It’s time to heat up that wok and dish up a Chinese banquet to celebrate Lunar New Year with family and friends…you don’t have to be Chinese to appreciate the delicate flavour nuances that are essential to this style of cooking.
Marie-Antoinette Issa put us on the right track with her article explaining the six essential ingredients in Chinese cuisine (click here to read) and now we are dishing up three irresistible recipes from well-known Chefs to tempt tastebuds in the lead-up to New Year celebrations on Saturday, February 10.
Chinese is the most popular cuisine Aussies dine out on and it has enjoyed a long culinary history in this country, in fact, we just can’t get enough of our favourite plates such as chicken and corn soup, honey sesame chicken and beef in black bean sauce.
Chinese immigrants first came to Australia in the mid-1800s as part of the gold rush; many ended up as cooks for mining camps stayed on and opened restaurants in small country towns and bigger cities.
Often referred to as Chinese ravioli, wontons are a variety of thin-skinned dumplings filled with meat, seafood or vegetables; their history dates back to the Han dynasty when they were prepared for Chinese ancestor worship rituals as offerings to the spirits of the deceased.
Epitomising the marriage between Australian and Chinese cultures with a filling of barramundi and prawns, this wonton recipe is sure to become a family dinner winner to start any banquet or feast.
Hainanese peranakan chicken rice is a popular dish on any Chinese dinner table and this recipe is a collaboration between Australia’s fave Celebrity Chef, Adam Liaw and Malcolm Lee, the owner of the Singapore Michelin-starred restaurant Candlenut, to create a modern take on a classic.
"Malcolm and I share a very similar philosophy – both of us are passionate about food and are heavily influenced by our heritage in the food we cook,” Adams explains. "I have enjoyed a strong connection to Singapore my entire life as my mother was born there. Our heritage dates back about four generations.”
With his father’s side of the family being Hainanese, Adam has a particular affinity for this comforting, one-pot dish featuring tender poached chicken and fragrant rice cooked in chicken broth.
While most of us think crispy pork belly when we consider Chinese offerings, this recipe for twice-cooked pork belly stir fry from Stanley Chef, Louis Tikaram, is quick and easy to make and delivers just as much flavour as other methods.
"I love the texture of this dish, it isn’t like your normal pork belly dishes where the meat is cooked for hours,” Louis explains. "My Grandma would always make this Chinese dish and I loved eating it with steamed rice.”
For more Chinese cooking inspiration, click here.
