Every year I like to make a special dinner to celebrate Chinese New Year, not because I have a Chinese background at all, but just because I like to eat and cook new foods.
This year, my birthday fell on the same day, so what better way than to celebrate with a feast!
A few years ago I made prawn toast using Neil Perry's recipe and it was seriously the best, but naughtiest, thing I've ever eaten. Deep fried prawny goodness! When planning the menu for six adults, I couldn't go past making these again. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo before they were all gobbled up by the family, so you won't get to see them in their glory. They are a bit fiddly and messy with the deep frying, but they are definitely worth it. Everyone was suitably impressed!
The satay mushrooms were my own invention. I wanted to have something to start off the night that was small and tasty, whetting appetites for the rest of the meal. The sauce was rich and thick, but matched perfectly with the earthiness of the mushrooms. I used small mushrooms as I wanted to serve them as a single mushroom on a spoon with a little of the sauce, but you could also serve them on rice to make a full meal. There was quite a bit of the satay sauce left over, so I plan to make some chicken or beef skewers in the next few days and use the rest of the sauce then.
Peking duck is essential in my books for any Chinese celebration and I just happened to have a duck in the freezer that needed using up. I have never been able to get that really crispy skin on a duck because I don't really have anywhere I can safely hang a duck overnight to let it dry out. This time I thought I'd try a trick that I'd read about on the internet and it worked a treat. Once the skin had been basted with a honey and water solution four times and dried somewhat in the fridge, I then got out my trusty hairdryer and used it to further dry the skin. It ended up looking like paper and crisped up into a golden brown shell. It was perfect! Now to learn how to carve a duck properly.
San choy bau is another Chinese classic and I wanted to add a bit of freshness to the meal with the lettuce cups. I have made this many times before and I essentially followed the same recipe as I used last time. See it here. To add an extra bit of crunch, I also used chopped water chestnuts, diced red capsicum and sliced sugar snap peas. The extra vegetables gave it a beautiful colour and additional sweetness.
The Chinese aren't really known for their desserts, so this was probably the hardest course to decide on. Being my birthday, I wanted something that could be served like a cake with a candle in it, rather than being individual serves. Previously I had made a mango and coconut ice-cream, so thought that something cold and refreshing might be the way to go. I ended up going with pineapple and coconut. The sweetness and acidity of the pineapple perfectly combined with the creamy coconut milk. Studding the top were shards of chilli toffee, which gave additional sweetness with a bit of bite. It was a nice, light end to a rich meal on a hot night. Unfortunately it did freeze quite hard, rather than being nice and creamy, but without an ice cream machine, I'm not sure how to overcome this. It still tasted pretty good, so I don't mind too much. Leaving it for 5 or 10 minutes to soften before you serve is probably a good idea. If you didn't want to use pineapple, mango would also work well. If you didn't mind the colour bleeding in to the coconut, you could use berries too. In fact, a pinky/purple swirl would look lovely.
Satay Mushrooms
20 small button mushrooms
A drizzle of olive oil
1/2 a small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1-2 Tbs soy sauce (to taste)
1 cup coconut cream
Heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan and cook the mushrooms over medium heat until starting to brown and soften. Turn off the heat and set aside.
In another saucepan, heat a drizzle of oil and fry onion on medium heat until it starts to soften, but not brown.
Add the peanut butter and stir until it softens and melts.
Gently stir through the soy sauce to taste.
Gradually add the coconut cream while stirring, to incorporate without lumps.
Continue to stir until smooth, then add the mushrooms back into the sauce to reheat.
Serve the mushrooms individually on spoons, or with rice as a main meal.
Neil Perry's Prawn Toast
500g raw prawns, shells removed and cleaned
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3cm piece of ginger, skin removed and chopped
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg white
1 tsp sesame oil
4 spring onions, finely chopped
9 slices of white bread, crusts removed
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup panko crumps
Oil for deep frying
Sweet chilli sauce to serve
Combine prawns, garlic, ginger, sugar, salt, egg white and sesame oil in a food processor and whiz until smooth. Stir through the spring onions.
Cut each bread square into two triangles.
Spread a good tablespoon of prawn mixture over the top of each piece, making sure it goes right to the edges. You might need to use your finger for this. Having them slightly damp helps.
Brush the sides of the bread and the top of the prawn mixture lightly with egg wash.
Sprinkle the tops lightly with panko crumbs and press gently to stick.
Heal about 5cm of oil in the base of a large saucepan to 180 degrees on a thermometer or until a wooden skewer starts to bubble when placed in the oil.
Deep fry the toasts in batches of 3 or 4 until golden, turning to ensure both sides are cooked.
Drain on paper towel and keep warm while you are cooking the rest.
Serve on a platter with sweet chilli sauce for dipping and plenty of serviettes.
Pineapple and Coconut Terrine With Chilli Toffee
300g fresh pineapple, skin removed and diced
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 tin coconut cream
2/3 cup caster sugar
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
Place pineapple and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the sugar has become liquid and the fruit has softened.
Turn the heat off and allow to cool.
Stir the coconut cream through the pineapple mixture to combine and then pour into a plastic wrap lined loaf tin or individual moulds.
Place in the freezer overnight, or until frozen.
For the toffee, combine the sugar and chilli in a small saucepan.
Heat over low heat, swirling occasionally to help the sugar to melt and combine. Do not stir this mixture or the toffee will not work.
You need to watch this like a hawk as a 2 second look away can result in burnt toffee!
Once the sugar has melted and reached a golden brown, pour it on to a baking paper lined tray, tipping as you go to create a thin sheet of toffee.
Set aside in a cool place to set.
To serve, tip the terrine out on to a serving plate and remove the plastic wrap. Break the toffee into shards and stick into the top of the terrine. Cut into slices to serve.
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