My husband, mother-in-law, and I threw our firstborn a traditional Chinese red egg and ginger birthday party when he turned one this past week. I am sure you are wondering, "What is a red egg and ginger party?" Red egg and ginger parties are typically celebrated at the one month mark of a young child's life. During the ancient times, when infant mortality rates were high, if a child survived to the one month mark, it was a sign of great fortune and an event worthy of a big family get-together.
The one month milestone in a child's life is a significant occasion for all families, and this milestone is marked by a huge celebration in Chinese culture, where family and friends plan a banquet and meet the new baby. Also, a mother was expected to rest for one month so that she could recover from the physical stress of labor. During such parties, relatives prepare large stockpots of nutritious ginger soup, as ginger has warming (yang of yin/yang) properties to help the mother heal and help increase milk production. The ginger soup, as well as a rice wine and pork trotter soup are strongly believed to help nurse a new mama back to health after childbirth. Also, boiled eggs, representing fertility and life, were dyed red (the luckiest color in Chinese tradition) and gently massaged onto the baby's face. Legend has it, that the egg would increase the fertility of newborn child, guaranteeing a sizeable family. Also, during these parties, instead of birthday presents, the baby and the new parents are given red envelopes (hong bao).
In ancient times, at a red egg and ginger party, the family would formally name their newborn and also shave their baby's head for good fortune. Although we didn't carry out all of the traditions of the red egg and ginger party, we tried to carry the theme throughout our baby's party. That meant dressing him up in a formal outfit and serving Chinese party foods!
As the day approached, however, we realized that our menu was a little too ambitious, so we ended up getting a little help (i.e., ordering frozen dumplings, jungzi, and soy sauce eggs from nearby San Francisco restaurants and shops). We have a little baby, so a little "help" is necessary for throwing a party! The party menu included (see descriptions below, with three recipes):
Chicken and Napa Potstickers with Soy Garlic Dipping Sauce
Soy Sauce Eggs (soft boiled eggs marinated in a bath of soy sauce and mirin--for a good recipe, click here)
Shrimp Fried Rice (just add shrimp and frozen peas to my old recipe)
Vancouver Japadog-Style Hot Dogs with Asian-Fusion Topping Bar (for the kids, with wasabi paste, Japanese mayo, caramelized onions, and nori slivers)
Oranges (which symbolize good fortune, prosperity, and longevity in Chinese culture), Boiled Eggs Dyed Red, and Fruit and Veggie Plates
Chinese Tamales, or jungzi
Grilled Chicken Drumsticks
Chicken and Pine Nut Lettuce Wraps
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, finely diced (best to cut if partially frozen)
2 cup carrots, peeled and finely diced (depending on size of carrots, about 5)
1/2 cup green scallions
1/3 cup of pine seeds, lightly toasted in pan for a few seconds until fragrant
2 tbsp of corn starch
2 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of canola oil
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1 head of lettuce, washed, with leaves separated
Heat the oil in a frying pan until shimmering. Add the carrots and cook until they have started to sweat. Meanwhile, combine the chicken with the soy sauce and corn starch, and then add it into the pan, stirring constantly. Then, add the scallions and fry until the chicken is cooked through. Then, add the pine seeds and serve in a bowl next to the lettuce leaves, or assemble the lettuce wraps for your guests.
Refreshing Chinese Cucumber Salad
2 or 3 seedless English cucumbers, washed and cut into 1/2 to 2 inch strips (almost as if julienned)
1/2 bunch cilantro, cut into 3 cm long portions
1/2 yellow onion, sliced thinly
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp canola oil
2 tsp white vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Combine all of the liquid and dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Then, combine the sauce mixture with the cucumbers, cilantro, onions, and garlic, until coated. Let the salad sit for at least 30 mins before serving.
Gingered Carrot Cake Mini Muffins
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple in unsweetened juice
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 1/3 cups (about 1 lb) shredded carrots
1 cup (4 oz) walnuts, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) finely chopped crystalized ginger
chopped crystallized ginger, for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, ground ginger, nutmeg, and 1 tsp salt. In large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat eggs, butter, and sugars 2 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Beat in pineapple with its juice and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in carrots, walnuts, raisins, and crystallized ginger. Spoon batter evenly into cupcake tins with lined with cupcake wrappers. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes for mini muffins or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
For the games, we invited the children to blow bubbles outside with bubble wands and had an arts and crafts station for the children to color and cut out their own Chinese dragon masks and paper lanterns. Check out the link here for the FREE dragon mask template we used. We bought wooden sticks online for them to use as the mask holders.
We also played Ni Hao, Kai Lan on the television, so that the kids could learn some Chinese and learn about Chinese culture with a fun and popular cartoon.
We also handed out party favors in red Chinese take out boxes (board books, kazoos, bubbles, and red envelopes with chocolate coins), so the kids kept busy and entertained. See the picture way above, to see the contents.
For the decor, we reused our wedding banner, set up Chinese umbrellas, and also folded origami tigers and dragons from the Canon website. Check out the Canon site for the FREE patterns and templates, here. Warning: The patterns are beautiful and complicated!
Also, we printed labels for our water bottles for an extra personalized touch. Check out Gynnn Wasson Design's blog for the FREE water bottle templates we used.
We also decorated a centerpiece with red envelopes.
Thanks for joining me at my party! I hope you learned a thing or two about the red egg and ginger party, a traditional Chinese celebration which is as important of a holiday as Thanksgiving or Christmas for some families. Hey, any even where the entire family gets together to enjoy a feast and meet the new addition is good in my book!
When the beau and I went honeymooning in Europe, we took pains to eat what the locals ate. Thus, we refused to eat at eateries that served American, Mexican, or Asian food in Europe. First, such food was virtually guaranteed not to be good. Second, we could spend our money and fill the limited space in our stomachs with something much better, authentic European food. However, we did make a few slip-ups. In Switzerland, one evening, at a restaurant called Raclette Stube, we ordered their meat fondue, expecting an authentic "Swiss" dish.
When the meal arrived to our table, we were disappointed to discover that the meat fondue (which cost around 40 Swiss francs a head) or "fondue chinois," was simply a version of steamboat hot pot that is served in every-Chinatown, USA.
But thankfully, there were unique Swiss additions to the Chinese fondue. There were (1) creamy fingerling potatoes steaming in a towel-wrapped wicker basket; (2) sweetly brined cornichons (gherkins), pearl onions, and baby corns with a vinegary bite; (3) crisp Swiss potato chips, and (4) a beautiful variety of mayonnaise and aioli dipping sauces made with curry, dijon, and horseradish.
In addition to these interesting Swiss additions, I noticed several differences between Swiss "fondue chinois" and the "fondue chinois" that I eat in America. The Swiss restaurant did not provide a bowl or spoon to enjoy the meat broth in the fondue pot (I merely was given a two-pronged fork) and there were no vegetables, seafood, noodles, or meatballs to cook alongside the thin slices of meat.
My Swiss hot pot experience drew me closer to my own previous hot pot experiences, and reminded me of how I enjoyed hot pot at home the most. Furthermore, because of my rigid, cheapskate upbringing, my wallet has always been uneasy about restaurant hot pot. (If you're unfamiliar with hot pot, see my previous post on hot pot, here, where I explain this soup meal that you cook in and eat from a communal pot. You cook the quick-cooking raw meats and vegetables in a boiling soup, and quickly remove them to prevent overcooking.) A part of me cannot get over the concept of going to a restaurant to cook your own meal. Hey, I pay for someone to do that for me, and that makes me feel special for the evening!
I earnestly believe that hot pot is best done at home. Communal cooking encourages real social collaboration. I love seeing how ambitious guests take charge and step up to the plate--err, I mean pot! Hot pot can also be as mesmerizing as a Broadway production, replete with swirling steam emanating upward from the boiling pot and sizzling and spitting burner grates. But by far, the best part about entertaining with hot pot is that you allow your guests do the work, rather than laboriously toiling away with your back hunched over relentless, sweltering, and glowing spiral burners. Thus, by serving hot pot, you avoid any burn marks branded on your fingers and a lot of stress!
For hot pot, you need a table top butane bunsen burner or electrical hot plate. A table top heating source is a great investment for a working entertainer because it can be used for cheese and chocolate fondue and Korean barbecue (use a grill pan such as a cast iron pan that will retain heat for grilling, though). Such a table top heat source is critical for keeping the food piping hot, as any good caterer will tell you.
Although the "one pot" cooking method isn't conducive for catering to the whims of finicky eaters, check out your local Chinatown for "divided hot pots," which allow you to heat multiple types of broth in the same gurgling cauldron. Each divided pot section may hold alternative soup bases such as (1) a light, refreshing, and cleansing broth or (2) a spicy, nasal-piercing, and magma-hued stock, seasoned with fiery chilies.
Simplicity prevails in hot pot preparation. Hot pot entails only (1) the making of a soup base, (2) the gathering together of ingredients for each person's dipping sauce, and (3) the cleaning and chopping the vegetables. Here are some suggested hot pot ingredients:
Stock Base - Lace your stock or broth base with the one or more of following pungent ingredients for a highly memorable flavor:
- Fresh Ginger (Bruised)
- Miso Paste
- Cumin Powder
- Dried Red Chilies (Whole or Powdered)
- Szechuan Peppercorns
- Star Anise
- Five Spice Powder
- Bonito Fish Flakes
- Dried Taro Strips
- Bay Leaves
Dipping Sauce - Allow guests to dip their meat and other cooked hot pot ingredients in a variety of sauces made of three or more of the following ingredients:
- Soy Sauce
- Sesame Oil
- Rice Wine Vinegar
- Honey
- Chicken Eggs
- Sa-Cha Jiang (Taiwanese Barbecue Sauce made of Anchovies)
- Minced Garlic
- Sliced Scallions
- Chopped Cilantro
- Ground Sesame Paste (Japanese Goma)
- Ponzu Sauce
- Mayonnaise (Flavored with Curry Powder, Horseradish, or Dijon Mustard, in the Swiss Meat Fondue-Style)
Ingredients List - Next, the following ingredients should be the primary substance in your hot pot meal. Feel free to add:
- Thinly Sliced Daikon Radish
- Thinly Sliced Carrots
- Shiitake Mushrooms
- Enoki Mushrooms
- Straw Mushrooms (Canned)
- Soft Tofu (Blocks or Skin)
- Cellophane Mung Bean Noodles (Individual Bundles)
- Yam Noodles (Individually Self-Tied Bundles)
- Udon Noodles
- Shell-On Shrimp (Fresh or Dried)
- Squid
- Springy Precooked Asian Meatballs (Shrimp, Squid, Fish, Beef, Pork)
- Thinly Sliced Meat (Beef, Lamb, Goat, Pork, Chicken)
- Leafy Vegetable Greens (Napa Cabbage, Chrysanthemum Greens, Spinach)
- Frozen Dumplings or Wontons
In the end, after assembling the ingredients and watching your guests cook their (and your meal) you should be greeted with a rich caramel brown-colored broth surrounded by tender sheets of thinly sliced meat (such as rib-eye) poached until small meat ridges have peaked and the edges have curled. With those visual meat cues, the meat is done and the guests are now free to steep their meat and vegetables in a sweetened soy marinade, and shower their hot pot meal with a generous helping of angular scallions sliced on a bias.
Depending on your other ingredients, you and your guests might also enjoy crisp patches of nori (seaweed paper) which become absorbent floating blankets, wispy tendrils of poached egg, smooth-skinned dumplings with soft and uniform pleats, or circular curls of pinkened shrimp.
So to review, here's the game plan for hot pot:
Step #1 Prepare ample amounts of broth ahead of time and keep it on a low simmer during food preparation. Keep a large stockpot simmering on the range and keep refilling the table top pot with the liquid contents of the large stockpot, as you run low on soup on the table top pot.
Step #2 Defrost the meat and seafood (if frozen). When purchasing meat for hot pot, look for meat with thick white segments of fat encompassing the edges or interspersed in the meat like gargantuan continents (in a meat map of the world). The more fat, the more luscious and rich the flavor of the soup and tender the meat.
Step #3 Prepare the vegetables and tofu by (1) washing and leafing the greens, (2) peeling and slicing the daikon and carrots, (3) chopping the garlic, cilantro, and scallions, and (4) dicing the tofu into bite-sized blocks.
Step #4 Lay out the ingredients for the sauces.
Step #5 Set up the bowls, chopsticks, soup spoons, and spider ladles or regular ladles. For a cute touch, you can even label the different plates of meat and place settings (to give the guests a sense of ownership during their hot pot cooking process). They choose what meats go in, and when, so hot pot is definitely "cooked" by your guests.
Step #6 During your hot pot dinner, give verbal instructions to the guests to move the cooked pieces of meat to a specified, cooler area of the pot, or another "serving" bowl entirely, to prevent cross-contamination. Also provide multiple sets of metal scalloped-edged tongs (or spider strainers, which can be purchased in a Chinatown near you), to be sure that no one person monopolizes the hot pot and to allow each of the guests to be equally involved in cooking.
Finally, some hot pot fanatics say that it is a "must" to have ready-made foods at the guests' immediate disposal because of the lag time of cooking hot pot. Therefore, following the Korean and Swiss traditions, you may offer multiple "pickled" side dishes (panchan) with your hot pot, none of which need to be prepared from scratch. Buy canned or jarred preserved vegetables, or think about frozen and microwavable versions of steamed buns. You can even order side dishes to go! But I think the pickled additions are the way to go, since they lend a palatable and acerbic crispness and pleasant vinegar tartness to accompany the warm and soothing hot pot soup. And the pickles are addictive and delicious little snacks easily pinched between the tapered ends of a pair of lengthened and slender chopsticks. Now, I am not one who generally extols the virtues of premade goods, but as an entertainer, you'll need as much assistance you can get, and if the assistance is from factory laborers or automated, mass-producing, pre-packaging food machinery, so be it!
The only drawback of hot pot is the multiple dishes that you'll need to wash after the night is through. The upside however, is that you will have amassed a plentiful collection of petite, shatterprone dishes, although disposal ware should do.
Hope these hot pot tips helped, or at least inspired you do have a hot pot party for your friends in the future!
San Francisco is filled with Asian dessert shops, many of which are open late into the evening. A few Mondays ago, before the beau and I were ready to call it a night, the beau impetuously whisked me off to Creations Dessert House, one of the more popular Asian dessert shops in the City.
The beau and I love black sesame desserts--the nutty and husky sesame flavor is powerful and lingers on one's tongue after each lasting taste. (The provocative and full-bodied flavor of black sesame seeds is almost as potent as coffee.) Therefore, imagine our surprise when we saw black sesame ice cream on the menu!
We decided to share a serving of black sesame ice cream topped chunks of mango, slices of kiwi, cubes of canned lychee, and melon balls. Unfortunately, Creations' black sesame ice cream didn't live up to our lofty sesame seed expectations. The black sesame ice cream didn't taste like ice cream, for it wasn't creamy at all. Rather, the frozen concoction was chalky and gritty from the large sesame particles and ice crystals. Furthermore, though the fruit was fresh and unblemished, the mangoes were a little too sour when compared to the sugary sesame ice.
Nevertheless, I would probably go back to Creations again, to test out their other "creations." If you are thinking about burning the midnight oil and are looking for a place open late (but don't want 24-hr fast food), check out Asian dessert shops, which are located throughout the City!
One of my favorite rice porridge (congee or jook) toppings, is roe-tsong, or literally translated, "loose meat." It is also known as "pork floss" in some circles. I am sure you are asking about now, "What is 'loose meat?' Sounds naughty!"
See the mottled fibers in the lower right-hand corner of the image? Loose meat is essentially seasoned and dried pulled pork, and it is packed with barbecued flavors. Imagine taking a piece of regular dried jerky, and pulling the individual meat tendrils apart, one at a time, to yield a tuft of stringy dried meat fibers. That is what it is. Basically it is pulled pork jerky. Perhaps my description sounds unappetizing, but lemme tell ya', it is very tasty. The Chinese always know how to make the most out of a little protein by "extending" it, either by chopping it up into little bite-sized pieces for a stirfry, or by ripping apart pork jerky, to serve as a delicious snack or topping for an entrée. Sound interesting? You should try it! Loose meat is sold in Asian markets everywhere.
For more exotic and unconventional (but tasty) Chinese foods, check out my posts on century/thousand-year-old eggs and on five spice pressed tofu:
And for more of my posts on congee and porridge, check out these two (non-substantive, but food pornish--meaning, there are pictures) of my congee/porridge experiences:
I just returned from a relaxing holiday vacation to the East Coast, cannot wait to get back to blogging about my travels and meals! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and rang in the New Year the right way!
Originally, the beau and I were planning to spend the holidays exclusively in the Washington D.C. area, but at the last minute, we decided to take an inpromptu day trip to New York City. Our first and most important stop in the State of New York, was in Flushing, New York, to Joe’s Shanghai Restaurant for the beau’s favorite shao loeng baos, or small pork dumplings, steamed in bamboo baskets lined with napa cabbage. When I had visited Joe’s Shanghai back in 2005, I remember eating large dumplings, but this time around, the dainty pork-filled dumplings were perky and bite-sized, unlike the oversized and baggy cousins I previously consumed. However, the signature soup within the shao loeng baos was still thick and dense with savory pork flavor, and not as light and brothy as other shao loeng baos I have had in California.
But my shao loeng bao experience is not the main point of this terrific story.
That blustery day, the chilly NYC wind was especially unforgiving as it whipped our numbed, raw, and chapped noses and cheeks. Thus, soon after we ate, we randomly dove for shelter through a swinging door papered with flyers and followed steps underground into a crowded, fluorescently lit underground mall for an amazing discovery. Tucked underneath the unkempt streets of New York's Chinese enclave, was a swap meet-like amalgamation of vendors selling fantastic items, such as unlabeled DVDs of blockbuster movies for $1 dollar, and Coach, Gucci, and Versace look-alike items labeled as "Goach," "Cucci," and "Versacce." Best of all, we unearthed a bounty of small food vendors that sold mismatched plastic or Styrofoam bowls abundant with hearty noodle soups and handmade dumplings.
We saw several food stalls where the food was being prepared in plastic pastel-colored Chinatown buckets, and knew we had arrived at a special place, where the food had to be good.
Unfortunately, there was no additional room in our stomachs because of our earlier visit to Joe’s Shanghai, but now we know where to go eat when we return to NYC. I hope these pictures give you an idea of this underground mall--I had to "start spreading the news" about this wonderful New York place.
One holiday recipe my family always makes during the Christmas season, is warm, steaming, and soothing wonton soup.
My parents taught me two methods to fold wontons: first, into a beggar's pouch and second, into the shape of a gold ingot, the ancient form of Chinese currency. According to Chinese tradition, such gold ingot shaped wontons are said to bring one's family fortune and prosperity. During the holiday season and the Lunar New Year, our family exclusively folded wontons in the gold ingot shape.
I have already posted about wontons on two other occasions, but I never included a step-by-step pictorial on how to fold wontons. Well, I am posting one now! Check out my recipe for wontons (and step-by-step wonton filling pictures) at my previous post, here.
To fold a wonton, first, place a tsp of filling in the middle of a clean wonton wrapper. Then, wipe a corner of the wrapper with egg wash or water. Fold the wrapper over the filling diagonally, making sure to squeeze out any air, sealing the filling tightly. Then, bring the two opposing triangle corners together, and squeeze them firmly so that they form an almond shape (with no exposed or loose corners). You can also use a little bit of water or egg wash for assistance here. Look at the pictures, to see what I mean.
If you followed the instructions correctly, you have just folded a gold ingot style wonton! Congratulations!
It's not, "I love you."
Nor is it, "I adore you."
It isn't even, "You da' man."
Rather, it is "Monterey Park Food," which can be found at a three-word restaurant, "Mandarin Noodle House."
For those of you unfamiliar with Monterey Park, it is home to one of the largest ethnic Taiwanese enclaves in the United States. My beau (a Taiwanese man) calls Monterey Park the "promised land" because of its authentic and affordable Chinese/Taiwanese food. Therefore, for a friend's recent wedding (after the back-to-back scheduled events of the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, and wedding) we snuck away to Mandarin Noodle House, a typical Monterey Park establishment, right before zooming off to LAX for the long trek back home.
There are several classic "must have" items at Mandarin Noodle House.
First, their Chinese beef noodle soup, or niu row mein, is one such "must have." The soup is made with thick and gummy handmade fettuccine-like noodles, and enlivened with bright and zesty cilantro sprigs and coarsely chopped scallions. The warm soup is powered by a rich broth and the cutting flavors of star anise and cinnamon. And the slow-cooked beef is fall-off-the-bone tender--even though there is no bone for it to fall off from.
Look at these handmade noodles!
And their potstickers are almost as good as how my mom makes them.
The key word in that sentence: "almost."
The doughy skins of Mandarin Noodle House's potstickers gingerly hold together the pork filling, and the bottoms of the potstickers are seared in a hot skillet, until the bottom portion of the dough forms a thin, crisp crust.
I recommend for you to try those two dishes, but if you are trying out a Chinese/Taiwanese restaurant, you should also explore other options, such as these beef-filled rolls with sweet hoisin sauce, cilantro, and scallions. Let me warn you, you won't find any items like "chop suey," "General Tso's Chicken," or "sweet and sour pork" on the menus of restaurants like these.
Hey, I'm on a roll (pun not intended), so I might as well add a few words about another restaurant to which my beau and Short Exact introduced me a while back, "Shanghai Dumpling King." Shanghai Dumpling King, which is conveniently also three words, serves classic Chinese/Taiwanese-style dishes. You can also get potstickers, pan-fried scallion flatbreads (awkwardly translated in Chinese restaurants as green onion pancakes), and great beef noodle soup there too. However, the only thing is that Shanghai Dumpling King is in the Bay Area, not in Monterey Park! I just wanted to mention it, to point out another critical item to order at a good Chinese/Taiwanese restaurant: shao loeng baos, which are steamed dumplings with ground pork and hot pork broth precariously sealed inside of them.
If looks could kill, I would be D.O.A. at these restaurants.
Unfortunately, after my own cursory hunting, I was unable to find any authentic Chinese/Taiwanese restaurants in the Greater New Orleans area, but if you know of any off the beaten path, please share the love!
I hope that this post opened your eyes about Chinese/Taiwanese food, and has encouraged you to try some in your area, in the near future!
