Happy Chinese New Year.

Though many people are happy the year of the Rat is over and the year of the Ox has begun. Personally for me the year of the Rat was awesome.

That being said I don't have anything against Ox's.

But if you are planning to celebrate by going to your local Chinatown may I suggest reading this article on what to order when eating Dim Sum. I wish I had something like this the last time I went. Let's just say the husband did not have a good time.

Goodies from the Japanese market
Originally uploaded by foodiechickie4775

In honor of Chinese New Year as well as all I have been wanting to eat are pancakes; plus I had some scallions in the fridge that needed to be used soon, so I made one of my and Niel's favorite appetizers scallion pancakes.

I used Ming Tsai's recipe and they were tasty!

Scallion Pancakes with Ginger Dipping Sauce Recipe Courtesy of Ming Tsai



2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup sliced scallions
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 cup canola oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup ginger dipping sauce, recipe to follow

In a bowl, sift flour. Slowly add water in a steady stream while mixing with a wooden spoon. Keep adding water until a ball is formed. With the same procedure, one can use a food processor with a metal blade. Let ball of dough >relax for about 30 minutes and cover with damp cloth.
On a floured surface, roll out dough into a thin rectangle. Brush on oil mixture, cover with scallion and season with salt and pepper. Carefully roll dough like a sponge cake. Cut into 4 pieces. Take one piece and twist 3 times. Make a spiral out of this and roll again and flatten to achieve a 5 to 6 inch pancake. In a hot non-stick pan, coat with canola oil and pan sear both sides until golden brown. Cut into wedges and serve immediately with dipping sauce.


GINGER DIPPING SAUCE:
1/4 cup thin soy sauce
1/4 cup Chinese chinkiang vinegar
1/4 cup sliced scallions
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sugar


Combine all ingredients.

I have a really easy beef and broccoli recipe. I add about a cup of soy sauce, a half a table spoon of ginger and a few drops of sesame oil, sometimes garlic, to a pound of sliced beef. It all marinates while I am at work. After I come home I cook brown rice to serve with it. Of course you can cook any rice you like. I personally enjoy fried rice, but have not perfected it yet. I figure brown rice is healtier though. While the rice is boiling away, I put the meat with the marinate in a wok or a pan and let it brown. Usually most of the juice evaporates in the cooking process leaving a thick sauce. Then I add the broccoli florets and they steam while the meat is browning. Sometimes I use snowpeas instead. We eat it along with the rice and sometimes with some left over barbecue ribs and dumplings from our local Chinese take out. The dish is not as good as the beef and broccoli at take out, but it is tasty. I haven't perfected Chinese ribs or dumplings yet either. Though one time I did attempt to make Chinese ribs Niel enjoyed it, but I didn't.

I get excited whenever I find a food product I haven't tried before. I was at my local Asian market recently when I found premade dough for Scallion Pizza pie. All you had to do was add toppings and bake it. Niel and I both enjoy Scallion pancakes so I brought a package. We decided to make it plain and it wasn't scalliony enough plus the dough reminds me of Phyllo. It really did need toppings.

I enjoy all types of Asian cuisine. From dumplings to Pad Thai to Sushi. When I find something I have not tried before I will want to eat it over and over again. I had mentioned Singapore Chow Mein previously when Niel and I helped paint my brother's new place a bit ago. They had told me about this neat dish their local Chinese take out served. Thin noodles with various meat and seafood seasoned with curry. We ordered it for lunch. It was fantastic. Our local takeout unfortunately does not serve it, however we found that one of the takeout places in Niel's old neighborhood does. Since its not too far away, whenever I have a hankering for it I can eat it at any time.