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chinese new year

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This year’s Chinese New Year will be celebrated on January 31st ushering in the Year of the Horse.

Food is an important part of the Chinese culture and a lot of significance is assigned to different foods for the New Year. Several foods are consumed to usher in wealth, happiness and good fortune.

Here are the top 10 lucky foods to usher in the New Year:

Dumplings: Symbolizes wealth as the shape resembles Chinese ancient money.
Rice Dumplings: The round shape of the rice dumplings represents reunion and their stickiness symbolizes cohesiveness.
Mandarins or tangerines: The roundness of these fruit suggests abundant happiness and wholeness. Their Chinese names are also homonyms for “gold” and “luck.”
Lettuce: As a homonym for “making money” in Chinese, lettuce symbolizes the fulfillment of wealth in the coming year.
Whole fish: The Chinese word for “fish” is a homonym for “abundance.” In Chinese culture, eating fish represents having a surplus throughout the year.
Whole chicken: A whole cooked chicken symbolizes prosperity and togetherness of family.
Melon seeds: These snacks symbolize fertility along with sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
Fried sesame balls: The round shape and golden colour of these snacks are considered lucky. According to the Chinese, since they increase in size as they are fried they are a metaphor for a small venture growing and bringing back a large return.
Deep fried pastry with sesame: This snack’s name in Chinese translates to “smiling mouth,” which symbolizes the happiness it will bring to the family.
Rice cakes: The Chinese name of rice cakes ‘nian gao,’ literally means a “higher year” or year of improvement or advancement.

Adding to the already impressive assortment of international foods
available at Real Canadian Superstore® locations, select new T&T®
brand products are now in-store making it easier than ever to celebrate
Chinese New Year on January 31st .  A box of some of the goodies that they offer was sent to me. A few items included:

T&T® Philippine
Dried Mangoes: These dried mangoes originated from the Philippines’
famous mango city, Cebu. The warm, sultry climate and fertile soil of
Cebu make it ideal for producing the most delicious mango variety. Lush,
creamy and aromatic, these mangoes are a unique blend of sweetness and
tartness. Use them for a garnish in salads or as a substitute for other
dried fruits.  

T&T® Dried Shiitake Mushrooms: The
quality and rich flavour of T&T® Dried Shiitake Mushrooms is
signified by their large cap, fissures and thickness. With a long shelf
life, these mushrooms rehydrate quickly in warm water and are great to
enjoy on their own or in your favourite mushroom recipes.

T&T® Senbei Rice Cracker: Senbei rice crackers are made with the
best rice from Thailand and are a type of Japanese rice crackers that
come in various shapes, sizes and flavours. Senbei are often eaten as a
snack with green tea and offered to visiting house guests as a courtesy
refreshment or can be used to make your favourite canapés or hors
d’oeuvres.

T&T® Biscuit Egg Roll: This traditional
street food of Hong Kong and Asia is made with flaky egg dough from
simple but fresh ingredients. Try these biscuits as a delicious
complement to ice cream.

Real Canadian Superstore®
locations will also be carrying a wide assortment of fresh quality Asian
produce for Chinese New Year including Pomelos, Chinese Mini Mandarins,
Guava, Star Fruit, Long Beans and more. I especially loved their shrimp dumplings which were available in the freezer section.

Using the Shiitake Mushrooms as well as the Korean Kalbi Marinade Sauce, I made up this delicious dish.  The mushrooms were meaty and absorbed all the tasty marinade. Even Q, who doesn’t like mushrooms, loved it. Not that I told him that they were mushrooms….

Disclosure:
I received a variety of products from President’s Choice along with a
gift certificate to try out some of their frozen items. I was under no
obligation to write about them. Opinions are my own. – See more at:
https://foodmamma.com/2013/12/presidents-choice-for-holidays.html#sthash.DMZwkj7b.dpuf
Disclosure:
I received a variety of products from President’s Choice along with a
gift certificate to try out some of their frozen items. I was under no
obligation to write about them. Opinions are my own. – See more at:
https://foodmamma.com/2013/12/presidents-choice-for-holidays.html#sthash.DMZwkj7b.dpuf

Disclosure: I received a variety of products from T&T/Real Canadian Superstore along with a gift certificate to try out some of their frozen items. I was under no obligation to write about them. Opinions are my own.

Shiitake Mushrooms in Kalbi Sauce
Recipe from T &T

1 can of T&T® Chicken Broth
15 pieces T&T® Shiitake Mushrooms
60 g T&T® Korean Kalbi Marinade Sauce
Chopped parsley

Soak T&T® Shiitake mushrooms in warm water for 1 hour. Remove the stems.

In large saucepan over medium heat, add mushrooms, chicken broth and kalbi sauce. Stir well, then cover the saucepan and allow the mushrooms to cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Simmer covered for 1 hour.

Spring the parsley over the stew and serve immediately. Makes 2-4 servings

vij’s railway express

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What do you do when you’re in Vancouver for the day in meetings and have an hour to spare? You make your way downtown for the Street Food City, part of the Dine Out Vancouver Festival.

Many food trucks were gathered and diners were able to enjoy their food at the many tables and tents that were set up. With so much to choose from, it was hard to decide which truck to sample from.

I decided on Vij’s Railway Express and their Butter Chicken Schnitzel. The panko crusted chicken was smothered in a delicious butter chicken curry and served with rice and naan.  The dish was aromatic and the spices packed a punch. The flavour was intense and kept you going back for more.

The food truck gathering is on until January 26th by the Vancouver Art Gallery. Go check it out!

Vij's Railway Express on Urbanspoon

smoked salmon crepes

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I love a good crepe. Whether it be savoury for lunch or dinner or sweet for a perfect dessert, they are so versatile. 

When deciding what to have for dinner the other night, I noticed some smoked salmon in the freezer. With spinach and cheese in the fridge, crepes just seemed like the way to go.

I decided to go with a recipe from Alton Brown. As intimidating as he seems, he really knows his stuff!  This recipe comes together really quickly in a blender.  Brown suggests placing the batter in the fridge for an hour, allowing the bubbles to subside thereby making it less likely for the crepes to tear.

Usually with crepes, they say one for the pan. That was true in this case, but the following crepes turned out great! They cooked quite quickly and dinner was on the table in less than half an hour. Smeared with Boursin and topped with the salmon, spinach and green onions, these were delish!

This recipe made quite a few crepes, meaning we had some for dessert as well! Dulce de leche was poured down the middle, and rolled into the perfect sweet ending.

Crepes
From Alton Brown, Good Eats

2 large eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1 cup flour

3 tablespoons melted butter

Butter, for coating the pan
In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10
seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour, allowing the bubbles to subside.

Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of
batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for
30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the
cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all
batter is gone.

meatless monday: eggplant and okra curry

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I’m not one for resolutions but meatless Monday is something that we are trying to implement around here. It’s not too hard to go meatless especially when it’s so easy to whip together a pasta or a big pot of soup.  This week, we decided to go Indian. There are so many vegetarian options and the Indian flavours make you almost forget that you’re skipping out on the meat.

This curry is super easy to put together. Two vegetables and a few items from the pantry and you’ve got yourself a tasty meal. In my case, I’ve also got myself a happy hubby, who sometimes complains that I don’t make enough Indian food.

Eggplant and Okra Curry

1 pound okra, cut into rounds
6 to 8 small eggplants
3 TB fried onions
3 TB crushed tomatoes
1 tsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
water
oil

Heat oil on medium heat so that it covers the bottom of a pan. Add the okra and let cook until golden. Stir occasionally, so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Combine the tomatoes, paste, and spices. Make little exes on the eggplants and fill them with a little bit of the spice mixture.

Once the okra start looking golden, add the onions and the remaining spice mixture. Add the eggplants along with a few tablespoons of water. Cover and cook over low heat until the eggplant are tender and start falling apart. Add water if necessary.

Top with cilantro and serve with chapati.

key lime pie

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With all the snow that came down last night, and the nasty roads I kept hearing about, today seemed like a great day to stay in.  We were reminiscing about the cruise we took last month (more to come on that), and recalled the fabulous weather at all the ports. Q wished that he could live in the Bahamas, and on days like today, I wish we did!

Our first port was Key West, Florida, and all the reviews about the quaint little town said that we needed to try the Key Lime Pie. We happily obliged. We had lunch at a restaurant near the water and ended our meal with the much talked about pie. It was delicious, and even hubby, who normally does not have a sweet tooth, enjoyed it.

It was a great after lunch project, the smell of the citrus reminding us of summer and hot places. Q did most of the work since it’s super simple to make.  The crust is sweet, the luscious filling is tart and the dollop of whipping cream rounds it all out.

Key Lime Pie
Adapted from Christine Cushing

Crust:
1 cup graham crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter
2 TB sugar

Filling:
1 can condensed milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup key lime juice

Topping:
1 cup whipping cream
2 TB icing sugar

Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and sugar. Press into a pie dish and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Combine the condensed milk, egg yolks and key lime juice and mix until well combined. Pour into the prepared crust and bake at 300 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Once cool, refrigerate.

Combine the whipping cream and icing sugar and beat in a mixer until you get peaks. Dollop onto each slice of key lime pie and garnish with a slice of key lime.