Ten delicious and auspicious reasons (and recipes!) to celebrate the coming Lunar New Year. 
For those who follow the Lunar Calendar, January 31st begins the Year of the Horse. The Chinese celebrate this as the Spring Festival, the Vietnamese celebrate this as Tet and the Koreans celebrate Seollal. Celebrations can go on for a couple of weeks, so if you plan on bringing in this Year of the Horse with tasty bites and libations, you should have some recipes ready at your fingertips. I do have quite the collection of recipes I have developed or collected. Despite having the name Lau, I am not Asian. I do think of my surname as a lucky name, bringing me the good fortune of having tasted quite a variety of delicious Asian food, giving me a healthy love for it, and as well, the ability to put together recipes even a Chinese grandmother would love- if I had one. So if someone were to mistake me for being Asian (and yes, this has happened before), I would not be insulted and as a matter of fact, I would enjoy it. I have an awful lot of recipes I could choose to share with you. So many in fact, I could spend the rest of the current lunar year typing away new recipes trying to get them to you. So I am going to have to pick and choose from among my favorites. Some may be mainstream, some may be for the more adventurous. Some may be commonplace and others more unique, but they will all be good, I promise you. You know because I am giving you the cream of the recipes I have available to post right now. I also have some other wonderful recipes already on the blog- and you can find those with this easy link, or divide them further with the recipe index on the lower right hand side of the page (have you noticed that before?) Those give greater detail than the simple alphabetical recipe indexes I keep which are easier to use if you already know what you are looking for. I also have a search box at the upper right hand side which I have found to be pretty effective at scanning the posts for keywords if there is something in particular you are looking for.
Click for Sue’s Asian Recipe Collection (already posted)
Here is a list of the NEW recipes I am sharing with you today:
Braised Pork Ribs in Chee Hao Sauce
You won’t get this at any takeout. You might wish you had a Chinese grandma to make this for you on a chilly day, or you can become the Chinese grandma yourself and make it for those you love. It is essentially a homestyle Chinese stew, and it’s definitely a food of LOVE.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds bone-in pork country style ribs
- 1 large knob fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thickly
- 5 to 6 cloves garlic, split
- 2 to 4 fresh red Thai chilies
- 1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
- 2 tablespoons chee hau sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice wine
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 pound baby bok choy, cut in half lengthwise
- 8 ounces fresh carrots, roll cut
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced (garnish)
- Steamed long grain rice
- Sesame oil
Method
-
Step 1
Season meat with salt and pepper, then sear meat on all sides in a large skillet before placing into a dutch oven.
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Step 2
Meanwhile, flavor broth by smashing lemongrass and simmering in the broth, which you should season with five spice powder, chee hao sauce, rice wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar.
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Step 3
Pour broth over meat in the dutch oven, and cover with aromatic vegetables (ginger slices, split garlic cloves).
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Step 4
Cover oven with a tight fitting lid, then braise in an oven at 325F. for 45 minutes.
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Step 5
Add onion and carrots to pan. Cover dutch oven and braise at 325F for an additional 45 minutes.
-
Step 6
Remove from oven and layer bok choy on top of all of it, replace the cover and bake for another 20-30 minutes, or until bok choy is tender.
-
Step 7
Serve meat and vegetables over steamed rice with a little of the pan liquid (skim off unwanted fat), garnished with sliced scallions and drizzled with toasted sesame oil, if desired.
Grilled Soy-Sesame Asparagus
Grill outdoors or roast in your oven. Simple yet superb!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs fresh asparagus, trimmed
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3 garlic cloves, minced (3 to 4)
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar or 1 teaspoon Splenda brown sugar blend
Method
-
Step 1
Toss asparagus with other ingredients.
-
Step 2
Grill over coals on a fine-mesh grate until crisp tender, about 7-10 minutes (time will vary with size).
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Step 3
To cook indoors, bake in a 400F oven for 12 minutes or until cooked the way you like.
Grilled Korean Style Meatballs
These make a great appetizer for entertaining, although you can easily have them as a main dish served with steamed rice, and kimchi on the side. I serve this with ssamjang, a thick sauce/paste which is made from gochujang and some other ingredients to flavor. If you don’t have that, maybe a sweet/sour sauce or pot sticker sauce would do just fine.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/3 cup minced green onion
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon rice wine
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
Method
-
Step 1
If you are using wooden skewers, soak them at least an hour beforehand.
-
Step 2
Mix together ground beef, green onions, minced garlic, rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, corn starch, sesame seeds, and sugar together in a bowl.
-
Step 3
Shape meat mixture into 1″ balls.
-
Step 4
Place on large pan and refrigerate for at least an hour to retain shape.
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Step 5
Prepare grill or heat broiler (I prefer charcoal grill).
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Step 6
Thread 2-3 meatballs per skewer and grill over medium coals 5-6 minutes per side or until juices run clear.
-
Step 7
Serve with ssamjang sauce or sweet/sour or potsticker sauce, if desired.
Korean Spicy Squid Stir-Fry – Ojingeo Bokkeum
Squid is delicious and no problem to make it all if you buy it already cleaned. It cooks in a flash and is perfect for a weeknight Asian meal.
Ingredients
-
Stir-Fry
- 1 pound cleaned squid or calamari
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 1 small red onion, cut into slivers
- 4 scallions, slivered
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
-
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili pepper paste)
- 2 to 3 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean chili pepper flakes)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar or splenda
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoons minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Method
-
Step 1
Whisk together sauce ingredients.
-
Step 2
Rinse squid and chop into small bite sized pieces.
-
Step 3
Heat oil in a large skillet and stir-fry onion and carrot until almost tender; add squid, scallions and sauce to pan.
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Step 4
Cook squid for 1-2 minutes, just until it starts to curl up. Do not overcook as it makes it tough.
-
Step 5
Serve with steamed rice.
Stir Fried Shrimp in Garlic Sauce
One of my freestyle stir-fries. I love all the garlic flavor!
Ingredients
- 1 lb large shrimp, cleaned and deveined
- 3 1/2 cups assorted fresh vegetables, chopped (your choice)
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon chili paste (sambal oelek) (optional)
- 1 tablespoon dry sherry or 1 tablespoon sake
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 9 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 10 Thai chiles, stemmed and left whole (optional)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons water
- Hot steamed rice
Method
-
Step 1
In a small bowl, mix together chicken broth, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, chile paste (if using) and sherry; set aside.
-
Step 2
In another small bowl or cup, stir together the tbsp of cornstarch with the 3 tbsp of water and set aside.
-
Step 3
Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a wok; add ginger and garlic and sizzle briefly, then add vegetables and Thai chilies (if using).
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Step 4
Stir-fry vegetables for approximately 3 minutes, then add the shrimp.
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Step 5
Cook the shrimp 2 minutes or until it curls and turns opaque or pink.
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Step 6
Add the sauce mixture and cook 1 minute more; then stir in the thickener (briefly stir first) and stir-fry until mixture thickens, about 1 minute.
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Step 7
Serve with hot cooked rice.
Kalbi Kui – Korean Barbecued Short Ribs
My rendition of the popular Korean classic. Serve as a lettuce wrap with some sticky rice, grilled scallion and ssamjang sauce. This would also go well with kimchi or a cucumber salad!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds beef flanken ribs or 2 1/2 lbs butterflied beef short ribs
-
Marinade
- 1/2 cup ketjap manis
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon hot sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon aji-mirin (sweet rice wine)
- 1 tablespoon korean hot bean paste (gochujang)
- 1 tablespoon water
-
For Serving
- 1 bunch scallion
- 1 to 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- Boston lettuce leaf
- Korean seasoned soybean paste (ssamjang)
- Steamed short-grain rice
Method
-
Step 1
Butterfly ribs into thin slices if necessary.
-
Step 2
Mix marinade and marinate ribs 6 hours or overnight in a ziplock bag with all air removed.
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Step 3
Cut scallions into finger length pieces and lightly coat with sesame oil.
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Step 4
Grill rib pieces over hot coals, 2-4 minutes per side, or until it reaches desired doneness; grill scallions until tender and slightly charred.
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Step 5
To serve, make a lettuce wrap with some rib, some sticky rice, a bit of ssamjang, and a piece of scallion.
Szechuan Steak and Mushroom Stir-Fry
Spicy and delicious, perfect for autumn and the mushroom harvest! But do enjoy this anytime mushrooms are available, which is all the time.
Ingredients
- 3 boneless New York strip steaks, partially frozen
- 1 pound sliced mushrooms
- 2 yellow onions, cut into slivers
- 2 tablespoons wok oil
- Steamed jasmine rice (optional, or brown rice, optional)
-
Steak Marinade
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons wine
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
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Stir-Fry Sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili paste
- 1 tablespoon hot sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Method
-
Step 1
While beef is still partially frozen, trim away excess fat and slice thinly.
-
Step 2
Whisk together marinade and pour over beef in a ziplock bag; refrigerate several hours or overnight.
-
Step 3
Whisk together sauce in a small bowl and keep nearby.
-
Step 4
Heat oil in a wok over high heat, stir-fry beef with marinade, mushrooms and onions until cooked through.
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Step 5
Add sauce to wok, and cook, stirring, until sauce thickens.
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Step 6
Serve stir-fry with steamed rice if desired.
Green Beans, Tomatoes and Mushrooms with Hoisin
Easily steamed healthy fresh veggies with an amazing sauce!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fresh green beans, trimmed
- 4 ounces white mushrooms, quartered
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger root
- 2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
- 4 teaspoons sesame oil
- Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
Method
-
Step 1
Steam green beans and mushrooms 3-5 minutes or until done to your liking and mix in a bowl with tomatoes.
-
Step 2
Whisk together remaining ingredients and toss with vegetables; serve.
Pot Sticker or Chinese Dumpling Sauce
This is balanced just the way we like it. My daughter could drink this stuff!
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sliced scallions
Method
-
Step 1
Stir together and serve with pot stickers or steamed Chinese dumplings. shu mai, etc.
Plum and Ginger Soda
This is a deliciously different and clever recipe for an interesting Asian drink from Diana at Appetite for China.
You can see her original recipe plus many more on her blog: Plum and Ginger Soda
Ingredients
- 2 plums (fresh skin on, chopped)
- 3 cups water
- 1 tablespoon ginger (fresh ginger, peeled and sliced)
- 3/4 cup sugar (or Splenda)
- Club soda drink (12 ounces)
Method
-
Step 1
Simmer chopped plums over low heat until the flesh cooks soft, about 15 minutes, then add ginger slices and cook 5 minutes more.
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Step 2
Allow ginger-plum tea to cool.
-
Step 3
Strain tea and discard solids.
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Step 4
Sweeten with sugar or splenda, stirring until dissolved.
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Step 5
Fill glass with ice and add ginger-plum tea 2 parts tea, and then top up with one part club soda.
-
Step 6
Stir gently before serving.
Whew! narrowing my list down to ten was rough. I do hope you enjoy them and eventually get to try them all.
Gung Hei Fat Choy!
~Sue
You might also like:
Palatable Pastime’s Chinese New Year Recipes
Can’t Find a Recipe? | Help Recipe Index A-M | Recipe Index N-Z | Home
May I pin this to my New Year Celebration Pinterest board? These are wonderful recipes! I’d love to taste each one of them!
Of course! There should be a little pinterest button just above the comments area that you can click if you don’t have a pinterest button on your browser. If you need any help, let me know. You can also repin from my pinterest boards, which you can find a “follow me on pinterest” at the very bottom of the page. ~Sue
Thanks, Sue. And I hope you’ll come see my board too! I’ve pinned a lot of delicious recipes this week. If I had come across yours sooner, I would have featured one of them in my Lunar New Year recipe roundup today!
WOW! Sue, what an amazing selection of Chinese food, all of them just fabulous! Thanks for adding them to my Cooking with Herbs challenge too! Karen/FT
Wow! These recipes look amazing. I’m going to give a lot of these a try. I can’t get plums right now, but your drink has given me inspiration for a spiced plum cordial for later in the year. Thanks
Thanks. 🙂 NMR, but I did enjoy it as well. It’s nice and different! ~Sue