Friday January 27, 2012
Day 5 of the Chinese Spring Festival Celebrations: From P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Zodiac Noodles combines noodles with pork loin, ham, cabbage and shiitake mushrooms in a spicy Kung Pao-style sauce. The recipe calls for rice vermicelli noodles - thin noodles made with rice flour - but you can substitute spaghetti if desired. This tasty noodle dish is a great way to celebrate the Year of the Dragon!
More Recipes Using Rice Vermicelli
Wednesday January 25, 2012
Today is the anniversary of the birth of the man widely renowned as Scotland's national poet. Tonight in Scotland and around the world, people will celebrate Robbie Burns Day by feasting on traditional Scottish dishes such as Cock-a-leekie Soup and Haggis.
In Vancouver, BC, home to North America's third largest Chinatown (by population), the Chinese community celebrates with a special Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner. The brainchild of fifth-generation Chinese Canadian Todd Wong, "Gung Haggis Fat Choy" has grown from a small dinner between friends, to a fun annual event featuring a cultural fusion of music, poetry, and of course, food, from deep-fried Haggis Wonton to "Neeps" served in the style of Chinese turnip cake.
Want to try making your own fun fusion dishes for Robbie Burns Day? Here is a recipe for Haggis Spring Rolls in Filo Pastry, while chef Julie Van Rosendaal has recipes for Haggis Potstickers and Stir-fried Neeps and Tatties.
Tuesday January 24, 2012
Colorful Mu Shu Pork is another popular dish during the Chinese New Year season. Classic Mu Shu Pork (pictured in the photo) combines thin strips of pork with exotic cloud ears, dried lily buds and Chinese dried mushrooms. In this recipe for Easy Moo Shu Pork, Gretchen Siegchrist uses easier to find Chinese vegetables such as bok choy and mung bean sprouts. You can enjoy the Moo Shu Pork as is, or serve it in the traditional style on Mandarin pancakes that have been brushed with hoisin sauce.
Much Ado About Mu Shu - learn more about this northern Chinese specialty
How to make Green Onion Brushes - to brush hoisin sauce on the pancakes
Mu Shu Pork photo, Copyright © by Rhonda Parkinson, licensed to About.com, Inc
Monday January 23, 2012
Day 1 of the Chinese Spring Festival Celebrations
This vegetarian dish is traditionally served on the first day of the Chinese New Year, both to cleanse out the body and to honor a Buddhist tradition that nothing living should be killed on the first day of the New Year. Traditionally, Buddha's Delight is made with eighteen ingredients, as the Chinese believe eighteen is a lucky number. This recipe is simpler, but you'll still want to head over to a Chinese/Asian market for the dried lily buds, Chinese mushrooms and a few other special ingredients. This recipe has been reader-rated at 5 out of 5 stars.
Jai - this recipe from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin has a Southern Chinese style recipe with dried oysters, black moss and other lucky foods, along with a photo showing the symbolic significance of each ingredient.
Buddhism in China and Tibet Today - from Barbara O'Brien, About.com Guide to Buddhism
