By Mary Szakmeister

Won ton recipe

Pork Wontons

Folding wontons
Making Wontons

1 package wonton skins
1/2 pound ground pork
1 TBS soy sauce
1 scallion, minced
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp Sherry
(You can add other ingredients to your own taste—ginger, minced water chestnuts, shrimp—whatever you like)
Mix pork with soy sauce, scallion, cornstarch and Sherry. Saute in small amount of peanut oil until cooked thoroughly. Cool.

Place about 1 teaspoon of the filling in the lower section of the wonton with one of the flat sides toward you.  Dip your fingers in water, then run your fingers down the sides of the wonton.  Fold the lower part of the wrapper over the filling twice so that the filling is tucked in.  Draw the two sides together and press the dough together.

Don’t forget to get your Year of the Horse earrings from our Artfire store.

Step by step instructions for wrapping wontons
Wonton Wrapping

Fried Wontons   Heat peanut oil at least 2-3 inches deep, to 365 degrees, in a wok or deep-frying pan. Carefully lower the wontons into the oil, leaving room so they don’t touch each other. As soon as they turn golden brown, scoop them out and drain on paper towels. Continue cooking the rest in the same manner. Serve with plum sauce or duck sauce, hot mustard and soy sauce.

Wonton Soup   Fold the wontons in the same manner. Bring a pot of chicken broth (you can cut it with water in a two broth to one water ratio) to boiling. Add the wontons and cook until tender. You top with sliced scallions, fresh chopped spinach, extra wonton noodles that you’ve sliced and fried or left over pork filling.

For variations on this recipe, see tastehongkong.com/recipes/wontons-in-soup/

 

How the Buddha Named the Years

As you are no doubt aware, Chinese years are associated with animals, but you may not know how this tradition started.  Many, many years ago on New Year’s Eve, the Buddha called together the animals and twelve of them attended. To reward them, the Buddha named a year after each one.  The Buddha decided to give human beings born in those years some of the attributes of the animals associated with the year. For example, people  born in horse years like 2014 are said to be cheerful, skillful with money, perceptive, witty, talented and dextrous.

The Chinese calendar is quite different from the Western calendar we use.  The Chinese is based on two cycles—the zodiac with its twelve parts  (the animals) and the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and  earth.  The combination of these two cycles means a particular year such as this one, the year of wood and the horse, comes around every 60 years.

The animals who showed up on that New Year’s Eve so long ago represent the different years in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese horoscope was developed around these animals and elements to describe humans’ personalities.   Here is what the year you were born in the Chinese calendar says about you:

The rat is said to be quick-witted, smart, charming and persuasive.  The ox is described as patient, kind, stubborn and conservative. The tiger is authoritative emotional, courageous and intense, while the rabbit is popular, compassionate, and sincere.  The dragon is said to be energetic, fearless, warm and charismatic, the snake, charming, both outgoing and introverted, generous and smart. Then there is  the sheep, mild-mannered, shy, kind and peace-loving, and the monkey, fun, energetic and active. The rooster is independent, practical, hard-working and alert.  The dog is patient, diligent, generous, faithful and kind, and, finally, the pig is said to be loving, tolerant, honest and self-indulgent.

Yin and yang also affect the astrology of China by assigning these opposing forces—the yin to odd years and the yang to even ones.  Yin is said to be symbolize the earth, female, dark, and passive, and yang the heaven, light, active and male.

This year, as you celebrate the year of the wooden horse, you can appreciate how it came to be named that, and maybe look at your own personality and those of your friends and family in terms of the Chinese zodiac.  To help you celebrate, my next post will be a tried and true recipe for wontons  just like my grandma would have made had she been Chinese.

 

 

Getting Ready for Chinese New Year’s Festival

Chinese New Year’s is right around the corner, and there are some things you might want to know before you start chilling the champagne again.

chinese-new-year-of-the-horse

Chinese New Year’s celebration is the longest festival of the year, lasting until the Lantern Festival begins on the 15th day of the following month. The New Year’s festival commemorates one’s ancestors, and the first night is a time to gather with friends and family to share a meal consisting of chicken and pork, as well as fish. The fish is never finished that night since it is considered good luck to have fish left over into the new year.

The other thing you might want to be aware of for the Chinese New Year is that you’re supposed to clean your house! You do this in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for incoming good luck. But don’t sweep on New Year’s Day itself because you could sweep away all your good luck for the year. Decorate your doors and windows with red color paper-cuts, a type of Chinese scherenschnitte, and couplets, or words with relationships with themes of “good fortune” or “happiness”, “wealth”, and “longevity.” Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving monetary gifts in red paper envelopes.
Mary Szakmeister

Garlic Grater Dish Instructions

In case you misplaced your copy, or didn’t receive one, here are our garlic grater instructions with some ideas for how you might use your grater.

Stoneware Garlic Graters
Hand Made Stoneware Grater Dishes

This simple to use, hand-made dish offers a more efficient way to puree and grate foods like garlic in order to preserve flavor, use more of the food, and finish the job in less time. Just a few swirls around the plate reduce a clove of garlic to a flavorful paste perfect for dips, sauces, or your favorite recipes. The bumps in the center of the plate enable grating food and keeping your fingers safe at the same time. It works even with hard foods like chocolate and ginger that are normally tough to grate.. This tool makes grating a variety of foods easy and allows you to produce professional quality results with very little effort.

You can also use it to zest lemons and oranges, grind cinnamon and chocolate, or puree fresh ginger. It is simple to use. You can move in circles, up and down, or even side to side. Because the plate has some depth to it, you can also use it as a dipping plate. Grate garlic and then add some olive oil and other spices for a delicious way to enjoy fresh bread.

Garlic:  Moisten grater with cold water. Hold grater in one hand with your fingers around the edges. With your other hand hold the clove of garlic between your fingers (hold the base/root end). · Move garlic in any direction until near fingers. (Discard root end as it’s too acidic to eat). You have just made the finest garlic paste with much more intense flavor than minced garlic. Use a small, stiff brush to clean garlic out of ridges. Or leave garlic and add oil, spices and vinegar for dipping.

Other Root Vegetables: · Always moisten plate first for ginger, carrots, wasabi, taro, Jalapeños, horseradish, etc. For fibrous foods like ginger, move only back and forth directions. Use a brush to remove the pulp.

Hard Cheese, Spices, and Fine Chocolates: · Start with a dry dish. Hold the grater vertically over the dish or recipe, and move food over the grater until you have desired amount. Gravity will drop grated food down.

Dishwasher, microwave and oven safe—Made in Pennsylvania

 

Spirit of Bethlehm Mugs

Red mugs with star of Bethlehem - perfect for gluhwein, scotch and other spirits

The official gluhwein mugs for the 2013 Christmas City Village are almost sold out! If you miss them, you can still get the Spirit of Bethlehem Mugs. The are on special through this weekend at $10.  See our previous post for some delicious gluhwein recipes.