"chinese new year" news and stories

For many Americans, the idea of Chinese beer may seem as far-out as Chinese democracy (the movement or the Guns N' Roses album). Some countries -- Ireland and Germany, for example -- we heavily associate with beer drinking, and others, like China, we do not. Even at Asian restaurants, less discriminating drinkers can be hard-pressed to determine the country of origin of different Eastern beers on the menu. Maybe I was just a "dumb American," but when I was younger, I didn't put much thought into the difference between my Sapporos and my Tsingtaos.

Well, for the record, Tsingtao is by far the most prevalent Chinese beer in the U.S., (Sapporo, of course, is from Japan) and the marketing minds down at the Tsingtao Brewery believe they've found the perfect event to help hammer that point home: Chinese New Year, which begins today.

To celebrate the "Year of the Ox," Tsingtao enlisted the help of certified Chinese Master Chef Martin Yan to create four Chinese dishes that utilize either Tsingtao Lager or Tsingtao Pure Draft as an ingredient. Personally, though, I'm more about drinking beer than cooking with it, so I was happy to see Chef Yan also took a crack at two beer cocktails.

You can see all of the recipes (as well as some additional Chinese New Year celebration tips) on Tsingtao's website here or find the mixing instructions for Chef Yan's Ginger Beer Fizz beer mixed drink after the jump...

In the Chinese communities of Singapore and Western Malaysia, the pineapple tart is the ultimate Chinese New Year dessert. The word "pineapple" in the Hokkien dialect resembles the word for prosperity, so eating the pineapple tarts is said to help bring luck and money in the coming year. For extra value, some tarts are even shaped to resemble tiny gold bars. The Malaysian port city of Malacca is considered the heart of the pineapple tart industry - in the city's colorful Chinatown dozens of bakeries are busy pumping out hot, fragrant trays of tarts every few minutes, to be placed in decorative cannisters with red lids and given as gifts. As we head closer to the Year of the Ox - New Year starts January 26 - the tarts grow increasingly expensive!

Bite into a proper pinepple tart and the ultra-flaky dough crumbles into buttery powder in your mouth. The chunk of pinepple jam inside is chewy and firm, flavored with spices - cinnamon, star anise and cloves - that reflect the influence of the spice trade on Malaysian Chinese cuisine.

If you don't happen to live near a Malaysian- or Singaporean-Chinese bakery, A Consuming Passion has a good-looking recipe for pineapple tart. These would be a great choice for a Chinese New Year party.

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• Lots of ideas for your Super Bowl party, including Mini Hot Dogs, Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn, and Linebacker Limeade. Readers sent in recipes too, for everything from pepperoni bread to buffalo chicken cheesesteaks.
• Here's a recipe for something called a Power Pooch Smoothie, which is a dessert for dogs, but it sounds OK for us humans too.
• Win a date with one of these most eligible singles.
• Chinese New Year starts February 7.
• Send your significant other a food-related e-card.
• More recipes: Mashed-Potato-Stuffed Chicken and Sopa de mariscos.
• Also in this issue: ideas for two more parties you might throw, for Oscar night and Mardi Gras; caramel cheesecake; ideas for winter getaways, and what's in Al Roker's fridge.

The LA Times heads into the Year of the Pig with a full section dedicated to pork, Chinese cooking, and restaurants.

Russ Parsons sings the praises of pork, with recipes for Cider-brined pork chops with wild rice, Ragù with pork ribs, sausage and pancetta, and Five-spice roast pork belly. Also included: an information box with resources for top pork in Los Angeles.

Perfect for Chinese cooking, it's high season on the farmers' markets for baby bok choy and yu choy. Vickie Fan, of restaurant Beacon in Culver City, shares recipes that make good use: Scrambled eggs with garlic chives , Stir-fried baby bok choy, and Ru yi cai ('As you wish' vegetables).

If you're not cooking at home, then you can do contemporary dim sum from Mission 261 in San Gabriel Valley or any number of Chinese restaurants that have quite a history there, or pick up Asian sweets and pastries from Phoenix.

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...