c/o Chantal Dunn
Kung Hei Fat Choi—Happy New Year! While the Asian side of my family is from the Philippines, the years that my mom spent living in Hong Kong infused the Lunar New Year into our family’s annual traditions. However, as a broke college student, I look for affordable ways to celebrate the holiday on campus. This year, my friends and I spent a lovely night hand-making dumplings with my family in West Hartford, then brought the celebration back to Wesleyan in a much less authentic (but equally enjoyable) form. Here are some of the non-traditional college-friendly Lunar New Year’s dishes we indulged in!
Rice Cake Stir-Fry:
These small, circular rice cakes, which vaguely resemble coins, are said to bring wealth and prosperity in the new year. Most commonly, they are cooked in soups or stir-fried. Given the constraint of a High Rise kitchen, my friends and I opted for a simple veggie stir-fry!
Ingredients:
- 1 bag frozen rice cakes (16 oz)
- 1 eggplant
- 1 red pepper
- 1/2 onion
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil (vegetable, canola, or safflower)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 bag spinach
Stir-fry sauce:
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon gochujang paste
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
Instructions:
- Soak frozen rice cakes in water to defrost for 20 minutes. (Alternatively: boil rice cakes in water for 4 minutes, then drain.)
- Slice onion and red pepper into thin slivers, and chop eggplant into mid-sized pieces (1 inch by 3 inches).
- Heat oil in a pan on medium heat.
- Sauté onions until soft.
- Add eggplant and red pepper to the pan.
- Mix together stir-fry sauce ingredients in a bowl, adjusting to taste.
- Add the water and 1/2 of the stir-fry sauce.
- Cover pan and steam vegetables for 5 minutes.
- Uncover pan and turn heat up to medium-high.
- Add rice cakes, remainder of stir-fry sauce, and spinach.
- Stir-fry in pan until sauce is cooked down, eggplant is soft, and rice cakes are browned and have a chewy texture.
Pan-Seared Baby Bok Choy:
Leafy greens are meant to bring in growth and good fortune. While bok choy has certainly taken the limelight amongst Chinese vegetables in America, choy sum is a similar (and more flavorful) leafy green that is also enjoyed on the Lunar New Year. So while this is technically a bok choy recipe, feel free to substitute choy sum!
Ingredients:
- 1 pound baby bok choy
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- Hoisin sauce
Instructions:
- Wash baby bok choy thoroughly with cold water, cut off any small roots at the base of the plant, and slice heads in half.
- Add sesame oil to the pan and turn the burner to medium heat.
- Sear bok choy cut-side down for 2 minutes.
- Add 2 tablespoons water and cover pan. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Uncover and let water cook off, removing bok choy from pan when slightly soft and vibrant green.
- Drizzle hoisin sauce on top and enjoy!
Non-DIY Dumplings:
Dumplings, the pouches of delicious goodness they are, supposedly evoke the image of money pouches and symbolize wealth. For the sake of time, our Wesleyan Lunar New Year’s celebration involved cooking pre-made dumplings, in lieu of hand-wrapping filling made from scratch.
Ingredients:
- Frozen dumplings—any brand works, but consider this an ode to Trader Joe’s offerings:
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (vegetable, canola, safflower)
- 2 tablespoons water
Dipping Sauce:
- Chili oil
- Vinegar
- Soy sauce
- Hoisin sauce
- Sesame oil
- Gochujang
Instructions:
- Bring pan to medium heat and add oil.
- Pan-fry dumplings until bottoms are slightly golden.
- Add water, cover pan.
- Cook until the sides are soft, then enjoy your dumplings!
- For the sauce, select ratios and combinations to taste. Chili oil is a great topping on its own. You can combine vinegar and soy sauce for a classic dipping sauce, or combine sesame oil, gochujang, soy sauce, and hoisin for a sweet and spicy sauce.
Chantal Dunn can be reached at cadunn@wesleyan.edu.