As the Chinese New Year celebration draws near, many of us are turning to grocery stores to prepare for the feast. And while traditionally most of us would venture to Richmond for T&T and Osaka, Superstore has everything you need for your celebrations. From lanterns to red pockets, candies and fried goods, they offer many items that make it so much more convenient.
Although Richmond isn’t that far for me to get to, I would much rather stay on my side of the bridge (out of pure laziness). Luckily, there is a Superstore about 5 minutes away from where I live, so for most items I need, I’d prefer going there.
I was recently invited to take part in a Chinese New Year themed ’cooking class’ with Stephanie Yuen (BeyondChopsticks), which was so enjoyable! She taught us how to make two dishes: Shanghai Wonton and Taro Root Coconut Milk Dessert with Tapioca Pearls.
With the wontons, she made the filling (which by the way, is super easy – I’ve listed the recipe below) and we assembled it in wonton wrappers. It was fun to do, it kind of reminded me of when I help my dad make lumpia at home. The filling is delicious, it didn’t need too much salt and had a great crunch from the water chestnuts and bok choy.
Stephanie then shared her recipe to make taro root coconut milk dessert with tapioca pearls. I always thought that this dessert was difficult to make, but Stephanie made it look fairly easy, so I’m feeling a little more confident and will most likely make this soon (and will post it up on our Youtube channel)!
All these items are available at your local Real Canadian Superstore and I can’t wait to make a huge batch of dumplings and some dessert.
Shanghai Wonton
Makes 40-50 wontons
Ingredients
-8 cups of water
-2lbs Shanghai bok choy, separated and rinsed
-1 can T&T water chestnuts, drained and diced
-4 oz. ground lean pork (or chicken, or mushroom)
-1 tbsp light soy sauce
-1 tsp sesame oil
-2 tsp sea salt
-1/4 tsp granulated sugar
-2 tbsp corn starch
-1 small egg, beaten
-1 pkg wonton wrappers
-2 cups Chinese New Year Cake (rice cakes)
-4 pc. T&T dried shitake mushroom, rinsed and soaked in 2 cups hot water for at least 30 minutes or until softened
-2 cans T&T chicken broth
-1/2 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
-1/2 cup chopped green onion (optional)
Directions
Wontons:
1. Boil 6 cups of water in a medium sauce pan on high heat
2. Add bok choy and blanch for 2 minutes.
3. Drain the bok choy and let it cool down for 15 minutes.
4. Squeeze excess water out of the bok choy and place onto a kitchen towel to let it dry.
5. Chop bok choy finely and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
6. Mix water chestnut, ground pork, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, sugar and corn starch into the bok choy. This is the stuffing for the wontons.
7. Place one piece of wonton wrapper on a dry surface or cutting board
8. Spoon 1tbsp stuffing in the middle
9. Fold wrap half-way into a half circle, then using a small brush, brush a small amount of egg wash around the edge of the half circle and press firmly.
10. Turn the half circle to overlap 1/2 inch of the two corners, brush with egg wash and press firmly. Continue until stuffing is gone.
11. Remove mushrooms from water, cut off stems and julienne.
12. Reserve mushroom water for later.
Broth:
1. Combine 2 cups of water, chicken broth, mushroom and mushroom water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Once it boils, cover and turn the heat down to low and let simmer.
To finish:
1. Boil 1/2 pot of water and cook half of wontons in boiling water for 4-5 minutes.
2. Transfer cooked wonton into a big bowl using a slotted ladle.
3. Repeat with remaining wontons as needed.
4. Bring the chicken broth to a boil and add New Year Cake and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add cooked wonton and bring to another boil. Turn off heat.
6. Top with chopped cilantro and green onion.
Taro Root Coconut Milk Dessert with Tapioca Pearls
Serves 4
Ingredients
-1 tbsp. mini tapioca
-3 cups water
-2 cups skinned taro root, cut into 1/2” cubes
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-1 can Rooster coconut milk (165ml)
Directions
1. Boil water and taro to a boil in a medium saucepan on high heat.
2. Lower heat to medium and cover. Cook for 5 minutes.
3. Transfer to a blender and blend on high for 20 seconds or until creamy.
4. Return to saucepan and cook on medium heat. Stir frequently to avoid sticking.
5. Add coconut milk and sugar, bring to a gentle boil.
6. Add tapioca and mix well.
7. Stir in brown sugar and cook for another minute or until sugar melts.