An Easy Recipe for the Chinese New Year

Give a nod to the Chinese New Year by making super-easy Hoisin Spare Ribs. It’s the first Chinese-inspired dish I learned to cook as a new bride.

These finger-licking ribs are convenient when you’re too busy to cook. It takes just 5 to 10 minutes of active time. (Although you need to plan for marinating and baking time.)

Hoisin Spare Ribs

• 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon whiskey (I use bourbon)
• 2 to 3 pounds pork spare ribs, cut in thirds by a butcher, crosswise across the bones

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the ribs; whisk smooth. Cut the ribs between the bones, then add the ribs to the bowl; toss in the marinade to coat. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

Heat oven to 350⁰F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Arrange ribs on the foil in a single layer, bone-side down. Reserve the marinade. Bake ribs for 1 ½ hours, brushing with the reserved marinade once, halfway through the baking. Discard remaining marinade.

Makes about 4 servings.

Another delicious recipe for family dinners is an easy pasta bake with rigatoni.

Notes

• If the ribs don’t have that appealing, slightly crusty look when done, run them under the broiler, watching carefully to prevent burning.
• Hoisin sauce is found in most supermarkets in the Asian aisle. Upon opening, refrigerate, tightly covered, for up to 12 to 18 months. (As the months go by, check to make sure it doesn’t have an off odor or appearance and has no mold.)

Celebrate with a Chinese New Year Dinner

This year, Chinese New Year runs from January 25 to February 4. It’s a time when homes are cleaned, debts are paid, and families gather.

• Have your family over for a Chinese dinner, either with Chinese takeout (turn the food out of the cartons onto serving platters), or by cooking a few dishes (see lucky foods below).
• Set the table with wooden chopsticks from a party supply store or an Asian market.
• Use red napkins to add color and keep to the celebratory red theme. (I have red cloth ones that I use for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and the Fourth of July).
• Decorate with colorful lanterns.
• Buy or make red envelopes and fill with lucky money for the grandkids.

Symbols of the Chinese New Year

• Lucky foods for the New Year include whole fish (prosperity), noodles (long life), and spring rolls (wealth). Tangerines represent good luck and fortune.
• Red is a symbol of good luck; gold represents prosperity.
• This is the Year of the Rat on the Chinese horoscope.

What to Do

• If there is a Chinatown in your city, take kids for a visit. You might run into a lion dance, with a lion strutting to the rhythm of gongs and cymbals, and firecrackers exploding underfoot.
• A Chinese New Year parade is fun for the whole family. There may be a parade in your city.
• Share information about the Chinese New Year with your grandkids. Learning about people, their customs, and celebrations helps to broaden and enrich little ones.