Here’s four food ideas for the upcoming Chinese New Year

Get ready for more fireworks, partying and dancing to come; Chinese New Year is less than a week away.

Jan. 25 kicks off the celebration for young and old alike. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20, which is Jan. 25.

For the younger set, Barnes & Noble in Gulfport features a “How To Catch a Dragon” story time at 11 a.m. To make this even more fun, kids will make their own paper lanterns.

Each year Hard Rock Hotel & Casino hosts a lunar new year party. The event gets under way Sunday, Jan. 26 at 6:30 p.m. Interested persons must pick up wristbands at the box office at 6:30 p.m. Dinner and celebration begins at 7:30 p.m. with dinner, entertainment and more. To reserve a spot, call 228-860-4357, and ask for a member of the international marketing team.

In addition, festivities also will be happening in Biloxi at various times to usher in the Year of the Rat.

If crowds aren’t for you, try hosting an at-home Chinese New Year party.

Guests can bring different Asian dishes for a potluck or try your hand at planning and cooking the whole meal.

To give you some more celebration ideas, here are some easy recipes to enjoy at home. Asian stir-frys are quick and turn the spotlight on healthy and fresh foods.

Asian food is a favorite in our home, even my picky granddaughter likes rice, egg rolls and gyoza. My daughter’s favorite is spicy Mongolian beef.

Most supermarkets carry the most popular Asian seasonings, rice, noodles and condiments. A trip to the Asian groceries in Biloxi is fun and educational.

One of Emeril Lagasse’s favorites is chicken breasts with green beans. He offers a recipe for his Asian spice blend that does call for Chinese 5-spice powder, which is on most supermarket shelves. Other sauces he uses are hoisin, siracha and sesame oil, which are readily available, too.

My favorite Asian dish is a ground beef, turkey or chicken Thai salad that is healthy and packed with flavor. This recipe also has ingredients supermarkets carry: rice wine vinegar, Asian chile sauce, dark sesame oil and fish sauce.

A quick dish is shrimp and pineapple curry. Cooks will need red curry paste, fish sauce and canned coconut milk, not the coconut cream used for pina coladas. I know Rouses has all these ingredients.

Emeril’s favorite Chinese chicken with green beans

6 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, very thinly sliced 1/8-inch thick

7 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce

3/4 teaspoon Asian Spice Blend, recipe follows

1/4 cup dried shrimp

1/2 cup hot water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 pound green beans, stem ends trimmed, cut into 3-inch lengths

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/4 cup roughly chopped cashews

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon lightly toasted white sesame seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons siracha

Red pepper flakes

In a bowl, combine the chicken, 4 1/2 teaspoons of the soy sauce, and Asian Spice Blend. Toss to coat and let sit for 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the shrimp and water. Let sit for 15 minutes. Drain and roughly chop.

In a large wok or sauté pan, heat the oil over high heat. Add the beans and shallow fry until wrinkled, stirring, about 2 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the oil and add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 10 seconds.

Add the chicken and stirring constantly, cook until brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chopped shrimp, greens beans, cashews, hoisin, remaining 3 teaspoons of soy sauce, sesame seeds, siracha and red pepper flakes. Stir to coat and cook for 1 minute.

Remove from the heat and serve immediately, garnished with green onions.

Serves 2 in less than 35 minutes. – From “Emeril Live”

Emeril’s Asian Spice Blend

1 tablespoon 5-spice powder

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

3/4 teaspoon cayenne

In a small bowl, blend all the ingredients. Keep in an airtight container until ready to use.

Ground Beef Thai Salad

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon Asian chile sauce

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 teaspoon garlic power

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

2 pounds ground beef chuck or ground turkey or chicken

2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch sticks

1 sweet red pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch sticks

3 scallions, trimmed and sliced

Salad greens, 2 bags

For dressing, in small bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, rice-wine vinegar, fish sauce, sweet chile sauce, dark sesame oil, sugar, ginger and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, Stir in cilantro.

Working in batches if necessary, in large skillet, cook meat over medium-high heat about 5 minutes or until no longer pink. Drain off liquid. Season with remaining 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder Add carrots and sweet pepper to skillet; cook for 2 minutes. Stir half of the dressing and the scallions into meat mixture. Remove from heat. In serving bowl, toss salad greens with remaining half of dressing. Spoon meat mixture over top.

Shrimp and Pineapple Curry

2 cups coconut milk

1/2 fresh pineapple, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste

2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

12 ounces raw shrimp, shelled and deveined

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, to decorate

Steamed Jasmine rice, to serve

Place the coconut milk, pineapples, curry paste, fish sauce and sugar in a skillet. Heat gently over a medium hat until almost boiling. Add the shrimp and cilantro and simmer gently for 3minutes or until the shrimp are cooked. Serve with Jasmine rice. Serves 4 in less than 25 minutes. – “Essentials Thai”

Andrea Yeager can be reached at ayeager51@cableone.net/ and Cooks Exchange, 205 DeBuys Road, Gulfport, MS 39507.