Philadelphia restaurateur Margaret Kuo prepares for the Chinese New Year and offers some recipes for readers to make at home. - Topping dishes with a poached or fried egg is becoming the hottest restaurant trend out there. Happily, it is an easy trick for home cooks to replicate.
- A review of Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book says that while the images aren't appealing, the recipes are homey and tasty.
- In Table Talk, the new Center City gastropub Slate opens tomorrow and Meme finally got its liquor license.
- Every Saturday morning, the Men's Pea Soup Committee at the American Swedish Historical Museum makes 16 gallons of Swedish pea soup.
- Food meets comedy in the new one-man show, Cooking Con Karimi.
Posts with tag ChineseNewYear
Chinese New Year and Egg Toppings - The Philly Inquirer in 60 Seconds
BBC Guide to Chinese New Year
Want to celebrate the Year of the Ox in proper fashion? The BBC has a simple guide to the Chinese New Year, which begins today. Traditional foods - which vary greatly depending on the region - include Northern Chinese dumplings resembling gold ingots, said to bring wealth for the coming year; big family meals called "poo choi," in which everyone eats out of the same giant bowl to promote togetherness; Southern Chinese turnip cakes given as a sign of respect and honor; and glutinous rice cakes whose sticky nature is said to help families stick together in the new year.
Plus, there's a link to a bunch of the BBC Food's Chinese recipes - think red-cooked pork belly, ginger fish, stir-fried salt and pepper prawns.
What has overstayed its welcome in your kitchen?
The celebration of the Chinese New Year actually starts a few weeks before the actual New Year Day, and one of the traditions is preparation for the new year by cleaning the house. Chinese people believe that the house should receive a thorough cleaning in order to "sweep" away any bad luck that has accumulated in the house over the past year.Now I'm not one for sweeping in my house, since I have carpeting, but I do like the idea of "cleaning house," or at the very least, my kitchen. Last year, I made it a point to look through the drawers, and force myself to part with gadgets that I know I will never use: a garlic peeler, a melon baller, etc. This year, I decided to look through my pantry and do an exorcism. Admittedly, it needed it. There were cans of vegetables that expired sometime last year, a small bag of all-purpose flour that was also expired (I didn't do much baking last year), and spices that were definitely long past their prime. Yes, it hurt me to toss them into the trash, but it gives me an excuse to buy anew!
What do you have in your kitchen that's past its prime and needs to be thrown out? Don't be shy...
Oink! Chinese New Year this weekend
It's February, and let's face it, by now, almost all of us have already broken our New Year's resolutions. However, we do have a chance to start over, since this coming Sunday, February 18, 2007 is the beginning of the new lunar year. Year 4704 is the Year of the Pig.
Everyone knows it's the Year of the Pig, but did you also know that it's the year of the golden pig? The Pig (sometimes referred to as "boar") is a symbol of sincerity, honesty, and patience -- an all around "nice" person. We won't go into all the deep details behind Chinese astrology, but we will say that because the year of the Golden Pig only comes every 600 years, it's pretty special -- we're talking about the difference between plain old pork and Nueske bacon! People are expecting prosperity in Year 4704, and anyone born this year is sure to be wealthy in the future.
There are a lot of traditions associated with Chinese New Year, and so many of them have to do with food! Between now and the first day of the new year, expect a few posts, aside from the ones we've already started, to celebrate the new year. Gung Hay Fat Choy!
Chinese New Year: Let's play Chopsticks
If you're planning a fantastic Chinese feast this weekend for Chinese New Year, don't fret one bit if you're a little (or a lot) rusty with chopsticks. You could, of course, go the way of stabbing your dumplings and winding your noodles of long life with a fork, but we have a better idea. How about some chopsticks are a little easier to use?Now, if you're a already a professional, then you might just need your own personal set of portable chopsticks. These aluminum chopsticks slide out of a fabric pouch and snap together. Not only are they pretty, but this keeps away the problem of disposable chopsticks creating waste! ThinkGeek also has a pair that screw together.
For an even more "green" Far East feast, the Bird's Eye Maple chopsticks are perfect, which are also fastened together with their very own chopstick rest. They are available from Porterhouse Crafts for $23 for two pairs.
China releases sweet and sour pork stamps
Just in case you're wondering the stamp shown here has nothing to with the edible squid postcards I wrote about the other day. It's not edible, but when you scratch the front it releases the tantalizing aroma of sweet and sour pork. Wait it gets better. When you lick the back, the stamp also tastes like the dish. I can safely say that this is the first time that thinking about a stamp has made my mouth water. Although ice-cream-flavored stamps are a close second.
China released the stamp last week to celebrate the Year of the Pig, which starts February 18. It's sure to thrill foodies, philatelists and lovers of all things cute. For some reason I feel like sending letters and eating bacon to ring in the Lunar New Year.
[via Boing Boing]
Celebrating Chinese New Year San Francisco-style
Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy Year of the Dog!
San Francisco's Chinatown is world reknown, and for the next two weeks, it will be packed with people celebrating the
annual Spring Festival. SanFranciscoChinatown.com has plenty
of information on Chinese New Year events over the coming weeks. The San Francisco Chinese New Year celebration
"originated in the 1860's during the Gold Rush days, and is now the largest Asian event in North America.
The celebration includes two major fairs, the Chinese New Year Flower Fair and Chinatown Community Street
Fair." All the festivities culminate with Chinese New Year Parade, held on February 11 from 5:30pm
until 8:30pm. "Named one of the world's top ten parades, Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco
is the largest celebration of its kind outside of Asia."I kicked off my Chinese New Year celebrating a little early by planning a banquet with friends last week. We chose one of my favorite restaurants, San Tung on Irving Street, for our dinner. We ate steamed shrimp and leek dumplings, veggie dumplings, ja jang mein, fiery chicken wings, salt and pepper calmari, cherry pork, tofu and veggies, and dry-fried green beans. The food was delicious, and twelve of us paid $15 each, including drinks. That is one of the benefits of Chinese banquets, the more people you have, the cheaper it is.
If you will be in Chinatown for the festival, I highly recommend R&G Lounge for some of the tastiest Cantonese Chinese food in San Francisco. The salt and pepper crab, drunken clam soup, and fried pork hash with salted fish are out of this world. Wherever you happen to be, why not seek out a Chinese meal this week and enjoy?
Have Some Dim Sum in LA
With LA's official Chinatown in downtown, and large Chinese populations in the
San Gabriel Valley, Torrance, and the Rowland Heights area, there are options for Chinese food north, south, east,
west, and central. Though Sunday, January 29, 2006 is the first day of the lunar new year, the
celebration actually lasts for 15 days. What a great reason to have your fill of some dim sum all over LA!
Westside
- VIP Harbor Seafood, 11701 Wilshire Blvd (2nd floor), Los Angeles, CA
- (Both Royal Star Seafood and JR Seafood do not have dim sum)
South Bay
- Sea Empress, 1636 W Redondo Beach Blvd, Gardena, CA
Downtown
- ABC Seafood, 708 New High St, Los Angeles, CA
- Empress Pavilion, 988 N Hill St Ste 201, Los Angeles, CA
- Ocean Seafood, 747 N Broadway, Los Angeles, CA
San Gabriel Valley
- 888 Seafood Restaurant 8450 Valley Blvd Ste 121, Rosemead, CA
- Capital Seafood , 8823 Garvey Ave, Rosemead, CA, (626) 572-8918
- Empress Harbor 111 N Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA
- Mission 261 261 S Mission Dr, San Gabriel, CA
- NBC Seafood 404 S Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA
- New Concept, 700 S Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA, (626) 282-6800
- Ocean Star 145 N Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA
- Sea Harbor 3939 Rosemead Blvd., Rosemead, Ca
- Triumphal Palace, 500 W Main St, Alhambra, CA (626) 308-3222
Eastside
- Hong Kong Palace, 19101 Colima Road, Rowland Heights, CA (626) 854-9829
- Sam Woo, 18922 Gale Ave, Rowland Heights, CA, (626) 913-9933
- New Capital, 1330 Fullerton Rd, Rowland Heights, CA (626) 581-9813
The Times Top 10 Chinese Restaurants
The Times has compiled a list of the UK's top Chinese Restaurants.
Someone must have told them it is the Chinese New Year
tomorrow...
- Charlie Chan 14 Regent Street, Cambridge (01223 361763) "fairly unique to the region and very modestly priced"
- China Garden 88-91 Preston Street, Brighton (01273 325124) "a veritable Brighton institution"
- Chinese Experience 118 Shaftsbury Avenue, London (020 7437 0377) "the menu boasts unusual dishes in addition to the classics"
- Harbour City 46 Gerrard Street, London (020 7439 7859) "for a bit more adventure, ask the staff to translate the Chinese-language specials"
- Mandarin Palace 559-561 Cranbrook Road, Ilford (020 8550 7661) "this 20 year old veteran exudes real charm"
- Peninsula Bugsby's Way, SE10 (020 8858 2028) "near neighbour to the Millennium Dome but don't let the industrial bleakness of the surroundings put your off"
- Ping Pong 45 Great Marlborough Street, London (020 7851 6969) "The set menus for abut £10 a head offer an excellent introduction to dim sum"
- Royal China 13 Queensway, London (020 7221 2535) "most famous for its legendary daytime dim sum but the a la carte offerings... shouldn't be overlooked"
- Shanghai Blues 193-197 High Holborn, London (020 7494 1668) "wonderfully elegant and inviting"
- Yauatcha 15 Broadwick Steet, London (0870 7808265) "chef Cheong Wah Soon is supervising the dim sum which is quite possibly the best in London"
I can't seem to locate the details on the Times website but that maybe because it is a regional list that may alter depending on your location. What I have found though is a recommendation on where to drink to welcome in the new year, again it is in London.
Chinese New Year: Food Traditions and Symbolism
As we already know, the Chinese New Year is steeped with tradition, and lucky
for us at Slashfood, many of those traditions are associated with food. If you
plan to celebrate this weekend (we wag in the Year of the Dog this
Sunday, January 29, 2006), or want to learn a little bit more about the culture, here are what some of the
traditional New Year foods symbolize, mostly health, wealth, and togetherness, based on some research I've done around
the web:
- Dumplings - Good luck, fortune, and family togetherness
- Lettuce - Prosperity
- Noodles - When noodles are served, they are never cut because long noodles represent long-life.
- Oysters - Receptivity to good fortune
- Seaweed - Specifically, the black moss seaweed is the Chinese word for it also means "wealth"
- Whole fish - The Chinese word for fish "yu," is the same word for "success" or "abundance." Serving the fish whole is a symbol of togetherness of the family.
- Turnips - "Cai tou," the word for turnip, also means "good omen."
- Meat balls - Symbolize reunion because the Chinese word "rou wan" is the same for both
- Chicken - Like fish, chickens are served whole to symbolizing togetherness of the family.
- Lotus seed - Is a symbol (or wish) of having many male offspring
- Ginkgo nuts - Represent wealth
- Dried bean curd - Like many of the foods that are served because the Chinese word for it also means something else, dried bean curd (tofu) symbolizes wealth and happiness
- Bamboo shoots - The word for bamboo shoots also sounds like the phrase for "wishing that everything would be well"
- Garlic chives - Symbolize "everlasting"
- Prawns - Stand for liveliness and happiness
- Mixed vegetables - Represent family harmony
- Oranges - We've already mentioned how they stand for abundance and sweetness of the New Year.
Hot Dog! Chinese New Year this weekend
While some of us may have already broken our 2006 New Year's resolutions, we do have
a chance to start over, as this weekend marks the beginning of the new lunar year. Year 4703 is the Year
of the Dog, and New Year's Day is Sunday, January 29, 2006.
Everyone knows it's the Year of the Dog, but do we really know what that means? The Dog is a symbol of loyalty, warmth and caring, so hopefully, we can expect a year of harmony, relative to the clamor that was the Year of the Rooster last year. Chinese astrology goes even deeper, though.
We won't go into all the element and animal combinations, but if you want to know the detail, 4703 is actually the Year of the Fire Dog! Like a hot dog? Yes, but don't jut go to LA's Pink's or Chicago's Portillo's and have a chili cheese dog to celebrate the new year!
There are a lot of traditions associated with Chinese New Year, and so many of them have to do with food! Between now and Sunday, expect a few posts with restaurants, recipes, and other ideas to celebrate the new year...again!
Dungeness crab and Chinese New Year: Seattle Times Food & Wine in 60 seconds
Dungeness Crab
is just coming into prime season. Whether you buy it cooked, raw, or live, here's what to look for. - If you're cooking with crab meat, here are recipes for crab cakes with Thai seasonings; linguine with crab and radicchio; and shaved fennel salad with crab and oranges.
- Nancy Leson makes a resolution for her Chinese New Year: this year she'll "rock the wok" and finally use her "arsenal of Chinese cooking tools."
- Is that your resolution? Try these recipes: pan-fried scallion-chive breads and China Moon hot chili oil.
- The Seattle Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl! But the Times food staff is evidently behind on their bowl-worthy recipes. Instead, they just do Super Bowl snacking by the numbers (*yawn*).
- This week, Nicole Tsong and Pamela Sitt sit at the bar of Restaurant Zoe, but they can drive home: they're sipping a Clear Conscience, made for a pregnant friend of celebrity chef Kathy Casey. It's made with fresh-squeezed tangerine juice, cucumber slices, lime juice, simple syrup, soda water, and lemon verbena.
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