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Tomorrow is Chinese New Year Eve and even though I’m coming down with a cold, I’m still going to be putting on my favorite red sweater (okay, my only red sweater) and eating up ALL the delicious foodstuffs. Chinese people are a superstitious bunch, so I’m going to do my best and pretend that I’m not sick at all.

There are so, so many Chinese New Year’s superstitions – here’s a short list if you want to follow along and get some extra luck in the Year of the Sheep.

Family dinner: On Chinese New Year’s Eve (this year on Wednesday, the 18th) you absolutely must have dinner with your family. Usually, it’s a big reunion dinner where people travel to their parents house for a giant feast. Luckily, I live in the same city as my parents, so it’s super convenient.

Lucky food: There are a TON of lucky foods that you can eat, but my favorites are: noodles for long life, dumplings for wealth (because they’re kind of shaped like gold ingots), and whole fish for abundance.

The color red: Red is super lucky – it represents joy and also happens to kind of sound like the word prosperous so most people decorate with red (and gold) and also wear something red on New Year’s. Bonus points if your entire outfit is new on New Year’s Day!

Cleaning: Do a big clean before New Year’s and you’ll be sweeping out anything negative that happened in the past year and your house will be spic and span to welcome in the New Year. But, don’t forget that you’re not supposed to clean on New Year’s Day or you’ll sweep away all of your freshly gotten luck.

I could go on and on, but truthfully, I’m not that superstitious. When I was a kid, my favorite part of CNY, aside from the lucky red envelopes stuffed with money, was the food, of course. I made these quick and easy beef wontons so you guys can have a little Chinese New Year celebration too, if you want. Even if you aren’t celebrating anything, these wontons are super delicious.

It’s the first time I’ve made wontons with beef (usually they’re made with pork and shrimp and I’ve also made them with chicken and turkey) and I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed the texture contrasts: the silky smooth wonton skins and the satisfying bite of the beef. Even if you don’t make the wonton, make the chili oil. It’s spicy, a touch sweet and incredibly addictive when tossed with noodles.

Beef Wontons with Spicy Chili Oil and Noodles Recipe
serves 4

Spicy Chili Oil

• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons black vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground Szechuan peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1-2 teaspoons sugar

Beef Wonton

• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 1/4 cup wood ear mushrooms, re-hydrated and roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• fresh wonton wrappers, as needed

To serve:

• noodles of choice, cooked according to the package and drained well
• sliced green onions
• chopped cilantro
• toasted sesame seeds

Make the spicy chili oil by mixing together all of the ingredients. Taste and adjust if needed. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the ground beef, garlic, ginger, wood ear mushrooms, green onions, cilantro, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Take a wonton wrapper and place 1 tablespoon of the meat filling in the middle. Dab a tiny smudge of water on the wrapper corners to ensure it seals properly. Bring one corner of the wrapper to the other corner to form a triangle. Fold in the other two corners and pinch to seal. Alternatively, just wet the edges of the wrapper and bring together and pinch into a small pouch.

Bring a large pot of water to boil over medium high heat then add in your wonton. Stir gently so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Once the wontons float to the top, and the water comes back to a boil, they should be cooked, about 5-8 minutes. (Cut one open to check). Drain well and toss in half of the spicy chili oil.

While the wontons are cooking, bring a pot of water to boil for your noodles. Cook them according to the package, drain and toss in the remaining spicy chili oil.

Serve the noodles and wontons together and top with sliced green onions, cilantro and toasted sesame seeds. Enjoy hot!

 In this post: cast iron pan // serving dish

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