Chinese New Year

gingerpale · Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Posts: 1324

Happy Year of the Rat!
I have 2 cookbooks for Chinese food that I like very much-- "The Key to Chinese Cooking" by Irene Kuo, and the "Land of Plenty" by Fuchsia Dunlop. (Written about 25 years apart!)
Both have recipes for sweet-sour sauce --not the gloppy red stuff, good stuff! These are recipes for the SAUCE ONLY,
I've used the sauce over pork, chicken, sweet potatoes, onion, many vegetables, and rice, wontons, etc.

Here are both: except for the black Chinese vinegar, I've made both as written. Partial (but just barely) to the 2nd one. Both tasty!

One Pork Two Tastes (the Kuo book)

Sweet and sour sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 heaping tablespoon finely chopped fresh coriander
1 tablespoon dry sherry
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
5 tablespoons chicken or meat stock
4 tablespoons sugar

Cook the coriander about 10 seconds in hot sesame oil, add the rest and bring to a boil. Use over whatever you like under.

*****

Sweet and Sour Pork -- the sauce (the Dunlop book)

1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons Chinkiang or black Chinese vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
2 1/2 teaspoons potato flour OR 3 3/4 teaspoons cornstarch
3 scallions (the green part) slice fine
3 tablespoons peanut oil (I used canola oil)
2 teaspoons fine chopped garlic
2 teaspoons fine chopped fresh ginger
3/4 cup chicken stock/bullion/broth
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Mix the salt, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, flour/cornstarch in a little bowl. Set aside.
Fry the ginger and garlic in the peanut oil for about 20-30 seconds (don't burn the garlic it's awful if it's burned--I don't even let it get brown, just soft.)
Then, mix in the ingredients from the little bowl, add the stock, bring to boil and let thicken, add scallions and sesame oil, pour over whatever you like under.

Judy · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 4:49 am Post subject:

Kung Hei Fat Choi and San nin faai lok, gingerpale and all C&Zers!

(Congratulations and Be Prosperous & Happy New Year)

In my search for those sayings, I discovered that buying books during Chinese New Year is bad luck because the word for "book" is a homonym to the word "lose". And buying a pair of shoes is considered bad luck amongst some Chinese. The word "shoes" is a homophone for the word for "rough" in Cantonese, or "evil" in Mandarin.
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Griffin · Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 932 Location: England

Gulp! That's two of my addictions I can't touch...Please tell me that I can at least buy chocs!! Or is 'chocolate' a homonym for Angry Bank Manager!?!?!

Incidentally... I do like that word homonym. ... and presumably there would also be feminyms too. Of course any reader of Gulliver knows that there are houhynyms (sp. ?) too.

I used to wish I'd been born in the year of the Dragon or the Tiger instead of the Rabbit/Cat... but at least I'm not a Rat or a Monkey!! I prefer the Cat to the Rabbit... unless I get to be Bugs Bunny of course!

Anyone else know what their Chinese sign is? Year of the Foodie? Year of the Chef? Year of the Chocolate Fiend?
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David · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 5:04 pm Post subject:

Don't worry Griffin! I truly believe the Chinese character for chocolate is exactly the same as the one for bliss! Very Happy

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Griffin · Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 932 Location: England

Phew!... and pass the chocs!!
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Knifethrower · Joined: 29 Oct 2006 Posts: 218 Location: Heaven, actually.

Happy New Year from a chocolate eating Monkey! Wink

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Debbie · Joined: 21 Feb 2005 Posts: 861 Location: Paris

Not sure what year I am.... should look it up.

Interesting to hear about the shoes and books. Thanks for that Judy!

Well, unfortunately I am not going to pass the chocs as they are gorgeous ones that Rainey made and sent me via Donna..... going to be really greedy and eat them all myself... ok, maybe one or two for Wayne or he will complain really really loudly.
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gingerpale · Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Posts: 1324

Here's a link to the Chinese lunar calendar "Year of.." animals--

http://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday/chinese-zodiac.htm

I'm an ox (2009!) the little personality profile fits I suppose as well as my Virgo summaries usually do.

Griffin · Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 932 Location: England

Well as a Rabbit/Cat some of it makes sense, but it doesn't entirely match my Scorpio profile. I can be very Scorpionic (shameless, naughty, tendency to misbehaviour... ahem) As for being sweet... bah! Humbug! I have always aspired to scandalous behaviour (so as to have interesting memoirs when I retire) and I am a Public DISGRACE!!! Well I try anyway.

I do like fashion, art and design tho'. As for 'Generally noted for their physical beauty'... I'm saying nothing! Tall, skinny and funny looking possibly but other than that... I'm definitely saying nothing. Confused

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georgia · Joined: 16 May 2006 Posts: 456 Location: california

Hmmm...I don't recognize myself at all in the Rat description. Perhaps in another life? And while I'm not much into astrology in general, I must admit that, more often than not, the Taurus descriptions are much closer to the mark.

And all of this means...what??

simona · Joined: 11 Mar 2005 Posts: 696 Location: israel

Gingerpale, as an Ox /Virgo myself ( sounds very bad combination indeed) I completely agree with you ... ( no, not the 1919 Ox year... neither the 1961..alas)

No more war, so what if I'm an Ox??

Nicki · Joined: 26 Jul 2006 Posts: 106 Location: England

I'm afraid that my sweet, calm & romantic rabbit persona doesn't really suit me either! Although I can TOTALLY relate to other rabbits, such as Whitney Houston & Angelina Jolie...!

I too am a Virgo, and I think I probably am self-critical, pernickity to the point of OCD. Oh well, you can't fight astrology!

gingerpale · Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Posts: 1324

Georgia-- "And all of this means...what??"
Haha--it means that Clotilde is extremely generous to allow these discussions in the Recipe Box thread!
It is interesting to think that so many people thought (at great length! with great detail!) about both astrology and the Chinese lunar calendar. Why should the date of a person's birth translate into either personality traits or a representative animal? Think how ridiculously hard it must have been way back then to track the planets! Are there other date-related groups that exist?

Griffin I know for a concrete granite marble fact that you are sweet/sympatico/. No error, no argument. Nicki if you are a Virgo sweetness doesn't matter you're great without it.

Simona--another ox Virgo! You're right, it is an odd combination--but one of the best mixes I'm sure!

David · Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:45 pm Post subject:

Well i'm a bunny too! But a lousy one--no clothes sense, ignorant of the arts, not the least bit ambitious, far from beautiful---but I have a clever smile lol
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Griffin · Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 932 Location: England

David,

It only says that you like art, not that you know anything about it!! Same with clothes. I suppose you could be ambitious to make a dish you haven't made yet!

I am ambitious to make the Lemon Sables from Clotilde's book... and to eventually make something savoury from it too!! I may even try to make everything in the book at least once. That's an ambition for you too David!
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