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FOURTH LINE AUTO GOODYEAR K IH T S I s ^ For Ail Your Car's Needs Drive Clean Emission Testing Government Safety Inspection Tune-Ups · Brakes · Exhaust · Cooling Systems CAA Approved Shop V__________________I________________ s W Offiaal Media Sponsor 559 Speers Road (905) 842-3001 Editor: Wilma Blokhuis Phone: 9 0 5 -845-3824 (ext. 250) Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: blokhuis@haltonsearch.com \V I :i )NI£SI). \Y. I I -I Mtt . \1 \Y .1 Celebrate Year of the Ram Chinese New Yearfood can be enjoyed anytime By Julie Dykeman S P EC IA L TO T H E BEA V ER Have you noticed the red scrolls appearing at your local Chinese restaurant? Or perhaps your friend's new haircut? If so, you are probably aware that last Saturday marked the beginning of the Year of the Ram and the observance of the Chinese New Year. Also known as the Spring Festival, the New Year cele brates the earth's coming back to life and the start of the ploughing and sowing season in China. Determined by the solar-lunar calendar rather than the western Gregorian calendar, the date varies every year from late January to mid February. Celebrations continue until the 15th day of the lunar month. It is a time of new beginnings: houses are cleaned of bad spirits, debts repaid, hair cut and new clothes bought. Doors are decorated with ver tical scrolls of characters on red paper whose texts seek out good fortune and praise nature. On New Year's Eve houses are brightly lit and a large family dinner served. The dinner is served on the Eve because tradi tion stipulates that food be prepared prior to New Year's Day. According to common lore all sharp instruments, such as knives and scissors, must be pul away on the first day of the Spring Festival (his is done to avoid "cutting the luck" of the new season. To further preserve luck on this auspicious day, an even number of courses (usually 8, 10, or 12) is served, as it is believed that multiples of two represent double happiness and fortune for the coming year. This dinner is one of the most important aspects of the Spring Festival and many of the foods served are ascribed with profound meaning. Interestingly, many of these meanings are the result of word puns. For example, ingredient names may sound familiar to written characters with lucky connotations: or perhaps the shape and colour of a given item may be symbolic of such things as happiness, prosperity and good fortune. A few examples are: tangerines are the fruit of good fortune; oranges of wealth; lettuce is equated with prosperity, and (unbroken) noodles represent a long life. As a result, a typically seen course consists of whole fish served with head and tail intact as this is representative of togetherness, abundance and continuous good fortune. Regional customs are also observed, for example, in the south of China, a sticky-sweet glutinous rice cake called Nian Gao is served, while in the north steamed dumplings (wealth) called Jiao/.i are popular. Shark's Fin Peter C. McCusker · Oakville Heaver Stir Fried Chicken with Asparagus and Rice Noodles is a tasty, easy meal to prepare for those continuing with Chinese New Year celebrations o r ju st as a meal that can be enjoyed anytime. Add the fish sauce and sugar and cook for two 2 tsp. garlic, minced soup is a universal favourite. more minutes, or until the asparagus is tender, but I tbsp. good quality fish sauce A simple and practical recipe. S tir Fried still retains a fresh green colour. 1/2 tsp. sugar Chicken with Asparagus and Rice Noodles, can Return the chicken to the pan and cook through. Pepper be easily prepared. The chicken represents happi ness and marriage: the noodles offer a long life. Ingredients: / lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced into strips I tbsp. soy sauce I tbsp. corn starch I tbsp. water 1 tbsp. dried sherry / tbsp. plus I tsp. sesame oil 2 tbsp. ginger, julienned / large shallot, finely chopped 3/4 cup chicken stock thickened with 1/2 tsp. cornstarch / lb asparagus washed and trimmed (if the asparagus is large and fat, peel the fibrous outer layer o f skin o ff using a vegetable peeler or sharp paring knife) Rice or egg noodles prepared according to package instructions (do not break the noodles.) Directions: Combine chicken with marinade ingredients and refrigerate, covered, for at least one hour, or overnight. Heat a skillet or wok on medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp. of oil and heat until it just begins to smoke. Add ginger and shallots and fry until fra grant. about 30 seconds. Add the chicken and cook untouched for 30 seconds. Begin to stir and cook until chicken turns opaque. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the thickened stock to the pan, allowing it to bubble up before stirring. Scrape up any pieces of chicken that may have stuck to the pan. Add the asparagus and stir-fry for two minutes. Season with pepper. Add the remaining sesame oil and loss to mix. Meanwhile, refresh the rice noodles by plung ing them in very hot water. Drain well. Serve immediately over prepared rice ncxxlles. The following is a recipe for Nian Gao. This recipe has been modified in an effort to simplify traditional recipes require steaming over an eighthour period. Please be warned: it is not as simple to make as it would appear, and the confection is usually bought fresh at a restaurant or frozen from an Asian market, brought home and reheated. The cake is very dense and it is essential to stir the ingredients as slowly as possible to avoid incorpo rating too much air - a common problem is to have the entire thing collapse into a glutinous mess. 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