chinese new year party

Last weekend Stacy threw a Chinese New Year party at her house. It was so fun and the food was amazing. Stacy and her mom are fabulous cooks. We thought we would share some of the details of her party with you, so you can plan your own Chinese New Year party. Mark your calendars because it is February 14th and it is the year of the tiger! Yes, it's on Valentines Day...so you could have a really fun Chinese dinner and then move onto Valentine's Day for dessert!

The food as I mentioned was amazing. The menu included lettuce wraps, spring rolls, egg rolls, sweet and sour chicken, and edamame. We wanted to share some of the recipes with you so you can re-create them in your own home for your own party.

Stacy's Chicken Lettuce Wraps
2 chicken breasts, diced
Cook in a skillet with a little bit of oil.

When the chicken is done, add the following:
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
2-3 Tbsp. soy sauce
cilantro to taste

Cook and stir. When it is done, serve with peanut sauce in lettuce.


Sweet and Sour Chicken
Light Batter:
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup water
1 egg slightly beaten
Mix all together.

Sauce:
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. sugar
juice from one 20 oz can of pineapple (save pineapple for garnishing the dish later)
1/4 cup vinegar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. ketchup

Make your sauce first and keep it warm. Mix everything in a saucepan on low heat. Stir until thickened. You can add red food coloring if you want it to be more red.

Next, cut your chicken into pieces and dip in light batter. Fry until golden brown. While frying your chicken you may want to saute cut pieces of bell pepper and onions. You don't want them to be too soft. Just a little softened, but still crispy. Mix the fried chicken, pepper, and onion and sweet and sour sauce until the chicken is evenly coated. Serve hot with rice.



We posted the homemade egg roll recipe a while ago on our blog. You can click here for the recipe.


Stacy had some fabulous decorations and party favors. It really added to the party and was so fun for all the guests.


We all got to take home some oranges and candy and a red envelope of lucky money. How fun! Stacy will be posting about how to make your own red envelopes soon, so keep your eye out for that. Thanks for a wonderful night, Stacy. It was an all around great time!