Wok Star Eleanor Hoh

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Year of Snake

Year of Snake, Feasts

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Year of the Snake is working out so well for me that I’m not going to listen to its forecast, you can read it here!  Two Chinese New Year Feasts later, I’m happy with how well they turned out. The best secret I’ll share is to have an assistant prep everything day before and stick with same menu for both Feasts so there are no surprises!  Another secret is to rope your friends in to help and voila, you have a FEAST!  This Sunday, February 24 is the end of the 2 week Chinese New Year celebrations. My New Year resolution to sleep earlier is not going so well, any tips?
Kung Hei Fat Choy everyone, share with us your favorite Chinese New Year dish or tradition you look forward to every year!
Here are Tips that will make your Chinese New Year Feast memorable…
Menu
Work your menu so there is not much ‘cooking’.  Purchase as many precooked meats as possible because those take the most effort.  Do a stir fry dish, a steamed dish, a stew. Get the picture? Keep it SIMPLE. Many dishes or are symbols of money, wealth, health and good luck or sound like it.
Stir fry your veggies ahead but undercook them and just warm through last minute and add your seasonings. I have a wonderful double steamer (great gift from my sister) so I could steam the corvina which was a life saver!
Guest Lists
Hone your guest lists (I so wanted to fit more friends in, and you will get a chance one of these years) I’ve always warned my friends they may get rotated so new friends can experience Chinese New Year at my home.  It was a nice mix of old and new friends which made the conversations quite interesting!
Cleaning
Hire a cleaning lady, it’s so worth it, it takes the stress away completely.  It’s too much to clean, decorate and cook.  Tradition says not to sweep on Chinese New Year day cause you’ll sweep away the good luck.  There are a lot more traditions on what’s lucky or not here.
I had to get everything done BEFORE New Year’s Day, so it was a perfect incentive to clear out my apartment.
Decorating
Buy potted orchids and sprays if you can find them!  They instantly give your space an Asian look and so stylish.  Have lots of red, yellow and gold.  Here’s more on how to decorate a festive table setting.
Redecorating our apartment in time for the Chinese New Year went like clock work and I’m thrilled with the results but I’m exhausted. I’ve mixed new furniture with an old Chinese camphor wood chest my mom gave me and I think it looks spiffy together.
So here’s what I served, it was miraculous that I ended up with 13 total in each party, whew because the no.4 is actually unlucky, sounds too close to ‘death’.

Appetizers:
Sesame noodles with cucumber and carrot garnish, Crispy grilled wontons with 3 dips and Cucumber pickles.
These are always a big hit, all carbs but everyone enjoys them!

Second course:
Steamed Corvina with ginger and scallions
Stir fried Chinese Broccoli

Third course:
Buddha’s Delight: snow peas, mini sweet peppers, wood ear mushrooms, tofu.
Roast Duck, Soy sauce chicken, Char Siu
(store bought roast meats arranged on large platters)
Pork stew with Chinese mushrooms served in clay pot it was cooked in. Didn’t manage to get photo, boo!
(This dish got cut in second round cause my sister thought I had too much food!  The truth is, she wanted to eat the leftovers.)

Dessert:
Chinese cakes all store bought: melon pastry, coconut tart, almond cookies
Lacquer box:
Coconut chunks, candied lotus seeds, licorice plums, fortune cookies.
I forgot to serve Cara Cara oranges and Asian pears which I specifically bought for this dinner!
Drinks:
Fiji Water, wines, Tiger beer, Tsing Tao

L to R: Dining table setup was tight squeeze, I made everyone sit with someone they didn’t come with.
I love those Indonesian masks my hubby’s sister gave us.
Gift bags under console were not so obvious and I forgot to give them to some friends, oops.

Oh, and I received many lovely gifts, lots of teas for some reason.

I was so touched with Mary’s lovely gift basket full of exotic fruits from her own garden, guava, pomegranate & star fruit (carambola), also she dried carambola and kale with sesame seeds, they were delish, comes in handy and goes with everything!  Mary also made “lean go”, a very traditional Chinese New Year Cake that took 4 hours to make and she steamed in her cast iron wok! Can’t believe she forgot to take a photo!

Chopsticks galore! Did my friends really have to use SO many?

Some behind the scene shot my friend, Irene took of me cooking, notice double steamer on left and on right, my wok and gas stove setup ontop of electric coil cooktop.

Best part of Feasts, I get to use leftovers in many creative ways, you can see them on Instagram where I post daily.

Easy Skirt Steak Stir Fry

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The Chinese horoscope says Year of the Snake will be a roller coaster year, but for me 2013 started off with a NICE BIG BANG!  Everything is flowing smoothly and seamlessly.  Three little new words will be my new focus for Year of the Snake: Simplify, Eliminate and Delegate (SED.)  These can apply to everything you do in life starting with cooking!

When cooking during weeknights, stick to simple one-dish dinners like this Beef Stir Fry so you can enjoy with family or friends or even on your own!  This simple beef stir fry can be made in less than half an hour.  Flap Steak or Skirt Steak are reasonably priced and good cuts for stir frying, there’s a little marbling to keep it succulent. ‘Marinade’ your thinly sliced steak with squirt, squeeze, shake of TSPC.  No sauce, otherwise you’ll want rice or a starchy carb to mop it up. This simple beef stir fry can be made in less than half an hour. You can substitute with a variety of other meats like chicken, pork, lamb, shrimp or tofu and swap the veggies but use this same technique, you can’t go wrong and you’ll be able to build ‘hundreds’ of yummy weeknight dinners.

Watch out for a Chinese New Year Feast post, I’ll be having a second Feast this Sunday so I can celebrate with my sister and more friends.  Happy Year of the Snake everyone, hope your year will bring you luck, good health and wealth.

Ingredients:
1 lb.  Skirt Steak marinaded in TSPC
2 cloves garlic
thumb size ginger, shredded
1 medium size ripe tomato cut into wedges
2 scallions, sliced diagonally
handful of cilantro, roughly chopped

Tea Seed Oil for frying
Marinade:
TSPC: T=tamari, S=sherry, P=pepper, C=cornstarch
1/4 tsp. of Sambal Olek

Practice the following stir fry technique and you’ll succeed everytime:

1.  Heat your cast iron wok till you see first wisp of smoke.
(Do NOT use teflon nonstick for stir frying, it can’t handle high heat and you’ll damage the material).
Add 3 swirls of oil, quickly add garlic and ginger so they don’t burn and turn bitter. Add beef and spread out in one layer so they all get some heat.
2.  Flip the steak as soon as you see color turning!  This doesn’t take long, otherwise you’ll overcook and becomes chewy.
3.  Add wedges of tomatoes and swish around with beef till a bit wilted.   Last, top with scallions and cilantro right before plating.  Viola!
My dad was born in year of the snake!  If you’re a snake, see if you share his characteristics! 

Some celebrity Snakes: Audrey Hepburn, Jacqueline Kennedy, Oprah Winfrey; John F. Kennedy, Chris Rock, Marlon Brando

Snake traits: Acute, aware, charming, cunning, elegant, mysterious, passionate, proud, serene, and vain.

Best match: Ox, rooster.  Avoid:  tiger, pig
Forecast:
career: self improvement to make great achievements at work
wealth: financial fortune will come second half year
relationship: married folks prevent extra marital affairs, singles will meet loving ones.
health: control your emotions in case of unexpected hurt

Ancient Chinese wisdom says a Snake in the house is a good omen because it means that your family will not starve.  People born in the Year of the Snake are keen and cunning, quite intelligent and wise.  They are great mediators and good at doing business.  Therefore, you should have good luck if you were born in the  Year of the Snake.

This is a year of  water Snake, and all things will be possible.  Saving money and being thrifty should be your top priorities.  Delusion and deception are common in the year of water Snake.  Stay alert!  To gain the greatest benefits from this year, you must control spending and use your talents wisely.  If you are planning to get married or to begin a business partnership, be sure to thoroughly investigate the other person’s finances and background before you legalize the alliance.
Here’s more.