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Susan Jung

During Lunar New Year, Chinese people around the world prepare all types of luxurious ingredients to make into special dishes for feasts with family and friends. 

Here are a few recipes that, I hope, will bring you health, wealth and happiness in the upcoming year.

1. Roast duck san choi bao
I usually make san choi bao – lettuce wraps – the way my grandmother taught me, using dried oysters and minced pork. This recipe – incorporating roast duck from the siu mei (roast meat) shop – will probably please more people, because not everyone likes the strong taste of the dried oysters. I strip off the duck skin and cut it into shreds before frying it, which adds a gentle crunch.
Full recipe here

2. Clams with black bean sauce
This is a delicious dish that you’ll be making year-round, not just during the Lunar New Year.
Full recipe here

3. Braised fresh abalone with dried scallops, dried mushrooms and goose or duck webs
This recipe mixes luxurious ingredients (abalone, dried scallops and mushrooms) with the humble for an umami-packed dish.
Full recipe here

4. Home-made XO sauce
A word on XO sauce. Since I first published my recipe for home-made XO sauce in 2012 (and again in 2016), and filmed a video of the process in 2015, I’ve modified it several times. The ingredients (and amounts) are still basically the same, but I’ve tried to make it easier to finely shred the conpoy (dried scallops), which normally is a very boring, long process.
If you don’t shred the scallops before starting to cook all the ingredients together, the final product will have large, chewy pieces. When I first started making this, I steamed the scallops before bashing them with a meat mallet while they’re hot (they don’t shred easily when cold). I then attempted to pound them in a mortar, before moving onto a food processor with a dull blade – for that, you have to be careful not to actually chop the conpoy (hence the dull blade, which sort of breaks the scallops into rough shreds).
I’ve tried boiling the scallops to soften them, and have also used a pressure cooker to cook them briefly. Now, though, I’ve gone back to the traditional way of softening the scallops: soaking them in water. I was resistant to this when I first started making XO sauce, because I worried about diluting the flavour of the scallops. But since the soaking liquid that isn’t absorbed into the scallops is added to the XO sauce, and absorbed by the ingredients in the long cooking process (at least four hours), the scallop flavour isn’t diluted.
So ignore the steaming process and pounding with a meat mallet (in the video) and boiling the scallops (in the recipe). Instead, put them in a large bowl and add enough hot water to cover them, then leave them overnight to soak. In the morning, they’ll be easy to hand shred. Add the shredded scallops and any remaining soaking liquid to the wok before mixing in all the other ingredients.
Full recipe here

5. Stir-fried radish cake with XO sauce
“Goh”, often translated to “pudding cake”, is an important part of the new year celebrations because it’s supposed to bring rising fortunes. Loh bok goh is made of shredded white radish – also called icicle radish or daikon. If you like, for this recipe, hand cut some of the radish into thick matchsticks, instead of shredding all of it, then mix it into the other ingredients – it gives the radish cake a better texture.
Full recipe here


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Roast duck lettuce wraps. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Post Magazine Recipe. XO Sauce.

Clams with black bean sauce prepared by Susan Jung at her house in December 15, 2016. 15DEC16 [22JANUARY2017 RECIPE POST MAGAZINE] SCMP/Jonathan Wong

Braised abalone with dried scallops and mushrooms prepared by SCMP's very own and very famous chef Susan Jung. 22JAN15 [15FEBRUARY2015 RECIPE POST MAGAZINE]

Ingredients for Roast duck lettuce wraps. 29NOV18 [FEATURES] SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

This image shows dish Fried carrot cake with XO sauce cooked by chef and writer Susan Jung. 02FEB17 [RECIPE POST MAGAZINE] SCMP / Jonathan Wong

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Gold-ingot-shaped pastries filled with custard at 10 Shanghai restaurant in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Photo: Nora Tam

Chongqing Mao Xue Wang at Tsui Hang Village in Lee Theatre, Causeway Bay. 22JAN19 [FEATURES] SCMP / Edmond So

Interior of Tsui Hang Village at Lee Theatre in Causeway Bay. 22JAN19 [FEATURES] SCMP / Edmond So

Salted Egg Prawn and Wok-tossed Jiangsu River Shrimp at 10 Shanghai in Lee Garden Two, Causeway Bay. 22JAN19 [FEATURES] SCMP / Nora Tam

Braised Fish Head with Jinhua Ham and Bamboo Shoot at 10 Shanghai in Lee Garden Two, Causeway Bay. 22JAN19 [FEATURES] SCMP / Nora Tam

Braised Pork Knuckle with Abalone at 10 Shanghai in Lee Garden Two, Causeway Bay. 22JAN19 [FEATURES] SCMP / Nora Tam

Portrait of Executive Chefs (L-R) Ben Luen and David Chen Xiaohe at 10 Shanghai in Lee Garden Two, Causeway Bay. 22JAN19 [FEATURES] SCMP / Nora Tam

Interior of 10 Shanghai at Lee Garden Two in Causeway Bay. 22JAN19 [FEATURES] SCMP / Nora Tam

Lifestyle

Food & Drink


From roast duck in lettuce wraps to clams with black bean sauce, here are some classic dishes for the festival
We have included recipes for each dish so you can try them at home



From roast duck in lettuce wraps to clams with black bean sauce, here are some classic dishes for the festival. We have included recipes for each dish so you can try them at home.


Recipes for special occasions

Lunar New Year

Food and Drinks

Five favourite Chinese New Year dishes and how to make them

From roast duck in lettuce wraps to clams with black bean sauce, here are some classic dishes for the festival We have included recipes for each dish so you can try them at home

From roast duck in lettuce wraps to clams with black bean sauce, here are some classic dishes for the festival

We have included recipes for each dish so you can try them at home