In Celebration of Chinese New Year

 

We invited our friends Jenn and Chris for late lunch-early dinner yesterday to join us in celebration of the First Day of the Chinese New Year.

Due to lots of rain lately, mosquitoes are having a very good time so we decided to set the table using the living room coffee table instead of our 'dining table' on the back lanai.

I wanted to use the Chinese dessert/salad plates, soup bowls and soup spoons that previously belonged to my mother and the silk table runner/shawl made by my friend Bren, which I felt went very well with the dishes.

The set has touches of orangy-rust, blue, green, yellow and white.  The silk table runner/shawl has touches of rust and blue-green.  The napkins mimick most of the same colors, including the bit of blue which can't be seen on the napkin on the left but can be spotted in the one above on right.  Even the chopsticks mimick the colors...the flatware and charges are gold for wealth and prosperity.

The Chinese New Year celebrations are filled with symbolism and special foods. Although I love Chinese food, I am not an expert in this cuisine so instead of trying to share an authentic Chinese New Year celebration dinner with the requisite 8 or 9 courses filled with symbolism, I merely tried to use the colors and some of the tastes that represent Chinese cuisine.

The colors red, yellow and green are colors seen in much of Chinese food.

RED - traditional bridal colour, expansive, blooming, dynamic, enthusiastic, reaching upwards, good luck, celebration, happiness, joy, vitality, long life; red purple brings luck and fame, money, recognition, propriety, creativity, joy vs. over excitation.

YELLOW- nourishing, supporting, stabilizing, ripening, grounded, solid, reliability,
sunbeam, warmth, clarity, royalty, good faith, empathy vs anxiety.

GREEN - growing, generating, sprouting, striving, refreshing, balancing, calming, healing, self assurance, foundation, benevolence, health, harmony, sensitivity, patience vs anger.

BLUE - conserving, healing, relaxation, exploration, trust, calmness, immortality

Yellow or gold and green also symbolize money, wealth, prosperity.

Blue-green is still a symbol of spring when everything is filled with vigour and vitality. Therefore, someone that is hoping for longevity and harmony will decorate with blue-green colours.

Jenn and Chris brought appetizers...delicious bits of bacon wrapped water chestnuts and a wonderful dip made with Jarsberg cheese served with crackers.

The menu was a simple 4 course meal of Crab and Tomato Bisque, Cabbage and Carrot Slaw, Roasted Pork with Hoisin Sauce served with Noodlesand side dishes of Haricot Verts (the very tender, very thin almost-don't-need-cooking French green beans) served with homemade sweet pepper relish and Asparagus Poached in Meyer Lemon water served with Jalapeño Greek Yogurt Sauce.  For dessert a very eggy Egg Custard served with a homemade sauce of Persimmon and Fresh Pears.

Crab and Tomato Bisque

1 pound fresh crab meat
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 (18.7 oz) can tomato and basil bisque

Fresh ground pepper to taste

A soupçon or more of dry Sherry
Smoked paprika 
Sprig of watercress

Put carrot and onion pieces in blender or food processor to triturate as much as possible.  

Melt butter in a  heavy bottomed Dutch oven or stockpot.  Add the carrots and onions, cover and let them simmer for a few minutes.  Gradually add some of the broth.  If the vegetables still have little pieces, put back in the blender or processor with a bit of the broth, add half the crabmeat.  

Put back in the pot and add the tomato and basil bisque. Bring to boil while stirring constantly then turn down to simmer. Season with the freshly ground pepper.

Stir in the rest of the crabmeat and cook just until it is heated through.  Do not boil. 

Serve in the individual bowls, add the soupçon of Sherry, sprinkle with smoked paprika and add a sprig of watercress.

I developed the above recipe from three others I found on the Internet.  One called for carrots, onions and tomato paste and one called for Sherry, corn, evaporated milk and/or coconut cream.  I liked the idea of the carrots and onions, but not corn, the evaporated milk or the coconut cream.  Since I had some Tomato and Basil Bisque in our emergency food closet, I decided to go with that since it has no MSG and added no salt since the bisque already had salt.  We found it creamy enough without adding milk or cream.

Cabbage and Carrot Slaw

I like to slice the fresh cabbage in very thin slices then cut again to make the pieces bite-sized.  I 'shave' the carrot off with a vegetable peeler.  The dressing is Greek yogurt with honey and white vinegar.  Just mix amounts to taste.

Photo by Chris

This recipe is adapted from one I learned many years ago when then traveling cooking school teacher and cookbook author Shirley O. Corriher used to come to my cooking school in Orangeburg, SC

Pork Loin Roast with Hoisin Sauce

For the Sauce:

1 stick unsalted butter

1 small (7.4 ounces) Hoisin sauce jar

Dry white wine to taste

2 Tablespoons sugar or to taste

Melt the butter and add all the other ingredientsm cool a bit and pour over the pork roast to marinate.  Better if done overnight.

Prepare the pork loin by poking a few deep holes with a sharp knife and insert garlic cloves all through it.  Place in pastic bag, pour the marinating sauce over the pork, seal and refrigerate until needed.

To cook, turn over to 400 F.  Place the marinated roast on a roasting rack inside a roasting pan.  Roast until internal temperature reaches 160 F.  Take out, cool and slice.

Before serving, boil the remaining marinating sauce long enough to kill any bacteria that might have developed; it will get thicker and concentrated.  Serve alongside the meat in a separate bowl. 

We served the pork and sauce with noodles.

The Haricut Verts were briefly and barely sautéed in a small amount of garlic infused olive oil and served with the Multicolored Sweet Pepper Relish.

Multicolored Sweet Pepper Relish

Assorted red, yellow and orange mini-bell peppers, finely chopped

Large onion, finely chopped

Sugar to taste

White vinegar to taste

A bit of plain water

A Tablespoon or two of siracha chili hot sauce

Bring all ingredients to a boil over medium heat.  Turn heat down and continue to boil for 10 minutes, stirring once in a while.  Cool and store in airtight container.  Chill overnight before serving.  I used enough mini-peppers and onion to fill a quart sized canning jar.

The Asparagus Spears were poached in acidulated water.  I used some of our Meyer lemons for this.  They were served with a commercial Jalapeño Greek Yogurt dip to which I had added a bit more plain Greek Yogurt and a bit of milk to thin it out.

Egg Custard with Persimmon and Pear Sauce

Make your favorite egg custard.  I use a bit less milk than called for so the custard isricher, creamier and thicker.

Persimmon and Pear Sauce

My friend Trevella had given me some beautiful Hachiya Japanese persimmons a couple of weeks ago.  I waited until they were ripe and then scooped out the pulp and juices, discarding skin and seeds.  I froze the pulp until yesterday morning.

Persimmon pulp

Honey to taste

Fresh pears, peeled and diced.

The pears were very sweet and juicy, so I made sure to save the juices and add them to the mix.

In a small saucepan, bring ingredients to a slow boil and cook just long enough for the pears to absorb the persimmon taste.  Chill until needed.

I fell in love with the little persimmon lidded bowl at a local antique store a long time ago.  It was perfect to use for this delicious sauce.

Wishing everyone a very Happy and Prosperous Year of the Snake...Kung Hee Fat Choy!

"Burst of Fireworks" provided by the hisbiscus used in our table centerpiece