Chinese New Year

新年快乐

Xīnnián kuàilè

(Happy New Year!)

Happy Year of the Monkey! With a sister who was born in China and then living there for several years, this is a holiday that my family has been celebrating for several years now. Maybe not quite to the magnitude of how they celebrate in China (everything shuts down for at least a week, some restaurants for up to a month!), but it's definitely a holiday I want to continue observing. 

I am not necessarily decorating (maybe next year) but I did decide I wanted to make something a little more "Chinese like." The traditional food to eat on Chinese New Year is dumplings but since they are rather time consuming, I decided to make a delicious Lo Mein recipe my Mom found a while back. Since I have something several week nights, my meals either need to be super quick and easy or I make them ahead of time and then heat them up when I get home. I decided to make my Lo Mein yesterday to heat up tonight for dinner. I can't wait! I promise I will share the recipe on the blog soon.

Happy New Year to you and your family! If you celebrate Chinese New Year, how do you celebrate?

Happy Monday!

Spicy Green Beans

Spicy green beans. My favorite Chinese dish. I have been attempting to perfect them for the last two years and even though I still haven't quite perfected them, I'm definitely getting closer and almost there! I just bought some more green beans today and am planning on trying them again soon to see if I can get them just right. But without further to do, here is what I did:

What you need:

* generous 1 1/4 cup (I probably had closer to 2 cups) green beans, trimmed and cut diagonally into 2 inch sections.

* 2 tbsp vegetable or peanut oil

* 4 dried chile's, cut into 2-3 pieces

* 1/2 tsp Sichuan peppers (I don't like these so I did not use them)

* 1 garlic clove, finely sliced

* 6 thin slices of fresh ginger

* 2 scallions, white part only, cut diagonally into thin pieces

* pinch of salt

* Soy sauce

I was very excited several weeks ago when I found a cookbook I forgot I had: "Cooking School CHINESE: Bring the flavors of China to life in your own kitchen!" 

Yes, now that is JUST what I need! My aunt bought me this cookbook several years ago and I had not used it yet and I have found so many good recipes in it to try! Unfortunately I could not find dried chilis around here since we don't have an Asian market, so I had to order them on Amazon. They cost only a few dollars with free shipping BUT were coming straight from Thailand and wouldn't arrive for 3-4 weeks!  After several weeks, they finally arrived, and I could try my recipe.

First, I cut and washed all my green beans. The recipe calls for 1 1/4 cup, I used probably closer to two cups. Now keep in mind, in China they don't measure and so I have gotten into the habit as well when I'm cooking Chinese food! Therefore I'll do my best to give you close measurements. 

After you wash the beans, set them aside. 

I then cut everything I needed so they were all ready to just throw in my skillet when it was time.

Cut the red chilis and set aside. 

Do the same with the garlic cloves (I used 3... I LOVE fresh garlic...) and ginger. Set aside.

Cut the scallions... using only the white part at the bottom. I did use a little green and it was fine.

Now the key to the beans is to cook them BY THEMSELVES FIRST! I turned my stove on rather high (the Chinese cook over very high temperatures) and then put in a little oil. When the skillet was hot, I threw in the green beans. I then watched them closely and stirred occasionally to keep them from burning. I turned the temperature down to medium. I then let them cook for quite a while until they started to "pucker." This took probably close to 10 minutes. Once they were fully cooked and mostly "puckered," I set them aside.

I then put a little more oil in and added the chili's and Sichuan peppers (if you want, I did not use them) and then add in garlic, ginger, and scallions. Cook until slightly brown. 

Then add beans back in. I added a splash of soy sauce and salt for more flavoring. 

That's all there is to it! Make sure you serve them HOT! They are not good cold. : )

Email me with any questions and I'll try my best to help!

This One? Or That One?

Which one do you think I made? 

This one...

 Or that one....

Any guesses???

How to Make Fried Rice

Since there were so many requests for my fried rice "recipe" on Facebook, figured I'd just write a blog post on it and share that!

Now keep in mind that in China, we rarely measure anything so you have to try and taste a bit to see what you need more of. 

Need:

*Old White Rice (better if you make a day or two before and let sit in the refrigerator before using)

* 2-3 eggs (depending on how much rice you are using)

* chopped green onion

* pork cut into very small pieces (I often marinade my pork in garlic, salt, and soy sauce)

* carrot or any other vegetable you want to use.

* Salt

* Garlic

Cut up tiny pieces of pork and let sit in mixture with a tad of soy sauce, salt, and finely chopped garlic (or I'm sure garlic powder would work as well). Saute on stove until fully cooked then set aside.

Oil bottom of wok and add salt (I usually add about a teaspoon). Add rice and work with metal or wooden spatula to break it up. Add 3 eggs (already cracked and mixed together) and stir the rice mixture. Fried rice uses a lot of arm muscle and you need to keep stirring it so that it doesn't burn. Once it starts to brown, add a bit of soy sauce. Then add green onion, carrot, or other veggies you would like to use. Continue stirring and add more salt if needed. Add already cooked pork and work into rice mixture. Once it reaches the amount of "browness" you would like, remove and eat!

Sorry, know this is VERY vague but like I said, there is no set recipe. : ) Leave me a comment or email me at: annelifjohnson@gmail.com if you need further instructions! Maybe next I'll share my Chinese broccoli recipe!