Kate's Global Kitchen: Year of the Tiger

Year of the Tiger

At the beginning of the Year of the Tiger, Lunar Year 4696, "Sun Neen Fy Lok" and "Gung Hay Fat Choy," or "Happy New Year" and "Wishing You Prosperity!" is heard in Chinatowns throughout the world. Good wishes for health, wealth, and good fortune will be bestowed on family and friends. Those born in the Year of the Tiger (1914, 9126, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010) are powerful, passionate and daring. The Tiger loves being the center of attention. Impatient and suspicious, Tigers are also sincere and generous with a great sense of humor. The Year of the Tiger promises to be very exciting. Nothing will be done on a small scale. People may do rash and uncharacteristic things. It will be a year of major changes and bold new ideas. Be sure to keep your sense of humor!

Global Gourmet Today brings you a week-long celebration of Chinese New Year, kicking off the festivities with a recipe from Rosa Lo San Ross' excellent guide to Asian vegetables, Beyond Bok Choy. If you like prowling through Chinese markets and often wondered what to call and how to cook all those gorgeous vegetables, this is the book for you!

Rosa Lo San Ross'
Pea Shoots with Velvet Shrimp

A year after I prepared this cake on the Today Show, I was still receiving requests for the recipe. Try to make it the day before so it can thicken to the proper consistency.

Yields 4 servings

In the past, pea shoots were used mostly when the tender shoots could be picked from the garden or farm. I have adapted a classic velvet shrimp recipe to include pea shoots; it is more common to find the dish made with snow peas.

3 to 4 cups lightly packed pea shoots (dau mui), about 3/4 to 1 pound
1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined

For The Marinade:
1 egg white
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 scallion, green and white parts minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons yellow bean sauce
2 teaspoons thin soy sauce
1/4 cup water or unsalted or low-sodium chicken stock
2 teaspoons roasted sesame oil

Remove the tough stems from pea shoots and discard. Wash in cold water and spin-dry in a salad spinner. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine the shrimp with the egg white cornstarch and oil for the marinade. Let stand 20 minutes.

In a wok, heat the 2 tablespoons oil until just smoking. Add the scallion, ginger, and garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the shrimp and stir-fry, tossing constantly, until the shrimp just turn pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the yellow bean sauce, soy sauce, water, and pea shoots. Toss to wilt shoots, about 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat, drizzle with sesame oil, and stir to blend. Serve immediately.

Recipe from:
Beyond Bok Choy
A Cook's Guide To Asian Vegetables
by Rosa Lo San Ross
Photographs by Martin Jacobs
Artisan, 1996
$25.00/144 pages/70 recipes/over 60 full-color photographs
ISBN: 1-885183-23-2
Reprinted by permission

For more online Chinese recipes:
Global Gourmet's China

Lunar New Year Handbook

This page originally published as a Global Gourmet Today column in 1998.

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This page modified January 2007

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