For me, food is the best way to celebrate just about any holiday. That is certainly true for the Chinese New Year celebration, which begins this year on Monday.
According to the Chinese zodiac, we're now entering the Year of the Dragon, a time of good fortune. So let's observe it by cooking a dish that represents a fortunate new year for us all.
Noodles are traditionally served at Chinese New Year celebrations, with their lengthy strands representing long lives for those who eat them. So, take care not to cut your noodles when eating lo mein in the recipe I share with you here. Instead, lift up several strands at a time with your chopsticks and take them into your mouth whole or twirl them up Western style on your fork, resting the end of its tines in the bowl of a spoon.
Lo mein are traditional Chinese wheat noodles, rounded strands similar to spaghetti. You'll find them dried in Chinese food stores or in the Asian foods section of most markets; but, for the sake of convenience, you can substitute spaghetti. Whichever you use, be sure to precook the noodles only until al dente - tender but still slightly chewy - and then drain them; they'll continue to cook a bit when you add them to this stir-fry toward the end of cooking.
Speaking of stir-frying, that simple Asian cooking technique speeds the preparation of the recipe. It helps to use a wok, which has a curved bottom, which maximizes the cooking surface. It distributes heat evenly and promotes thorough tossing of the ingredients as you stir them continuously.
You can find woks with flattened undersides that enable them to sit stably on a Western-style stove burner; and there are also good electric woks that heat up perfectly to let you do the cooking on a countertop. In a pinch, though, you can use a large skillet with curved sides.
All of the ingredients for this dish, adapted from a recipe developed at my Chinois restaurants, can be easily found at a well-stocked supermarket. Some of them also express a pan-Asian sensibility that extends beyond the Chinese kitchen alone.
The ponzu, for example, is a traditional Japanese bottled condiment that combines soy sauce, rice vinegar and citrus juice. If you can't find it, mix those three ingredients together to taste.
And then there's a more Western ingredient in the mixture, too - a few tablespoons of butter. Added along with the ponzu toward the end of cooking, it helps bind the sauce together and adds a touch of richness - just the thing you need for a dish to observe a prosperous new year.
GARLIC-PONZU SHRIMP WITH LO MEIN NOODLES
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
2 pounds fresh large shrimp, shelled and deveined
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons soybean or vegetable oil
1 cup sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 cup thinly sliced baby bok choy leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
2 pounds lo mein noodles or spaghetti, cooked al dente following package instructions, drained
1 cup bottled ponzu sauce
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
To prepare wok: Preheat wok or large skillet over high heat.
To stir-fry shrimp: Using paper towels, pat shrimp dry. Lightly season shrimp with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons oil to wok. Heat until oil swirls easily and gives off thin haze. Immediately add the shrimp. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or just until they turn pink. Remove shrimp to strainer. Set aside to drain oil.
To stir-fry vegetables: Drizzle remaining oil into hot wok. Heat until hot. Immediately add mushrooms and bok choy. Stir-fry for 3 to 5 minutes or just until colors are bright and vegetables are tender but still slightly crunchy.
To stir-fry noodles: Add garlic and noodles to vegetables in wok, separating noodles as you add them. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until noodles are heated through and garlic is fragrant. Return shrimp to wok. Add ponzu sauce and butter. Stir-fry, tossing well, just until butter has melted and sauce is hot and coats all ingredients.
To serve: Transfer mixture to serving bowl or platter. Arrange some shrimp attractively on top. Garnish with scallions. Serve immediately.
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More CNY posts will follow ! But somewhat earlier above this Wolfgang Puck is talking about some Japanese ingredients .......not so sure if he is mixing up China & Japan ..........