Kitchen With Britt 
2024 is the Year of the Dragon and we celebrated with style! Chinese New Year traditions center around bringing good luck and good fortune into the new year. Older generations pass fresh dollar bills to the younger generation via red envelopes, families visit each other’s homes donning red for prosperity & good luck, and all of the food and drink served have cherished meaning and traditions as well. I don’t claim to know much about these cherished traditions, just humbly pass on some recipes that my family and I have enjoyed over the years in our own celebrations.
We will start off with our ‘Year of the Dragon’ Cocktail, consisting of Dragonfruit Puree, Lemongrass Simple Syrup, and all sorts of other goodies! The recipe is below:
Recipe Card
Year of the Dragon Cocktail
Ingredients
Instructions
Add all ingredients to a shaker and serve! Can pour over additional ice, &/or top with seltzer water. Enjoy!
Our first course will be steamed Vegetable Dumplings! We have our incredible steam oven at our disposal, but you can also use a bamboo steam, or vegetable steamer lined with parchment paper.
In Chinese, dumpling means ‘Exchange’. The idea is to eat them with the mentality, ‘out with the old, in with the new!’
Recipe Card
Steamed Dumplings
Filling
Dipping Sauce
Instructions
Filling Instructions
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Heat oil in pan on medium. Add tofu, carrots, & cabbage. Saute for 5 minutes, until softened. Add remaining ingredients and taste for seasoning. Let cool.
Dipping Sauce Instructions
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Mix together all ingredients, taste for seasoning.
Assembly/Steam Time
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Using the tip of your finger, dip in water and wet the edge of half of the dumpling wrapper. Scoop 1-2 teaspoons of filling into the center and seal the edges together. You can have fun with accordian folds etc, or leave them as is. We steamed in a steam over on a parchment lined tray for 9-11 minutes. A bamboo steamer, or vegetable steam basket can be used as well. Make sure to line with either parchment or cabbage leaves to prevent sticking. These can be pan fried as well. Enjoy!!
Spring Rolls & Summer Rolls are often on the Chinese New Year menu and since summer rolls are one of my favorites, we included them on our menu! They are so fun to make as well. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll want to serve them at parties more often! Here are the spring roll wrappers that I tend to prefer.
If you are local to the westside of Cleveland, I recommend visiting Nee How in North Olmsted for many of the ingredients used in these recipes!
Recipe Card
Fresh Summer Rolls
Filling
Dipping Sauce
Instructions
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Dipping Sauce Instructions
Mix together all ingredients, taste for seasoning.
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Assembly
For assembly you will need a large bowl of cool water, a dry towel and a cutting board.
Start by submerging 1 spring roll wrapper into the water and let it soak for 1-2 minutes, or until pliable.
Remove and pat dry. Keeping everything to the center, as a small amount of noodles, lettuce, veg and herbs. You can have fun with it and lay pretty sliced of avocado down first, or small cooked shrimp if you would like as well.
Now we roll like a burrito! Begin by folding the bottom part up and using the spring roll wrapper to bring everything together tightly. Now you can fold the sides in and finish closing up your roll! Slice in half on the bias and enjoy with the dipping sauce!!
Longevity noodles are a must. The longer the noodle, the longer your life…so don’t cut them!! We added a nice simple sauce and enjoyed with chopsticks!
Recipe Card
Longevity Noodles
Ingredients
Instructions
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Bring salted water to a boil. Add in noodles and cook till al dente. Add all sauce ingredients to a wok or large saute pan, except cilantro. Mix your noodles in and cook on medium until the noodles are coated. Serve immediately with fresh cilantro on top!
Sweet treats represent a sweet life, so make sure to make room for dessert! We are doing Chinese Almond Cookies. Don’t be deceived by their simplicity, they are so tasty and just melt in your mouth. I love them with a cup of tea!
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