Culinary Secrets with The Hills
Chinese New Year—What’s it all About?
By Maralyn Hill & Brenda Hill
‘The Tandem Tasters’

The end-of-harvest shows up on many records as the origin of Chinese New Year Celebrations. There were numerous different calendars, but under the Han Dynasty (206BC-25AD), the calendar and customs became more formalized and the Taichu calendar was adopted. The subsequent Tang Dynasty ( 618-907 AD) was a prosperous and stable time, which led the way for more celebrations around the New Year.

This year, the holiday focus is on spending time with family and friends, gifts, and, naturally, food. February 14, 2010 ushered in the “Year of the Tiger,” and celebrations generally last until the Lantern Festival 15 days later.

When checking about the drink of preference with a friend, Michael Taylor who writes the 'Accidental Travel Writer Blog', he shared, “Things vary from Hong Kong to Taiwan to mainland China and within China, from north to south and east to west. In Hong Kong, they used to favor French cognac for celebrations, but there has been a trend in recent years toward fine wines. In mainland China and Taiwan, they tend to favor Chinese ‘wines,’ which are usually made from grains, and VERY high in alcoholic content. I put ‘wines' in quotes because the Chinese character for ‘wine’ is really a generic term for alcoholic beverages and is frequently mistranslated."

This month, the column is going to feature some traditional recipes as well as more current creations. During the month, we’ll highlight the Asian culture with recipes from other Asian countries, but this column will feature China, Taiwan, Singapore and our own.

Big Blend Radio - Maralyn Hill was a featured guest on Eat, Drink & Be Merry radio on February 1, 2010. To meet the rest of the guests and listen to the entire show, please click here. To listen to Maralyn's interview, please double click on the Play Button below.

Recipes:
Raffles Singapore Sling       Taiwan Cole Slaw        Steamed Pork and Crabmeat Dumplings   
Fried Rice       Chinese Sticky Cake

Raffles Singapore Sling
Since we like to start with a cocktail, it seems appropriate to feature a classic drink from a classic hotel. Raffles dates back to the mid 19thcentury, when Singapore was an English Colony. We featured this in our book, “Our Love Affairs with Food & Travel.” When Brenda visited Raffles, she took part in one of the culinary courses it offered. Maralyn was disappointed in 1989 on her first visit when it was undergoing total restoration. However, she returned two more times several years later to enjoy Singapore Slings with Norm.

Shortly after Raffles opened, Mr. Ngiam Tong Boon, a Hainanese-Chinese bartender, created the famous Singapore Sling. You can see the original recipe in the hotel’s museum. This attractive pink colored drink was originally created for women, but today, everybody enjoys it. A visit to Singapore would not be complete without trying a Singapore Sling.

Ingredients
1-ounce gin
1/2-ounce cherry brandy
4-ounces pineapple juice
1/2-ounce lime juice
dash of egg white
dash of angostura bitters

Method
Blend quickly and pour into tall glass.
Garnish with wedge of pineapple and a cherry.

Taiwan Cole Slaw
Taiwan (officially the Republic of China) is a beautiful country. We experienced many unusual dishes during our visit. Cole slaw was served frequently with many of our meals, from Mongolian BBQ to seafood or chicken.

Ingredients
1/2-cup green scallions
1-head of Asian green cabbage
2 large carrots
1/2-cup mayonnaise
1/4-cup rice wine vinegar
1/4-cup honey
1-tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2-tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1/2-teaspoon salt
1-teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3-tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (we toast at 275 to 300 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or lightly toasted)

Method
Slice scallions, cabbage and carrot into a very thin julienne and place in a salad bowl.
Keep 1/2 of the scallions back for top of dish.
In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, ginger and sesame oil until thoroughly mixed and pour over cabbage mixture.
Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds and reserved scallions.

Steamed Pork and Crabmeat Dumplings
We’ve experienced steamed dumplings throughout Asia and the US. Some are more complicated than others. This is one of the easier recipes and courtesy of the InterContinental Shanghai Pudong Hotel. Serves 8

Filling
1-1/4 pounds of pork, minced
2-teaspoons salt
1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
2-teaspoons light soy sauce
2-teaspoons dark soy sauce
2-teaspoons minced ginger
2-teaspoons sesame oil
2-teaspoons ground black pepper
2/3-pound pork skin jelly
2-ounces crabmeat minced

Method
Combine all ingredients and set aside.

Wrappers
1/2-pound all-purpose flour
1/3-cup water

Method
Combine flour and water with fork in a small bowl to form dough.
Divide dough in 40 small pieces (about 1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons or 10 ml).
Form into balls.
Roll the balls out on floured surface to form very thin circles.

To Assemble and Serve
1-large cucumber, sliced into 40 thin slices
2-cups rice wine vinegar

Method
Place about 2-tablespoons of filling in the center of each circle wrapper.
Using your finger, lightly brush water along the rim of the wrapper.
Bring sides up to form small pouches.
Press firmly to close.
Repeat until you’ve made 40 dumplings.
Place each dumpling on a cucumber round and steam until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Serve with vinegar on the side for dipping.

Tandem Taster Tips
If you don’t want to make dough, purchase a package of prepared Jiao Zi Pi dumpling wrappers (this is the only brand we have seen readily available in Asian and specialty food stores). You can substitute wonton wrappers, but they will require less filling and give a slightly different result.

If you are not going to steam and want to boil, this is how to approach it. Using a large pot, fill with water and bring to a boil. Carefully, drop in dumplings.

When water returns to a boil, add a cup of water to cool (You do not want to let the water boil or the dumplings with explode). Let the water come to a boil again and add another cup of water. The third time the water returns to a boil, the dumplings are done.