Lunar New Year is similar to Christmas in the sense that you take time off to be with your family and relax. During my childhood, our new year’s feast would last all day long and feature 10 to 15 sharing dishes, starting in the morning with nibbles and continuing well into the evening before we ended the night with cards or Mahjong. The recipes below are all believed to bring good fortune because their ingredients either resemble a symbol of wealth or rhyme with a lucky word. The dumplings recall gold coins, while the shrimp in the rolls are associated with long life (the pronunciation of “prawn” in Cantonese sounds like “laughter”), and the classic bao symbolizes a full purse. People queue up to eat gua baos during Lunar New Year to ensure a prosperous future for themselves and their loved ones.
Lamb Dumplings
Serves 3
- 300g plain flour
- 100g hot water
- 90g filtered cold water
- Pinch of salt
- 300g lamb mince
- 100g stock (preferably something gelatinous like chicken or pork)
- 120g onion, finely diced
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 5g salt
- 20ml soy sauce
- 10ml vegetable oil
- 5ml sesame oil
- 30g Chinkiang black vinegar
- 70g chilli oil
- 20g soy sauce
- 20g mirin
- 10g spring onion, finely chopped
- 20g onion, finely diced
Combine the plain flour and salt with the hot water and stir with chopsticks. Add the filtered cold water and stir with the chopsticks again until loosely combined. Knead the dough. It will be crumbly and dry at first, but it will become smooth; don’t be tempted to add any more water. Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest for a couple of hours at room temperature.
Combine the lamb mince and all of the spices and seasonings in a mixing bowl. Use your hand to mix in one direction and gradually add in the stock until it’s completely absorbed. The mince should be sticky and have some resistance. Add in the diced onion and incorporate with your hands.
To make your dumplings, form the dough into a long sausage shape, then portion it into 15g dough balls. Dust your rolling pin and the surface you are working on with some flour, then roll out the dough balls into circular discs. Wet a butter knife and scoop out roughly 25g of filling into a dumpling skin. Fold the dumpling in half and press the sides together. Place the folded dumpling on a flour-dusted tray. Repeat until all of the filling has been used.
Before boiling the dumplings, make your dressing by whisking all of the ingredients together in a bowl, then set aside.
In a large pot, bring water to the boil. Drop the dumplings in one by one and set a timer for 4 minutes. (They will float to the top when they are ready.) Serve immediately in bowls with a splash of dressing at the bottom.
Fried Prawn Rolls
Serves 5
- 1½ dried ancho chillies
- 250g local honey
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
- 75ml rice vinegar
- 50g caster (superfine) sugar
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 100ml rice vinegar
- 200g rhubarb, cut into 6cm (2½ inch) pieces on the diagonal
- 75g caul (lace) fat
- 30g lard
- pinch of ground white pepper
- 1⁄2 teaspoon caster (superfine) sugar
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 clove garlic, very finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1⁄2 teaspoon cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 green chilli, seeded and finely chopped
- 345g uncooked prawns, shelled, with half of the shrimp cut into 1cm (1⁄2 inch) pieces
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
- 60g plain (all-purpose) flour
- 25g rice flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 125ml lager
Soak the ancho chilies in warm water for 20 minutes, then drain and finely chop. Put into a small saucepan with the remaining ingredients, stir well and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Once cool, the dip can be used straight away, or be stored in a sterilized glass jar in a cool, dark place for up to 3 months.
Combine the sugar, salt and vinegar in a saucepan, then bring to the boil. Add the rhubarb and cook for 20 seconds (no longer!). Remove from the heat and leave to cool. The rhubarb can be used straight away or stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Soak the caul fat in cold water for 20 minutes until it becomes malleable.
Put all the remaining ingredients except the green chilli, prawns and oil into a blender and blitz until a paste forms. Scrape out into a bowl, then mix in the green chili and prawns.
Drain the caul fat and rinse under water, then cut out an 8cm (3¼ inch) wide strip that is as long as the caul fat piece allows. Place it on the work counter. Put 40g of the prawn mix towards a clean edge end and roll up like a spring (egg) roll. Repeat with the remaining caul fat and prawn mix to make 10 rolls. Set aside until ready to cook.
Whisk together all the ingredients in a bowl, making sure the batter stays cool.
Heat the oil in a deep, heavy-based saucepan to 180°C/350°F, or until a cube of ginger sizzles and browns in 10 seconds. Working in batches, dip the prawn rolls into the beer batter, then carefully place in the hot oil and deep-fry for 2 minutes until crisp and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
Chop each prawn roll into 3 pieces. Divide the pieces among 5 shallow bowls, filling side up, and add some of the pickled rhubarb on the side. Serve with the ancho chilli honey dip in a small dish.
Classic Pork Bao
Makes 10 to 12
- 1kg pork belly, cut into 5cm (2 inch) cubes
- 90ml soy sauce
- 60ml Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 large spring onion, roots trimmed
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 20g fresh ginger, peeled, sliced and crushed
- 1 star anise
- 20g rock sugar (or granulated sugar, if unavailable)
- 4 dried red chillies
- 6g cinnamon stick
- 80g deshelled roasted peanuts
- 15g caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 100g drained preserved mustard greens (these can be purchased in Asian supermarkets)
- A few drops of rice vinegar
- 10-12 gua baos, available to buy from convenience stores (or make the recipe in the Bao book)
- 1 small bunch coriander, chopped
- 60g fried preserved mustard greens
- 95g peanut powder
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the pork cubes and blanch for 2 to 3 minutes to get rid of any impurities. Drain, then place in a flameproof clay pot or large saucepan.
Add the remaining ingredients to the pot or pan and pour over enough water to just cover the ingredients. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 3 hours. There should just be small bubbles on the surface of the liquid. Halfway through cooking, flip the pork cubes to ensure they are evenly cooked.
Transfer the pork to a plate and leave to cool. Strain the braising liquid, then bring to the boil and cook until it is a light, sticky consistency, reducing it by about half. When the pork has cooled slightly, chop it into cubes of about 1cm (1⁄2 inch). Put the cubes into the reduced sauce, give it a good stir, and remove from the heat.
Warm the pork with the sauce over a medium heat for about 10 minutes before serving.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the preserved mustard greens. Stir-fry for 3 to 5 minutes until super fragrant and wilted. Season the greens with a few drops of the vinegar.
Pulse the roasted peanuts in small batches to make a powder then combine well with the sugar.
While the pork is reheating and the greens are cooking, steam the gua baos.
Open a bao and line the bottom with 45g of the piping-hot, glistening pork, then top with 1 teaspoon of the fried mustard greens. Finish with 1 teaspoon of the chopped coriander and 1 tablespoon of the golden, sweet peanut powder. Repeat with the remaining baos and fillings.
Hold a bao lovingly in your hand. Open your mouth fully, like the bao, and eat from the side.
Erchen Chang is the creative director and co-founder of Bao. Some of these recipes are taken from Bao by Erchen Chang, Shing Tat Chung, and Wai Ting Chung, published by Phaidon.