Happy Lunar New Year! Although the holiday began last Tuesday, Feb. 17, it technically lasts until the Lantern Festival on March 3, so we have plenty of time to celebrate.
Like many lunar holidays, the Lunar New Year is actually lunisolar — that is, it is determined by a combination of the cycles of the sun and the moon. The Lunar New Year begins somewhere between late January and late February, on the second new moon after the winter solstice. By the time we get to March 3, that new (invisible) moon will be full. And we’ll be coming close to the vernal equinox.
Each Lunar New Year is associated with an animal, 2026 is the Year of the Horse. People born under this sign are said to be people of action — brave and strong.
Each year is also associated with an element, and this year’s element is fire. A fire horse is an especially fierce, determined person … perhaps a bit temperamental.
Some have said that women born in the sign of the fire horse aren’t ideally suited to marriage and motherhood. According to Elle Australia, “This belief is attributed to the notable dip in birth rates in China during the last Fire Horse year, 1966.”
The magazine notes, however, that in that year Chinese women had greater access to, and made more use of, contraceptives and abortions than in the past. That seems a more likely (and less sexist) explanation for the change in birth rates than the fire horse.
People all over China — indeed, all over Asia — eat traditional favorite foods as they enter the Lunar New Year. I know that in past years I have featured recipes for dumplings in this column.
Assembling the dumplings gives families time to chat and bond as they come together to celebrate the holiday. The dumplings’ purse-like shape can connote that money is on the way.
Today, I’m addressing noodles. Another popular Lunar New Year item is a dish called “Longevity Noodles.” Nice long noodles are supposed to bring the eater a nice long life.
Today’s noodles aren’t typical Longevity Noodles, called Yi Mein. Those noodles generally don’t have any protein, just lovely pasta and a few vegetables.
I recently found some tasty-looking boneless pork, so I decided to make a related dish, Lo Mein. “Lo Mein” means stirred/scooped noodles. Basically, one gets it by stir frying noodles with vegetables and (in this case) a protein.
TINKY WEISBLAT / For the Recorder
My recipe isn’t authentically Chinese, but it is authentically delicious. To make it appropriate for the Lunar New Year, I was careful not to cut the noodles while cooking or eating them. Obviously if long noodles ensure long life, cutting the noodles can have a dire effect on one’s future.
If you have access to a Chinese grocery store, you will probably find more authentic Lo Mein noodles than I did while shopping for this dish. I ended up going to a large regular supermarket and purchasing dried “Cantonese Egg Noodles,” which were a little thick and had a nice curve.
If you aren’t going to a supermarket, you may purchase regular dried spaghetti at any general store or even probably a convenience store. The sauce, the pork and the vegetables will dress it up.
If you’re a vegetarian, you may of course omit the pork. In that case, the handy advice website called “The Woks of Life” advises, “Just make sure you add the harder vegetables (like carrots, broccoli, etc.) first, so all of your veggies are perfectly cooked by the time you’re done cooking.”
Speaking of the veggies, the ones you use can be flexible: pretty much whatever you have in the house. You do want something to add a little extra moisture (in my case, baby bok choi and mushrooms) and something to give you just a tiny bit of chew (in my case, carrots).
Garlic and scallions are traditional and easy to find.
I was hoping to find snow peas, but I was unsuccessful. Along with the bok choi, carrots, scallions, and garlic, I threw in colorful sliced bell pepper.
Enjoy your Lo Mein. I wish you long life in this New Year. Let’s all hope that spring hurries up and arrives!
Pork Lo Mein
(adapted from “The Woks of Life”)
As with much Chinese food, the most important thing in this recipe is to have everything ready before you start cooking. Marinate your pork. Chop your vegetables. Make your Lo Mein sauce. Nothing takes very long to cook, so preparation is key.
Ingredients:
for the pork:
2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon dry sherry
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 pound (or so) boneless pork, sliced in thin strips (you may use ground pork instead if you have it and just crumble it)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vegetable or peanut oil
for the stir fry:
the sauce:
2 tablespoons hot water
1-1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
the rest of the stir fry:
8 to 10 ounces lo mein noodles
a splash of sesame oil if needed
vegetable or peanut oil as needed for sautéing
the velveted pork
4 cups vegetables, julienned or minced (don’t forget the garlic and scallions)
the sauce (see above)
for finishing:
sesame oil to taste
hot oil to taste (optional: I like just a little spice, but lo mein is not traditionally spicy)
Instructions:
Begin by marinating the pork. This process is called velveting; it tenderizes the meat. In a bowl, combine the water, the sherry, the hoisin sauce, and the soy sauce. Stir in the pork, followed by the cornstarch and the oil. Combine thoroughly. (Your hands are useful for this.)
Let the pork velvet for at least 30 minutes. Overnight (in the refrigerator) is fine.
When you are almost ready to cook, boil the noodles until they are al dente. Set them aside. If they seem to be clumping together, add a little sesame oil to separate them.
In a wok or (in my case since I’m wok-less) a sauté pan, heat a generous splash of oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Sear the pork until it begins to brown and no pink meat remains; then remove it from the pan and set it aside, leaving any oil that remains in the pan.
Add the vegetables to the hot oil. Add a little more oil if you are short on it. Stir fry until the veggies begin to get tender.
Stir in the noodles, followed by the sauce. Stir fry with a scooping motion for at least 2 minutes, making sure the sauce is spread throughout the noodles and veggies and scraping the bottom of the pan to keep the noodles from sticking. Stir in the reserved pork. If the dish becomes sticky, add a little hot water.
Try a noodle, and adjust the seasoning to your taste. I ended up adding a little more hoisin and a little more soy, plus a pinch of salt. Yes, the soy sauce has sodium, but the salt brightens the flavor without being too strong. Turn off the heat and stir in a splash of sesame oil and (if you’re so inclined) a drop or two of hot oil.
Serves 4 to 6.
Tinky Weisblat is an award-winning cookbook author and singer known as the Diva of Deliciousness. Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.