Do you ever wish you could spend New Year's Eve with your Notre Dame friends? Well, even though you probably missed your chance to ring in the traditional New Year, you're not too late to throw a Chinese New Year Party. Feb. 9 marks the beginning of the year of the Rooster, the 4,703rd year in the Chinese calendar. This important day in Chinese culture commences with a 15-day festival ending on the full moon. While Times Square and Dick Clark may not be part of your soiree, you can incorporate Chinese traditions such as brightly colored lights, homemade paper lanterns, small gift exchanges and delicious food in your festivities. After you try making some of these traditional recipes, break out your chopsticks and pop the "Joy Luck Club" in your VCR while ringing in another new year.
Chinese Chicken Salad3 1/2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and diced 1 head lettuce, torn into small pieces 4 green onions, sliced 4 stalks celery, sliced thin 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted 6 ounces Chinese noodles, heated briefly to crisp 6 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar 4 tablespoons white sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup peanut oil In a large salad bowl combine the chicken, lettuce, green onion, celery, nuts, seeds and noodles. Mix all together. Set aside. To Make Dressing: Put vinegar in a small bowl. Dissolve sugar and salt in vinegar before adding oil. Shake/beat well. Add dressing to salad and toss to coat. Serve and enjoy!Courtesy of Anne Black, Copyright © 2004; www.allrecipes.com., All Rights Reserved
Chinese Spareribs1/2 cup hoisin sauce 1/4 cup jellied cranberry sauce 3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce 2 tablespoons white wine 2 tablespoons honey 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 1/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder 4 pounds pork spareribs, cut into 1-inch pieces 2 cups water In a large bowl, blend hoisin sauce, cranberry sauce, soy sauce, white wine, honey and red food coloring. Mix in garlic salt and Chinese five-spice powder. Place ribs in the mixture. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place water in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Arrange ribs on pan rack, and cook 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Cover with remaining sauce mixture and continue cooking 30 minutes, to an internal temperature of 160 degrees.Copyright © 2004; www.allrecipes.com., All Rights Reserved
Almond Tea Cakes4 ounces granulated sugar 2 ounces blanched almonds, ground fine 3 tablespoons cake flour 1 egg white plus 3 egg whites 1 tablespoon heavy cream Granulated sugar for dusting Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease mini muffin tins and set aside. Sift 2-ounces of the sugar, ground almonds and cake flour in a bowl. Add 1 egg white to form a paste. In another bowl whip the 3 egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar. Continue to whip until the meringue is strong but not dry. Fold the meringue into the almond paste mixture and add the heavy cream at the end. Mix well. Fill the prepared muffin tins half full. Bake promptly in the pre-heated oven until golden, approximately 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the size of the molds. Cool the teacakes about 5 minutes before un-molding them on a wire rack. Dust with confection sugar before serving. Store the cakes in an airtight container.Copyright 2001 En-Ming Hsui; courtesy of Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved
