NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State
University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
January 22, 1998
The Chinese new year begins on Wednesday, Jan. 28, and from that day until Feb. 15, 1999, it will be the year of the Tiger. I'll admit right off that I don't understand all that much about Chinese folklore, but if there's a way to eat interesting food in honor of a celebration, I'm willing to learn more.
From an Internet search I found that the Chinese traditionally followed a lunar calendar before Western culture introduced them to the solar calendar. And it's this old lunar system that still serves as the basis for determining many Chinese holidays. A lunar month is based on the time it takes the moon to complete a full cycle around the earth—29 and a half days. Those shorter months mean that the lunar year is 11 days shorter than its solar counterpart, a discrepancy the Chinese set straight every 19 years.
Again, it's unclear to me exactly how the Chinese add enough lunar months to their calendar to get it back in sync with the solar calendar, but I do know that each lunar-based year is represented by an animal. Last year it was the ox. Next year it will be the rabbit. In all, Chinese astrology involves 12 animals, including the rat, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
In Chinese astrology, a person's sign depends upon the year in which he or she was born, not the day or month of their birth. From Jan. 24, 1955, through Feb. 11, 1956, it was the year of the goat. So according to Chinese astrology, I'm a goat, or goat boy. Take your pick.
Now, I've probably managed to confuse more than enlighten you about the Chinese new year, so you might like to follow this advice: When in doubt, eat, and in honor of this particular occasion, eat some Chinese food. Many of you can order take-out, and most everyone who likes Chinese cuisine has a favorite restaurant, but I'd urge you to try something at home this time. Remember, not all Chinese food is complicated to prepare.
The following recipe features mung beans and is just one example of simplicity. Small and green, mung beans are available mainly in health food stores. It's from mung beans that we get bean sprouts. The original version of this mung bean recipe first appeared in the Oriental Cookbook, edited by Alice Miller Mitchell.
This dish actually resembles a casserole, so you might consider an oriental-style coleslaw or a sweet-and-sour vegetable stir fry as an accompaniment. Perhaps start off with some homemade egg-drop soup. Egg rolls or cream-cheese-filled wantons are a nice touch too.
Meaty Mung Beans
Yield: 6 servingsIngredients:
1 cup dried mung beans, soaked for an hour and drained
4 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces uncooked lean pork, cubed
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
½ cup tomato juice
8 ounces large fresh shrimp, deveined, halved lengthwise and crosswise
salt and white pepperProcedure:
In a 4- or 5-quart Dutch oven, boil the beans in water for 10 minutes, reduce to simmer and continue cooking about 30 minutes, or until tender. As the beans cook, use a saucepan to saute the pork in olive oil until browned; add garlic and onion and cook until onion is transparent, stirring often. Add tomato juice to pork mixture, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Drain beans, return to Dutch oven, add pork mixture and shrimp, and stir thoroughly. Cover and continue cooking until shrimp is done, about 5 minutes. Fluff while seasoning to taste with salt and white pepper and serve.
What's Your Take on This, Julie?
Many people dine out for Chinese food rather than attempting to make it at home. In most Chinese recipes, the peeling and chopping of vegetables generally takes longer than the actual cooking process. Food processors have simplified cooking by making bags of pre-chopped vegetables available.
This flavorful recipe is quick to prepare, with very little chopping required. It features mung beans, a fairly unfamiliar legume to Americans but a popular ingredient in Chinese cookery. Mung beans are good sources of protein and fiber. While most people associate meat or spinach with iron, mung beans are a surprisingly good source.
Another key ingredient is shrimp, a popular seafood that should be deveined before cooking. When purchasing, remember that "green" shrimp are not green in color but rather, have not been cooked. To clean, make a slit along the arch of the back and rinse under cold water to remove the black vein.
One serving of this recipe provides about 320 calories, 12 grams of fat and approximately 25 percent of the recommended daily iron. Chinese cuisine is healthy, usually featuring plenty of fresh vegetables, beans or rice, and smaller amounts of meat than Americans typically eat. Pairing this recipe with a colorful assortment of stir-fried vegetables is a low-fat way to work toward five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
Try something a little different in honor of the year of the Tiger. It may become a tasty new tradition for you.
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Sources: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136
Julie Garden-Robinson (701) 231-7187
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