Chinese New Year In a Box

Happy Chinese New Year! Sunday is Chinese New Year so this weekend marks the beginning of the Spring Festival celebration. My family lived in China for several years while I was growing up, so Chinese New Year has been something we've celebrated for years. Caleb and I will get Chinese food to celebrate, but I wanted to send my parents a little something to remind them of our time in China. Mailing an authentic New Year's feast was out of the question, so instead I went to the Asian market and gathered a few of our favorite snacks and candies from our time in China. A little New Year's garland and some hong bao (envelopes used to give money to small children--just enough for all of the grandchildren:) completed the box and I shipped it off. Hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with Chinese food to celebrate the Year of the Snake! 

P.S. DIY Fortune Cookies!

DIY Fortune Cookies

Happy Chinese New Year!  When we lived in China we always celebrated the Chinese New Year; it's the biggest holiday in China and it would be weird if we didn't!  But since moving back to the U.S., we've always acknowledged Chinese New Year as well.  We usually celebrate by getting Chinese food and sometimes my parents would still give us the "hong bao" - the red envelopes for children (pictured above) with money in it.  I'm pretty sure I'm not getting a hong bao this year, but Caleb and I are going out for Chinese tonight.  

I thought I'd share a fun DIY for Chinese New Year.  The funny thing is I've never seen a fortune cookie in mainland China; they are strictly in American Chinese restaurants.  But they're fun to make and since you can custom make your fortunes, these would be perfect to make for any holiday or birthday or bridal/baby shower!

Fortune Cookies

4 egg whites

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1-2 tsp water

baking spray

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Whisk egg whites and extracts together until light and foamy.  Whisk in flour, sugar, and salt and mix thoroughly.  The batter should be like a thin pancake batter - when you raise the whisk from the bowl, the batter should disappear as soon as it hits the surface.  I added the little bit of water to get it thin enough.

Lightly mist the backside of a baking sheet with baking spray.  Droop a heaping spoonful of batter onto the baking sheet and let it spread out until it's about a 4-inch circle.  (Continuing to add a little bit of batter in the middle of the circle will make the batter spread out evenly.)  Repeat to make 4 rounds of batter.

Bake at 375 degrees for 4-6 minutes, just until the edge of the cookie browns 1/4-inch around.  Remove from the oven and work quickly.  Using a spatula, transfer one round to your cutting board, placing it top-side down.  Place the fortune into the center, and fold the cookie in half.  Pick the cookie up and place the folded edge onto the rim of a mug and gently pull the corners down.  Put the formed fortune cookie into the well of a cupcake pan - this will hold the shape until the cookie cools and hardens completely.  Repeat with each cookie and batter until finished.  Store cookies in an airtight container once cooled completely.  Makes about 2 dozen.

source:  recipe from confections of a foodie bride

P.S.  If you want to make some good Chinese food, I suggest sweet & sour chicken or General Tso's Chicken.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

When I lived in China two summers ago, there was this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that made the best sweet and sour pork I've ever had.  I can't even count how many times we ate there that summer.  I think the restaurant employees knew what we were going to order before we could even say it.  I've craved that sweet and sour pork so many times since I've been back.  Chinese food in America doesn't even begin to do real Chinese food justice, but I can appreciate the sweet and sour chicken that Chinese restaurants sell here.  Recently I stumbled upon this recipe for sweet and sour chicken and knew I had to give it a try.  I had never fried anything before, so that was a new experience, but I was pleased with the results.  I'd still rather have sweet and sour pork from a little restaurant in the back streets of Suzhou, China, but until I can make it back there, this is pretty good.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

3/4 cup sugar

4 Tbsp ketchup

1/2 cup rice or white vinegar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Working in two batches, toss the chicken pieces in the cornstarch and then coat with the egg.  Heat the oil over medium-high heat and again in two batches, brown the chicken, turning it so that all the sides are browned.

Place the chicken in a single layer in a 9x13 baking dish.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic powder.  Pour evenly over the chicken, turning the chicken to make sure each piece is coated.  (I found that I didn't need to use all of this sauce.) 

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour, turning the chicken every 15 minutes.

source:  recipe from brown eyed baker