What I'm thinking today: Chinese food

Showing posts with label Chinese food. Show all posts

Thursday, 19 February 2015

Thursday, or Thereabouts - February 19, 2015

Sheep, goats and rams - on a Siberian Express

The Siberian Express has roared into town yet again bringing with it more bitter cold accompanied today by a beast of wind whose sole intent seems to be to bite my face off. This is getting tiresome - we are headed for the coldest February on record!

But when brilliant white cold light of this unwelcome weather phenomenon meets the south facing windows of my house, the rooms are filled with wonderful stretches of soothing warmth. Truly delightful display of "day star" power.

Every moan, every groan, every hint of despair within me melts away, leaving me with images of sandy beaches...

...or even grassy hillsides filled with trilliums,

or strawberries,

or perhaps even a segue to grazing sheep...

Welcome to the Year of the Sheep! Chinese New Year exploded to life at the very beginning of this day, and though there is some debate about whether it's the year of the sheep, or the goat, or the ram (apparently only a problem for the English speaking world according to the New York Times), there is no debate about the celebration. Lots of red, lots of fireworks, lots of dancing featuring lions and dragons; and food, lots of food.

Last year at this time fuelled by an upcoming trip to China, I celebrated by preparing a Chinese Feast for my family. I'm not feeling so ambitious this year. Homemade almond cookies and store bought fortune cookies will have to do their best to mark the Lunar New Year this time.

Gung Hei Fat Choi!

And a few photos from our Chinese Adventure last year:

Wishing you, "Happiness and Prosperity" in this Lunar New Year.

Monday, 3 February 2014

Monday Moanings - February 3, 2014

Gong Hei Fat Choi

Saturday's Celebration Supper began with Crab Rangoon appetisers followed by
Shrimp & Pork Won Ton Soup,
Chicken & Vegetable Spring Rolls,
Pork & Chive Dumplings,
Shrimp & Scallops with Snow Peas,
Orange Crispy Beef, Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce,
Jasmine Rice,
2 dipping sauces - Peanut and Sweet Chili,
Yanjing Beer,
and ending with
Fresh Fruit,
Almond Cookies and Fortune Cookies.

Have a look:

From start to finish, from plan to palate, from cutting board to chopstick, this was one of the most satisfying meal celebrations I've ever undertaken. I loved every moment. Every dish rewarded taste buds all around the table. As wonderful as it was, as great a feast as it was, the final verdict was delivered in a fortune cookie:

Monday, 27 January 2014

Monday Moanings - January 27, 2014

The easy thing to do...

The easy thing to do this moaning would be to launch into yet another sad lament about the winter weather, but honestly would it really do any good to anybody, including me, to expend any more ink and what little energy I have on one more long whine?

The easy thing to do would be to go back to bed and hide under the covers until ... until when? Well that's not going to offer any true relief either. What this day, what this week needs is an injection of enthusiasm, an exciting, interesting project to lift me up, up and away from wind and snow and cold, and I've found just the thing: FOOD and an celebration to go with it, Chinese New Year.

One year when the children were little, I made a big deal out of this celebration. I made egg rolls from scratch to go with a run of the mill stir fry, topped with the ultimate kid pleaser, golden fried chow mein noodles. Of course there were fortune cookies for dessert and ice cream too. This time around I'm looking at something a little more enterprising and perhaps even a little more authentic. Here's what's under consideration for Saturday: crab Rangoon appetisers then homemade won ton soup, spring rolls, shrimp and snow peas, crispy orange beef, Chinese greens with oyster sauce and for more adventurous palates, ma po tofu. There will be jasmine rice, and maybe some coconut rice, and there will be fortune cookies. I'm really not sure about including those very unhealthy fried noodles, but they do bring a smile to my heart when I think about them.

My senses, especially my taste buds, well remember one of my mother's special meals. When I heard that "Chinese" was on the menu for supper, I was thrilled. This was well before there was a Chinese take-out in every neighbourhood, so it all came from a can. China Lily was the brand, with their distinctive black and yellow logo. There was chop suey, chow mein, sweet and sour sauce, water chestnuts and of course soya sauce, to which Mom added her own enhancements: herbs and spices, fresh carrots and frozen peas (these added some well needed colour), and leftover chicken or beef. Some times she went all out and cooked up pork spare ribs which were then slathered in the sweet and sour sauce. Oh, it was grand and of course our plates were topped with those bright yellow-orange fried noodles fresh out of a China Lily tin can. Such 'gourmet' meals filled hearts with joy, minds with memories and tummies with pretty good things.

Now it's time for me to finalise my menu, then source the ingredients. I'll let you know how it's all going on Thursday.

Woo Hoo! Let's get at it!