In the current issue of Edible Manhattan, writer Nancy Matsumoto took a tour of Chinatown shops, markets and restaurants with Cantonese chef Yang Huang, the co-executive chef at Buddakan. He also gave her his top stops in honor of the Asian Lunar New Year, the most-important holiday that begins on Monday with the Year of the Dragon. Today on our weekly segment on NY1, we asked Huang to show us two traditional dishes his family will make at home on the first morning of the year: vegetarian longevity noodles and a whole steamed fish.
They’re very simple and inexpensive to make–we’re especially excited by the cilantro stems and Maggi in the noodles, two ingredients we’re going to use from here on out–and also really really good, not to mention impressive on a table. We’ve got the recipes from Huang below, but to find out why he eats them each year, be sure to watch the show.
Vegetarian Longevity Noodles
From Buddakan Co-Executive Chef Yang Huang
Note: You can find the Chinese chives, chive blossom and golden chives, and the two sauces in Chinatown. For recommendations on where to shop, read our tour of Chinatown with chef Huang, who also likes to add slivered slender red Asian “finger” chile peppers to this dish.
3 cups of dried long soy noodles, soaked for 3 hours in water
1 whole egg
1/4 cup bean sprout (pick and clean tips)
1/4 cup red onion (sliced)
1/4 cup carrot (julienned)
1/4 cup Chinese chives (julienned)
1/4 cup chive blossoms (julienned)
1/4 cup golden chive (julienned)
1/4 cup cilantro stems (chopped)
1T Maggi Soy Sauce
1T double fermented soy sauce
1T salt
1/4t white pepper
1/4T crispy garlic chips (optional, for garnish)
Blanch the noodles in boiling water and set aside until time to cook them. Put the egg in the wok with a little cooking oil and add red onion, carrot, Chinese chive, bean sprouts, stir-frying over high heat. Then add the noodles and season with salt and white pepper, Maggi soy, double fermented soy and add the remaining vegetables. Garnish with crispy garlic chips.
Whole Steamed Black Sea Bass
From Buddakan Co-Executive Chef Yang Huang
1 1-1/2 pound black sea bass (gutted and clean)
1 t salt
1/6 cup (or 2 T plus 2 t) ginger (julienned)
1/6 cup (or 2 T plus 2 t) slice white scallion (julienned)
1/6 cup (or 2 T plus 2 t) red finger chili (thinly sliced)
1/4 cup (or 2 T plus 2 t) soy oil
1/8 cup (or 2 T plus 2 t) micro cilantro (for garnish)
Season fish with salt and pinch of oil, then steam in a high pressure steamer for 5 minutes.
Take out and top off with double fermented soy sauce, ginger, scallions, red chili, then take hot oil from wok and pour over the fish. Garnish with micro cilantro on top.
