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Noodles For Newlyweds Count Toward Good Fortune In Life

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By JADEN HAIR

Tribune correspondent

Published: May 13, 2008

The Chinese culture is filled with food traditions and symbolisms, so much in fact that I could never keep up and remember them all. During the entire six days surrounding my wedding, I deferred to my mother to tell me what to eat to please the gods of good fortune and fertility. Oh, did I want to have some grapes? I had to eat five of them, not one less, because the number that I must not utter - one less than five - means something bad in Chinese. In fact, I am choosing each and every word very carefully in this column so that in case you are the one getting married, I do not want to be blamed for any misfortune!

My wedding with Scott was a nice blend of his culture (Scottish-German) and mine. We exchanged vows at Pebble Beach's legendary 18th hole (OK, Scott just corrected me and said "fairway" not "hole" because I don't think they'd let 10 pairs of three-inch high heels aerate the baby-soft skinny grass on the green) but included Chinese customs throughout the entire week.

One custom that we opted out of was serving a whole roast suckling pig at the wedding banquet. According to the Chinese, the pig symbolizes the virginity of the bride, and um, you know where I'm going with that. I say no sense in pretending or misrepping what is not true because that would be a lousy way to begin a marriage. Plus, where the heck would we find a whole suckling pig in the middle of a Gucci golf resort? Can you even imagine the chef struggling to fit the fat pig on his fancy rotisserie grill?

There is one Chinese tradition I want to share with you: eating noodles. For birthdays, New Year's and weddings, noodles are served to represent long life. Don't be tempted to cut the noodles or you'll be "cutting your life short." You may not be Chinese, but there's no harm in covering all your bases. I mean, who knows what deity drew the short straw and was appointed to be in charge of something so boring as "life span"?

So, I created one easy dish that covered all your important bases - sort of cramming as much good fortune as possible onto one plate. The sesame seeds and pea pods in the noodles symbolize fertility (remember, if you don't want children, substitute with any greens, bean sprouts or sliced bamboo shoots). Shrimp, in Chinese, is pronounced "haa," which sounds like laughter, and may your marriage be full of happiness.

And, of course, this column has 688 words, my way of wishing you a smooth path to double prosperity.

TASTES AS GOOD AS IT LOOKS

Learn how to make your food look like it jumped from the pages of Gourmet magazine. I'm teaching a hands-on cooking, food styling and photography class at the Rolling Pin Kitchen Emporium in Brandon at 6:30 p.m. May 22.

We'll be making Crab & Fuji Apple Salad, Firecracker Shrimp With Sweet Chili Sauce and Grilled Chicken With Mango-Melon Salsa. Call (813) 653-2418; cost is $50.

LONG LIFE FERTILITY NOODLES WITH HAPPY SHRIMP

11/2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt, divided

6 ounces thin spaghetti noodles

7 ounces shrimp, deveined

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 garlic clove, finely minced

1/2 cup snow peas, sliced thin on diagonal

1/2 cup matchstick-cut carrots

11/2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Bring a stockpot of water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to water, and cook thin spaghetti, according to package directions. Drain well. While pasta is cooking, place shrimp in a small bowl and add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the cornstarch. Mix well and let sit for 8 minutes. Rinse the shrimp well, washing off the salt and cornstarch. Pat very dry with paper towels.

In a wok or large skillet, heat cooking oil on high until hot but not smoking. Add shrimp and fry until just starting to change color, about 1 minute. Remove, keeping as much oil in wok as possible.

Turn heat to medium and add garlic. Fry until fragrant, about 10 seconds, then add the snow peas and carrots. Fry briefly, add the soy and rice wine. Turn heat to high and add the drained spaghetti noodles and shrimp. Toss well to combine. Let cook for 2 minutes, until shrimp is cooked through. Toss with sesame oil and sesame seeds.

Makes 2 auspicious servings.

Jaden Hair's blog, Steamy Kitchen, is at www.steamykitchen.com.

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