Ring in the Chinese New Year with a Slurp!

by Julie Gale

(February 8, 2005) Just at the bleakest time of the year, we have the opportunity to participate in three glowing celebrations in the course of just one week: Mardi Gras, Valentine’s Day and the Chinese New Year. I look forward with great anticipation each year to a New Year’s banquet in Chinatown. I thoroughly enjoy the ceremony and the enormous variety of food served at such a meal. The evening begins with cold appetizers, then hot appetizers, then soup, then a seafood dish, then a poultry dish, then a meat dish, then a rice dish, and ends with a custard or fruit dish. The portions are small, but intensely flavored, so that at the end of the sometimes 2 to 3 hour meal you push away from the table very satisfied, but not overstuffed (as unbelievable as this may seem).

In the Chinese calendar, this is the year of the rooster and so I will share a recipe using chicken: hot and sour soup. I first tasted one of the myriad versions of this delectable soup in a tiny restaurant in Chinatown when I was about 8 or 9 years old. The place was called Hong Ying and one entered by descending below the street into a well-worn little place.

This soup was apparently conceived by Chinese monks as a medicinal food to heal whatever ails you. This is reportedly due to the inclusion of such ingredients as tree ear mushrooms and tiger lily buds which are reputed to have great healing powers. My grandmother would have told you that it is just another form of chicken soup and that is why it is so restorative. Whatever its healing power may be attributed to, it is so delicious that I enjoy it whenever I can, whether I'm healthy or not.

You can find the more exotic ingredients in an Asian market or you can leave them out and still have a wonderful meal-in-a-bowl.

HOT AND SOUR SOUP

4 dried Chinese black mushrooms
¼ cup dried tree-ear mushrooms, optional
¼ cup dried lily buds, optional
½ cup canned or fresh bamboo shoots
¼ lb. boneless chicken breast, place in freezer for 20 minutes
2 squares bean curd
1 quart chicken stock
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbs. mirin (or sherry)
1 Tbs. tamari (or soy sauce)
2 Tbs. rice wine vinegar (or white vinegar)
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. Chinese hot oil (or Tabasco)
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 scallion, finely chopped
2 Tbs. corn starch combined with 2 Tbs. cold water, set aside in a bowl

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Using 3 small bowls, soak the mushrooms and lily buds separately in ½ cup boiling water while you prepare the other ingredients.

Thinly slice the bamboo shoots, chicken and bean curds into equal size shreds.

Drain the mushrooms and lily buds (saving the liquid for the soup). Remove any tough pieces and slice the rest into pieces of about the same size as the other ingredients.

Combine the stock, mushroom liquid (avoiding any sand), soy, salt, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and chicken in a 3-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat and simmer covered for 3 or 4 minutes. Add the bean curd, hot oil, and the vinegar and bring to a boil again. Stir the cornstarch mixture and add to the soup. Stir until the soup thickens and then slowly stir in the beaten egg.

Remove from the heat and add the sesame oil and the scallions. Serves 4-6.

Julie Gale will be teaching this and two other Chinese recipes at her cooking class in her home on Thursday, February 17th from 7-9 pm.

Ethnic Cooking with Julie Gale

1. Thurs., Feb. 10- 10-12 PM VALENTINE’S DAY:Champagne Chicken, Salad of Hearts, Chocolate Pots de Crème

2. Thurs., Feb. 17 - 7-9 PM CHINESE NEW YEAR: Hot & Sour Soup, Mu Shu Chicken, Spun Apples

3. Thurs. March 3 – 12:30-2:30 PM COOKING LITE: Stuffed Zucchini, Ratatouille Chicken, Roasted Fruit

4. Tues. March 15 –7-9 PM SAINT PATRICK’S DAY:Glazed Corned Beef, Braised Cabbage w/ Bacon, Soda Bread

5. Thurs. March 24 – 10-12 PM COOKING FOR COMPANY: Easy Hors D’oeurves, Chicken Kiev, Sacher Torte

6. Sun. April 3 – 7-9 PM MEN’S NIGHT OUT: Mexican Layered Dip, Chili, Free-form Apple Pie

7. Thurs. April 14 – 7-9 PM PASSOVER SPECIALTIES Matzo Ball Soup, Gefilte Fish, Chocolate Torte

8. Tues. May 3 – 3:30-5:30 PM - KID’S COOKING Homemade Pasta , Tacos, Homemade Ice Cream

9. Thurs. May 19 –7-9 PM - TEENAGER CLASS Homemade Pizza, Vegetarian Sushi, Killer Brownies

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CLASSES LIMITED TO 7 STUDENTS, SO REGISTER NOW!

COOKING CLASSES MAKE A GREAT GIFT- GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE

Classes are held at 1 Lancia Lane, Larchmont
$65 per class or $180 for any 3 (Make check payable to Julie Gale)
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Return to : Julie Gale 1 Lancia Lane, Larchmont, NY 10538 (914) 834-5353 Email: PJAZTEGale@optonline.net

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