The Year of the Dragon roars into town today, with two weeks of celebrations capped by the famous Chinatown Parade on February 11. Saturday, I attended a New Year’s themed buffet lunch and wok cooking demonstration by acclaimed cookbook author and San Francisco native, Grace Young, in Louie’s restaurant, a Chinatown institution.

Young —wearing a lucky red-colored top, as are many other attendees— greets her audience by reminding us that New Year’s is “the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar. It’s about renewal, rebirth and family togetherness.” Of all the animals in the Chinese horoscope, the mythical dragon is thought to embody power and success. Those born under its the sign are believed to be exceptionally intelligent, creative, charismatic, fearless, lucky, generous, confident, innovative, passionate but unpredictable. No wonder millions of Chinese people are waiting to get married, start businesses and have babies this year.

Grace Young. Photo courtesy of Steven Mark Neeham

The powerful dragon is a good symbol for Grace Young, a determined woman on a mission. Her goal: to rejuvenate authentic Chinese home cooking by keeping the wok tradition alive. “For 2000 years, the wok has been the iron thread that has bound Chinese culinary culture.” she says. “Now is the first time in his history that it’s at risk of being lost.” Non-stick woks are destroying Chinese home cooking,” declares Young passionately. “The food doesn’t taste right, because you can’t get it to sear and caramelize properly. It ends up braised and soggy. Non-stick cookware is not meant for the high heat necessary for stir-fries.” She prefers a flat-bottom, 14-inch carbon steel wok, with a long wooden handle, which can be seasoned to a warm burnished gold, like the one she is using today to make spicy long beans with sausage and mushrooms, a dish her mother taught her.

Besides coming to celebrate the new year with her family in San Francisco, Young is on a tour to promote and sign copies of her latest book, Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge, winner of the James Beard International Cookbook Award, which has taken her to Chinese diaspora communities around the world and steeled her resolve to share the secrets of the wok with as many home cooks as possible.

Young demonstrates how to judge when the preheated wok is hot enough (as soon as a drop of water evaporates on contact) then swirls in the oil and quickly adds her vegetables. One tip she imparts is to listen to your food cook, “That sizzle is the wok talking to you. If you don’t hear it, it’s not hot enough.” Her green beans turn out crunchy with a delicate, smoky wok flavor, which Young says sets it apart from stir-fries made in a skillet or non-stick cookware.

Meanwhile, upstairs, a Chinese calligrapher inks lucky characters on red paper, and the guests line up to fill their plates with lucky foods. Wilma Pang, one of the organizers of today’s event, under the auspices of A Better Chinatown Tomorrow, explains the symbolism of the foods arranged on the buffet table.

Many dishes are considered lucky because their Chinese names are homonyms for auspicious goals; others insure a good year because of their shapes or colors.

“The word for celery (choi) is a homonym for hard work,” Pang explains, and it portends the monetary result of all that effort. Green onions stand for intelligence; the turnip cake signifies that things will keep getting better. The apple means smooth sailing ahead and the tangerine is considered lucky because its orange color connects to gold. Its leaves represent growth and prosperity.

Although, many Chinese New Years foods vary by family and village, the one universal dish is crescent shaped dumplings. Traditionally, dumplings are made on New Years Eve by all the members of the family, working together. Their shape represents gold ingots and so symbolizes good fortune for the upcoming year. “The more you make, it’s like putting money in the bank,” says Pang. “And often, we hide a coin in one dumpling for a lucky diner to find.”

Pang points out the chicken with its head and feet still attached. “Very important to cook an entire chicken, for family togetherness.”

“See these cookies that open up with a smiling face, they represent happiness,” says Pang.

During the meal, there is one dish that has even the Chinese diners stumped. What are those roundish starchy vegetables? “Arrowroot,” Pang answers and holds up a fresh one, slyly smiling as she explains, “See this shape, with the little part that sticks out – that’s for having boy babies.”

After lunch, I have a chance to chat with Grace Young and ask her a few questions.

She grew up eating the traditional Cantonese foods her parents prepared. But at age 12, discovered Julia Child on TV and became fascinated with French cooking, and its entirely different culinary vocabulary. After apprenticing with French chef Josephine Araldo in San Francisco, Young moved to New York in 1979, and worked writing and testing recipes for General Foods. Then she ran the test kitchen at Time Life Books for 18 years, and produced more than 40 cookbooks that spanned the globe.

A chance comment from a cousin ignited the spark of Young’s passion to explore her own family’s culinary culture. Her cousin said, ”When it comes to Chinese cooking, I don’t even try because you can’t beat the Chinese take-out in San Francisco.” Young feared that if most second generation Chinese shared her cousin’s indifference towards learning to make the food of their ancestors, a wealth of authentic recipes and foodways might disappear.

For three years, she made numerous visits to San Francisco to learn her parents’ and family’s recipes. This led to her parents sharing stories about customs and traditions associated with the food, as well as tales from their lives in China that she had never heard before. Young’s first book, The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen, was published in 1999 and won the IACP Best International Cookbook. Young is proudest of this book because she feels it preserves traditional Chinese home cooking.

Is the dish you made today special for Chinese New Year's?
Not specifically, but it has mushrooms which grow quickly and so symbolize prosperity. I made this dish today because it’s one of my mother’s favorites. Now that she’s getting older and doesn’t cook, I’m so grateful I have recorded her recipes in my book. When I go back and reread them, it’s as if I can hear her still talking to me through the recipes. For all these years, she always made the New Year’s Eve meal and now in the last few years I am able, through my book, to make it for her. It’s ironic because I always thought that I was writing for the next generation. And in a million years I never dreamed I would give this back to my mother. When I make her a special New Year’s dish, like turnip cake, her face lights up, because food is memory.

Is there a certain dish you always have for New Year's eve dinner?
Fish is the standard dish at the end of the meal. The word for fish “yu” means wish and signifies abundance. It is essential to serve the complete fish, with the head and tail attached to ensure a good beginning and end to the year. Traditionally purchased live from a tank where one can pick out a strong swimmer, the poached fish with scallions and ginger is served as the last course of the New Year’s Eve feast, but not completely consumed. The leftovers are eaten the next day, so that its abundance will spill over into the New Year. Lobster, as the king of the ocean, represents the energy of the dragon. But any seafood is auspicious. Shrimp, whose name ha sounds like laughter, represents happiness; the shells of clams and scallops resemble old Chinese coins and therefore portend prosperity. Also, the clam shells open as you stir fry them, signifying a new beginning.

What's the difference between the Chinatowns in San Francisco and New York?
For me, San Francisco Chinatown has such sweet memories. My father was a liquor salesman and so the owners of every restaurant and shop knew him and gave us a special welcome. Plus, the produce in California is so much more abundant and pristine in quality, especially the Asian vegetables. I love the hustle bustle and energy of shopping on Stockton Street. When a grocer brings out a new box of baby bok choy or snow pea shoots and rips it open, all of a sudden everyone lunges towards it with frenzied excitement and all these hands try to grab the freshest greens.

As we finish our interview, I accompany Grace on a short walk to The Wok Shop, a bustling little warren, filled chock-a-block with woks, gadgets and cooking accessories, whose owner Tane Chan graciously provided the seasoned wok for today’s cooking demonstration.

“This is the best wok store in the whole country,” says Grace as she leads me right to the tower of carbonized steel flat bottom woks (only $24.95). And I gladly buy one. No use resisting the power of the dragon.

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! Tomorrow marks the start of the Year of the Rabbit, which means that celebrants of this Lunar New Year festival all over the world will be gathering with family, feasting on lucky dishes, and adorning their homes with fresh flowers and red decorations.

For those of us who are into astrology and fun stuff like that, people born under the sign of the Rabbit are said to be gracious, calm-natured, amiable, intuitive, compassionate, and appreciative of the aesthetic and beautiful in life (among a myriad of other "attributes"). James Beard (born 1903) was a rabbit, Michael Ruhlman (born 1963) is a rabbit, as is Jamie Oliver (born 1975). Fortunetellers' predictions for this year are tumultuous, it won't put a damper on the festivities.

The annual Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco will take place Saturday 2/19, 5:15–8:00 pm (Market and Second Street to Kearny and Jackson; here's the parade route).

After you've worked up an appetite, lion dancing and such, continue celebrating with some good Chinese Eats. Here are a few standout dishes that will have firecrackers going off in your mouth:

1) Egg Tarts (Golden Gate Bakery)

Egg Tarts (don tat), Golden Gate Bakery

Egg Tarts (don tat) are the quintessential Chinese pastry, found in any self-respectable Chinese bakery or dim sum house. Growing up, whenever it was holiday time, someone would always bring a box of these sweet treats to the hostess (kind of like the bundt cake of our culture, if you will). The pink bakery box (why is it that the red ribbon holding it together always had a gazillion impossible knots to get through before you could dig in?) would sit on the kitchen counter all day along with the other items put out for grazing.

Golden Gate Bakery is a mecca for egg tart lovers. Devout worshippers line up out the door as fresh batches of these egg custard pastries -- with their warm creamy filling, flaky crust, and gentle price -- are churned out.

2) Prawns with Honey Walnuts (Canton Dim Sum & Seafood)

Prawns with Honey Walnuts, Canton Dim Sum & Seafood

Canton Dim Sum & Seafood in SoMa features not only dim sum on its daily menu, but it also offers some traditional banquet dishes as well. Their Prawns with Honey Walnuts is a classic favorite. Succulent shrimp are dusted in cornstarch and fried. They are then coated in a slightly sweet mayonnaise sauce (similar to tartar sauce) and served with candied walnuts sprinkled with sesame seeds. The sweet-savory combo in this dish is great. For a DIY version, I like this Honey Walnut Shrimp recipe from Rasa Malaysia.

3) Marinated Tofu (Asian Pearl Seafood Restaurant)

Marinated Tofu, Asian Pearl Seafood Restaurant

I know, it isn't very often that a tofu dish gets my panties in a bunch. I mean, how exciting can tofu get? That was before I tasted the Marinated Tofu at Asian Pearl Seafood Restaurant. In Cantonese, this dish is called Lo Sui Dao Fu, which literally translated, means "old water tofu." My mom tells me it's because restaurants that make this kind of tofu marinate it in stocks and juices leftover from other dishes. May not sound so appealing, but believe me, whatever is in that old water is working some magic because this dish will turn any tofu-hater into a believer. The silky smooth texture of the tofu is unreal, and seems even more so highlighted by the contrasting crunchiness of the fried casing around it. Light as air, this tofu will have you floating into the new year with a smile on your face.

4) Xiao Long Bao (Shanghai Dumpling King)

Xiao Long Bao Soup Dumplings, Shanghai Dumpling King

Dumplings are a traditional lucky food to ring in the New Year, said to bring good fortune and wealth because of its money purse-like shape. My dumpling of choice? Shanghai Dumpling King's Xiao Long Bao, these labor-intensive steamed soup dumplings of love are soul-satisfying. Once you bite through the thin, smooth wrapping, your mouth is flooded with a shock of hot, rich broth, and savory pork filling. Also utterly addictive are the Shanghai Style Crispy Salt Pancakes. They look nothing like pancakes, and resemble more of a rectangular folded crepe. Cut into pieces, the amazingly crispy, sesame seed-sprinkled, fried exterior gives way to a molten center of cabbage and coconut milk-scented batter.

5) Faux Shark's Fin Soup (Benu)

"Shark's Fin" Soup, Benu

Chef Corey Lee at Benu has taken the celebrated (and controversial) Chinese delicacy, shark's fin soup, and elevated it to mind-blowing proportions with his faux "Shark's Fin" Soup. His creation is a work of art, from the harmonious melding of flavors right down to the custom-made bowl it's served in. The dish is presented with a silky black truffle custard at the bottom of the bowl. Lee doesn't skimp on this luxurious treat either – there is more portioned than you think because the bowl has a special indented groove carved out of the bottom. Placed on top of the custard is a piece of sweet Dungeness crab and strands of faux shark's fin (the texture, by the way, is spot on -– you'd never know it wasn't real shark's fin). Your server then pours into the bowl an intensely flavored broth of Jinhua dry-cured ham. Now that is a way to start of the New Year like an emperor.

Tet (the Vietnamese Lunar New Year celebration) officially kicks off on February 3rd, but the Vietnamese Community Center of San Francisco will be getting the party started early today with its 15th Annual Tet Festival taking place in the Tenderloin's Little Saigon (Larkin Street, between Eddy and O'Farrell). There will be firecrackers and lion dancing, games, arts and crafts, and of course, food.

For those celebrating in the South Bay, the massive Tet Festival in San Jose will be held February 5 & 6 at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds.

This year is the Vietnamese Year of the Cat (the only animal symbol in the Vietnamese zodiac that doesn't match the Chinese zodiac). Tet is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year, and many of the traditions are similar. People travel home to celebrate with their family, houses are cleaned, lucky money is given to children, and special dishes are cooked.

In honor of Tet, here's a list of some of our favorite Vietnamese Eats in San Francisco:

1) Whole Roasted Dungeness Crab & Garlic Noodles (Crustacean)

Roasted Dungeness Crab, Crustacean

The An family fled Saigon in 1975 and settled in San Francisco. Since then, their two restaurants Thanh Long and Crustacean have been delighting the Bay Area with their well-guarded family recipes. The restaurants even have a secret kitchen, a small windowless room within the main kitchen, where only family members are allowed to enter to prepare special signature sauces and dishes like their famous Whole Roasted Dungeness Crab and Garlic Noodles. The crab is succulent and blooming with roasted garlic and fragrant Vietnamese peppercorns. The garlic noodles are addictively good. However, vampires (and first dates) beware, the abundance of roasted garlic in these noodles will stay with you all night.

2) Beef Pho Tai (Bodega Bistro)

Pho Tai, Bodega Bistro

The Beef Pho Tai at Bodega Bistro is one of my go-to comfort meals in town. The broth is rich and flavorful, the strips of rare steak are tender, and best of all, the thin rice noodles have a wonderful spring to them. No soggy noodles here. Bodega Bistro cooks them perfectly al dente. The style of pho here is typical of southern Vietnam, which means each bowl is served with herby fresh greens like green onions, cilantro, Thai basil, and crunchy bean sprouts. Squeeze some lime to brighten up the broth, mix up some hoisin and sriracha for your beef, and slurp away.

3) Chicken Pho Ga (Turtle Tower)

Pho Ga, Turtle Tower (Photo Credit: Jo Boston, Taking Over the World One Bite at a Time)

For a taste of northern Vietnamese-style pho, check out Turtle Tower. Flat, wide noodles, a cleansing broth, topped with only green onions and cilantro (no bean sprouts, basil, or hoisin). The Chicken Pho Ga is made with free-range chicken and features a light simple broth. If you're feeling under the weather, this nourishing bowl of goodness is a godsend.

4) Bahn Mi (Saigon Sandwich)

Bahn Mi, Saigon Sandwich (Photo Credit: Kat Lin, Kat's 9 Lives)

You can't walk through Little Saigon during lunchtime without noticing the perpetual line outside the unassuming Saigon Sandwich. The good news is that the line moves at a reasonable pace (thank you friendly Vietnamese ladies for having fast nimble fingers). The better news is that your patience will be rewarded with one of the best Vietnamese Sandwiches in town. Crusty, crackly French bread, slathered with mayo and a mystery meat sauce (tastes better than it sounds), stuffed full of meat, pate, pickled carrots and onion, cilantro and jalapeno. You can have your Bahn Mi made with grilled pork, chicken, "fanci" (steamed) pork, cold cuts, tofu, or the cult favorite, meatballs (The Xiu Mai Bahn Mi). At prices ranging from $3.50 to $4.25, this is one delicious steal of a meal.

5) Vietnamese Drinks (Lee's Sandwiches)

Rainbow Drink (Chè Ba Màu), Lee's Sandwiches

The Lee's Sandwiches on Larkin Street is part Vietnamese fast food, part mini-mart. They keep a good stock of authentic Vietnamese snacks and baked goods, but my favorite reason to walk into Lee's is the expansive beverage selection. There is Vietnamese Iced Coffee (café sua dá) of course, dripped strong, mixed with sweetened condensed milk, and poured over crushed ice. But there are also more exotic offerings like Rainbow Drink (Chè Ba Màu), a sweet, icy, colorful drink made with red azuki beans, a green pandan jelly, and buttery coconut milk. And, if you see a container of what looks like tadpoles sitting innocently next to the bottled water, don't freak out, it's just Pennyworth Drink made with basil seeds.

6) Pork Belly (Le Colonial)

Thit Kho Chien, Le Colonial

Sumptuous and elegant, you feel instantly transported to 1920's French Vietnam when you walk into the breezy dining room of Le Colonial. Chef Joe Villanueva's Thit Kho Chien is one of the best pork belly dishes I've ever tasted. It is a confit of Berkshire Pork Belly that is masterfully prepared -- with a delicately crispy, caramelized crust, and a melt in your mouth texture. It is served with pickled bok choy, Hosui pear and quail egg segments, and drizzled with savory caramel sauce and truffle oil. Simply divine. In celebration of Tet, Le Colonial will be featuring some special dishes on Thursday 2/3.

Related Story from KQED Radio News:
Vietnamese-Americans Celebrate Lunar New Year
This week marks the most important holiday of the year for Vietnamese-Americans. It's the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, and it's celebrated around the Bay Area at the annual Tet Festival.
( *first audio story is: Many Californians Await News of Loved Ones From Egypt)

Bay Area Bites bloggers, Thy Tran and Stephanie Im join Leslie Sbrocco, host of Check, Please! Bay Area in a new local food and wine segment on This Week in Northern California. This week, the conversation is about celebrating the food and traditions of the Chinese New Year.

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The Lunar New Year, or Tet as my peeps call it, brings with it many favorite dishes. Fatty pork and sugar dominate the holiday table, harking back to a time when ingredients fat and sweet were much more difficult to obtain, precious to use, and delightfully rare to enjoy.

While I can now buy a 10-pound bag of sugar and an equal amount of meat for less money than a couple of movie tickets, the most traditional new year's dishes are still special for one resource that does remain valuable: time.

Soi Nuoc is one of those meditative, celebratory foods for me. It means, literally, Sticky Rice in Water. Unlike the Chinese, the Vietnamese can be rather literal and unromantic when naming their food. No matter. Who needs fancy language when you have in your hands a beautiful bowl with pale, round balls of chewiness floating in spicy-sweet ginger syrup? Inside hides a spoonful of rich filling: black sesame seeds or red bean paste or golden mung beans bound with lard. (These days, butter or oil makes a fine substitute for those of us watching our pork intake.)

Each perfect dumpling evokes purity and completeness. It celebrates the return of the festive, fertile full moon. It embodies the richness and sweetness of life. The sweet rice dumpling even inspire poets, such as the famed Ho Xuan Huong, an 18th-century Vietnamese woman famous for her intimate, elegant verses:

My body is white and my destiny round,
I float and sink, water and mountain.
Hard or soft, I depend on the skills of
the person who kneads me.
Despite everything, I always keep
a consistent heart.

In China, where they're known as yuan xiao or tang yuan, the dumplings are traditionally served during the Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month. During an especially important season, the festival comes on the first full moon of the new year and marks the end of the new year festivities. Here in San Francisco, this is typically the time when the Chinese New Year parade winds its way up the streets of Chinatown. The dumplings are also enjoyed throughout the year at many dessert houses throughout the Bay Area. Look for them on menus at your favorite Chinese restaurant or boba tea house.

The recipe for soi nuoc is very simple. You can buy finely ground glutinous rice at nearly all Asian markets (look for California's own Blue Star Mochiko, produced by the Koda family in the San Joaquin Valley since the late 1940s). You'll need just a handful of other basic ingredients, a friend or two to help roll, several more to eat, and -- most importantly -- a break in your routine to enjoy the simple, sweet things in life.

GINGER SYRUP

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups boiling water
3 inches ginger root, peeled and crushed

In a small, heavy pot, melt the sugar over medium-high heat. Swirl for even melting, but do not stir to avoid crystallization. When the sugar is a dark amber, remove from heat and pour in the water -- take care, as it may splatter. Stir to melt the sugar completely. Add the ginger, return to low heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Alternatively, dissolve dark brown sugar in water and simmer with the ginger for 10 minutes. Don't tell your mom.

Remove the chunks of ginger and set the sauce aside.

SESAME FILLINGS

1/2 cup white sesame seeds
1/2 cup black sesame seeds
6 tablespoons lard or melted butter, divided
4 tablespoons sugar, divided
Salt

Toast the sesame seeds separately, taking care not to scorch them. In a mortar or pestle, blender or mini food processor, combine the white sesame seeds with 3 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons sugar and a pinch of salt. Puree to a thick, coarse paste. Transfer to a small bowl. Repeat with the black sesame seeds. Set both aside.

SWEET RICE DUMPLINGS

2 1/4 cups glutinous rice, plus more for kneading
1 cup very hot water

To make the dough: Place the rice in a large bowl and make dimples all over the surface with your fingers to encourage faster incorporation of the water. Pour the water evenly over the surface of the rice in a spiral, then immediately stir with a wooden spoon to mix into a shaggy dough. Transfer to a clean surface and knead for about 5 minutes to obtain a smooth, soft dough. Sprinkle lightly with additional rice flour, if needed, to prevent sticking to your hands or to the work surface. Roll the dough into a long log, cut into 24 pieces, and set aside, covered with a moist cloth.

To form the dumplings: Roll each piece of dough into a ball, flatten slightly, and then pinch up the outer edge to create a small bowl. Place about 1/2 teaspoon of sesame filling into the center, then gather up the side and pinch together to seal tightly. Roll again between your palms, pressing gently, to create a smooth ball. Continue with 18 of the pieces. Cut the remaining 6 pieces of dough into 4 smaller pieces, then roll each of those into a compact ball with no filling.

To cook the dumplings: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the large, filled dumplings and boil for about 5 minutes. Add the small, unfilled dumplings and continue boiling for another 2 to 3 minutes. The dumplings will float to the surface of the water as they cook. Turn occasionally to keep them moist and evenly cooked.

Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon, place in a bowl of cold water to rinse away excess starch, and then transfer to the ginger syrup. Serve in individual bowls, mixing large dumplings with small ones and drizzling generously with the syrup.

Watch This Week in Northern California tonight, Friday February 26 at 8pm to see Leslie Sbrocco, host of Check, Please! Bay Area in a new segment on local food and wine trends. This week, a conversation about celebrating the food and traditions of the Chinese New Year with Bay Area Bites bloggers, Thy Tran and Stephanie Im.

The 15 day celebration of Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Year, as many Asian cultures refer to it) comes to a close this weekend, and with it, so does my dumpling stash. Resembling little purses stuffed with riches, it is tradition to eat plenty of dumplings during this time because they symbolize prosperity. The more you eat, the more wealth and good fortune will come your way in the New Year. (Maybe I should save a batch to eat right before I do my taxes this year).

Dumplings are a bit of a time commitment to make, but if you can manage to enlist the help of a few friends, it'll go by in a flash, and you'll all be rewarded with more homemade dumplings than you can eat in one sitting.

My mom tells me that when she was young, she would stay up all night with her sisters, mom, and grandmother, sitting around the kitchen table making dumplings, preparing for the New Year's Eve feast. Instead of the savory jiao zi that are more common in Northern China, they would make sweet dumplings called jeen duy.

You may have seen them out at dim sum. They're made with a chewy, glutinous rice flour dough, filled with a lotus seed or red bean paste, rolled in white sesame seeds, and fried to a golden crisp. The best are the ones that have a very light, thin layer of dough that gives way with an airy crunch when you bite into it, revealing a generous amount of sweet filling.

My mom and her sisters would create an assembly line, and together, they would make hundreds of perfectly round, little, jeen duy to carry them and every auntie, third cousin, and neighbor through the New Year celebrations with something sweet to nibble on.

Without any sisters or a recipe for fresh glutinous rice dough up my sleeve, I decided to take a few liberties with my family traditions and instead, opted to fill my own assembly line with hungry friends, some store-bought wonton wrappers, and a Hua family recipe for jiao zi filling.

Time flew by and before we knew it, our bellies were full of dumpling goodness, our year was looking auspicious, and the freezer was stocked with handmade dumplings, ready to boil for any given easy weeknight dinner.

Pork and Shrimp Dumplings (Jiao Zi)

Makes: approximately 80 dumplings

Ingredients:
1 pound ground pork
½ pound shrimp, peeled, cleaned, tails removed
8 dried Chinese mushrooms (1/2 cup after finely chopped)
1 onion (1/2 cup after diced and browned)
½ Napa cabbage (1 cup after finely shredded)
2 eggs
3 tablespoons mushroom-flavored soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 ½ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 packages round wonton wrappers (1 pound each)

Preparation:
1. Soak the dried mushrooms in hot water for about 15 minutes until softened. Squeeze the excess water out, remove stems, and chop into a fine dice.
2. Dice the onion and brown in a frying pan.
3. Finely shred the cabbage until you have 1 cup.
4. Place the shrimp in a food processor and pulse until it is a chunky mixture. Be careful not to over-process, you don't want to create a paste.
5. Combine the pork, shrimp, mushrooms, onion, cabbage, 1 beaten egg (reserve the other one to make an egg wash), and all the remaining seasonings.
6. Knead the mixture with your hands until just combined. Cover and chill for 10 minutes.
7. While mixture chills, line a few large baking sheets with paper towels and dust lightly with flour.
8. Take one of the wonton wrappers and place a small mound of filling in the center (don't over-fill or it will be hard to seal). Dip a finger in the egg wash and dab a little on the bottom half of the wrapper. Fold the top edge over and press to seal, creating a half-moon shape.
Note: If you're short on time or patience, you can cook up the dumplings at this point and have perfectly respectable and delicious jiao zi on your plate. But, if you are ambitious and want to try your hand at fancier looking jiao zi, go on to the next step to pleat your edge.
9. Moisten the curved edge again, and using the thumb and forefinger of one hand, form pleats. Place the dumplings on the lined baking sheets as you complete them, arranging them in 1 layer so they don’t stick to one another.
10. Cook the dumplings in a pot of boiling water (they're done when they float), or in a hot pan. If pan-searing, heat vegetable oil in a skillet until hot, but not smoking. Fry the dumplings until the bottoms are lightly golden, about 2-3 minutes, then add ½ cup water, cover with a lid, and cook until the liquid is evaporated and the bottoms of the dumplings are crisp, 8-10 minutes.
11. Serve dumplings immediately with dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons minced green onion
4 tablespoons sweet soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon spice vinegar
½ teaspoon sugar

Watch Food and Wine This Week to see Leslie Sbrocco, host of Check, Please! Bay Area in a new segment on local food and wine trends. This week, a conversation about celebrating the food and traditions of the Chinese New Year with Bay Area Bites bloggers, Thy Tran and Stephanie Im.

Photo Credit: Knight Lights Photography

February 14, 2010. Doily valentines, conversation hearts, and sugar-coated smooches, step aside. This year, you'll have to share the spotlight with the Tiger. Rawrrr. {Cue firecrackers and those darned little Pop Pops the kids are still playing with.}

Pop Pop Pop

It's the Year of the Tiger and on February 14th, the first day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar this year, the Tiger's reign will begin. On New Year's Eve, Asian families all over the world will be celebrating with a dinner feast.

As is customary in Chinese celebrations, food is of the utmost importance and various dishes have symbolic meanings.

Last year, to welcome in the Year of the Ox, we had a true Lucky Feast. I'm still noodling on what will be on the menu this year, but certain traditional items are must-haves.

1. Dumplings (Jiao Zi) = prosperity

Pork and Shrimp Dumplings

The Chinese are really into prosperity and good luck, so anything that can help bring those thing along in the new year are important. For example, the color red (this is why red foods like lobster are often served at New Year celebrations and wedding banquets). For another example, and a tad more affordable, dumplings (jiao zi in Chinese). Making homemade dumplings can be a fun group activity, and the pay off is delicious. For some great tips on dumpling-making, I turn to the dumpling queen herself, Andrea Nguyen. Author of Asian Dumplings, Andrea knows a thing or two about these prosperity-bearing pouches of goodness.

2. Noodles = a long life

Lo Mein

Lo mein is a classic, and is a great filler if you have a lot of guests. I'm partial to the way my mom makes it, with thicker-cut Shanghai-style noodles and generous amounts of marinated mushrooms, barbecue pork, scallion, Napa cabbage, egg, and goji berries.

3. White Cut Chicken with Ginger-Scallion Oil = happiness & purity, and family as well if it's served whole

White Cut Chicken (bok cheet gai) with Ginger-Scallion Oil

A simple recipe with vibrant flavors, White Cut Chicken (or as it's called in Chinese, bok cheet gai) with Ginger-Scallion Oil is so good you’ll be making this well into the new year. The white chicken symbolizes "happiness and purity," and if it is presented whole (yes, with the head and the butt on the plate), it also signifies "family." I'll abstain from chicken butt jokes now.

4. Steamed Whole Fish = an abundance of good luck

Steamed Whole Fish with Ginger and Scallion

Much less intimidating than it looks, the fresh fish is simply prepared with soy sauce, ginger, and scallion. Similar to how the chicken is finished off, the fish is topped with a mixture of hot vegetable oil poured over fresh scallions. The fish is served whole, with the head and tail intact to ensure a good start and finish in the New Year.

5. Black Moss Seaweed = good fortune

Mushrooms and Black Moss Seaweed (Dong Gu Fat Choy)

Black Moss Seaweed is called fat choy in Chinese. Literally translated, it means "hair vegetable." Makes sense, huh? It looks uncannily, and unappetizingly, similar to masses of black hair. Fat choy is also a homophone in Chinese for "good fortune." It is served with braised Chinese mushrooms in a mixture of oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar for a full, savory flavor…and is slightly less scary looking that way.

6. Tray of Togetherness (sweets = good luck)

Tray of Togetherness

It is customary to start the New Year with something sweet. This tray is full of eight (a traditional lucky number) different treats like candied dried fruits and coconut.

7. Kumquats = prosperity

Lucky golden kumquat tree

Translated, kumquat means "gold orange" and during Chinese New Year, families and businesses often showcase the whole kumquat tree, or the fruit with stems and leaves attached (which symbolizes strong relationships). Eat them whole, skin and all. The peel is usually pleasantly sweet, although the flesh can be mouth-puckeringly tart. I solved this problem last year by making Kumquat Vanilla Marmalade from my happy little kumquat tree.

8. Orange Slice Jello Shots = a good time

Orange Slice Jello Shots

Not a "traditional" dish per se, but could very well be the makings of a new classic! Needless to say, these were a hit at last year's Chinese New Year party. I saw this brilliant idea on Adventures in Amateur Baking and Cooking. Oranges symbolize wealth, so make your boozy jello with some orange-flavored vodka and just wait for double the riches to come pouring through the door.

Photo Credit: Knight Lights Photography

Finally, don't forget about the Chinese New Year Parade, a San Francisco tradition since the 1860's. This world-famous parade will include a 250-foot long Golden Dragon, lion dancers, stilt walkers, acrobats, and elaborate floats.

Chinese New Year Parade, San Francisco
Saturday, February 27, 2010
5:15 pm - 8:00 pm
Location: Market and Second Street to Kearny and Jackson
Parade Route

Watch Food and Wine This Week to see Leslie Sbrocco, host of Check, Please! Bay Area in a new segment on local food and wine trends. On February 26, a conversation about celebrating the food and traditions of the Chinese New Year with Bay Area Bites bloggers, Thy Tran and Stephanie Im.

White Cut Chicken (bok cheet gai) with Ginger-Scallion Oil, Cantonese comfort food

One of my favorite things about Chinese home cooking is that it is often incredibly simplistic. Just a few ingredients, clean, vibrant flavors, and no fussiness.

This recipe for poached chicken with ginger-scallion oil is one of my staple dishes when I feel the need to recharge. Served over a bowl of steaming jasmine rice, it is pure comfort and nourishment.

You see this dish at a lot of Chinese wedding banquets or New Year celebrations. As is customary for many Chinese foods, there is a special symbolism to this dish. The white chicken symbolizes happiness and purity, and if it is served whole, it symbolizes family as well.

I am always surprised at how flavorful this chicken is, considering all you're doing is boiling it. However, the combination of the salt rub and the salted water infused with ginger and garlic must make one phenomenal Jacuzzi bath, because something wonderful happens to that chicken. The meat becomes tender and juicy, and the sesame oil massage adds a warm, nutty fragrance to the skin.

The dipping sauce of minced scallion, minced and grated ginger, salt, and vegetable oil is the finishing touch. The secret to this sauce is heating the oil so that the ginger and scallion bloom with aromatic bliss. Spoon this all over some fluffy white rice, now it's your turn to reach bliss.

Added Bonus: Save the poaching liquid (removing any scum off the surface) and the chicken carcass to make a fantastic chicken stock.

Chinese White Cut Chicken (Bok Cheet Gai) with Ginger-Scallion Oil

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, 4-5 pounds
3-4 big chunks of ginger (1-inch thick), peeled and smashed
6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 tablespoons Kosher salt, plus more to season the chicken
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Dipping Sauce:
4 tablespoons scallion, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, grated (a Microplane is perfect for this)
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup vegetable oil

Preparation:
1. Clean the chicken inside and out, removing any innards, and pat it dry. Rub salt liberally inside and out. Allow it to sit for 1 hour.
2. Fill a large pot with water full enough to cover at least ¾ of the chicken. Bring the water to a boil with the smashed ginger, garlic, and 2 tablespoons of salt. Place the chicken in breast side up, cover, and bring to a boil. Switch it to low heat and let cook for 45 minutes.
3. Flip the chicken, cover it and cook on low heat for another 45 minutes.
4. To test if the chicken is done, insert a chopstick near the thigh. If it goes in and there is no pinkness, it’s done. To lift the bird out of the pot, slip 2 chopsticks beneath the wings and lift up.
5. Pat the bird dry and rub with the sesame oil. Allow it to cool for 30 minutes before cutting. Serve with dipping sauce.
6. Prepare the dipping sauce by heating the vegetable oil just until it starts to smoke. Pour it over the scallion, ginger, and salt, and mix together. Serve with the chicken immediately.

Gung Hay Fat Choy, everyone.

Sort of.

Roughly translated from Chinese, Gung Hay Fat Choy means "best wishes and congratulations." In other words, Happy Chinese New Year.

But that seems just a little too chipper for my tastes.

Sure, we've got Hope's Cheerleader in the White House, which may be an excellent start, and we have finally left the dismal Year of the Rat behind us, but what is it that we really have to look forward to?

Well, besides a bleak, blank uncertainty, we're heading into the Year of the Ox.

At first glance, this certainly seems promising enough. Oxen are strong, hard working animals. According to Chinese astrology, the Ox is also patient and tenacious. It can be counted on to get whatever job it has been set to done. It is even suggested that those born under the sign of the Ox share these qualities and would make excellent tennis pros, surgeons, and hair stylists. Walt Disney and George Clooney were born under the sign. But, then again, so were Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and Tori Spelling.

The Ox is not considered an especially intelligent animal (See: Tori Spelling). Perhaps this lack of smarts is what led him to his fated, castrated state in the first place. With its lack of virility, of full potency, will this Ox plow its way to better times for us? Let's hope so. I'm sure the market watchers were hoping for something a little different. Like a bull.

Things are rough, no question about that. People are losing their jobs, and those who still have them are tightening their belts. That is, if that haven't already sold them on Ebay. A general sense of malaise is beginning to infect the mindsets of even the cheeriest Pollyannas.

And it's irritating me. So I've decided to channel that irritation into baking something. Like fortune cookies. Or, more correctly, misfortune cookies. Though I came up with the idea independently, the thought is not an original one-- they've been done before with varying degrees of success. I have chosen not to examine the others for fear of plagiarizing any dooming, damning fortunes, but I am cheered to know that there are others out there of like mind.

I have always found the idea of the fortune cookie mildly off-putting, since I've never bought into the notion that a baked lump of flour and sugar was somehow empowered with the ability to decide my future, though I admit I have always welcomed them at the end of a big, Chinese (American) meal because, well, it's about all the dessert one is ever going to get at a Chinese restaurant. Dessert must seem like an odd waste of time to a culture whose cuisine strives for balance. Sweetness can be found co-habitating with Mr. Salt, Miss Sour, and Sr. Bitter in a number of dishes.

The misfortune cookie, I think, strikes this balance much more accurately than the ordinary fortune cookie, with its vague, sometimes chirpy prognostications and lucky numbers. Sure, the sugar and salt in the recipe are the same, but a refreshingly sour note of bitterness found tucked inside bring the cookie's yin some much-needed yang.

Serve them to unsuspecting friends and family members and watch their faces as they learn that they are destined to someday chew off their own foot or will eventually be exposed and humiliated for past wrong-doing. Go ahead, it's fun.

If the recipients of misfortune begin to turn against you, you might want to laugh and pretend you made the cookies to provide a valuable moral lesson. You could say that these cookies merely illustrate the fact that it is impossible to divine the future, so what's the point, really? That things aren't nearly so bad as what's written inside those cookies. Things could be much, much worse.

And then you might want to suggest a good pedicurist, just in case.

Misfortune Cookies

Makes about 12 deeply distressing cookies.

The batter for these cookies is remarkably easy to make. The baking and shaping of them is another story. So much for the theory that Chinese food is 90% prep and 10% cooking. Of course, the Fortune Cookie is a Californian invention, so you can blame us, if you like.

The making of them is somewhat labor-intensive on the back end. Purchasing them is certainly easier, but then you would be surrendering the chance to play God by deciding the fates and fortunes of your hungry friends and family. More free time or unmitigated power? It's a toss up.

For those of you not entirely mean-spirited, you may wish to include one Pandora-like message of hope, but that would be mixing mythologies. Fate is in your hands.

Ingredients:

1 egg white

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

a pinch of salt

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup white sugar

Preparation:

1. Compose as many hideous fortunes as you deem necessary on strips of paper about 4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide.

2. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease two cookie sheets with butter or, if you have a silpat or other such baking pad, use it instead. Cutting a round stencil three inches in diameter from a plastic lid is most helpful in shaping these cookies. I suggest you follow this advice.

3. Beat together egg white and both extracts until quite foamy. Sift in flour, sugar, and salt; blend into egg white mixture.

4. Place stencil onto cookie sheet and add one teaspoon of batter in the center of it. Using and offset spatula, bring the batter around to the edges, making as smooth a shape as possible. Repeat, leaving at least 4 inches of space between cookies. I suggest you start off by baking two at a time to test your misfortune cookie-making skills.

5. Bake cookies for 5 minutes, or until they have turned a golden color around the edges. The center of the cookies should remain pale. You may prepare the second batch as the first are baking, if you like.

6. Remove cookies from oven and very, very quickly remove them from the baking sheet with a large, offset metal spatula. Turn them upside down onto a wooden cutting board. Place fortunes in the center of each, fold them in half so that the edges meet. Pull the pointed edged towards each other and let them cool. Of course, I have never been able to develop the speed necessary to accomplish this feat even with one cookie, let alone two. If you are as slow as I am in these matters, I would suggest the following:

When cookies are finished baking, pull them from the oven, pry them from their baking sheet as previously mentioned. Now turn them upside down on the same baking sheet and pop them back in the oven. Count to ten, open the oven door, and then proceed to shape the cookies while there are still inside the oven. Aside from the potential for burning one's hands, this is a most effective method.

Repeat until finished.

Serve fresh with a warm smile and a cold heart.