Eat Voraciously: Year of the tiger

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

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Here's what's for dinner tonight.

By G. Daniela Galarza

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Year of the tiger

Tonight, I think we should make Long-Life Noodles, a recipe in honor of Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival, Chinese New Year, Tết, and which is celebrated by more than 1 billion people around the world, as Lisa Lin and Hetty Lui McKinnon wrote for the Post.

For many, the holiday started last night, and will continue through the next couple of weeks. I didn't grow up celebrating Lunar New Year, so I decided to ask some of my colleagues how they mark the occasion.

Emily Liu is a news engineer who was born in Southern California — in the year of the tiger! — to parents who were born in China and immigrated to California in the late 1980s. Chinese New Year always meant a big party. "My family would get together with our family and friends and have a dinner party at someone's house. The host family would always insist that the guests shouldn't bring any dishes — 'We'll already have so much food,' 'Don't work too much,' 'It's unnecessary!' — but it would always turn into a potluck-style get-together anyways," Liu says. "Back when my brother and I were kids, we would sit at a kid's table with all of the other children, but since we've grown up, we all try to squeeze at one giant table. The night inevitably devolves into the fathers all singing Chinese karaoke together."

Liu's family always makes the food for the New Year celebration the night before, because of a belief that you can work hard at the end of the year, but should start the new year fresh and relaxed. "We always have Chinese meatballs — the round shape represents a family that's all together — mixed vegetables and dumplings," Liu says, also mentioning egg dumplings, because they look like yuan bao, the traditional Chinese gold ingot, and whole fish, because the Chinese word for fish is a homonym for "plentiful."

Shannon Liao, a video games reporter focused on investigative pieces, is a Taiwanese American and native New Yorker. "Usually I would go to my paternal extended family in New Jersey and they would cook a massive feast. Starting last year in lockdown, I began to craft my own feasts," Liao says. "Lunar New Year has to come with protein. That means a big chicken — my grandma had to help me cleave it into pieces — cooked perfectly, and a large white fish paired with Lee Kum Kee's seasoned soy sauce," Liao explains, adding that "dumplings, following a recipe from Nom Wah Tea Parlor, are also important, even if they take more effort to make from scratch."

"Both my aunt and my dad were born in the year of the tiger. I think my grandma is, too. Good luck to everyone who's the year of the tiger!"

Kim Bellware, a national breaking news reporter, is Chinese on her mom's side. Most of her family is based in Hong Kong, but she grew up in Kalamazoo, Mich., and is now based in Chicago, where there is a large Asian population. "Every year my family celebrates Chinese New Year, either in Chicago or in Hong Kong. It's always a much bigger deal when we're in Hong Kong — more decorations, more food, more gifts, and more days off work for the adults. Chinese New Year is a big enough deal where even my relatives who aren't Chinese and didn't grow up celebrating, such as my dad's family, who is Italian, do dinner together. They love it."

Bellware's go-to Chinese New Year dish? Jiaozi. "Making dumplings with family is the most important part of the celebration. I've done it in my aunt's kitchen, my ah-ma's kitchen, my parents' home, my brother's home and my own home. I've shown friends how to make them. We get into other traditional New Year's foods, like the whole fish and long noodles and turnip cake, but it's mostly about family favorites rather than following a celebration-specific menu. In recent years I've ventured into making my own xiao long bao and am moving into Chinese hand-pulled noodles. I hope to have some serviceable Long Life noodles for this year's new year celebration. The food is such an important aspect of the celebration because it connects me with my heritage, my family's traditions and is something I can not only keep with me, but share in the future. I love that I first learned to make jiaozi using a recipe that others in my family have made for generations. I can even see, as I age, how my hands are starting to look more like my ah-ma's, and my mom's. I know my dumplings will never look as good as theirs, though. They pinch perfection."

Today's recipe

Photos by Stacy Zarin Goldberg for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post

Long-Life Noodles

The noodles in this dish are commonly labeled e-fu or yi mein. They usually are available dried and compressed into blocks. Fresh Shanghai noodles or, in a pinch, linguine can be substituted. Asian shallots are redder, smaller and milder than their Western counterparts; either can be used, as long as you add the correct measured amount. Chinese chives, also called garlic chives, are worth seeking out. They have a deliciously tangy flavor, and they turn a vibrant green after a couple minutes of cooking. All of the ingredients in the recipe are easily found in Asian markets.

You can be flexible with this recipe: If you really like mushrooms, add more. If you must have meat, cut chicken, pork or beef into small pieces and stir-fry them along with the garlic and shallots.

For easy printing and scaling, view this recipe in our Recipe Finder.

Servings: 4 to 6
Active time: 30 mins
Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

8 medium dried black mushrooms
2 cups very hot water
Two 9-ounce packages of fresh egg noodles or one 8-ounce package dried egg noodles
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 tablespoon low-sodium or regular soy sauce
3 medium cloves garlic, grated or minced (about 1 tablespoon)
3 tablespoons chopped Asian shallots (see headnote)
4 ounces button mushrooms (white or cremini), trimmed and sliced (1 cup)
2 ounces enoki mushrooms, trimmed and separated into bite-size pieces (1 cup)
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
5 Chinese chives or skinny scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths (see headnote)
1/2 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

Steps

1. In a medium bowl, combine the dried mushrooms with the hot water and let stand until the mushrooms are rehydrated, about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain the mushrooms, reserving 1 cup of the soaking liquid. Slice the mushrooms into 1/4-inch-thick strips.

2. Prepare the noodles according to the package directions. At the end of the cooking time, pour them into a colander and rinse under cold running water. Drain well and transfer the noodles to a large bowl; add 1 tablespoon of the oil and the soy sauce. Toss to combine.

3. Heat a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the garlic and shallots; cook for 30 to 45 seconds, until fragrant. Add the black mushrooms and button mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until the mushrooms are almost cooked through. Add the enoki mushrooms, the reserved mushroom liquid, oyster sauce, chives and the salt (add less salt if you are using regular soy sauce). Add the noodles, then stir quickly until the ingredients are well mixed and heated through (use tongs or a spatula in each hand to evenly toss the noodles, if necessary). Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot.

Adapted from "The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook," by Patricia Tanumihardja (Sasquatch Books, 2009). Tested by Jane Touzalin.

Nutrition information per serving (based on 6; using low-sodium soy sauce): Calories: 245; Total Fat: 9 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Cholesterol: 32 mg; Sodium: 750 mg; Carbohydrates: 35 g; Dietary Fiber: 2 g; Sugars: 4 g; Protein: 7 g.