Please join us in welcoming the Year of the Ox at our annual Chinese New Year Celebration. This year’s event will take place virtually on YouTube. We have many performances including lion dancing, musical performances, calligraphy, storytelling, and many more. Ring in the lunar new year with a night of celebration!

Date: Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Time: 6:15 – 7:15pm CST
Location: YouTube Premiere
Watch the video here.

Below are the recipes for the Chinese New Year video:

Vivian’s YIMEIN NOODLES:

• 3 quarts water (for pre-cooking the noodles)
• 12 ounces Yi Mein noodles (12 ounces/340g, dry)
• ⅛ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1 tablespoon hot water
• 2 teaspoons regular soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce (or vegetarian oyster sauce)
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• Freshly ground white pepper
• 3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)
• 5 shiitake mushrooms (thinly sliced)
• 8 ounces Chinese chives (225g, cut into 2-inch long pieces, with the light and dark green parts separated)

1. Boil 3 quarts of water in a large wok or pot to pre-cook your Yi Mein noodles. Once boiling, add the noodles.
2. The directions on the box may say to boil the noodles for 5 minutes, but we recommend no more than 3 to 4 minutes to keep them firm and chewy. Overcook them, and you will end up with a mushy texture.
3. Sample a noodle while cooking, and when it tastes closer to the uncooked side of al dente pasta, it’s ready. When the noodles are done, immediately drain and set aside.
4. Dissolve the sugar and salt in 1 tablespoon of hot water, and add the regular soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper. Stir until combined.
5. Heat the wok until just smoking, and spread 2 tablespoons of oil around the perimeter.
6. Add the shiitake mushrooms and the light green parts of the Chinese chives, and stir fry for 30 seconds. The mushrooms are like sponges and will soak up the oil, so add another tablespoon of oil if they look too dry.
7. Add the noodles (they still should be warm but with no water dripping), and stir fry everything for another 20 seconds. If they cooled off, just cook them a bit longer until they are warmed, because warming the noodles before adding the sauce is important!
8. Spread the prepared sauce mixture evenly over the noodles, and stir-fry everything together for 1 minute, or until the soy sauce mixture is distributed evenly. Spread another tablespoon of oil around the perimeter of the wok to prevent sticking if you feel you need it.
9. How much oil you use is definitely a personal preference. If the noodles stick together, drizzle a bit of oil directly over the noodles. You can also add a splash of hot water if the noodles are too dry, even after adding the sauce.
10. Mix gently so you don’t break up the noodles. Remember, you want to have long noodles to give longevity and prosperity to whoever’s going to be eating this dish!
11. Add in the remaining green parts of the chives and mix until they turn bright green and the noodles are heated through.
12. This will take 1-3 minutes, depending on if your noodles were cold or still warm when you started stir frying, and how hot your stove and wok can get.

Mallory’s CHINESE PRAWN CRACKERS:

• 2 cups of vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 box of shrimp or prawn flavored chips (colored)

1. Heat the oil to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, and adjust your burner to maintain a constant temperature. You can use a thermometer to monitor the oil temperature for optimum frying.
2. Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with paper towels. You will also need a spider or a large spoon to handle the shrimp chips when frying.
3. Place 8-10 chips in the spider and drop them into the hot oil. Give them a gentle stir. Almost immediately, you will see the chips expand and float to the top of the oil.
4. Use your spider to quickly scoop them out of the oil before they get scorched or burned. Shake off as much of the excess oil as possible, and transfer them to your prepared sheet pan. Fry the chips in batches until you have enough, and transfer the cooled chips to a basket and serve. The kids will love them!

Ada’s SOY SAUCE CHICKEN:

• 1 whole chicken
• 2 teaspoons oil
• 7 slices ginger
• 3 star anise
• 1 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine
• 1 1/4 cups soy sauce
• 1 cup dark soy sauce
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups water

1. Take your chicken out of the refrigerator an hour before you plan to cook. You’ll want it at room temperature when it hits the pot. Rinse the chicken inside and out.
2. Grab your stock pot. It will ideally be a tall, narrow pot that will just fit the chicken, since it should be totally submerged in the cooking liquid. Put it over medium low heat, and add the oil and ginger.
3. Let the ginger caramelize for about 30 seconds. Add the star anise and Shaoxing wine, and bring to a simmer to let some of the alcohol cook off. Add the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, salt, and water. Bring to a simmer again and cook on low heat for another 20 minutes.
4. Increase the heat to bring the liquid to a slow boil. Lower the chicken slowly into the pot breast side up. Make sure any air pockets in the cavity fill up completely with liquid.
5. Once the chicken goes in, the cooking liquid will cool down. Let it cook for about 5 minutes at medium high heat. Next, carefully lift the chicken out of the water and empty the liquid inside the cavity, which will be cooler than the liquid surrounding the chicken. Lower the chicken back into the pot, making sure once again that there aren’t any air pockets in the cavity. If the chicken is not completely submerged, periodically baste the exposed area with cooking liquid.
6. Bring the liquid back up to a simmer, keep it at this slow simmer for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let the chicken sit in the pot for another 15 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. If you like, you can use a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh to confirm it’s reached 165 degrees F.
7. Use the sauce from the pot to occasionally baste the chicken and keep the skin moist as it cools. Serve over rice with some sauce from the pot!

Angela and Consuela’s SHRIMP DUMPLINGS:

• 1 cup of shrimp
• 1 cup of cut up chives
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup of Mushrooms
• 1.5 cups Flour
• 3/4 cups Room Temperature water
• For seasoning and sauces below, use discretion:
  • Canola oil
  • Soy sauce
  • Oyster sauce
  • Sugar
  • Salt

1. Mix together flour and water to knead the dough. Let rest for 20 minutes and knead again.
2. Scramble eggs with canola oil and cut into small pieces.
3. Mix together shrimp, eggs, chives, mushrooms, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and salt to make the dumpling filling.
4. Cut up dumpling dough into one long roll. Then cut up the long roll into smaller chunks. Roll out the chunks into palm-sized circles.
5. Fill the dough circles with dumpling filling.
6. Place dumplings into boiling water and boil until they float up to the surface. Enjoy with a sauce of vinegar and chopped green onions.