Colorful Cold Entree

Pulling together all the elements to make this month's #LetsLunch theme Cold Entree was so much fun! I love creating from existing ingredients as well as using fresh and new ingredients.

I already had grilled hoisin pork shoulder and cooked cold whole wheat linguine so those were the basis of my dish. All I needed was to build on top...some spicy shrimp to contrast the sweet hoisin pork. Then layering bright colored stir fried vegetables in an interesting pattern. I slathered Annie's shitake sesame dressing over the linguine which was exactly the flavor I was looking for.

A very typical topping in Malaysia and Singapore are crispy shallots but I only had red onion. They would not crisp up even though I fried it exactly how I would have done with the shallots. However, they did caramelize nicely and gave a wonderful sweetness to round out this wonderful Cold Entree.

I can't wait to see what my other #LetsLunch buddies made, always so creative and the best is hearing the stories behind the dish! I'll be adding their links below, so please come back and visit.

I just got my copy of Cheryl Tan's A Tiger in the Kitchen, a Memoir of Food and Family but I've not had a chance to read it yet. I got sucked into her story after reading the prolog on Amazon and just knew I had to have it! I'm a newbie on Amazon but quickly found that if you order over $25, you get free shipping. Cheryl spearheads #LetsLunch and organizes us all with our posts. I'm not sure how she does this as well as her book tour! Visit her wonderful blog, also named A Tiger in the Kitchen, to find out how to join #LetsLunch, I've met the neatest food bloggers.

Colorful vegetables ready for the stir fry.

Stir fried veggies with tea seed oil, then added dash of tamari and sherry

Marinaded shrimp with TSPC
(tamari, sherry, white pepper and cornstarch)
with a little chili garlic sauce.

Assembling the ingredients.

Cathy‘s Jasmine Tea-Poached Shrimp Summer Rolls at Showfood Chef

Cheryl's Spicy Sichuan Sesame Noodles at A Tiger in the Kitchen

Linda‘s Gazpacho Rolls Gone Wrong at Free Range Cookies

Lisa‘s Byron Sprout Salad with Chargrilled Chicken at Monday Morning Cooking Club

Mai‘s Strawberry Soup at Cooking in The Fruit Bowl

Maria‘s Croque Monsieur with Bechamel at Maria’s Good Things

Rebecca‘s Cold Roasted Lamb with Mustard & Rosemary at Grongar Blog

Victor‘s Seafood Napoleon at The Taste of Oregon

Crispy Salt Shrimp

Finger Lickin' Crispy Salt Shrimp

Crispy Salt Shrimp is a finger lickin' dish that's so delicious even grown men like my husband doesn't mind peeling the shells! Making this dish always reminds us of several funny stories with the tea finger dip (story below.) To me, food is all about shared memories, experiences and associations and this dish definitely represents all three!

Chinese New Year - simple home dinner is best!

The best way to celebrate Chinese New Year is a simple dinner at home with your family. You don't have to get stressed with a big production.

Earlier in the day, I had given a Wok Star cooking class to celebrate Year of the Tiger, so I didn't feel like going to a crowded, noisy restaurant that evening or pay the high prices usually jacked up on these occasions.

A red tablecloth is important because it signifies good luck. My friend, Irene had given me some beautiful napkins with "chopsticks", so appropriate for the occasion, thanks.

My brother-in-law is Italian, so he picked out a Chamarre Shiraz Merlot which went very well with everything.

I noticed my sister had snuck a duck leg on her plate!

I had bought a whole roast duck (everyone's favorite), already carved and just needed crisping up under the grill.
It was so much fun to cook with my sister, reminded me of our childhood, cooking, laughing with our mom and two other sisters.

I also fried up a plain veggie dish of Chinese broccoli and bok choy.

A dish of plump shrimp with a spicy, zesty brown bean sauce, asparagus and carrots. This is a dish I actually made in class earlier so I had all the fixings already so no big deal. Everything was ready in about half an hour!

This was my plate with the duck leg, yummy.

For dessert, a few Chinese cakes like almond cookies, coconut tart and melon pastry. My sister brought some Vosges chocolates. They have the most amazing and strange combinations but so good, it perks up your taste buds.

We even went to the Wynwood/Design District Art Walk after dinner. I'm not sure how I managed it as I'd already been on my feet for about 6 hours! We walked probably 2 miles, popping into all the galleries was fun, many had Valentine themed art and gifts.

My brother-in-law bought me a lovely bangle from Ecoist.

It was made out of recycled sweetie wrappers, so cheerful.

What a lovely way to celebrate Year of the Tiger and Valentine's Day!

Love to hear how you spent your Chinese New Year?

More Chinese New Year Celebrations:

Celebrate Chinese New Year with the Wok Star - 2010:

Year of Ox - 2009:

Year of Rat - 2008:

Free Beijing Olympic Recipes

It's summer but there's a LOT going on...

Watch Olympics and savor... Friday 8.8.08
"8" is a very lucky number in Chinese culture, so that's why Olympics starts on that day, in fact Ralph and I were married on Jan.8, 1988, oops, now you know we celebrated 20 years together!

Take a Wok Star class next Tuesday, August 7 at The Grateful Palate, just in time to learn in 3 hours so you can whip up your own favorite Asian dishes.

Or you can order a Wok Star Kit with my complete class and audio cookalongs (like I'm a private coach in your kitchen) so you can learn in your own home.

Here are FREE RECIPES for 3 simple party dishes, perfect for setting the mood while watching the Beijing Olympics with family and friends. Best paired with an icy, cold Tiger Beer (it's from Singapore where my mother was born).
Thai Curry Salmon, Rainbow Lettuce Wraps, Singapore Chili Shrimp. Eleanor's healthy alternative to chip & dip. Perfect for any game night.

More FREE easy recipe variations, it's all there for you to relish -
Thai Curry Salmon using CurrySimple (ready mix coconut milk and paste, just open and pour). Available at Wholefoods and Wild Oats or directly from CurrySimple.com.
Steamed ground turkey meatloaf with umboshi plums (another way to use your versatile wok)