Celebrate The Lunar New Year with These Recipes

Written exclusively for Pottery Barn by Jonathan Stiers of The Stiers Aesthetic.

Chinese Lunar New Year or Spring Festival as it’s also known, is the single, most important social and economic holiday in China. It is a time of celebration — gathering together with family, relaxing and most importantly, feasting! So, what better way to join in the celebration than with a few, classic Chinese recipes and of course, a signature cocktail?!

Lucky Cat Martini (Makes 1 Martini)

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces Smirnoff® Vanilla Vodka (or other brand of choice)
• 0.5 ounce Chambord Liquer (inspired by raspberries!)
• 2/3 cup pineapple juice
• Bamboo skewers, fresh raspberries & pineapple leaves for garnish

Directions:

1. Using a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice; combine the vodka and pineapple juice, and shake vigorously until combined – about 20 seconds.

2. Strain into a chilled, Schott-Zwiesel martini glass, topping glass off with leftover foam. (Martini glasses may be chilled in the freezer, 30 minutes prior to serving)

3. Sink Chambord to the bottom of the glass. To do so, hold the cap, spout or jigger up against the inside of the glass and slowly pour, letting the Chambord sink to the bottom.

4. Using a bamboo skewer, garnish with a fresh pineapple leaf and raspberry.

5. Serve on the Harrison bar tray, sprinkled with Chinese fortune cookies.

Chicken & Broccoli Stirfry (Makes 4 Servings)

Ingredients

• 1 pound chicken breast (about 2 breasts), cubed
• 3 scallions, whites only, thinly sliced on an angle
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 -inch piece peeled fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon, plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
• About 1/3 cup water
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 5 to 6 cups broccoli, trimmed sliced stalks and medium florets (keep the 2 cuts separate)
• 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• Garnish: toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with the scallion whites, half of the garlic, half of the ginger, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch (you’ll use the remaining TABLESPOON later), 1 teaspoon of the salt, 1 tablespoon of sherry, and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.

2. Mix the remaining cornstarch with 1/3 cup water and set aside.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and heat. Add the broccoli stems, and stir-fry for about 30 seconds (make sure your broccoli doesn’t have any excess water to avoid a lot of unwanted popping ‘n such when you add to the pan). Add the broccoli florets and the remaining garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons of water, and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Stir-fry until the broccoli is bright green but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

4. When the skillet is HOT again, heat 2 more tablespoons of oil. Add the chicken and chili flakes and stir-fry, until the chicken loses its raw color and gets a little brown; about 3 minutes.

5. Add the hoisin sauce and return the broccoli to the pan, tossing to heat through. Stir in the reserved cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil to thicken. If needed, add a little water to thin the sauce.

6. Taste and season with salt and pepper and garnish with sesame seeds and scallions; serve with Jasmine rice. (Try serving it on something super colorful, like this turquoise Cambria Dinnerware.)

Plum, chili garlic, hot mustard and of course, soy round out this must list of dipping sauces, perfect for these classic, Chinese Pork Dumplings; recipe below.

Chinese Pork Dumplings

Ingredients:

• 3.5 rounded potsticker wraps – OR – wonton wrappers cut in to circles
• 1 1/4 lbs ground pork
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger root
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons thinly slice green onion
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 cups, finely shredded cabbage

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the pork, ginger, garlic, green onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, egg and cabbage, stirring until well mixed.

2. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of pork filling onto each wonton skin. Moisten edge of ONE HALF with water and fold edges over to form a half-moon shape. Roll edges and pinch slightly to seal in filling.

3. Meanwhile, fill a wok, 3/4 of the way with water and bring to a boil.

4. Place dumplings in a bamboo steamer, lined with parchment paper.

5. Place steamer on top of wok and steam dumplings for 20 minutes (No peeking!).

6. Serve immediately.

Check out more of Jonathan’s entertaining tips and recipes here, and more of our favorite recipes here.