Chinese New Year is just around the corner, and needless to say reunion dinner is definitely the most awaited day of the celebration. So, have you decided on the menu for the reunion dinner? Do you want to wow your in-laws and family with some special dishes that can create a lasting impression and great memories? Well, if you plan to do something different than the usual, we suggest you try these five super delicious dish ideas compiled from various sources just for you.
They’re a sure win, so give it a try!
#1. Cantonese Stir-Fried Prawns in Orange Sauce (Har Lok)
INGREDIENTS
- 8 King Size Prawns King-sized
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 100 ml Oil
- 1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp Sugar
- 1 Orange Rind from a whole orange
- 100 ml Orange Juice
INSTRUCTIONS
- Use a pair of scissors, snip along the back of the prawn shell. Then use a knife to make a deeper cut to butterfly the prawn with its shell on. Then remove the debris from the prawns with a sharp knife or toothpick.
- Wash the prawns and pat dry. Marinate with 3/4 tsp of salt and leave to stand in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Cut the rind of the orange into thin strips. Then, squeeze the orange into a bowl and set aside. Combine the oyster sauce, black soya sauce and sugar in a bowl.
- Put the oil into the wok and turn heat to high. Add prawns in to deep fry until 70% cooked or till the shell turns slightly whitish in colour. Deep fry the prawns in small batches otherwise all the heads will drop out.
- When all the prawns are fried, remove and put on a plate.
- Pour the oil from the wok leaving about 1 Tbsp.
- Add half the orange rind and fry for a few seconds. Add the sauce mixture and the orange juice and let it caramelise a little.
- Put all the prawns into the wok and stir fry the prawns until they are well coated with the sauce. Be gentle when stir frying lest the prawn heads will drop off.Continue to cook for about 2-3 mins until the sauce thickens and some burnt bits are spotted on the shell of the prawns. Turn off the heat.
- Transfer the prawns on a plate and garnish with the remaining orange rind, parsley and spring onion. Serve while it’s hot.
#2. Crispy Fried Pumpkin with Salted Egg Yolk
INGREDIENTS (For the salted egg yolks):
- 1 cup sea salt
- 4 cups water
- 2 teaspoons Szechuan peppercorns (optional)
- 1 star anise (optional)
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine)
- 12 eggs
For the fried pumpkin:
- 250 grams sugar pumpkin, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 6 tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 tablespoons neutral oil, plus more for frying
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 Thai bird’s eye chile, minced
- 2 sprigs curry leaves (about 10)
- 5 salted egg yolks (from above), mashed with a fork
INSTRUCTIONS
For the salted egg yolks:
- Add the salt and water to a small saucepan and add the star anise and peppercorns, if using. Bring to a boil and stir until the salt dissolves. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely. Once cool, stir in the Shaoxing.
- Rinse and dry the eggs, then place them carefully in a jar with a lid.
- Pour the cool solution over the eggs, making sure it covers them completely. In order to prevent the eggs from floating, you’ll want to weigh them down. Linda at Malaysian Chinese Kitchen suggests using a ziptop bag filled halfway with water. You’ll squish this baggie between the jar opening and the lid so that the eggs stay submerged.
- Seal the jar, then put it in a room temperature spot for 4 to 5 weeks. After 4 weeks, crack open an egg and let the whites (which will be cloudy) fall away. If the yolk is bright yellow-orange and firm to the touch, your egg yolks are ready to use. You can rinse and dry the eggs and keep them in the fridge for 1 month.
For the fried pumpkin:
- Toss the sliced pumpkin with the sugar, salt, and pepper. Add the beaten egg and stir so that the pumpkin slices are coated.
- Pour the cornstarch into a shallow bowl or onto a plate. Working with a couple of pieces of pumpkin at a time, transfer them to the plate and evenly coat in a thin layer of cornstarch. Repeat until all of the pumpkin is coated.
- Heat an inch or two of cooking oil in a frying pan with high sides. Working in batches so that you don’t crowd the pan, fry the cornstarch-coated pumpkin until crisp and golden brown. Set on paper towels to drain.
- When you’ve finished making the pumpkin, start the salted egg yolk sauce. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat, then add the garlic, chile, and curry leaves and stir until fragrant, a few minutes. Add the mashed salted egg yolks and the 3 remaining tablespoons of cooking oil. When the egg yolks start to sizzle and foam, reduce the heat to low, add the fried pumpkin, and stir to coat evenly.
- Remove from the heat and serve warm.
#3. Oven-Roasted Five Spice Peking Chicken
INGREDIENTS
- Chicken
- Soy Sauce – use both light soy sauce and dark soy sauce.
- Sugar, honey or maple syrup
- Ginger
- Five Spice or Chinese five spice powder
For Ginger Scallion Sauce:
- salt, oil, green onions, and ginger
INSTRUCTIONS
- Marinate. Dust ½ teaspoon of five spice inside the cavity of the chicken, then combine all the marinating ingredients into a ziplock or a large bowl with the chicken. You want to marinate the chicken for a minimum of 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Cook the Chicken. Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before putting it in the oven. Stuff the ginger slices that you used for marinating into the chicken.
- Preheat the oven, and put the chicken in when it has come up to temperature. I highly suggest using a rack so that there is proper airflow under the chicken to allow it to crisp up a bit. If you don’t have a rack, you can crunch up foil into little balls and rest the chicken on top of it.
- Create the Basting Sauce. Cook the remaining marinade over the stovetop and add honey or maple syrup at the very end to sweeten and slightly thicken it.
- Basting. This is where the magic begins. In the first 20 minutes of the roasting, the chicken will release its oil from the skin. Use a brush and baste the chicken with the drippings for the first hour every 20 mins. (If your chicken doesn’t have oil drippings, you can use a tablespoon of oil and baste it with that.) After the hour mark, baste the chicken with the basting sauce every 10 minutes, approximately 2-3 times or until the marinade is finished.
- Let the chicken sit for an additional 10-15 minutes before carving into it to allow the juices to redistribute into the meat.
#4. Triple Egg Spinach Broth
INGREDIENTS
- Round Spinach, 440g (washed and separate stems and leaves)
- Salted Egg, 1 (removed charcoal and rinse thoroughly)
- Century Egg, 1 (removed dried mug and rinse thoroughly and de-shelled)
- Cooking Oil, 1 tablespoon
- Garlic, 2 cloves (chopped)
- Chicken Stock, 350ml
- Wolfberries, 2 tablespoons
- Salt, 1/4 teaspoon
- Sugar, 1/2 teaspoon
- Egg, 1 (beaten and whisked well)
- Sesame Oil, 1 teaspoon
- Shaoxing Wine (Chinese Cooking Wine), 1 teaspoon
Preparations:
- In a pot, place salted egg in, add water till it covers the egg, bring it to a boil over medium heat and simmer for 7 minutes. Remove salted egg, de-shell and set aside for later use.
- Slice both century egg and salted egg with a needle thread, and set it aside for later use.
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a pot, heat cooking oil over medium heat.
- Add chopped garlic and stir fry till slightly golden brown. Add chicken stock, wolfberries and bring it to a boil.
- When boiling, add spinach stems, salt, sugar and simmer for 2 minutes. Add spinach leaves and simmer for another 2 minutes.
- When boiling, add beaten egg, stir well and simmer for 1 minute. Turn off heat and drizzle sesame oil and Shaoxing wine, before serving.
Tips:
- You may soak the century egg into water for at least 10 minutes prior, for easy removal of the dried mug.
#5. Braised Ee-Fu Noodles
INGREDIENTS
- 100 grams (2 bundles) dry ee-fu noodles
- 1 tbsp olive/vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 100 grams hon shimeiji mushrooms ends trimmed
- 50 grams shiitake mushrooms caps only; sliced thinly
- 100 grams yellow chives cut to 2 inch (5 cm) lengths
- 1-2 handfuls of beansprouts
- 1 tbsp Chinese Shaoxing wine
- 100 grams roasted duck meat (discard skin and bones)
- 5 canned straw mushrooms halved
(A) Sauce – Combine well in a small bowl
- 100 ml chicken stock
- 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp fish sauce
- 1/4 tsp light soy sauce
- 3 dashes white pepper powder
- 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Bring a small pot of water to boil. Add ee-fu noodles and cook until the noodles are just separated (still firm and under-cooked). Drain the noodles and run through tap water to cool. Set aside.
- Heat Vegetable oil in wok. Add garlic and stir fry for 10 seconds. Add hon shimeiji and shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry until they are just softened.
- Add chives and bean sprouts. Drizzle Chinese wine at the side of the wok. Stir fry for a minute.
- Add sauce (A), drained noodles, roasted duck and straw mushrooms. Stir fry to coat everything thoroughly in the sauce. Cover with lid and simmer on low heat for 3 minutes, or until the noodles have just soaked up most of the sauce.