The longer your noodle the longer your life expectancy” !

Cat lovers across the world lookout as February 1st celebrates the Lunar calendar new year with “Year of the tiger”! .This year falls in my lunar calendar year and I am determined to claw back some lost time due to all the Covid restrictions!.

Whilst tiger people are going into it curled up on a mat in front of the fire, it is only because we are saving energy ready to pounce into action when the time is right and believe me whilst I don’t pounce as well as I used to do ( apparently !) the opportunities and changes are abound in so many positive ways!. 

 People born in the years 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, and 2022 are all Tiger people, and considered to be brave, competitive, unpredictable, and confident , however there are a few practices we need to consider to ensure we have positive fortunes, such as never to use words with negative connotations such as death, sick, empty, pain, ghost, poor, break, or kill for example.

Don’t break plates or ceramics ! this will break your fortune!.

Cleaning or throwing out rubbish may sweep away good luck so this should be avoided until after the 5th January!

One that I have to be careful with personally is “using sharp objects such as knives or scissors “ as it is believed this will cut your stream of wealth and success, so if you are a superstitious chef or hair dresser then take the day off as cutting is taboo and forbidden until 2ndFeb, when all festivities are over!.

Others include  not visiting the wife’s family, (not a problem!), avoid fighting and crying and avoid taking medicine!. On the grounds of not visiting the wife’s family this should in effect avoid all of the aforementioned anyway ( only joking! ).

 Naturally food plays a vital part within the culture and rituals, such as “Spring Rolls” , naturally and aptly named because they are eaten during the “Spring Festival”!. The skins are made of flour, water and a little salt whilst the filling is traditionally made of pork, Chinese cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, carrots and seasoning. 

 Dumplings are a vital part of the festive meal owing to the sound if its name in Chinese, meaning “old and new” and their ingredients are pretty similar to that of spring rolls, although may also include green onion, pork and shrimp. 

In some parts of China it is custom to cook dumplings and noodles together and are called “gold silk” and “gold ingots”. 

It’s yet another dish to express people’s wishes for prosperity, in fact “the longer your noodles the longer your life will be” (now that’s a sentence I never thought I would be saying!), but you need to ensure that they are cooked soft as no chewing is allowed, calling for lots of slurping and possibly the dinning finesse of a pelican!.

 Other foods you may wish to consider include 

Eggs : for a big and healthy family

Lobster: endless money rolling in

Shrimp: fortune and wealth

Roasted pig: peace

Duck: loyalty

Peaches: longevity

Tofu: happiness and fortune for the entire family

Fish: surplus and wealth.

 As I am sure by now you are purring at the thought of ordering a Chinese banquet from the local takeaway, I can only hope that it delivers you all the luck, health and prosperity your heart’s desire. 

 Stay safe and have a tasty one !

 I leave you with a recipe for “Oriental Duck”

Needless to say other lucky ingredients can also fit the bill by simply replacing the duck with prawn, tofu or lobster!.  

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

·         650g Duck breasts ( fat trimmed and any sinews removed)

·         2 tsp. cornflour

·         2 egg whites

·         3 tsp. soy sauce

·         3 tbsp. sesame oil

·         3 garlic cloves, crushed

·         2 inches fresh root ginger, finely diced or grated

·         2 tbsp. oyster sauce

·         3 tbsp. rice wine vinegar

·         1 tsp. Demerara sugar

·         2 carrots, finely sliced and cut thinly into batons

·         250g bean sprouts

·         6 spring onions, shredded

·         1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

·         2 tbsp. almond slithers, lightly toasted

Method:

1.      Trim the duck of any excess fat and slice thinly.

2.      Mix cornflour, egg white, soy sauce and a little fresh ground pepper and mix until smooth.

3.      Add the duck to the egg and cornflour mixture and cover thoroughly.

4.      Heat a wok, (or a large frying pan), then add the sesame oil and heat followed by the garlic and ginger, cook for 20 -30 seconds.

5.      Add the duck and stir fry for approx. 3 mins over fierce heat, tossing the ingredients regularly.

6.      Add the oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar and sugar and cook for approx. 2 mins

7.      Add the carrot and spring onion and cook for a further 2 mins

8.      Finally add the beansprouts and cook for 30 seconds to warm through

9.      Taste, adjust seasoning if required and serve immediately.