Keep a small bowl of water close by to moisten hands. Divide mixture into 24 equal portions. Wet hands and roll each portion into a ball. The wetness will prevent sticking. Continue until 24 balls are made. Add cold water and 1½ teaspoons salt to a pot, bring to a boil over high heat. Add shrimp balls and return to a boil. Cook 3 to 4 minutes until shrimp balls are firm. Turn off heat, run cold water into pot to stop cooking and drain. Serve immediately.
MAKES 24 SHRIMP BALLS
Taro Root Pancakes
(LAI WU BOK BANG)
I truly enjoy making these taro root pancakes today as much as I did when I was a little girl. They were, and are, fun to make, and I make them from scratch. Usually I made them for Ah Paw to enjoy with her afternoon tea, but because Chinese bacon was available only in the cooler months around the New Year, she ordered it added to her pancakes. It thus became a New Year tradition for us, one I continue.
1½ pounds taro root, peeled, ends removed, coarsely grated (to yield 4
cups, tightly packed)
⅔ cup Chinese bacon, cut into ¼-inch dice
2 extra-large eggs
1 cup scallions, finely sliced
1½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1½ teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon Shao-Hsing wine, or sherry
Pinch white pepper
3 tablespoons cornstarch
7 tablespoons peanut oil
In a large bowl mix all ingredients except peanut oil, thoroughly to make a cohesive mass.
Heat a cast-iron skillet over high heat for 1 minute. Add 3 tablespoons peanut oil. When a wisp of white smoke appears, scoop 5 generous spoonfuls of taro root mixture (about 3 tablespoons each) into the pan and flatten them. Lower heat to medium-high and fry for 2 minutes. Turn over, fry for another 2 minutes until both sides are browned and crisp. Remove, drain on paper towels. Continue until all pancakes are done. With each batch you may have to add about 2 tablespoons peanut oil to the pan. When done, turn off heat, transfer to heated dish and serve.
MAKES 16 PANCAKES
White Cut Chicken
(BOK CHIK GAI)
Chicken is a recurring food of the New Year. Its symbol is the phoenix, the bird that rose from its own ashes, and it symbolizes rebirth. That is one reason that I have given my granddaughter her Chinese name of Siu Fung, or Little Phoenix. This dish is a New Year must, but is a dish of choice at other feasts as well. It is called “white” because of its color after poaching. For offerings to our ancestors, it was always cooked with head and feet on, and presented whole, then cut up later to eat.
My grandmother insisted this dish be made with a fresh-killed chicken. Fresh-killed poultry is not so common these days, but if available it should be used, for it is best made with a chicken that has not been refrigerated.
10 cups cold water
3 scallions, trimmed, cut in half across
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 4-pound chicken, fat and membranes removed, washed, cleaned
thoroughly and drained
In a large pot or Dutch oven, place water, scallions, salt and sugar and bring to a boil over high heat. Place chicken in pot, breast side up, cover and return water to a boil. Lower heat, simmer 20 minutes. Turn chicken over in pot, cover pot again and simmer for another 20 minutes. Turn off heat. Allow chicken to rest in pot, covered, for another 30 minutes. Remove from pot, drain well, make certain there is no water in body cavity. Place on a chopping board and cut into bite-size pieces.
White Cut Chicken is best served room temperature with this dipping sauce of ginger and soy sauce.
Dipping Sauce
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
3 tablespoons Chicken Stock (page 13)
2 tablespoons minced ginger
4 tablespoons scallions, white portions only, finely sliced
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon sugar
Mix dipping sauce ingredients well, divide among small soy sauce dishes. Serve with the chicken.
SERVES 8
Salted Pork with Silken Bean Curd
(HAM YUK JIU NOON DAU FU)
Pork always signifies prosperity at the New Year, and is represented, often more than once, in any observant banquet. This preparation also contains scallions or spring onions, a constant reminder of intelligence, its open stalk indicating an open mind. My grandmother loved this very soft, custardlike bean curd, which has a pleasant texture. These days it is often sold as “soft” or “silky” bean curd. She enjoyed it most with a spicy sauce that, she said, helped protect the body from dampness.
SAUCE
2 tablespoons hot bean sauce
1½ tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1½ tablespoons Shao-Hsing wine, or sherry
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Pinch white pepper
½ cup Chicken Stock (page 13)
1½ tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ cup onions, cut into ¼-inch dice
¼ cup scallions, white portions only, cut into ¼-inch pieces
½ cup Salted Pork (page 18), cut into ⅛-inch dice
1 19-oz. container soft bean curd, cut into ⅓-inch cubes
½ cup scallions, green portions only, finely sliced
Mix all ingredients for sauce; reserve.
Heat wok over high heat 30 seconds. Add peanut oil and coat wok with spatula. When a wisp of white smoke appears, add ginger and garlic, stir and cook 10 seconds. Add onions and white portions of scallions, mix and cook 3 minutes, until onions soften. Add pork, stir, cook for 2 minutes more. Make well in the mix, stir sauce, pour in, stir to mix, bring to a boil. Add bean curd, mix and return to a boil. Turn off heat immediately. Sprinkle with sliced green portions of scallions, mix well. Transfer to a heating dish and serve with cooked rice.
SERVES 4
Lotus Root Soup
(LIN NGAU TONG)
This was, and is, a Lunar New Year family heirloom. Its name is a play on words. The words for “lotus root” are lin ngau, which are almost identical to lin yau, which means “achieve more.” Thus this soup is a New Year’s greeting. It is also believed that the holes in the lotus root indicate that one should think things through. Lotus root comes in joined sections, quite like a sausage.
1½ pounds lotus root, each section separate, but left whole, washed
thoroughly
8 cups cold water
1 slice ginger, 1 inch thick, lightly smashed
1½ pounds fresh pork butt, left whole
1 to 1½ teaspoons salt
2 scallions, finely sliced
In a large pot place lotus root, water and ginger, bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, cover pot leaving a slight opening at the edge and allow to cook slowly for 30 minutes. Return to a boil, add pork, allow to return to a boil, lower heat, allow to simmer for 1 hour. At this point the lotus root should be tender. Test by inserting the end of a chopstick into the root. If it is cooked, the chopstick will enter easily. Add 1 teaspoon salt, stir, taste. Add additional salt if needed.
Remove lotus root and pork from soup. Cut root in half lengthwise, then slice it. Slice pork as well, and arrange both on a platter. Serve the dish as two courses together—the soup, hot, in bowls garnished with sliced scallions, the lotus root and pork with the following sauce.
Sauce
4 tablespoons Chicken Stock (page 13)
4 tablespoons light soy sauce
3 tablespoons finely sliced scallions
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
Mix all ingredients together, divide into individual soy sauce dishes and serve with lotus root and pork.
SERVES 6
Buddha’s Delight
; (FAT CHOY JAI)
This classic dish was always served at Ah Paw’s New Year’s Eve dinner, as it was at my mother’s, as it is at mine. It is at once a satisfying dish and an offering, a celebration of Buddhist vegetarianism. Its name alone, fat choy, wishes you prosperity for the year.
½ cup carrots, thinly sliced
⅓ cup bamboo shoots, thinly sliced
¾ cup lotus root, thinly sliced
3 water chestnuts, peeled, washed, thinly sliced
6 dried black mushrooms, soaked in water 30 minutes until softened,
washed, stems removed and cut into julienne
30 pieces dried tiger lily buds, soaked, bottoms removed
¼ cup celery, cut into 1½-inch julienne
½ cup gingko nuts (page 250)
SAUCE
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1½ teaspoons dark soy sauce
3 teaspoons cornstarch
Pinch white pepper
½ cup Vegetable Stock (page 14)
2½ to 3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 slice ginger, 1 inch thick, peeled
¾ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Shao-Hsing wine, or sherry
¼ cup Vegetable Stock
1 package (2 ounces) bean thread noodles, soaked 20 minutes until
softened, drain, cut into 3-inch lengths
Arrange vegetables on a platter; reserve.
Combine all ingredients for sauce; set aside.
Heat wok over high heat for 45 seconds, add peanut oil, ginger and ¾ teaspoon salt. Coat wok with spatula. When a wisp of white smoke appears, begin adding vegetables. Stir-fry carrots and bamboo shoots, add lotus root, stir-fry 1 minute. Add all remaining vegetables, stir-fry 1 minute more. Drizzle wine into wok along its edges, mix well. Add vegetable stock, allow to cook 3 minutes until vegetables soften slightly.
Add bean thread noodles, stir together to mix. Make a well in the mixture, stir sauce, pour in, mix and cook for 1 minute. When sauce changes color to dark brown, turn off heat, transfer to a heated dish and serve.
SERVES 6
Steamed Fish
(JING YUE)
In my grandmother’s kitchen, and in mine, no dish was, or is, more important to the New Year celebration than a steamed fish. The word for fish is yue, which also translates as “plentiful.” Also, the swimming motion of the fish connotes the concept of never-ending, or eternity. My grandmother always steamed a grass carp in a huge iron wok. In my kitchen I use a striped bass because it can be obtained in a size small enough to be steamed whole in a wok. It is important for the sake of tradition that the fish be steamed whole.
Steaming preserves the fish’s flesh, its flavor and its shape. Variations of the traditional steamed fish often include shredded mushrooms, shredded pork, black beans or ginger and scallions. The recipe below is the original.
MARINADE
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons Shao-Hsing wine, or sherry
2 tablespoons Scallion Oil (page 16)
4 tablespoons finely shredded ginger
1½ teaspoons sesame oil
1½ teaspoons Chinese white rice vinegar, or distilled white vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon white pepper
1 1½-pound fresh whole striped bass, scales, gills and intestines
removed by fishmonger
7 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon Scallion Oil
2 scallions, finely sliced
1 tablespoon coriander, finely sliced
Mix ingredients for marinade well; reserve.
A FISH STEAMED IN MY HOME IN THE UNITED STATES, EXACTLY AS I LEARNED TO DO IT FROM AH PAW.
Make certain fish is cleaned and washed well, inside and out. Make 3 cuts with a sharp knife in the side of the fish to the bone. Do not cut through. Repeat on other side. Dry fish well with paper towels and place in a steamproof dish. Pour marinade over fish and rub in with your hands, making certain to rub well into the cuts. Allow to rest 10 to 15 minutes.
Place a rack in a wok, add boiling water, place steamproof dish with fish on rack in wok and cover. Steam for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the flesh seen in the cuts turns white and is firm. (See steaming directions, page 30.) Turn off heat. Pour scallion oil over fish, sprinkle with scallions and coriander and serve immediately.
SERVES 4, OR 6 AT A BANQUET
Fried Rice Yangzhou Style
(YANGZHOU CHAU FAN)
Always a component of any banquet of consequence, this is one of those dishes that transcends its region and becomes a universal favorite. Yangzhou is in Kiangsu Province, north of Shanghai, and when a special fried rice is desired for a banquet, invariably the version from Yangzhou is served. Ah Paw was no exception. It was her favorite festive rice and was always the penultimate dish of her New Year’s Eve dinner. That it had, among its ingredients, the happiness of shrimp and the prosperity of pork only added to its attraction.
MARINADE
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
1½ teaspoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Chinese white rice wine or gin mixed with ½ teaspoon
ginger juice
Pinch white pepper
6 ounces shrimp, shelled and deveined, washed, dried and cut into ½-inch pieces
6½ tablespoons peanut oil
4 jumbo eggs, beaten with a pinch of white pepper and ¼ teaspoon salt
1½ cups diced Barbecued Pork (page 43), cut into ⅓-inch dice
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced ginger
5 cups Perfect Cooked Rice (page 11)
¾ tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
4 scallions, finely sliced
Mix marinade in a bowl, add shrimp and allow to rest 15 minutes.
Stir-fry beaten eggs in 1½ tablespoons peanut oil until soft, but not dry, broken into small pieces, approximately 1 to 1½ minutes. Set aside. Wash wok and spatula and dry.
Stir-fry barbecued pork with 1 teaspoon minced garlic in 1 tablespoon peanut oil, until hot, approximately 2 minutes. Set aside. Wash wok and spatula and dry.
Stir-fry marinated shrimp mixture with 1 teaspoon minced garlic and 2 teaspoons minced ginger, in 1 tablespoon peanut oil, until shrimps turn pink, approximately 2 minutes. Wash wok and spatula and dry.
Heat wok over high heat 45 seconds, add 3 tablespoons peanut oil and ¾ teaspoon salt, coat wok with spatula. When a wisp of white smoke appears, add cooked rice, toss until well mixed, 3 to 4 minutes, until very hot. Add pork, mix thoroughly. Add shrimp, mix thoroughly. Add soy sauce, stir in, then add scrambled eggs, mix well. Add scallions and mix to combine all ingredients very thoroughly. Turn off heat, transfer to a heated platter and serve immediately.
SERVES 6 TO 8
Pan-Fried Noodles with Shredded Pork
(YUK SEE CHAU MEIN)
Any New Year’s Eve banquet was always concluded with a dish of noodles, simple or elaborate. This was, and is, one of the latter, but as Ah Paw would say when she requested that it be made, it is worth the effort. And she was right. Noodles, a recurring symbol of long life, were never cut when making this dish, in the belief that if one cut a noodle, a life might be shortened. The noodles are wedded to pork, that ubiquitous reminder of prosperity, which Ah Paw said had to be yuk see, shredded pork. Making this dish properly depends upon preparation and organization, upon having all ingredients, cut, measured and poured. Once you have cooked it well, you will be quite proud of yourself, as I was in my grandmother’s kitchen.
MARINADE
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
My Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen Page 11