Happy Chinese New Year

By Sandy Hu

When I was about 25, I threw my first Chinese New Year dinner party, inviting friends to our New York apartment. I’m not of Chinese heritage, and Steve, who is, didn’t have a tradition of celebrating Chinese New Year, having lost some of the customs along the way as a fourth-generation Chinese-American.

Gathering recipes from cookbooks, I put together an ambitious, multi-course meal that thrilled my friends. But I was exhausted by the effort of trying to get all the dishes – most of which I had never cooked before – to the table in a timely manner.

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Chinese Scallion Pancakes –One of My Favorite Things

By Andrew Hunter

Chinese scallion pancakes are one of my favorite things on earth to eat. If given an ultimatum, I would give up potatoes, rice and yes, even traditional bread in favor of my beloved pancakes. I love them so much that last night I made them for dinner and woke up early to eat the leftovers before Benny got up. Imagine, stealing food from my own child… yes, they’re that good.

They’re like Chinese quesadillas, but instead of cheese and beans, they’re filled with ginger, garlic, sesame seeds and lots of green onions. If I’m really ambitious, I’ll stuff them with sticky slivers of hoisin-glazed short ribs and top that with a tall pile of cilantro, fried ginger threads and even more green onions. The boys eat them by the stack too, and don’t even realize they’re loaded with garlic.

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