With plan B restrictions lifted across England, The Chinese New Year 2022 is the post-omicron celebration we all wanted.
To help you along with the festivity, Next Home has looked at the number of ingredients, prep time, cooking time and the number of views on TikTok to compile a list of the must-have New Year TikTok recipes. From spicy chilli garlic noodles to steamed fish, we’ve gathered the top ones to impress your loved ones to have a big Lunar New Year and welcome the year of the Tiger!
Chinese Steamed Fish
Ingredients
1 whole fish, gutted and descaled, about 400g/14oz, see note 1
2 stalk scallions, julienned
1 small piece ginger, julienned
1½ tablespoon cooking oil, sunflower, vegetable, peanut, etc.
1 dried chilli, julienned
1 pinch whole Sichuan peppercorn
3 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine, see note 2
½ teaspoon sugar
1 pinch ground white pepper
Instructions
1. Wash the fish thoroughly then pat dry with kitchen paper. Cut the fish at a 45-degree angle several times on each side. Lay it onto a plate that fits in the wok/pot which you’ll use to steam.
2. Put ⅓ of the scallions and ginger into the cavity of the fish. Scatter the rest under and over the fish.
3. Place a steamer rack (or a small bowl) in the middle of a wok. Add water to the pot (lower than the rack/bowl) and bring it to a full boil.
4. Put the fish plate on top of the rack (bowl). Cover the wok with a lid. Steam over high heat for 8 minutes (add 2 more minutes if your fish is larger).
5. Take out the plate (use oven gloves to avoid burning). Carefully remove the cloudy liquid.
6. Heat up oil, dried chilli and Sichuan pepper in a small pan over low heat. As soon as the oil starts to smoke, pour it over the fish (you may either pour the spices onto the fish or discard them).
7. Add light soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, sugar and white pepper to the same pan. Heat up until it bubbles. Pour over the fish.
Serve immediately with plain rice (Don’t forget to dip the flesh into the sauce for the best flavour).
Spicy Chili Garlic Noodles
Ingredients
225 g rice noodles
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 small shallots, thinly sliced
Salt
1 ½ tablespoon sesame oil
50 g thinly sliced spring onions, plus more for serving
4 cloves garlic, crushed
80 ml low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons chilli garlic sauce
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
½ tablespoons lime juice
Pinch chilli flakes (optional)
Instructions
1. Cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain.
2. In a large pan over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add shallots and season with salt. Cook until golden and crispy, about 5 minutes. Transfer shallots to a paper towel-lined plate.
3. Add sesame oil to the pan. When sesame oil is fragrant, stir in green onions and garlic and cook for one minute. Add soy sauce, chilli garlic sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, and chilli flakes (if using). Simmer until sauce has reduced slightly, 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Add cooked noodles and toss to combine. Garnish with crispy shallots and more spring onions. Serve immediately.
Dumplings
Ingredients
150g self-raising flour, plus a little extra
70g suet
a small handful of parsley, chopped (optional)
Instructions
1. Whilst your stew is bubbling, make the dumplings. Weigh the flour into a bowl and add ½ tsp salt. Stir through the suet and parsley, if using. Make a well in the centre and add 3 tbsp cold water, mix to a dough, adding more water until the dough is firm but pliable. Divide into eight equal pieces and roll in a little more flour into balls. Chill until needed.
2. When the stew has about 30 mins to go, arrange the dumplings on top and cover with a lid. With the oven at 160C/140C fan/gas 3, cook the stew and dumplings for 20 mins, then remove the lid and cook for another 10 mins until they’re brown and puffed up.
Pineapple Tarts
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup self-rising flour
10 tablespoons butter
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons cold water
1 pinch salt
2 cups fresh pineapple – peeled, cored and shredded
1 ½ cups white sugar
4 whole cloves
1 egg, beaten
Instructions
1. In a large bowl, combine all-purpose, self-rising flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the centre of the mixture. Pour in 1 beaten egg and water. Bind the ingredients together gently. Do not knead too much. Shape dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine pineapple and sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes, or until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
3. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut 24 rounds, using a 2 inch round fluted cutter. Place on cookie sheet. Put a spoonful of pineapple jam in the centre of each piece. Decorate with criss-cross strips of pastry over jam, extending slightly onto the pastry shell.
5. Cut 24 more 2-inch rounds, then, using a smaller cutter, cut out the centres, creating a ring shape. Moisten the edges of each pastry, and place the rings on top of each pastry shell. Brush the top of the pastry with beaten egg.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cooling on a baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Sweet Rice Balls
Ingredients
sweet glutinous rice flour
water
food colouring or matcha green tea powder (optional)
Instructions
1. Mix glutinous rice flour with water. For each 1/3 cup of flour, add about 2 tablespoons and one teaspoon of water. Mix together. The dough should be sticky and wet. You should be able to form balls in your palm easily and have them not stick to your hand. If the dough is too dry, add some more water. If it’s too sticky, add some more flour to adjust.
2. If you wish to colour your balls, add food colouring after mixing. Very little colouring is needed. Add about one to two drops of red to create a pink colour for 2/3 cup of flour. To create matcha sweet rice balls, add approximately 1 tsp of matcha powder for every 2/3 cup of flour.
3. 2/3 cup of flour makes about 10-15 balls, depending on the size you make them. Traditionally, they are fairly small. I usually make mine to be about 1/3 – 1/2 inches in diameter.
4. To cook, boil a pot of water. Add sugar to the water if desired. Usually, for a small pot of water, I will add about 1/4 cup of sugar. Put the balls in after the water is boiling. This prevents the balls from sticking to the bottom of the pot. The balls do not need long to cook. Once they float to the top, they are done. Turn off the boiling water and remove balls from the water.
Love these Chinese New Year recipes?
For all your favourite Asian ingredients – from soy sauce to chilli garlic sauce and many more pantry staples – visit morueats.com. They handpick and kitchen-test every product to bring the authentic taste of Asia right to your doorstep.
Sources for recipes
- https://rasamalaysia.com/steamed-fish-recipe/
- https://www.delish.com/uk/cooking/recipes/a35137422/crack-noodles-recipe/
- https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/dumplings
- https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/wrap-your-own-spring-rolls
- https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/27210/pineapple-tarts
- https://kirbiecravings.com/sweet-rice-balls/
