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(Chinese) New Year's Wrap-Up

Photo by JADEN HAIR

No celebration would be complete without her mom's famous egg rolls.

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By JADEN HAIR

Tribune correspondent

Published: January 14, 2009

Don't put away your party shoes just yet.

I know you think that the New Year celebrations are over, but for many Asians all over the world, the biggest holiday is yet to come! Jan. 26 is the beginning of Chinese New Year, a 15-day celebration.

Each year of the Chinese calendar is symbolized by one of 12 zodiac animals, and this year, it's the Year of the Ox. According to the wise old sage who created the system thousands of years ago, the ox symbolizes a hardworking, honest animal. What does that mean to us? Here's hoping 2009 will be a year of strength, stability and hard work. Which, quite frankly, after the tumulus and erratic Year of the Rat, this is just what we need.

I'm sure we could all use a big turn around in our luck, right?

No matter what your ethnicity, I invite you to partake in a few of the food traditions that symbolize abundance for the coming year. First things first, though. Let's talk about lucky money before we even get to the food.

Red lucky money envelopes (hong bao in Chinese) are given by family and close friends to the unmarried younger generation. The amount of money you give really doesn't matter much, but it's nice if the money is new and free of wrinkles or stains. For my children's classmates, as a fun way to wish them and their families good luck, I will put a two crisp dollar bills in each envelope and hand them out to the class (Money should always be given in even numbers.)

When my brother and I were little, we wouldn't be able to sleep the night before Chinese New Year; we would huddle together on the bed with the monster Sears catalog propped on our laps, daydreaming of all the fabulous toys we could buy with our lucky money. Jay and I used to love visiting our elders on Chinese New Year because the wealthy ones would stuff our envelopes with a couple of hundreds. Score! You can buy packages of red envelopes at any Asian market, the more modern ones have cutesy artwork on them, like Disney characters, Hello Kitty and Pokemon.

All right, on to the food. I asked my lovely mom to help me come up with four dishes to give you. Each dish symbolizes something different and is one we share at our New Year's festivities at home.

TEA EGGS

In northern China, tea eggs symbolize golden nuggets and prosperity. The eggs are hard boiled first, then the shell is gently cracked and simmered in a black tea-soy sauce mixture. Once you peel off the shell, a beautiful marbled design emerges on the egg. My friend food writer Diana Kuan of Appetite for China ( www.appetiteforchina.com) likes to add dried tangerine peel to the seeping liquid.

6 to 8 eggs

3/4 cup soy sauce

2 star anise

2 tablespoons black tea (or 2 tea bags)

1 cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorn (optional)

2 strips dried tangerine or mandarin orange peel (optional)

Gently place the eggs in a medium pot and fill with water to cover the eggs by 1 inch. Bring the pot to a boil, lower the heat and let simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the eggs (leaving the water in the pot) and cool under running water. Using the back of the teaspoon, gently tap the eggshell to crack the shell all over. The more you tap, the more intricate the design. Do this with a delicate hand to keep the shell intact. Return eggs to the same pot with the boiling water and add in the remaining ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil and immediately turn the heat to low. Simmer for 1 to 3 hours, adding a bit of water as the level gets below the eggs.

The longer you simmer, the deeper the flavor and color will be. Alternatively, you can simmer for 40 minutes, cover, turn off heat and let sit for a few hours to overnight in the liquid.

Serves 4.

100 FLOWER BLOSSOMS

This dish is meant to wish you a blossoming and beautiful beginning in the New Year. Mom chose broccoli and cauliflower for their plentiful florets, and the carrot slices to add an important splash of vibrant color to the dish. The swirly egg white sauce is luxurious; you also can add cooked crab meat to the sauce, which is what my mom prefers.

1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets (about 8 ounces of cut florets)

1 head broccoli, cut into florets (about 6 ounces of cut florets)

6 ounces sliced carrots

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 to 2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 cup vegetable broth

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg white

In a large pot, boil or steam the cauliflower florets for 1 1/2 minutes. Without removing the cauliflower, add the broccoli florets and the carrot slices to the same pot and steam for another 1 1/2 minutes, until fork tender at the stem. Rinse the vegetables with cool water to stop the cooking and drain.

In a small bowl or cup, stir together the cornstarch and the water to make a cornstarch slurry. Set aside.

Heat a wok or large frying pan until hot. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Turn the heat to medium and add the garlic. Fry 15 to 30 seconds until fragrant, but do not burn. Pour in the vegetable broth and add the salt to taste. Let broth come to a boil.

Stir the cornstarch slurry one more time, and then pour into the broth. Stir and let simmer for 30 seconds until broth has thickened. Slowly pour in the egg white and use a fork or chopsticks to gently swirl in one direction to create long tails. Immediately turn off the heat. Taste the broth, and add additional salt if needed (remember the vegetables are unsalted). Pour mixture over the vegetables and serve.

Serves 4.

CRISPY EGG ROLLS

No celebration would be complete without my mom's famous egg rolls. Stacked together, they look like gold bars and symbolize wealth. The most important thing is to make sure you get the correct wrappers. Find them at an Asian market, in the freezer section. The wrappers at Publix or Sweetbay in the produce section labeled "for egg rolls" are way too thick to get light, shatteringly crisp egg rolls like my mom's. If you'd like to freeze the egg rolls, go to www.steamykitchen.com and search for "egg rolls." I have very specific instructions on how to freeze and cook frozen egg rolls.

MY MOTHER'S FAMOUS CHINESE EGG ROLLS

For the filling:

1 1/2 pounds ground pork

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 head of cabbage (about 1/2 pound)

3 carrots, peeled

8 fresh shitake mushrooms, stems discarded

1 tablespoon canola, vegetable or peanut cooking oil

2 or 3 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Freshly ground black pepper

For the egg rolls:

50 spring roll/egg roll wrappers, defrosted unopened at room temperature for 45 minutes or in refrigerator overnight (about 2 packages)

1 tablespoon cornstarch (or flour) mixed with 1/4 cup of cool water

Canola, vegetable or peanut oil, for frying

Marinate the ground pork with the soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar and sesame oil for at least 10 minutes at room temperature.

In the meantime, shred the cabbage and the carrots using your food processor or by hand. Slice the mushrooms into very thin strips.

Heat a wok or large frying pan over high heat until hot. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the garlic and fry until fragrant, 15 to 30 seconds. Add the pork and stir fry until no longer pink. Add the cabbage, carrots and the mushrooms and stir fry for one minute, until the vegetables are softened. Add the rice wine, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and black pepper. Continue to stir fry for another minute. Remove the filling to a baking sheet and spread out to cool. Prop up one end of the baking sheet so that it tilts and will allow all the moisture to drain to one end. Let cool for 15 minutes. Discard all of the accumulated juices. Use paper towels to blot the filling to rid of extra oil or juice. Now, we're ready to wrap. See photos for instructions.

Keep the rolled egg rolls in a neat, single layer and covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying. If you want to stack the egg rolls, make sure you have a layer of parchment paper in between the layers to prevent sticking. Refrigerate up to four hours until ready to fry.

To fry the egg rolls, fill a wok or pot with 2 inches of cooking oil. Heat the oil to 350 degrees or until a cube of bread will fry to golden brown within 10 seconds. Gently slide in or lower the egg rolls, frying 4 to 6 at a time, turning occasionally until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Place on wire rack to drain and cool.

Makes 50 egg rolls.

1. Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the lower corner. Do not overstuff.

2. Roll halfway up. Make sure the roll is tight.

3. Fold over one corner, and then the other. Leave no open air pockets.

4. Brush the cornstarch slurry on the final end and finish rolling up. Place egg roll seam-side down on plate or baking sheet. Keep rolls covered with plastic wrap.

STIR FRIED SHRIMP WITH KETCHUP SAUCE

The word for shrimp in Chinese is "ha," which of course symbolizes happiness! Mom wanted to make sure that I included this dish for you because she wishes you a fabulous year full of joy and laughter. By the way, in Asian cooking, color has significance. You might think that garnish is a waste of food, however a Chinese dish must be balanced in both taste and in looks. For example, this shrimp dish is very red, and Mom asked me to serve it on a bed of crisp, green shredded lettuce because it was important to balance the vivid red with another color and texture, especially for Chinese New Year. (Eye roll ...I know, crazy Chinese, eh?)

1 pound raw shrimp, deveined

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons canola, vegetable or peanut cooking oil

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1-2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 tablespoon finely sliced green onion

Handful of shredded iceberg lettuce

For the sauce (mix together in a bowl):

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth

3 tablespoons ketchup

1 teaspoon rice vinegar (or white vinegar)

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Pat the shrimp very dry and place them in a bowl. Toss with the cornstarch.

Heat a wok or large frying pan on high heat until a bead of water instantly sizzles and evaporates upon contact. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the cornstarch-coated shrimp to the wok and spread out in one layer. Let fry untouched for 1 minute. Flip and fry other side for another minute. Remove the shrimp from the frying pan, keeping as much oil in the pan as possible.

Return the pan to the stove. Add an additional teaspoon of cooking oil to the pan if needed. When the pan is hot, turn the heat to medium and add the garlic and ginger, and fry for 15 to 30 seconds until fragrant.

Pour in the sauce mixture and bring to boil. Add the cooked shrimp back into the wok and let simmer for an additional minute until the shrimp are cooked through. Serve on a bed of shredded lettuce and top with a garnish of sliced green onions.

Serves 4.

Check out Jaden's blog at www.steamykitchen.com.

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