Christmas and New Year are over, there’s no real excuse to celebrate until St. Paddy’s. Grumble grumble. But wait – not so! This weekend, I fully embraced Chinese New Year and cooked up a traditional New Year’s feast which was inexpensive, healthy and very delicious. I’m already planning Mardi Gras in February; any excuse to eat Cajun and Creole food.
Keeping with Chinese tradition, I had steamed whole sea bass with black beans, served with Buddha’s delight and egg fried rice. This meal serves two and only takes half an hour to cook.
Whole steamed sea bass with black bean
In China, fish is traditionally served whole (with head and tail) to symbolise a happy beginning and end to the New Year. I picked up a whole Sea bass for only €3.49 in Superquinn and it was plenty to eat for two when served with the vegetable packed Buddha’s delight and rice.
Ingredients:
- 1 whole sea bass, well cleaned
- 2 tablespoons salted black beans
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 whole green onion, cut into 1 inch thin strips
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions:
1. Place the black beans in a bowl and cover with warm water, stir them for 2 minutes to remove the excess salt and rinse and drain well.
2. In a bowl, combine the ginger, salt, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, vegetable oil, black beans and garlic.
3. Slash the sea bass three times on each side and rub the cavity and outside of the fish with the mixture. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or more.
4. Place the fish in a steamer for 10 minutes or until the fish is flaky. Garnish with the green onion.
Note: The fish will taste better if you use a steamer, you can pick up a bamboo one for less than three euro in most Asian markets. If you don’t have a steamer, you can cook the fish in the microwave; cover the fish with cling film on a microwave dish and cook for 3 minutes on high. Let stand for 2 minutes and rotate the dish. Cook an additional 2 minutes on high.
Lo Hon Jai
Buddha’s Delight
This vegetarian dish often pops up on Chinese menu’s and is traditionally served on New Year”s day representing purity. There are many versions of this dish which include grinko nuts and lily buds but I made a simpler version. I had all the ingredients for the sauce and bought all the main ingredients in the Oriental Emporium on Rathmines Road in Dublin but they are available in most supermarkets. This dish is traditionally served with noodles but I served it with egg fried rice.
Main ingredients:
- 8 dried Shiitake mushrooms
- 227g bamboo shoots, sliced
- 227g water chestnuts, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 large carrots, peeled, cut in half and cut into strips
- 100g pak choi (Chinese cabbage)
- 1 cup snow peas, trimmed
- 1/4 cup toasted cashew nuts, toasted
- 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 4 tablespoons vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions:
1. Prepare and cut the vegetables and set aside.
2. In a bowl, mix the vegetable stock, Chinese rice wine, dark soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. Set aside.
3. Heat the wok over medium-high to heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil to the heated wok.
5. When hot, add the carrots. Stir-fry for 1 minute, and add the dried mushrooms. Stir-fry for 1 minute, and add the water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, snow peas and ginger. Stir in the pak choi and cashew nuts.
6. Add the sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover, turn down the heat and let the vegetables simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and add salt or other seasonings as desired.
Price check: Oriental Emporium, Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6
Tilda Brown Basmati rice 500g – €2.80
Salted Black Beans 500g – €1.65
227g can of water chestnuts – €0.95
227g can of bamboo shoots – €0.95
Bag of 20 dried Shiitake mushrooms – €1.80
200g Pak choi – €0.78
Total: €8.93