It's tempting to say here it comes, the Year of the Snake, slithering in between the bright red lanterns and the ear-shattering firecrackers. But this Chinese zodiac animal symbolizes intelligence and self-control, even wisdom. So maybe we should picture it striding in confidently in sensible shoes — even if it can strike lightning-fast.
Either way, Chinese New Year is on the horizon and more than a billion people around the world are getting ready to celebrate. Special foods depend on the region of China you're from, but duck, pork, whole fish, bright oranges and sticky rice puddings anchor a lot of festive tables.
This year February 10 is the first day of Chinese New Year, which traditionally is a two-week happening. It also moves around from year to year as it's hooked to the Chinese lunar calendar. The first day of Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival as it's also known, is always celebrated on the first new moon, or the darkest night, between January 21 and February 21. Vancouver's big Chinese New Year parade — the 40th one this year! — starts 11 a.m. on Sunday, February 17 at the beautiful Millennium Gate on Pender Street.
I love Chinese New Year for all sorts of reasons, not least of which is it's a great excuse for trying all sorts of Chinese food, festive or otherwise, made yourself or eaten out.
If you go for making it yourself, an amazing assortment of locally grown Chinese greens are already available from the Fraser Valley, a double blessing this time of year when most green veggies are pathetic after travelling up to 4,000 kilometres from California or Mexico to our store shelves.
One of my local favourites is Chinese celery, tender and delicious, and redolent with a lively celery flavour that punches up stir-fries or salads.
Bean sprouts also make a tasty, crunchy side dish that's healthy and easy on the carbon footprint. At the last minute throw in some snow peas, chopped sui choy (also called Napa cabbage or Chinese cabbage) or slivered carrots and you've got it made. All these veggies are excellent raw, too, and would rate high on the lists of the nutrition-savvy 10-year-olds who inspired us last week.
I've searched for years for a good recipe for bean sprouts, and finally found one that says a-u-t-h-e-n-t-i-c in The Complete Encyclopedia of Chinese Cooking, edited by Kenneth Lo. This is a wonderful book that also provides some background on the regionalism of Chinese cooking as well as helpful explanations of everything from bean curd in its many forms to hoisin sauce (a thick, soy-based sauce that's slightly sweet and hot; great for dipping or cooking shellfish, spareribs, duck).
Besides the tasty results, what I like about this recipe, in fact, any recipe, is that it's fast and easy to make plus you should have most of the ingredients on hand except for, maybe, the sesame oil. But that's not a bad thing to have on stand-by.
By the way, don't get squirmy — use the lard. I know, I know, I don't usually cook with it either, but like so many Chinese dishes, you can't capture the right flavour without it. Besides, the scientific jury is still out on whether it's really such a bad fat.
Quick Stir-fried Bean Sprouts
- 3 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2–3 garlic cloves
- 2 slices fresh ginger, shredded
- 1 lb. fresh bean sprouts
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp. lard
- 1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 3 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
Heat the vegetable oil in a pan. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for a few seconds. Add the bean sprouts and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Turn the bean sprouts quickly so they become evenly coated with oil. Add the lard, soy sauce and green onions. Continue to stir-fry over high heat for two minutes. Sprinkle with the sesame oil and serve hot. Mmm-mm, good.
I'll sometimes toss in other fresh veggies that don't need much cooking, as above, and literally just heat them before serving.
Even if they come out of a can, bamboo shoots are another good friend in the Chinese vegetable arena that most of us Westerners aren't too familiar with. Chinese New Year is a great excuse to get to know them, especially whole fresh bamboo shoots you can cook yourself. You can find them and a host of other interesting ingredients at any T&T grocery store or on a quick walk through old Chinatown in Vancouver.
"It's slightly cold, sweet, non-toxic, and it quenches thirst, benefits the liquid circulatory system, supplements qi (or chi — life force) and can be served as a daily dish," Li Shezhen says of the bamboo shoot in his famous and exhaustive Compendium of materia medica, a 25-volume tour de force of Chinese herbs and local remedies, which took 27 years to complete. A native of Sichuan (circa 1518-93), Li was one of the greatest physicians, pharmacologists and naturalists in Chinese history, so I think we can take his word on it.
There are as many kinds of bamboo shoots as there are bamboo. Not all of them are edible, but at least 30 varieties are, though, so if you're up for an easy and interesting alternative to the tinned ones with all that BPA-lining, here's how to prepare fresh ones: Remove the tough outer skin and cook your bamboo shoots in boiling water with two red peppers added, for about 40 minutes. (The red peppers help improve the taste.)
You can now use your freshly cooked bamboo shoots any way you like, from traditional dishes to your own happy inventions. In Chinese dishes they are usually cut into triangular wedges about 1 1/2 inches long and stir-fried or braised for about 10 minutes in total with a variety of sauces and ingredients.
Tinned bamboo shoots are another matter. These are already cooked and sliced quite thinly so they're ready to use. Try them in crunchy salads, especially with tangy lime and soy sauce, or mint and sesame flavours. Be sure to rinse and drain them first.
Here’s another tasty albeit a little more complicated recipe from The Encyclopedia of Chinese Cooking to use your newly discovered fresh bamboo shoots. You’ll have a different dish if you use tinned shoots as they are usually sliced much finer. Drain and rinse your tinned ones. This is a great recipe if you are trying to cut down on your meat-eating habits, as it uses little pork but tastes hearty.
Braised bamboo shoots with hot meat sauce
- 3/4 lb. canned or fresh bamboo shots (prepare as above)
- 3 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp. lard
- 1/4 lb. ground pork
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp. hoisin sauce
- 1 tsp. chili sauce
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp. tomato paste
- 1/4 c. stock
- 2 tbsp. pale dry sherry (or any sherry will do)
- 2 tsp. sesame oil
Cut the bamboo shoots into 1 1/2-inch triangular wedges. Heat the vegetable oil and add the bamboo shoots. Stir-fry 2 1/2 minutes. Remove the shoots and add the lard to the pan. After it melts, add the pork, garlic and onions. Stir-fry 4 minutes. Add the hoisin and chili sauces, sugar and tomato paste and mix well. Stir in the stock and sherry. Return the bamboo shoots to the pan and mix them until well-coated. Cover the pan and simmer gently for 7–8 minutes. Add the sesame oil, stir and serve hot. The pork should be just tender and there should be little liquid left when this dish is cooked.
As for the approaching Year of the Snake, really good things can happen but so can really bad ones, so be prepared (that's the wisdom part). And keep your snake eyes peeled for both challenges and opportunities.
Gung hay fat choy!
Glenda Bartosh is an award-winning journalist who covered 9,000 km. in three months in China.
