Mushroom Nian Gao (香菇年糕)

Gong xi fa cai, everyone! I've already written some recipes for the Jewish New Year (see my Rosh Hashanah cocktail), so it's about time I tackle Chinese New Year, a day full of food traditions. Nian gao, or "year cake," is a popular Chinese New Year treat all over China. There are many regional versions, ranging from sweet to savory, but all made from sticky rice flour. The Shanghai style, which we call "tongue depressors" for their shape, are our family tradition. I first made this meatless version for our combined New Year/birthday celebration a year ago. Any meat could easily be added if you want to go that route. 

I've written about Shanghai nian gao twice before, and the differences highlight the evolution of my Chinese cooking. The original 2012 version was very simple, as much of my bachelor cooking was. Back then, I parboiled the rice cakes, which I now know to be unnecessary. By the 2015 version, I was experimenting with Koon Chun bean sauce and napa cabbage. I had recently discovered the method of salting and squeezing the napa to get the excess water out. I've since moved on from bean sauce as the base of a sauce (I still use it for the char siu marinade) and am now doing a classically Chinese combination of ginger, scallions, and soy sauce, lengthened with the mushroom water and thickened with corn starch. 

This recipe uses mushroom-flavored dark soy sauce (Pearl River Bridge brand). Although available at most Chinese stores, it's somewhat niche. If unavailable, regular dark soy sauce would work just fine. Comparing the photos here to my previous versions, you can see the effect of the dark soy sauce in coloring the rice cakes. We rounded out the meal with spring rolls out of the freezer. These fry excellently right from frozen with no problem. I did subsequently make some spring rolls using the 45-degree angle fold, and can report they fry much more evenly. 

Pork Shoulder Stew

Braising is one of the best ways to get great value out of inexpensive cuts of meat. Beef chuck and chicken leg quarters are great for this, but my favorite is the ever-versatile pork shoulder. I've gone a few different directions with this over the years, from a Mexican-style pulled pork to the Chinese hongshao style. This time, braised the pork in the classic French way, with a mirepoix base, white wine, mustard, and herbs. It's the kind of thing I imagine might be eaten in the French countryside, but given I haven't actually been there, I'm probably just blowing smoke. "Authentic" or not, this dish was very easy to put together, has phenomenal flavor, and is made completely from basic, staple ingredients.

I broke down the pork shoulder (a Boston butt from Sam's Club) in my usual way, ending up with a bit of fat saved, four pounds of strips for char siu, and the two pounds of pork chunks and bone for this recipe. I usually save the bones to make pork stock, but since I just made some a few days ago, I decided to throw the bone into the stew. The bone typically has some extra meat on it, which I never let go to waste. This also helps to infuse the braising liquid with even more flavor.

The recipe itself is pretty loose, and I'm confident there are many variations that would work. I had a very large onion (about a pound) and carrots and celery adding up to about 10 ounces, but use what's available. From this base recipe, one could easily add some smoked meats, like bacon or sausage. More vegetables, such as tomato or cabbage, would be interesting additions. I always like some kind of starch with a stew. We had mashed potatoes, but crusty bread, egg noodles, rice, or just boiled potatoes would all do nicely. Whatever the choices, a hearty stew like this is a perfect dinner for a chilly February.