Chinese New Year

Japanese Karaage

Karaage is Japan's version of fried chicken nuggets.  Cubes of chicken are marinated in a mixture of ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sake, sesame oil and sugar for about two hours.  When ready to fry, the chicken is removed from the marinade and lightly dusted with corn starch.  It only takes about 3-4 minutes to fry them to golden perfection in a cast iron skillet.  I served the karaage with a garlic, ginger and cilantro Jasmine rice.

Szechuan Spicy Green Beans

I bought a package of haricot verts to make with caramelized shallots and sliced almonds, but also used them to make a wonderful Szechuan stir-fry.  Bring water to a rapid boil then add green beans and cook for 5-6 minutes.  Set aside.  Heat oil in a wok and saute finely chopped garlic and ginger, and diced onions.  Add green beans and stir-fry for several minutes.  Add Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, finely chopped Thai chilis, a dash of Siracha, sugar and a few drops of sesame oil and continue to stir-fry.  Toss all ingredients in the wok until they're well coated, then add a slurry mixture of corn starch and water.  I used two teensy Thai chilis and a dash of Siracha and they were very spicy.  Adjust this to your taste.  A red chili oil can be substituted.