Chinese New Year's Eve Supper

It's been a while since my last post. Let's just say I took a busy Mom hiatus this fall driving my kids to orchestra rehearsals, soccer practices, after school clubs (Math, Music), karate lessons (culminating in 2 jr. black belts) ... HI-YAH!!! It's a new year, both on the Gregorian and Chinese Lunar calendars, and it's high time for a foodie blog post to breathe some life back into this baby! I find taking the food shots time consuming and a disruption to my cooking chi but made it a priority over the last few weeks.

For Chinese New Year (a belated Gung Hay Fat Choy!), we enjoyed a plate of Foo Pey Quon (Bean Curd Rolls), roast duck, barbecue roast pork, salt and pepper shrimp, steamed gai lan (Chinese broccoli) drizzled with oyster sauce and sesame oil, and of course the ubiquitous steamed white rice. We usually purchase the roast meats from a local Chinese barbecue place; it's a bit challenging to roast the duck properly in a residential kitchen. Our friends loved the bean curd rolls and they were different from any spring rolls that they've ever had. Hope you'll love them as much as we do!

Foo Pey Quon (Bean Curd Rolls)
Makes approx. 3 dozen

1/2 lbs. ground pork
1/2 lbs. small to medium size shrimp, shelled, deveined, coarsely chopped
1 small can of bamboo shoots, julienned
3 stalks of green onion/scallion or Chinese chives, sliced thinly
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. sesame oil
a few dashes of white pepper
1 package of bean curd sheets
1 egg, beaten in a small bowl
vegetable oil for frying

Remove the bean curd sheets from the package and unfold. Slice each sheet into triangular shapes approximately 5"x8"x8" (you may find it easiest to slice the large sheet lengthwise into 3 or 4 long secions). Keep moist by laying a damp towel or paper towel over the sheets.

In a large bowl, mix and blend well the ground pork, shrimp, bamboo shoots, green onion or Chinese chives, soy sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper.

Take one triangular piece of bean curd sheet and wipe with a damp cloth to insure that each piece is softened and pliable. Place a heaping tablespoon of the pork and shrimp filling onto the wide end. Roll twice, fold in the sides, and seal the tip by applying a bit of beaten egg. Set aside, seam down in a large baking pan or cookie sheet.

In a deep frying pan (I use a dutch oven to reduce the amount of splattering oil), add enough vegetable oil for deep frying. Heat until hot but not smoking...I stick a clean chopstick in the oil and if it starts to bubble, it's ready! Wipe each of the bean curd rolls with a dampened paper towels (this process helps the bean curd rolls puff up) and fry in the hot oil for about a minute until light, golden brown. Place on paper towel to drain and then transfer to a platter for serving.

Serve immediately. These are delicious as is or served with a sweet chili sauce or Chinese plum sauce.