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Plan a Chinese New Year
Party to Ring in the Year of the Monkey
If you want
to impress your guests by preparing your own Chinese dish, just
follow the recipe below for tasty and traditional Kung Pao Chicken |
(ARA) - If you
went to China to ring in the new year, you’d be overwhelmed
by a frenzy of family, festivities, food and fireworks! On Jan.
22, as the Chinese say goodbye to the Year of the Ram, you can
bring a little bit of China into your home by celebrating the
beginning of the Year of the Monkey. A vivacious, inquisitive
creature, the monkey indicates that the new year will be full
of passion, liveliness and prosperity! |
Chinese New
Year festivities are just as dynamic and spirited as the monkey
and are a traditional part of ancient Chinese culture. Bring
Chinese New Year joy into the lives of your friends and family
with time-honored cooking, colorful decorations and activities
for everyone.
Get colorful!
Red and gold
are traditional symbols of luck and prosperity. Red also frightens
away evil spirits and keeps them from creeping into the new year.
Nian is the new year monster known in China for terrorizing children
around the new moon and is easily frightened by loud music and
bright colors. The Chinese use dancing, firecrackers and red
costuming to ring in the new year, and keep out Nian.
Decorate with
traditional colors and themes by stacking red plates and cups
at one end of a buffet table and allowing guests to serve themselves
from the variety of entrées laid out before them. For
added flare, dust gold confetti over a black tablecloth. Wrap
chopsticks (which can be found at your local Panda Express) in
a red napkin and tie them together with shimmering gold ribbon.
Grab your wok from the kitchen, fill it with the napkin sets
and place it at the other end of your buffet. If your guests
-- or any children in the group -- don’t know how to use
chopsticks, see below for tips on teaching them how! Family-style
dining is a convenient way to make sure your guests enjoy this
feasting experience together.
Replace ordinary
party gift bags with traditional red couplets. Your guests will
love these small red envelopes which are usually inscribed in
black with one of four Chinese characters signifying wealth prosperity
abundance and long life. It is customary in China to give gifts
in monetary form to denote paying off credit or debt. Enclose
a small dollar amount in each red couplet, or fill them with
gift certificates. Panda Express can provide you with gift certificates
for any amount. You can also hang the couplets around your house
as decoration and to ward off evil spirits.
Peonies symbolize
love, affection and beauty and are known in China as “Flowers
of Riches and Honor.” Float them in glass bowls or sprinkle
them across your buffet table. According to the Chinese, if a
peach blossom blooms during the new year celebration it is a
sure sign of future good fortune. Try stringing a flower garland
to ornament your mantels or doorways.
Adorn your
ceilings with red and black balloons tied with long gold ribbons.
Line your walkway with traditional Chinese lanterns to draw light
and luck -- along with your friends and family -- straight into
your home.
Get hungry!
An expert in
blending Chinese tradition with American culture, Panda Express
serves up the perfect amount of spice for the new year. If you
want to impress your guests by preparing your own Chinese dish,
just follow the recipe below for tasty and traditional Kung Pao
Chicken. It’s easy to make and will fill your home with
savory smells. If you’re looking for a truly hassle-free
celebration, let your local Panda Express come to the rescue!
The restaurant makes party preparations easy by offering Firecracker
Beef on its catering menu: This exclusive dish comes out once
a year and has become a Chinese New Year tradition for many.
The recipe includes delicately spiced beef, crisp colorful bell
peppers, and onions -- all combined in a spicy black bean sauce.
The monkey
is an impetuous creature and, much like the year ahead, it constantly
sniffs out variety and rejuvenation. Make your buffet sparkle
with an assortment of entrées. Group unique dishes, like
Firecracker Beef, with old favorites, like Orange Flavored Chicken
and Broccoli with Beef. Quantities can be prepared for gatherings
of any size -- wokked fresh and ready when you are. Serve each
dish in a large bowl on your lavish buffet table.
Get festive!
When your guests
arrive, encourage them to take off their shoes and walk softly
into your home. Walking tenderly invites a smooth transition
into the new year. While it’s tradition to start any new
year on a clean slate, brooms and dustpans must be stored out
of sight before New Year’s Day to prevent good fortune from
being swept away. Fill your home with loved ones, laughter and
light. Enjoy the sweet smell of peach blossoms, the company of
close friends and the traditional dishes of Panda Express. Kung
Hay Fat Choy is Chinese for Happy New Year! Panda Express is
Chinese for Yummy.
For more information
visit www.pandaexpress.com.
Teach Your
Friends to Use Chopsticks
First: The
sticks are attached, but sectioned up the middle. Simply pull
each end away from the other. Don’t twist them apart or
try a fancy way of snapping them; you wouldn’t want a few
splinters to hinder your dining experience! Once separated, you
can rub the sticks together to smooth any rough edges.
Step 1) The
Base Stick: Place one stick so that it is cradled between the
base of your thumb and forefinger. Hold it in place with the
tip of your middle finger, as though you were holding a pencil.
Step 2) The
Pivot Stick: Position the next chopstick so that it is pinned
against the side of your index finger by the end of your thumb.
Make sure the ends of the two sticks line up.
Step 3) The
Pick-Up: Holding the base chopstick firmly in place, place a
small amount of pressure on the Pivot Stick using the tip of
your thumb as its base and your index finger to entice movement.
The chopsticks should move like a pair of tweezers with the end
of the Pivot Stick moving toward the end of the Base Stick. Slowly
try to pick up a big piece of Orange Flavored Chicken, and then
go for a small bite of your Kung Pao Chicken. Once you’re
a pro, try for a single grain of rice!
Kung Pao
Chicken
Courtesy of
Panda Express
Ingredients:
Preparation
1. Marinate
chicken: combine 1/4 cup water, salt, white pepper, egg and corn
starch; add mixture to the chicken and mix well until the meat
absorbs all the water. Add 1/4 teaspoon salad oil and mix well.
Marinate for 2 hours.
2. Heat a clean
wok for 10 seconds over the flame.
3. Add 5 cups
of salad oil into the wok and heat the oil to 250 to 300 degrees
F.
4. Add the
chicken into the wok. Stir quickly, separate the meat and then
cook the chicken for approximately 40 seconds. Remove the cooked
chicken and oil from the wok. Make sure the chicken is well cooked.
Drain it well.
5. Place the
diced red and green bell peppers into the boiling water for 10
seconds. Then remove them and hold them on the side. Drain the
peppers well.
6. Reheat the
wok for 5 seconds over a high flame.
7. Add the
whole dried chili peppers into the wok and stir fry several times
until they change to a darker color. Then add the white portion
of the green onion. After 10 seconds add the ground ginger, ground
garlic and crushed red chili peppers into the heated wok. It
is important to add the ingredients in order. Stir for 5 seconds.
8. Add the
cooked chicken, then the cooking wine. Then add the soy sauce
and water. Stir until the sauce boils and thickens.
9. Pour the
red and green chili peppers into the wok. Stir and fold them
several times in the wok to mix them.
10. Add 1 teaspoon
sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salad oil and the deep fried peanuts
to the wok. Continue to stir and fold until the ingredients are
thoroughly mixed.
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- Courtesy of
ARA Content
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- ARTICLE POSTED
JANUARY 05,2004
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