What Culinary Delights To Expect On Chinese New Year
When celebrating the traditional and customary Chinese New-Year, food illustrates a very important role in this festivity. Food serves as a vital role within the celebration. Chinese New-Year’s considered to be a very special Chinese holiday, a very significant Chinese holiday.
At times referred to as ‘Spring Festival’, or the ‘Chinese Lunar New Year’, that is being celebrated every opening day during first lunar month, as indicated within the calendar used by Chinese. The celebration also ends every 15th day at the 1st lunar month.
Since Chinese gives food such a big importance within the celebration, they have considered them to be fortuitous and lucky when they’re being served within the whole duration of 15 days. Each food’s symbol varies according to how ‘lucky’ or how qualified the food would be part of Chinese New-Year.
The kind of foods may be considered as a precursor to identify possible good-fortune within the future, according to how they’re presented. Like serving one whole part of chicken signifies the symbolism of promising the togetherness of every family all throughout its year.
An essential customary new year’s food which serves as a requirement is noodles. Chinese philosophies and culture believes that by serving noodles it symbolized an extremely longer life. Due to this superstitions, it’s believe that they shouldn’t cut noodles, by doing so meant bringing bad-luck or even worst.
By including spring-rolls and clams meant bringing luck about matters regarding prosperity and wealth. It’s said that clams seem to appear like bouillons. Spring-rolls meant prosperity and wealth since they seem to appear like gold bars.
How the food sounds are also significant when celebrating new year. Just like how words are being pronounced in Chinese language, like lettuce for example, within Cantonese it would sound just like fortuitous. Just like some citrus-fruits are being served on how the words sound just like forerunners of good-fortune, like luck and wealth.
Another dish that is usually served includes fish which in a symbolic food in numerous ways, fish when translated to Chinese language its pronounced as ‘yu’. ‘Yu’ meant wish and abundance. Abundance and wish are two ‘good’ things needed right beside you within the coming year.
Significantly serving fish that is whole also brings good-luck. When its tail and head are attached, fish would then signify the symbol that means good-beginning and good-ending all throughout its year.
Food really is an essential part of the Chinese history and it symbolizes a history and shows the Chinese’ penchant for tying food and good luck together.
Red-Cooked Eggs Recipe
Ingredients:
1 bottle of oyster sauce
1 tsp of sesame oil
1/2 c of broth (chicken)
1/2 c of soy sauce (dark)
1/4 c of sugar (brown)
half a dozen eggs
1 bottle of Hoisin sauce
Instructions:
Boil eggs, then allow to simmer for quarter of an hour. Let cool by washing w/ cool water. Remove the shells.
Mix sugar, broth, soy sauce, then pour in sesame oil. Place mixture in pan then heat. Put in cooked eggs then let simmer for about an hr.
Let eggs remain in sauce for an additional hour. Make sure that each one is evenly coated.
Prepare the dip by putting equal quantities of oyster and hoisin sauces.
>> Red-Cooked Eggs Recipe
Almond Chicken Recipe
Ingredients:
1/3 almond slivers; to be fried in vegetable oil
1/2 cup minced bamboo shoots
1 piece pepper (green); chopped
3 scallions; minced
5 slices root of ginger (fresh)
1 cup of oil (vegetable)
1 pound chicken breasts (skinned)
For the Marinade:
1 pc egg; remove yolk
1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon of pepper (white)
For the Seasoning Sauce:
1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of refined sugar
1 Tablespoon of dry wine
1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
1 Tablespoon of rice vinegar
Instructions:
Take almond slivers and fry in the oil a couple of minutes. Make sure almonds become crisp. Remove them from the vegetable oil and allow to drain on a paper napkin.
Mix the ingredients for the marinade together and put in the chicken. Let mixture stand about thirty minutes. Wok should be heated in the oil.
While mixture is being heated, put in the chicken and fry pieces until golden brown. Drain the chicken after cooking.
Fry the ginger, scallion, bamboo shoots and pepper for a minute. They soft inside but crisp on the outside. Mix the ingredients for the sauce and mix sauce with the wok.
Then, put the chicken in the boiling mixture making sure that each piece is coated. Put in the almonds and mix.
>> Almond Chicken Recipe
Spiced Whole Lamb Recipe
Ingredients:
1 tbsp of cornstarch
1 qt of stock
1/3 c of oil
1 oz of ginger (fresh); shredded/ground
2 garlic cloves; crushed slightly
1 tbsp of sherry
1 tsp of salt
3 lbs of shoulder/leg of a lamb
Instructions:
Prepare lamb meat by rubbing salt on it. Place lamb in cool water then boil. Scoop out scum. Then cover & allow to simmer. This should be done for 20min. Drain water.
Combine soy sauce w/ sherry then mix with your ginger & garlic then rub on meat. Set aside for around 10 mins.
Fry this for a quarter of an hour until brown on all sides. Pour in stock and let boil. Allow this to simmer for about 2.5 hrs more.
Make a cornstarch paste (mix a bit of water). Take lamb out of pan then place on a serving dish. Make sure to keep meat hot. Pour paste in pan then let come to a boil. This should be the gravy or the sauce for your cooked lamb.
>> Spiced Whole Lamb Recipe
Fried Won tons Recipe
Ingredients:
1.5 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of pepper
2 beaten eggs
2 scallions; minced
8 chopped water chestnuts
4 mushrooms (dried); soak ahead for 2hrs.
1/2 lb of prawns (fresh)
1/2 lb of pork (ground)
1 lb of wonton skins
Instructions:
Prepare the prawns by shelling and deveining them. Chop finely. Remove the stems of mushrooms then chop the caps finely.
Mix the pork, prawns, water chestnuts, scallions and half the eggs then all the other seasonings. Prepare wonton squares and put in 1 tsp. of filling at the middle of every piece. Dip the corners into the remaining egg (beaten) then bring corners together to seal.
Fry in a wok until wanton skins turn a golden shade. Drain these then serve.
>> Fried Won Tons Recipe
Silver and Gold Shredded Chicken Recipe
Ingredients:
1/2 lb of chicken (breast part); deboned and skin removed
For the Marinade:
2 tsps of cornstarch
1/2 tsp of salt
1 Tbsp of wine
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 medium to large sized egg (yolk removed)
3 Tbsps of peanut oil
1 lb of spinach (fresh); washed with stems taken off
1 clove of garlic; crushed
1 tsp of salt
1/2 c of peanut oil
1 Tbsp of soya sauce
1 tsp of sugar
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients for marinade. Shred semifrozen chicken breasts then marinate (minimum of 1 hr). Then divide prepared chicken into 2 parts with equal quantity. Pour soy sauce on one part.
Heat wok in high temperature then pour 3 Tbsps of peanut oil. Fry garlic until just golden in color. Put in spinach then continue stir-frying.
Next, pour salt then the sugar in. Once spinach is wilted, remove these and place them onto the middle of a platter. Remove garlic from wok. Wipe wok until clean.
Use wok again to heat half a cup peanut oil. Temperature should be 280 degrees Fahrenheit. Once wok is hot, carefully stir-fry chicken part without soy sauce.
Then, once chicken is cooked, drain oil. Put the white meat on a side of your platter (w/ spinach). Cook chicken w/ soya sauce using a similar style then arrange at the other side of platter.
>> Silver and Gold Shredded Chicken Recipe
Empress Chicken Wings Recipe
Ingredients:
1 tsp of ginger; slivered
2 scallions with tops; cut in strips
2/3 c of water
1/3 c of cornstarch
2 Tbsps of vegetable oil
1 garlic clove; chopped finely
1 Tbsp dry wine
3 Tbsps soya sauce
1.5 lb chicken wings
Instructions:
Clean then disjoint wings. Remove the tips. Add together the sherry, soya sauce, ginger & garlic.
Place chicken in mixture. Set aside in the fridge for an hour. Stir occassionally.
To cook chicken, coat with the cornstarch first then deep fry. Keep the marinade. Once chicken has been cooked, drain the oil.
Put in the marinade in the skillet then add water. Put chicken back in and sprinkle the scallions then ginger over your chicken. Allow to simmer for around 5min. Check if wings are already soft then serve.
>> Empress Chicken Wings Recipe
Ham and Chicken Rolls Recipe
Ingredients:
3 c of vegetable oil
4 rice paper or tapioca sheets
1/4 c flour (all purpose)
2 tbsps of milk
1 whole egg; beaten
4 ham slices
1/8 tsp of powdered garlic
1/4 tsp of five spice powder
1/4 tsp of peppe
1/2 tsp of salt
2 chicken breasts; skinned, deboned
Instructions:
Halve chicken breasts. Pound them until thin. For this, use a rolling pin or mallet. Next, mix the spices and sprinkle them on the meat.
For your ham, roll every piece up tightly and put at the middle part of every chicken breast. Roll chicken around ham and tuck in ends.
Prepare the milk and egg mix inside a bowl. This is to be used for dipping each ham and chicken combination after each is coated w/ flour. Once finished coating with the flour and dipping the pcs into your egg mix, put every piece into a rice paper or tapioca sheet. Roll ends up and fold. Wet end of wrapper w/ egg mix and seal.
Prepare a pan and heat the oil. Ideal temperature is 375 deg. Farenheit. Fry the rolls until they become golden brown in color. Remove excess oil once cooked.
Let the rolls cool a bit and slice them into 1in.long pieces. To serve, place on your serving platter lined with lettuce.
>> Ham and Chicken Rolls Recipe