Chinese New Year is tomorrow, February 10, 2013.

[cbayer]

Year of the Snake!

Will any be putting together a special menu?

[Stinky The Clown]

1. I was thinking of trying my hand at fresh ho fun noodles.

This is not an elaborate dish by any stretch of the imagination, but quite authentic in a generic way.

Recipe and "how to" for the noodles is here:

We like this sort of recipe:

http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2010/06/stir-fried-rice-noodles-with-beef.html#.URauxOihBxg

Use that as a start and vary as you wish. We like to make this with shrimp.

Oyster sauce makes a nice addition to the flavors. Alternatively, you could use fish sauce. Look at pad thai (obviously not Chinese, but close) recipes, too. Many of these simple stir fry Asian comfort foods are very, very similar.

The fun in this meal is making the noodles. Any sort of improvised steamer (as shown in the video, above) will do. I am fortunate enough to have several sizes of traditional Chinese steamers. Cake pans fit nicely in my biggest one. These are very cheap and very handy for more than Asian food. Just set them over a pan with boiling water and steam whatever you wish.

[GentryDixon]

3. My sis & I are going

to try this. It looks yummy. Thanks.

[Stinky The Clown]

4. Our noodles are done and in the fridge resting.

The process is very simple, exactly as shown by the guy in the video I posted. No glitches or hitches.

Next time I might make the batter with a little more water. The noodles were kinda thick. Not in a bad way, but I think I'd prefer them just a tad thinner.

I added the optional teaspoon of sesame oil to the batter. Nice smell. That usually means a nice taste. We'll know tomorrow.

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. No, but I made Irish soda bread yesterday.

It's never too early to start celebrating St. Patrick's Day!

[Lugnut]

5. Darn!

We're going out for pizza with the whole extended family for lunch.

[bif]

6. Going to a friend's for Chinese New Year dinner

Last edited Sun Feb 10, 2013, 03:50 PM - Edit history (1)

Not sure what she's serving. Most likely, whatever Costco has in the way of Chinese.

[cbayer]

7. I'm not even sure what that means, lol.

Not a cook, I am guessing.

[bif]

8. She's actually a decent cook.

But tends to shop in bulk at the 'Co when she's entertaining.

[cbayer]

9. Ok, that makes sense.

I guess it would be a good place to pick up things like gyoza that are pretty hard to make at home.

Have a great time!

[pinto]

10. Chinese wheat buns stuffed with BBQ hoisin pork. Stir fry veggies.

Went to a New Year's banquet once when I lived with my cousin & cousin-in-law in DC. It was one of those amazing multi-course feasts, Chinese style. Bowls of little bites to start, a whole steamed spicy fish, two soups, BBQ beef, stir fry veggies, rice, individual almond cakes, that fiery Chinese liqueur (taken as a toast between each course), tea, lemon water...and little "good luck" gifts in red wrapping. It was really something.

[cbayer]

11. That dinner in DC sounds like heaven to me.

I love small plates and dim sum in particular.

Are you making the stuffed buns yourself? I crave those but have only gotten good ones in NYC and SF.

[pinto]

12. Store bought, though I make the stuffing then run through the oven. (These are a baked version).

The DC dinner was a real treat. My cousin-in-law's mother was visiting from Taiwan for New Year's so everyone went all out. After a few toasts though, everyone started speaking Mandarin. I had to move my place at the table next to his so I could could get a running translation and stay in the conversations. LOL. It was fun.

And yeah, I could do small plates of any style and dim sum as a standard.