Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Lunar New Year RISING
Two dishes for the increasingly celebrated occasion
In the three decades that I’ve written about food, I’ve witnessed the Lunar New Year morph into an all-American holiday. The U.S. Postal Service recognizes the holiday with colorful stamps, this year honoring the 2021 Year of the Ox with stamps that show off a stylized, green-hued ox illustration. Starbucks offers a Lunar New Year-themed collection of over 20 drinking vessels for hot and cold beverages, plus various knickknacks. Home cooks, those with or without Asian ancestry, look for delicious ways to honor the holiday.
This year, the holiday lasts Thursday through next Wednesday, during which New Year’s Eve (today) and New Year’s Day (Thursday) are the peak time of celebration. As with many holidays, the celebrations focus on food and family. A traditional dinner might include a whole chicken and a whole fish, plus duck, lobster and oysters. Yes, and more. I suspect for many the Year of the Ox will offer abbreviated holiday menus due to the pandemic, dinners designed for a small, safe gathering. For me, that means a stir-fry dish, a rice cooker steaming with longgrained white rice and, for good fortune, a dessert of fresh tangerines. Here are two Asian-style recipes, listed in order of preparation times, starting with the shortest and simplest. For the best results, assemble all ingredients before you start cooking.
Chicken Tenders and Asparagus Stir-Fry
Yield: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided use
1 1⁄2 pounds asparagus, ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch diagonal pieces
1 pound chicken tenders, cut into bitesize pieces, patted dry
3 green onions, roots trimmed off, cut into 1-inch diagonal pieces
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
1⁄4 cup coarsely chopped toasted almonds For serving, cooked rice
PROCEDURE
1: Prepare all ingredients before you start. Heat vegetable oil and 1teaspoon sesame oil in wok or large deep skillet on high heat. Add asparagus and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes, depending on thickness of asparagus. Add chicken; cook, stirring, for 4 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients (including remaining sesame oil) except nuts. Cook 1-2 minutes.
2: Stir in nuts; cook about 30 seconds. Serve with cooked rice or farro.
Orange Beef
Yield: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
11⁄2 pounds skirt steak or sirloin tip
4 oranges, navel oranges preferred
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Salt
3 tablespoons and 1⁄4 cup rice wine or dry sherry, divided use
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for frying
1⁄4 cup chopped fresh ginger
1-2 jalapeño chiles, seeded, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1⁄2 cup light brown sugar
1⁄2 cup soy sauce or sodium-reduced soy sauce
1⁄4 cup rice vinegar
8 green onions, whites cut into 1-inch lengths, greens chopped
About 5-7 dried red chiles, such as arbol, see cook’s notes
Cook’s notes: As I’ve grown older, I have less affinity for spicy heat. So I only use 2-3 dried chiles. Your choice.
PROCEDURE
1: Freeze meat for 30minutes or so to make it easier to slice. Cut across the grain into strips about 1⁄4-inch thick. Grate 4tablespoons zest from oranges and cut a few narrow strips of zest for garnish. Squeeze as many oranges as needed to yield 1⁄2 cup juice. Whisk cornstarch and pinch of salt into 3 tablespoons of rice wine or dry sherry in large bowl until they dissolve, then add beef and toss to coat. Marinate at room temperature while you make the sauce.
2: Heat 2tablespoons oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add ginger, jalapeño(s) and grated orange zest and stir. Cook, stirring constantly, until soft, 2-3minutes, then add garlic and continue cooking until it softens, 1-2minutes. Add 1⁄2 cup juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar and remaining 1⁄4 cup rice wine or dry sherry to pan and stir. Bring mixture to boil, then adjust heat so it bubbles steadily and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is reduced by half and is thickened, 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat.
3: Put 1-2 inches oil in large, deep pot and bring to 375 degrees over medium heat. Line a rimmed baking sheet with paper towels. When the oil is ready (a pinch of cornstarch will sizzle but not immediately burn), carefully lower a few pieces of meat into the oil and cook, stirring so it doesn’t clump, until outsides are browned, 1-2minutes. Transfer to prepared pan and sprinkle with a little salt. Repeat with remaining beef.
4: Transfer 2tablespoons of frying oil to a large skillet over high heat. Immediately add the white part of the green onion and dried chiles. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the sauce and beef; toss to coat. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce boils. Turn off heat and serve garnished with dark portion of green onions and strips of orange zest.
Source: “Dinner for Everyone,” by Mark Bittman (Clarkson Potter, $40)