Happy (Chinese) New Year!

I love how my last blog entry was in 2009 saying that I'll start a blog! Boy am I a procrastinator! Well since Dec'11, blogging has been on my mind again and as one of my new year resolutions, I am going to dedicate my time to writing on this. 

Well today is Chinese New Year and what better day to start blogging! For those of you that aren't familiar, Chinese New Year refers to the beginning of the year in a lunar calendar, so the date changes every year. This year, it fell on January 23 and its the year of the dragon. 

The celebrations began the day before at dim-sum with delicious traditional little dishes. For dinner, to continue the theme, I made kung-pao chicken with broccoli and fried brown rice. I've recently discovered my love for cooking so most of my plates are fairly simple, but very delicious. I've posted the recipe below. I promise you wont be disapointed if you try it! 

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into chunks
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
• 1 ounce hot chilli paste
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• Head of broccoli

• Directions

  1. To Make Marinade: Combine 1 tablespoon wine, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon cornstarch/water mixture and mix together. Place chicken pieces in a glass dish or bowl and add marinade. Toss to coat. Cover dish and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
  2. To Make Sauce: In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon wine, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon cornstarch/water mixture, chili paste, vinegar and sugar. Mix together and add green onion, garlic, water chestnuts and peanuts. In a medium skillet, heat sauce slowly until aromatic.
  3. Meanwhile, remove chicken from marinade and saute in a large skillet until meat is white and juices run clear. When sauce is aromatic, add sauteed chicken to it and let simmer together until sauce thickens.