— FOODWISE BALTIMORE  —

Lunar New Year is approaching — a big day in much of the world. To celebrate it, here’s an excellent noodle recipe to try, some basic information about the holiday and a couple of  events happening around town in this, The Year of the Rabbit . . .

Thursday, Feb. 3 is the Lunar New Year for 2011 and, for most of the countries and groups that celebrate it, it will end on the full moon, fifteen days later.

Using our Western traditional solar calendar, lunar holidays are sometimes referred to as “movable feasts.” Why? The calendar we mostly negotiate the world with, finds these holidays on a different day each year. Exactly the way we set a solar date for Easter and Passover.

In Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Peoples Republic of China, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam, the Lunar New Year is celebrated as a national holiday. In Cambodia, Japan, Philippines and Thailand it is a major festival, but not a public holiday.

In addition to long-life noodles, dishes typically prepared on the day include fish, sweet rice dishes, oranges and fruit, usually served with ginger and honey or sugar syrup. Lotus seeds are considered an auspicious treat.

Though we now refer to “lunar new year” to cover the celebrations of all these countries and regions, the unique tastes are not lost. Countries have their own names for the holiday: For the Koreans it is Seolnal, for instance. In Vietnam, it is Tet Nguyen Dan. Special dishes of the holiday are banh chung square shaped sweet rice cake, mung beans and pork served with dua mon, a pickle of radishes, peppers, beans and sprouts.

An easy all-purpose way to celebrate is to deck yourself out in some red finery and send cheerful notes to friends and family with the newly-minted U.S. Postal stamp celebrating the year of the Rabbit.

Gather together and share an Asian style meal. Invite a stranger. Make the attached recipe for Spicy Pork Noodles. Or go out to eat in the cuisine of your choice. Celebrate by eating a dish you have never eaten before.

SOME GOINGS ON:

At Joe Squared, from Feb. 4 – 11, they’re doing a special Year of the Rabbit Menu with some wild items, including  Tofu Chinese Potato Skins. A portion of sales will go toward scholarships at a school in rural China, Sias International University.  For more information contact Joe Squared, at 133 W. North Ave. in Baltimore. Phone is  410-545-0444.

The Walters Art Museum will have “Year of the Rabbit” events on Sunday Feb. 6^th, from noon to 3:00 p.m. Enjoy traditional New Year performances by the Johns Hopkins University Lion Dance Troupe, the Baltimore Chinese School, and more.  Adults and kids can also create their own rabbit-inspired works of art. For more information, email landerson@thewalters.org or call 410-547-9000 ext. 323

Gōng Xi Fa Cái . . . Best wishes for all good things!

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RECIPE: CELEBRATION NOODLES

Traditionally this recipe would be made with uncut ‘longevity’ noodles but they are often difficult to find. These are just as delicious. The recipe is my interpretation of my friend Nancy’s recipe. Asia Foods at 5224 York Road, has all the ingredients, except the ground pork, which is readily available in traditional stores. They are open 9-6 Monday through Saturday and 9-5 Sunday. I wrote about Asia Foods, by the way, in May.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds of medium-size Asian dry flat wheat noodles.

3 tablespoons of canola or peanut oil

2 tablespoons of minced garlic

3 tablespoons of minced ginger

3 tablespoons of hot bean paste (use 2 T if you want lower heat)

3 tablespoons of regular bean paste (hoisin sauce may be substituted)

1 ½ pounds of ground pork

½ pound sliced mushrooms – white or baby bellos

2 cups of dried bean curd (tofu) cubed

3 tablespoons of Chinese white cooking wine (any white wine will also do)

3 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 cups of blanched* green bean sprouts (if they are not available fresh omit them- the canned ones are awful)

Garnish:

2 cups of cucumber, peeled and seeded, in small dice

1  cup of finely sliced green onions, white and green parts

Method:

Noodles:

Follow the instructions on the package to cook them. Usually they take no more than 5 minutes to cook. Rinse in large colander, under cold water to separate strands. But not to worry the sauce will do that as well

Sauce:

1-    Heat the oil in a Dutch Oven, over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger and stir for about 30 seconds. Lower heat to medium and add the bean paste and hot bean paste. Stir for 1 minute. Add the ground pork and with a wooden spoon stir diligently to break up the pork into tiny bits. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2-    Stir in the mushrooms and dried tofu.

3-     Add wine and soy sauce and stir for 3-4 minutes.

4-    Stir in blanched bean sprouts.

5-    Add the noodles and stir well with 2 wooden spoons to distribute ingredients. Stir until the noodles are hot.

Note: If you don’t have a large Dutch oven you can make the sauce in a wok and when it is finished place half of the sauce in a large skillet and mix the noodles into the sauce over medium heat in both pans.

Plate in a large bowl and garnish with the  cucumber and green onions.

* To blanch bean sprouts: Rinse them under cold water. Drop them in boiling water for 1 minute and drain.

—  Email Foodwise Baltimore at  francine.halvorsen@baltimorebrew.com