Happy New Year of the Bitch!
Let's get this party started.
So, I had myself a nice little Chinese New Year dinner this past weekend. For the first time in who knows how long, I actually made Chinese food for it. I was considering doing a Moroccan Chinese New Year. Since Chinese food has taken over the globe I always feel it's only ironically fitting to serve the cuisine of other cultures on this most festive of Chinese holidays.
Check out "Chinese Restaurants", a 13 part documentary by Cheuk Kwan about the Chinese food diaspora if you ever have a chance. There's a freaking Chinese restaurant where ever you are, from Trinidad to the most remote northern corner of Norway. For a hilarious look behind the scenes, check out cinematographer Kwoi Gin's Rice Bowl Diaries. It is proof that the line, 'Well, I'm making a movie.' is a great way to pick up chicks no matter what country you're in.
However, I've been hankering for some beef in black bean sauce and since most of the Chinese restaurants in this rusty town is known more for their neon red sweet & sour sauce on deep fried anything, I figured I'd do Chinese this year for the lunar new year.
I actually followed some of the food traditions. I even put out a traditional plate of sweets , aka the Tray of Togetherness, for our guests to munch on as I finished dinner. White Rabbit candies are a traditional sweet, aren't they?
Anyways, here's the menu:
-Beef & lychee in black bean sauce
-Lettuce wrap with pork and walnut & szechuan peppercorns
-Potstickers
-Pan-fried Lo Bak Go (Chinese turnip cakes. Tastes so much better than it sounds)
-Braised Chinese mushrooms (shitake, straw, enoki, black fungus, white fungus) and bean curd
-Ginger Prawn Chow Mein
-Asian fruit salad (star fruit, pomelo, mandarin orange, chinese apple pear, lychee) with lime-honey dressing
-Lychee chocolate truffles
I probably made more Chinese food for this feast than for all of last year put together. I must have been cooking from genetic memory since I can't remember making half these dishes before and I would risk losing my Chinese certification if I used recipes. Who uses recipes for Chinese cooking anyways? It's pretty much just chop up your crap, throw in your crap into a hot wok, season it with some more crap and toss your crap onto a plate and serve!
Anyways, happy year of the bitch.
Eat, Drink and Be Chinese!
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2 comments:
Lychee chocolate truffles? Are you freaking kidding me? It's pure torture having to read all about your delicious feast and be stuck in another hotel room with room service. I ate my way through a bag of blood oranges and thought of you. Not sure if it was the trails of bloody juice or the sticky fingers and the sheer tasty bliss of the moment, but you were in my thoughts.
Loving the blog. I'll take whatever nibbles of you I can get though, ultimately, it makes me miss home even more so. I know, 'be present.'
Save me a seat at the table.
Kelly
PS - I've been reading your 'memoirs' while traveling. So far, everyone in Europe loves you!
I loves me some lettuce wrap. Could you post some recipes, pretty please.
Darren
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