Lucky Year of the Dragon Recipe: Tangerine Beef

The Year of the Dragon is upon us! Coinciding with the lunar calendar, Chinese New Year starts today and celebrations will go on for the next 15 days all over the world. Mary Kate and I were really excited when our friend Jaden Hair asked us to write a guest post over at TLC's website for Chinese New Year. If you're not familiar with Jaden and you like eating, you should be. She's the behind the deliciously steamy Steamy Kitchen website and one of the hottest women in the food industry. We've been fortunate enough to meet her in New York where she hosts the NY Dumpling Festival every year and to cook a meal with her and her family at her beautiful home in Florida.

Chinese New Year has a lot of superstitions surrounding food. The Chinese word for "lettuce" sounds like the chinese word for "rising wealth" so people eat lettuce wraps to bring good forune. Also, tangerines are very lucky to eat during Chinese New Year because the Chinese word for "tangerine" sounds a lot like the word for "luck". This recipe for Tangerine beef is delicious and healthy and you might just get lucky if you eat enough of it this week (or serve it to someone who apprecieates your cooking). It has a refreshing orange flavor but isn't sickly sweet like a lot of the "lemon/orange chicken" dishes you find at American-Chinese restaurants. We learned how to make this recipe in Sichuan Province (which is known for its spicy food) and the sauce is a mixture of spicy black bean sauce, light and dark soy sauce, hoisin sauce, spices, and a kick of zesty orange flavor. It does have a little heat but not much. Make sure you serve it with a side of white rice. A lot of people say that Chinese dishes like this are too salty from the soy sauce in them but they are meant to be eaten with bites of white rice to balance out the saltiness.

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Grilled Xinjiang Lamb Kebabs Recipe with Yogurt

Lamb used to not be a meat I thought about cooking with. It can be on the expensive side and I thought I’d just rather eat beef or order rack of lamb at a restaurant rather than cook it. Then I traveled to Xinjiang Province in the northwest corner of China—a land populated by the Uighur people (pronounced wee-gur). They are of Turkic descent and carry with them culinary traditions rooted in ancient Middle Eastern techniques. Man, do they now how to serve up lamb!

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Potato Balls with Spicy Chinese Dipping Sauce Recipe

Who doesn't love mashed potatoes? Imagine biting into a deliciously smooth and savory bite of mashed potatoes. Now imagine that wonderfully creamy bite with a slight crunch! In China's southern Yunnan province, Nate and I encountered these tasty tater tot-like fried mashed potato balls (傣味香辣土豆球, dai wei xiang la tu dou qiu). The insides are mashed potato-soft and the outside is just the right amount of crunch. It's a dish made by the Dai minority who largely populate the picturesque Xishuangbanna territory of Yunnan that borders Myanmar (Burma) in the South of China. The Dai peoples have a lot of similarities to the Thai and their fantastic Southeast Asian cuisine is largely unknown and under-appreciated in the world. Some of their other fantastic dishes can be found in our book, including Dai Pineapple Rice, and Grilled Banana Leaf Fish. These are dishes that are really rewarding to make because they are ones you can't find elsewhere and leave your guests asking for the recipe every time.

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Fried Sichuan (Szechuan) Green Beans Recipe

Fried Sichuan Green Beans (干煸四季豆, gan bian si ji dou) is one of those amazing dishes that you find in China and wonder why the heck Chinese food restaurants in the states don't catch on and make them! I've found it served in some restaurants in Chinatown New York, but never the Sichuan-style green beans that are so mouth-numbingly spicy and addicting you wonder if there's crack in them. It's always a crowd favorite (seriously, when Nate and I make them for people, we never have leftovers) and way better than a traditional green bean casserole.

The outsides of the beans fry crinkly and crispy and the combination of chiles and Sichuan (or Szechuan) peppercorns burst with Sichuan's signature ma la (mouth-numbingly spicy) flavor. 

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Strawberry-Chile Chinese Cocktail Recipe

Garnishing the glass with a red chili looks really cool. Just make sure to warn your guests to not eat the chile (unless you don't like them)!

Spicy, spicy, spicy! These Strawberry-Chile Cocktails are hands-down my favorite drink to fix for people during the winter when it's FREEZING outside. I love the way they look with the fresh red chile perched on the rim and they taste so delicous. Sweet fresh strawberries are pureed with a spicy red chile and mixed with vodka to create a cocktail with a serious kick. Their spiciness is sure to kick off any party. For a more summery flavor, try rum!

Nate and I have experimented with adding different amounts of red chile to the mix. When we tried blending one whole red chile in the cocktail, our faces were on fire. We couldn't even finish our drinks . . . and that's saying something because we're no softies when it comes to hot stuff. I like using a half of a red chile but only because I don't mind feeling like my mouth is engulfed in flames. A safe bet is using a fourth of a red chile (that's all Nate can handle). Don't worry, it's still hot! Whenever we make these for guests, we tell them NOT to eat the chile on the rim. Still, someone always does try to eat one!

At certain times of the year when they are out of season, small fresh red chilies can be hard to find at grocery stores in the states but don't be tempted to substitue a large pepper--it won't have the same kick.  Most specialty grocery stores will have them year-round. Look for "thai chilies" or "birds eye chilies".

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