A Chinese Feast for your New Year's Party

My family has always been big fans of homemade Chinese food.  If we invite you over for a homemade Chinese feast, it means we really like you!  Christmas Eve was made even more special with this delicious dinner that Cody and I prepared together.  I think you should make this for New Year's Eve, I promise you won't regret it even if it is all fried and fattening...you can work on that the next day!

First up--Mafa Chicken.  Have you ever heard of this before?  We have been making it for years and I don't know anyone who doesn't like it.  If you are making this meal for New Year's Eve, I suggest you start the chicken the day before because the longer it marinates, the better.  Here is what you need: 

*4 chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces

*1/2 cup sugar

*1/2 cup soy sauce

*1 egg 

*5 cubes funyu or bean curd

 (found in the refrigerated section but 

you can omit this if you can't find it.)

*1 tsp ginger

*1 tsp garlic powder

In a bowl with a lid, combine sugar, soy sauce, egg, funyu, ginger and garlic powder.  Add cubes of chicken and shake to coat.  Place in refrigerator and shake it every once in awhile.  Marinate at least 4 hours or overnight.  When ready to cook, drain marinade off of chicken and dredge in seasoned flour.  Heat oil and fry chicken in batches until golden brown.  This is amazing the next day eaten straight from the fridge!

Fried Rice

*3 cups cooked and cooled white rice

*Soy sauce

*4 pieces of bacon chopped and cooked

*6 sliced green onions

*2 eggs, scrambled

After frying the bacon, remove to paper towel but leave grease in the skillet.  Place cooled rice in skillet and warm through.  Add soy sauce until rice takes on brown color.  Add bacon back in.  Scamble the eggs and add to rice mixture.  Right before serving add green onions. 

Fried Shrimp:

*1/2 pound cooked, de-veined shrimp

*Package of Shrimp Fry

Follow package directions on Shrimp Fry to coat the shrimp.  Fry these last so that your other food doesn't take on the taste of shrimp. 

Sweet & Sour Sauce:

*1 TBS oil

*1 cup pineapple juice

*3 TBS cornstarch

*1/2 cup water

*2 TBS soy sauce

*2TBS vinegar

*1/2 cup sugar

*1 TBS ketchup

1. Heat and bring to a boil oil and pineapple juice.

2.Mix together cornstarch and water until dissolved.  Add to pineapple/oil mixture.

3.Mix soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and ketchup.  Add to other mixture.  Cook until sauce thickens making sure to stir constantly.  

 Won-tons:

*1/2 pound ground sausage

*6 sliced green onions

*Won-ton wrappers

Fry the sausage and drain grease.  Add in sliced green onions.  Place a teaspoon of sausage mixture into middle on won-ton wrapper and seal edges with water.  Fill as many won-ton wrappers as you have filling.  These can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator covered with a damp towel until ready to fry.  Fry these first in the oil and keep warm in the oven while you fry the rest of the food.

 I am telling you, make this meal and all of your friends will be super impressed!  It is the perfect meal for any special occasion or just when you feel like making an amazing meal.  Happy New Year!