten) in a large bowl. Combine the bean thread noodles and bean curd sticks in a second bowl, and the jujubes, Napa cabbage and snow peas in a third bowl.

Heat a wok over high heat, then heat one tablespoon of oil. Add the red and fermented bean curd, lower the heat to medium-high and cook 15 seconds, breaking it up with a spatula. Stir in the seasoning mixture, bring to a boil, and cook for two to three minutes. Add the mushroom mixture and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the bean thread noodles and bean curd sticks and cook four minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining ingredients and cook two minutes longer, tossing gently to distribute the Napa cabbage evenly.

Makes 8 servings.

Recipe 3: (not sure if we used this one)

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/chinesenewyear/r/buddhasdelight.htm

* 4 dried Shiitake or Chinese black mushrooms

* 1/2 cup dried lily buds

* 4 dried bean curd sticks

* 8 ounces bamboo shoots

* 6 fresh water chestnuts

* 2 large carrots

* 1 cup shredded Napa cabbage

* 4 ounces snow peas

* 1/4 cup canned gingko nuts

* 1 knuckle of ginger, crushed

* Sauce:

* 4 tablespoons reserved mushroom soaking liquid or vegetable stock

* 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

* 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

* 1 teaspoon sugar

* 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

* Other:

* Vegetable or peanut oil for stir-frying, as needed

* Salt, Accent or MSG to taste

Preparation:

1. In separate bowls, soak the mushrooms, dried lily buds, and dried bean curd sticks in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes to soften. Squeeze out any excess liquid. Reserve the mushroom soaking liquid, straining it if necessary to remove any grit. Remove the stems and cut the mushroom tops in half if desired.

2. Slice the bamboo shoots. Peel and finely chop the water chestnuts. Peel the carrots, cut in half, and cut lengthwise into thin strips. Shred the Napa cabbage. String the snow peas and cut in half. Drain the gingko nuts. Crush the ginger.

3. Combine the reserved mushroom soaking liquid or vegetarian stock with the Chinese rice wine or sherry, dark soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. Set aside.

4. Heat the wok over medium-high to high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil to the heated wok.

5. When the oil is hot, add the carrots. Stir-fry for 1 minute, and add the dried mushrooms and lily buds. Stir-fry for 1 minute, and add the water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, snow peas and ginger. Stir in the shredded cabbage and gingko nuts. Add the bean curd sticks.

6. Add the sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover, turn down the heat and let the vegetables simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and add salt or other seasonings as desired. Serve hot.

Steamed Fish

http://www.eatingchina.com/recipes/steamed-fish.htm

Chinese prefer their fish whole – head, tail, skin, and often fins, all intact. Compared to fillets, fish cooked in its own package, so to speak, is much juicier and more flavourful.

Serves 2 to 4

1 medium-sized white fleshed whole fish (such as sea bass or red snapper)

Salt

2 stalks scallions

3 or 4 slices ginger

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Few sprigs coriander leaves

Method

1. Rinse and drain fish.

2. On both sides of fish, cut deep incisions across width at 3 cm (1") intervals.

3. Sprinkle with salt inside and out.

4. Cut scallions into 2 or 3 sections, then slice lengthways into thin strips. Julienne ginger slices. Insert scallions and ginger into incisions – any excess can be placed inside fish.

5. Place fish in a steamer. Steam on a medium heat for about 10 minutes.

6. Place fish on a serving dish.

7. Mix soy sauce and vinegar and pour over fish.

8. *Remove water from wok. Add oil to wok, heat till sizzling and pour over fish.

9. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve.

Notes:

*Tip: For an easy, instant soup, don't throw out the liquid in the wok after steaming the fish. Taste it, add water as necessary, and bring to a boil. You should have enough for a couple of bowls of fish soup. Garnish with scallions or coriander, and you are all set.

Jiaozi (Dumplings with dough)

http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/?action=recette_show&id=1452&lg=en

Chef's Note

You can also place the dumplings in a bamboo basket and steam them.

New Year's Traditions

On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, it is customary to eat dumplings, known as "jiaozi" in Chinese, which represent the progression of the years. They are filled and then boiled or steamed. In northern China they make "shui-chiao," shaping them like horseshoes, which is meant to bring riches to those who eat them. Plump half-moon shaped dumplings evoke "yuanbao," a 50 ounce silver ingot. Eating them is supposed to bring good luck and wealth.

Dumplings can contain a piece of sugar, a coin, a peanut or a chestnut, each filling signifying a different omen. Did you just bite into a sweet dumpling? Happiness will be knocking at your door. Did it contain a coin? Luck will smile on you. Is it stuffed with a chestnut? You'll soon have a boy. Is it filled with peanuts? That's a sign of longevity (in Chinese, peanuts are also called longevity fruit.)

Shopping

You can obtain fresh dumpling wrappers in Chinese groceries and frozen wrappers in some large grocery stores.

Ingredients for 35-40 dumplings

Wrappers

* 500 g (18 oz.) flour

* 270 g (10 oz.) water

Filling

* 300 g (10 oz.) ground pork

* 150 g (5 oz.) Chinese cabbage, minced

* 2 bunches of cilantro, chopped

* 100 g (3 1/2 oz.) ginger, chopped

* 2 cloves of garlic, chopped

* 1 tbsp. dark soy sauce

* 1 tbsp. sesame oil

Sauce

* 4 tbsp. light soy sauce

* 1 tbsp. sesame oil

* 1 tbsp. vinegar

* 2 cloves of garlic, chopped

* pepper

Method

1. Combine the flour and water; roll the dough out thinly on a work surface.

2. Using a cutter, cut out rounds 12 cm (5") in diameter.

3. Combine the ingredients for the filling.

4. Place a small amount of filling in the center of each dough circle and fold over to form a plump semi-circle.

5. Usually the traditional crescent moon shape is chosen. In this case, using the thumb and index finger of your right hand, roll the border of each dumpling, then using the thumb and index finger of each hand, press lightly to form the crescent. This step is called "modeling happiness." In some families, both ends are joined by curving the shape more in order to give it the shape of a silver ingot.

6. Place the dumplings one at a time into a large pot of boiling water; once they rise to the surface, drain and transfer to a plate.

7. Combine the ingredients for the sauce; serve in small individual dishes.

Nian Gao (Chinese sticky cake)

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/chinesenewyear/a/stickycake.htm

There are many traditions associated with the Chinese New Years season or Spring Festival. However, one important tradition takes place before the old year has come to a close. According to legend, one week before the Spring Festival begins, the Kitchen God returns to heaven to report on a family's behavior during the previous year. A negative report by the Kitchen God means a family will suffer from bad luck during the year to come.

Origins of the Kitchen God

In The Kitchen's God Wife, Amy Tan describes the legend of how the Kitchen God came to exist. Basically, a beggar named Zhang leaped into a fireplace to escape being seen by his former wife. His embarrassment came not from his reduced circumstances, but from the way he had mistreated her. His wife tried vainly to put out the fire, but was ultimately forced to watch her former husband's ashes fly up the chimney. Upon hearing the story, the Jade Emperor decided to reward the man for admitting to his wrongdoings by making him Kitchen God, charged with watching over everyone's behavior.

Not surprisingly given his important task, images of the Kitchen God portray him as a rather imposing figure. The narrator in The Kitchen God's Wife describes one given to her by her mother: "The man is rather large and is seated in regal splendor, holding a quill in one hand, a tablet in the other. He has two long whiskers, shaped like smooth, tapered black whips."

Feeding Sticky Cake to the Kitchen God

In order to ensure a favorable report from the Kitchen God, the custom evolved of feeding him Sticky Cake. According to different accounts this was either a bribe, or simply a means of ensuring the Kitchen God's mouth was too full of cake to pass on an unfavorable report. Sticky Cake is steamed (as are most Chinese cakes) and made with glutinous rice flour and dried fruit. Traditionally, Sticky Cake is made with peen tong a traditional Chinese brown candy that is available at Asian markets (the glutinous rice flour can also be found at Asian markets). The recipe below can be made with either peen tong or brown sugar. Written by Rhonda Parkinson, 2001

Sticky Cake Recipe

3 1/4 cups (1 400 gram bag) glutinous rice flour

2/3 cup brown sugar or 2 slabs (about 5 ounces) Chinese brown candy(pian tang in Mandarin; peen tong in Cantonese)

7 ounces boiling water

1/2 cup Chinese dates, softened in water, cut in half, pits removed, or 1/2 cup other dried fruit or 1/4 cup dates and 1/4 cup nuts

1 tablespoon milk

Water, as needed

1 tablespoon white sesame seeds

1 tablespoon vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

1. Prepare the wok for steaming.

2. In a bowl, mix the boiling water and the sugar, stirring to dissolve. (If using peen tong, break the candy into several pieces, so that it will dissolve more easily in the boiling water). Cool. Soak the Chinese dates in hot water for at least 30 minutes to soften. (You can also soften them quickly by placing them in a bowl with water and microwaving on high heat for 30 seconds). Cut the dates in half and remove the pits.

3. Place the glutinous rice flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and stir in the sugar and water mixture. Add the milk and begin shaping the dough. Add 1 tablespoon of water to the dough at a time, until you have a smooth dough with a satiny texture. Incorporate 1/2 - 3/4 of the Chinese dates, nuts or other dried fruit as you are adding water and working with the dough.

4. Grease a 7-inch square cake pan with vegetable oil or a non-stick cooking spray. Place the dough in the cake pan and spread it out to the edges. Decorate with the remaining dates, lightly pushing them into the dough. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.

5. Steam the cake over medium-high to high heat for 45 minutes, or until the edges of the cake pull away from the pan. Remove the cake from the heat and cool.

6. Use a knife to loosen the edges, then remove the cake. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate overnight.

7. To serve: Cut the cake into quarters, and then into thin slices 2 – 3 inches long and 1/4-inch wide. You can serve the cake as is, or reheat it in the microwave (the amount of time will depend on the size and power of your microwave – start with 10 seconds and then microwave an extra 5 seconds if needed) or re-steam it for 4 – 5 minutes.

You can also pan-fry the cake, dipping the cake slices in an egg wash before frying. Use a small amount of oil so that the cake will not taste oily. Heat the oil on medium-high to high heat, then turn the heat down to medium and brown the cake slices briefly on both sides.

Chinese New Year Candy Dish (assorted store-bought sweets including seeds, coconut, and other super-sugary stuff)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_candy_box

Chinese candy box is a traditional box used during Chinese new year for storing candy and other edible goods. The box usually has a lid; some are more fancy and elaborate than others. It is usually colored with a red or black motif, since traditional candy boxes were laquerware. Due to the higher price of lacquerware, most modern Chinese candy boxes are made of plastic.

The box is generally used for Chinese New Year, though some regional Chinese cultures may use it for other important events such as Chinese marriages.

* Chocolate coins

* Dried candied lotus seed

* Dried candied lotus root

* Melon seed

* Dried candied pineapple

* Dried candied water chestnut

* Dried candied coconut

* Dried candied carrot slices

* Dried candied ginger

* Dried peanuts