Chef Martin Yan shows us how to cook with Bok Choy for Chinese New Year. Did you know, Bok Choy symbolizes prosperity? Certain dishes are eaten during the Chinese New Year for their symbolic meaning. Lucky food is served during the 16-day festival season, especially New Year’s Eve, which is believed to bring good luck for the coming year. The auspicious symbolism of these foods is based on their pronunciations or appearance.
2eaheads Bok Choyuse Baby Bok Choy cut lengthwise into 8 segments
2eaOrganic Green Onions cut into 2 inch long strips
Instructions
Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling water according to the package directions.
Prepare the seasonings; stir the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame seed oil together in a small bowl.
Add the bok choy, and ginger stir-fry until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the noodles, green onions, and seasonings and toss gently until heated through.
If you’re a Hatch Chile lover like us, or just like to kick-up your chicken wings, you have to try this hatch chile chicken wings recipe!
Here are some facts about Hatch chiles:
One fresh medium-sized green chile pod has as much Vitamin C as six oranges.
One teaspoon of dried red chile powder has the daily requirements of Vitamin A.
Hot chile peppers burn calories by triggering a termodynamic burn in the body, which speeds up the metabolism.
Teas and lozenges are made with chile peppers for treatment of sore throat.
Capsaicinoids, the chemical that make chile peppers hot, are used in muscle patches for sore and aching muscles
Hatch Chile Chicken Wings
For the rub:
1 tablespoon Kosher Salt
6 tablespoons Smoked Paprika
1 tablespoon Freshly Ground Pepper
3 tablespoons Garlic Powder
2 tablespoons Onion Powder
2 tablespoons Hatch Chile Powder
For the wings:
3 lbs. Chicken Wings
1 cup Honey BBQ Sauce
2 tablespoons Sriracha
2 Limes
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
In a bowl, combine the rub ingredients. Add the wings to the bowl and toss and rub the wings with the seasonings. Place the wings, in a single layer, on a greased baking pan. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
In a bowl, combine the BBQ Sauce, Sriracha and Hatch Chiles. Toss the wings with ½ of the mixture and bake them for another 10 minutes. Toss the wings with the remaining sauce and bake in the oven for an additional 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven. Top the wings with the zest of the limes, squeeze the lime juice over them and serve.
This is a video on how to use a cool root vegetable: taro. One of the world’s favorite roots, Taro can be used similar to a potato for savory cooking, like potato salads, but is also great for sweets. Taro becomes almost custardy when cooked, making it perfect for pudding, dumplings, breads and more. It is also a great source of Fiber, vitamin B6, and Potassium.
Recipe: Chef Martin Yan’s Taro Pancakes (like taro latkes!):
Ingredients:
1 pound taro, peeled
1 medium onion
3 green onions, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1-2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Cooking oil
½ cup sour cream
Directions
Finely shred taro and grate onion into a large bowl. Drain off any excess liquid.
Mix in green onions, egg, salt and pepper. Add enough flour to make mixture thick.
Heat about ¼-inch of oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Drop two or three taro mounds (about 2 to 3 tablespoons each) into oil; flatten to make 1/8-inch to ¼-inch-thick pancakes. Cook, turning once, until golden brown. Lift out with a slotted spoon; drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Keep warm while making remaining pancakes.
Serve with sour cream on the side.
More on Taro Root:
(Pronounced TARE-oh or TAR-oh)
With more than 100 varieties of this starchy tuber grown worldwide, it is no wonder that Taro Root is such an important staple in Southeast Asia, Africa, India, China (where it is called Eddo), the Caribbean (where it is called Dasheen), and the Polynesian islands (where it is the main ingredient in poi, the Hawaiian national dish). Looking very much like malanga, this potato-like root can range in length from 5 inches to over a foot long. The flesh is often creamy white or pale pink and sometimes becomes purple-tinged once cooked. Taro Root, though not very flavorful raw, has a nutty flavor when cooked and is very easy to digest. Used much like a potato, Taro Root can be boiled, fried, or baked, while the edible leaves may be steamed and used just like spinach.
How to shop for Taro Root:
When selecting Taro Root, look for firm, brown-skinned roots with rings. Avoid soft spots or patches. Leaves should be fresh and bright green. Remove leaves just before using roots and save for later use. Store Taro Root as you would a potato. The leaves should be refrigerated and used within one week.
How to cook Taro Root:
To prepare, peel Taro Root with a vegetable peeler under running water to avoid any sensitivity to its sticky juices. Keep covered with water (in a bowl or pan) until ready to use.
Whether you’re hosting the whole neighborhood or tailgating at the stadium, these Smashed Cheddar Potatoes are the perfect pairing for any get together. Game day is all about salty snacks and cold beer… why not have both with these beer steamed smashed potatoes?
Eating an Ojai Pixie is a truly special experience. We enjoy other tangerines, sure, but none is quite so deliciously sweet, juicy and balanced as the Ojai Pixie. This variety is only available from March to May; to us, the first Pixie means that spring has arrived.
There’s no industrial scale farming here; in fact, just three-dozen family operations make up the Ojai Valley Pixie Growers Association, a collective of farmers who grow Pixies. The largest orchard is 16 acres. The microclimate of Ojai Valley is so particular that this is the only place Pixie tangerines can really be grown. Just as Hatch Chiles can only come from New Mexico’s Hatch Valley, true Pixies only come from California’s Ojai Valley.
“Ojai Pixies are not sold under trade names! We are not Cuties, Sweeties, Delites or Smiles– we are Ojai Pixies; that is, Pixie tangerines grown in the Ojai Valley. Ojai Pixies are grown by a dedicated group of farmers working on small family farms. We grow and market our own fruit. We make up less than one percent of the California tangerine crop, so enjoy the season while it lasts!”
Pixie tangerines are pale orange colored, moderately juicy and always seedless. Individual Pixie tangerines vary in shape, size and peel texture. In general, Pixies are small (1-3 inches in diameter), have a pebbly skin and are easy to peel with segments that separate easily from one another.
Pixies ripen in the spring and are therefore on the trees during California’s coldest months and are quite susceptible to frost.
Pixie Tangerines have been around since the mid-1960s, when they were released to the public by citrus breeders from the University of California at Riverside. Because of their small size, their habit of bearing a large crop one year and a small crop the following year, and their late season, they were not thought of as a commercial fruit. However, a group of growers in Ojai, California discovered that Pixie Tangerines grown in Ojai are wonderfully delicious. They are now available in grocery stores all over the country, as well as farmer-direct in southern California.
Meet the Farmer | Friend’s Ranch Ojai Pixies
The Friend’s Ranch family has been growing citrus in the Ojai Valley for over 100 years!
Throughout this time, their operation has gone through a lot of changes, expansions and cuts as well as changes in the fruit they grow and sell.
Friend’s Ranch currently attend four farmers’ markets in Southern California year-round as well as selling directly from our packinghouse and through our on-line mail order. We also sell our tangerines to wholesalers throughout California, such as Melissa’s Produce.
Their goal is to grow, pack and sell the best fruit we can that you, the consumer, demand and they hope you find the fruit as delicious as they do!
Friend’s Ranch is truly a small family farm, operated by 4 family members, 4 employees, as well as the input of the our new fifth generation of tangerine eaters (Matthew, Andrew, Mariana, Oliver and Celeste)!
Here are a few points about Ojai Pixies that you need to know:
– California’s Central coast provides rich growing soil.
– The freshest citrus commercially available, picked and packed just days before delivery
– Grown uniquely in an East to West direction allowing for longer days of sunlight which benefits the fruit in overall taste.
– No preservatives or wax.
– 100 years of Ojai growing experience
Ojai Pixie Tangerines:
Pixie Tangerines have a rich citrus flavor. They are a super sweet variety, and are a cross between a King and Dancy Tangerine. This variety of tangerine is newer to the marketplace. Developed and grown for the last 20 years, Pixie Tangerines are now grown and available on a national basis! They have all the attractive features of what a consumer is looking for in a tangerine: seedless and low acid.
– Late season variety: early March – mid May
– Grown in the prestigious citrus region of Ojai, California
– Seedless
– Easy to Peel
– Low Acidity / Very Sweet
Here is a tasty recipe you can make with fresh Ojai Pixies and Steamed Beets:
For the wings:
Recipe: Chef Martin Yan’s Taro Pancakes (like taro latkes!):
Pixies ripen in the spring and are therefore on the trees during California’s coldest months and are quite susceptible to frost.
