Happy Chinese New Year!

MENU:

Appetizers -- fresh cut vegetables with peanut sauce. My mother ("Laolao") will be providing the dip, because her's is SO GOOD.

Dumplings -- everyone in the family participates in making the dumplings. In past postings, I have deprecated myself and my dumplings, but I'll tell you now, they are damn good! Reference "Joy of Cooking" for a recipe.

Noodles -- signifying long life. In China some people celebrate individual birthdays during the year, and some don't. On Chinese New Year, it's everyone's birthday. This year's noodles will be pan-fried or oven-roasted vegetarian lo mein noodles.

Mr. Chang's Chicken -- this recipe was gathered by Ruth Reichl the first time she visited China. The chicken is boiled in a broth of soy sauce, sugar, star anise, ginger, licorice root, and mandarin orange peel.

Bok Choy -- a nutritious vegetable symbolizing the coming of spring. Simmered in ginger broth, and served with oyster sauce.

Tea Eggs -- hard-boiled eggs soaked in tea, star anise, and soy sauce. Symbolizing rebirth and new things to come, tea eggs are eaten first in the feast. These always seem weird to the uninitiated, but everybody likes them. You should try them. Here is the recipe:

TEA EGGS -- A specialty for Chinese New Year

12 eggs, hard boiled
1 cup soy sauce
4 t salt
12 star anise pods
12 black tea bags

Gently crack the shells of the eggs all over by tapping them with the back of a spoon but do not remove the shells. Put them in a large nonreactive saucepan with the soy sauce, salt, star anise, and enough water to just cover the eggs, about 8 cups. Tie the tea bags together and place them in the pan with the eggs.

Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, covered, about 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and set the pan aside. Let cool to room temperature, covered. Refrigerate the eggs overnight in their cooking mixture before serving.

From: Modern Asian Flavors, A Taste of Shanghai, by Richard Wong, 2005.

Dessert? Well, those close to me know that I don't do dessert. But I will be serving the most fantastic dessert ever invented, in my opinion. I discovered it at CostCo.

I could live on noodles and sorbet.