CHINESE NEW YEAR AND SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!

Happy Chinese New Year!!

And for all you sports lovers….

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

 The LOML (Love of My Life) is Chinese so we’re serving a big Chinese/American lunch consisting of Beer Can Chicken, Shrimp Fried Rice, and Beef Lo Mein. YUMMY!! My mouth is watering just typing it!

In the Chinese culture, certain foods  symbolize a sentiment. They use a homonym (the Chinese word that sounds like) of the sentiment.

For example, CHICKEN or GAI stands for prosperity, joy (JYU) and togetherness of family.

NOODLES (long and uncut) or MIAN stands for long life (MING).

Cut FRUIT (we use oranges) symbolizes life and new beginnings.

The LOML, while doing research for this post, found out that DUCK or AAP represents fertility. (We’re staying away from that!!)

The first time we tried the Beer Can Chicken was this past New Years. We had just had turkey on Christmas and the kids didn’t want ham so we looked for something a little different. We had heard great things about this chicken recipe so we tried it. It was YUMMY!! Very moist and pretty easy to do. A lot easier than turkey.

BAKED BEER CAN CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup garlic powder                                                1 (12 fluid ounce) can light-flavored beer

2 tablespoons seasoned salt                                     1 (3 pound) whole chicken

2 tablespoons onion powder                                    4 green onions, sliced

1 tablespoon dried oregano                                      4 green onions, cut in half crosswise

1 tablespoon salt                                                         1 (12 fluid ounce) can light-flavored beer

DIRECTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.  Mix the garlic powder, seasoned salt, onion powder, and ground black pepper in a small bowl; set aside. Pour 1/3 of one can of beer into the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish. Place the open beer can in the center of the baking dish.
3. Rinse chicken under cold running water. Discard giblets and neck from chicken; drain and pat dry. Fit whole chicken over the open beer can with the legs on the bottom. With the breast of the chicken facing you, use a paring knife to cut a small slit on each side and press the tip of each wing into the slit to encourage even cooking.
4. Rub the prepared seasoning mixture to taste over the entire chicken. Pat the sliced green onions around the whole chicken evenly. Some will fall into the beer, that’s fine. Press the halved green onions into the top cavity of the chicken. Open the remaining beer and pour 1/2 of it into the pan under the chicken. Reserve the remaining beer.
5. Bake the chicken in the preheated oven. After 45 minutes, pour remaining beer into the pan under the chicken. Continue baking until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 30 additional minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the chicken from the oven and discard the beer can. Cover the chicken with the double sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 10 minutes before slicing.

 

  To get a printable version please click the title of the recipe.

SHRIMP FRIED RICE  

INGREDIENTS

8 cups white rice (steamed and left out to dry overnight)

1 package Chinese pork sausage (steamed and diced)

2 lbs shelled shrimp (diced and marinated with sesame oil and sherry) Cook with ginger, garlic, salt and scallions. Set aside

1 large onion diced (cooked until clear and starting to carmelize)

bean sprouts

1 package frozen peas and carrots

1 dozen snow peas julienned

8 eggs scrambled

soy sauce

ginger

scallions

oil

garlic

DIRECTIONS

1. Lightly fry cooked rice in 4 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat (salt lightly).
2. Add diced Chinese sausage and toss for 3-5 minutes
3. Sprinkle soy sauce and toss, keep adding soy sauce a little at a time til your preferred color
4. Add cooked onion and shrimp – keep tossing!
5. Quick taste test a spoonful – add more salt to taste
6. Add frozen peas – keep tossing!
7. Add scrambled eggs – keep tossing!
8. Add julienned snow peas and bean sprouts – toss another minute
9. Remove from heat and ready to serve!

BEEF LO MEIN

INGREDIENTS

1 package Lo Mein noodles

1-1/2 lb flank steak (cut into thin slices and marinate in white wine, sesame oil, and soy sauce)

broccoli florets

carrots (cut into circles)

1 large onion (cut into wedges)

cooking oil

garlic

ginger

salt

GRAVY

one large tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup water

2 Tablespoons oyster sauce

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook noodles in boiling water for 1 minute, drain and pat dry
2. Fry noodles in deep fryer or pan fry in pan til golden – plate the noodles
3. Cook onions with oil and salt until it begins to carmelize – set aside.
4. In wok, heat oil, garlic, ginger, and salt until browned.
5. Cook flank steak on medium high heat until a little pink remains in the center, set aside.
6. In wok, heat oil, garlic and salt. Add broccoli and carrots cook over medium high heat for 30 secs; add half a cup of chicken broth. Cover and let steam for 3-4 minutes.
7. Add about half of the gravy mixture, allow it to thicken – add more gravy mixture if needs additional thickening.
8. Add the cooked flank steak and onions – toss and serve over the pan fried lo mein noodles.

We have a favorite beverage for holidays or special big meals.

HOLIDAY PUNCH

INGREDIENTS

CranRaspberry Juice

Sprite

Sherbet (favorite flavor)

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine juice and Sprite in a favorite pitcher with a ratio 1:1.
2. Scoop sherbet into large glasses.
3. Pour combination from pitcher into sherbet filled glasses.
4. ENJOY!!

After very full tummies, we all enjoyed the Super Bowl. Well….not all of us enjoyed it as much as others. I was the only one rooting for Peyton Manning and the Broncos. We live in NC so Cam Newton and the Panthers were a favorite in our house.

Hope y’all had a great weekend.

Thanks for coming by!

Love y’all,

Linda