January 2008 Cub Scout Roundtable Issue |
Volume 14, Issue
6
February 2008 Theme |
Theme:
Chinese New Year
Webelos:
Scholar & Engineer
Tiger Cub
Requirement 4 |
CUB GRUB
Traditional New Year Foods
Grand Teton Council
Probably more food is consumed during the New
Year celebrations than any other time of the year. Vast amounts of traditional
food is prepared for family and friends, as well as those close to us who have
died.
On New Year's Day, the
Chinese family will eat a vegetarian dish called jai. Although the various
ingredients in jai are root vegetables or fibrous vegetables, many people
attribute various superstitious aspects to them:
«
Lotus seed - signify having many male
offspring
«
Ginkgo nut - represents silver ingots
«
Black moss seaweed - is a homonym for
exceeding in wealth
«
Dried bean curd is another homonym for
fulfillment of wealth and happiness
«
Bamboo shoots - is a term which sounds
like "wishing that everything would be well"
«
Fresh bean curd or tofu is not included
as it is white and unlucky for New Year as the color signifies death and
misfortune.
Other foods include a whole fish, to represent togetherness and abundance, and a
chicken for prosperity. The chicken must be presented with a head, tail and feet
to symbolize completeness. Noodles should be uncut, as they represent long life.
In
south China, the favorite and most typical dishes were nian gao, sweet steamed
glutinous rice pudding and zong zi (glutinous rice wrapped up in reed leaves),
another popular delicacy.
In
the north, steamed-wheat bread (man tou) and small meat dumplings were the
preferred food.
The tremendous amount of food prepared at this time was meant to symbolize
abundance and wealth for the household.
How To Use Chopsticks
(for a right-handed person)
Utah National Parks Council
1.
Rest the upper half of one stick
between your thumb and forefinger on your right hand.
2.
Hold the lower half of the stick
firmly against your ring finger.
3.
Hold the second chopstick as you hold
a pencil.
4.
To work the chopstick, keep the first
stick stationary and move the second stick up and down to pick up your food.
Chinese New Year Cakes
Sam Houston Area Council
Ingredients
1
½ cups flour
¼
cup sugar
2
teaspoons baking powder
½
teaspoon salt
2
eggs
1/3 cup water or milk
1
tablespoon cooking oil
2/3 cup sesame seeds
Cooking oil for deep fat frying
Directions
*
Combine first four dry ingredients.
*
Mix together the eggs, water or milk, and
the cooking oil.
*
Stir into flour mixture.
*
Drop spoonfuls of batter into a bowl of
sesame seeds.
*
Coat cakes on both sides.
*
Let stand 15 minutes.
*
Deep fry cakes until puffy and golden
brown. (Adult to do this!!)
*
Let cakes drain on paper towel.
*
Serve warm. Enjoy!
Egg Drop Soup
Sam Houston Area Council
Ingredients
2
cans chicken broth
1
tablespoon cornstarch
1
well beaten egg
2
tablespoons sliced green onion
Directions
*
In a saucepan, stir chicken broth into
cornstarch.
*
Cook until slightly thickened.
*
Pour in egg, stirring gently.
*
Remove from heat.
*
Garnish with green onion.
*
Enjoy!
Fortune Cookies I
Sam Houston Area Council
Fortune cookies are actually a Chinese American
invention,
but are always fun.
Here is a recipe to make them.
You can make your own fortunes to put inside.
Adult help is
required for frying!!
Ingredients
¼
cup flour
2
tbsp brown sugar
1
tbsp cornstarch
¼
tsp vanilla
1
egg white, beaten stiff
2
tbsp cooking oil
3
tbsp water
Directions
*
Combine flour, sugar, cornstarch, and
oil.
*
Fold in egg white.
*
Add vanilla and water.
*
In a small skillet (non-stick or lightly
oiled), over medium heat, pour 1 tablespoon of batter, spreading it out into a
3” circle.
*
Cook 4 minutes until lightly browned.
*
Turn with spatula and cook 1 more minute.
*
Remove from the pan (careful - it will be
hot!)
*
place paper fortune strip in center of
circle.
*
Fold in half over the edge of a glass
*
Then bend to form Fortune-cookie shape.
*
Hold until cool, or place in an egg
carton to hold the shape until the cookies firm up.
Fortune Cookies II
Utah National Parks Council
Chinese Fortune Cookies are easy to make and
especially fun during Chinese New Year celebrations.
Begin by asking each boy to write a fortune or
saying on a small strip of typing paper and fold in half.
Ingredients: Assign
two or three boys to measure the following ingredients:
8
egg whites
2
cups sugar
1
cup melted butter
1
cup flour
1
teaspoon vanilla
½
teaspoon salt
4
tablespoons water
Directions:
*
Separate the egg whites and beat them
until they form stiff peaks.
*
Blend in the sugar and butter.
*
Discard the yolks.
*
Add the flour, vanilla, salt and water to
the mixture and mix until it is smooth.
*
Grease a cookie sheet and spoon the
batter into 3 inch circle. Bake at 375 for about 3 minutes.
*
When the cookies are done, remove them
with a pancake turner onto waxed paper.
*
Place a fortune in the center of each
circle and fold the cookie in half.
*
Bend the cookies gently in the center, as
shown. (If the cookies become difficult to bend, put them back in the oven for a
minute or so.)
*
Boys will be delighted to select a cookie
and read their special fortune written by a fellow Cub Scout. (Note: The recipe
does not work well with microwave ovens.)
Stir Fry Vegetables
Utah National Parks Council
*
Bring an electric skillet or a Chinese
wok and portable hot plate to the den.
*
Let the boys cut a variety of vegetables
such as celery, bok coy, onions, bean sprouts and water chestnuts.
*
Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in
the skillet and saute the vegetables. (Do not overcook.)
*
Serve this healthy food to you boys with
soy sauce.
*
You may also like to prepare white rice
in a rice cooker. Serve the vegetables over the rice. A yummy treat even
non-vegetable eaters will enjoy!
Chinese Fried Rice
Utah National Parks Council
Fried rice is a family leftover dish in
China.
Almost anything can be mixed with cold
leftover rice and eggs. Either long grain rice (Chinese rice) or short grain
rice (Japanese rice) may be used, though the fried rice with short grains will
be sticker.
Ingredients
2
eggs, beaten
2
green onions, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup carrot, chopped
3-4 ham slices for sandwich, chopped
3-4 mushrooms, chopped
1/3 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen peas
3
cups cold cooked rice, grains mostly
separated
1
Tbsp soy sauce
White pepper
Vegetable oil
Directions:
*
Heat about 1/2 tablespoon oil in a wok or
fry pan.
*
Mix eggs, green onions and salt.
*
When the oil is hot, pour in the egg
mixture.
*
Stir and cook, but don't overcook.
*
Set aside.
*
Heat about 1 tablespoon oil.
*
Stir-fry carrot, ham, mushroom,
corn and peas.
*
Add a pinch of pepper.
*
Add rice. When rice is heated, sprinkle
with soy sauce.
*
Mix well and turn off heat.
*
Add the egg mixture. Stir well and serve.
Almond Cookies
Sam Houston Area Council
Directions
*
Get sugar cookies.
*
Slice or roll into balls and bake
according to directions.
*
Place an almond on the top of each
cookie.
OR
*
Use any sugar cookie recipe,
*
Swap almond extract for the vanilla
*
Press a piece of almond into the top
before you bake it.
Easy Make-At-Home Chinese Chicken
Utah National Parks Council
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
3
Tbsp. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2
Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
2
Tbsp. water
3/4 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Nonstick cooking spray
2
carrots, cut crosswise into 1/4" slices
1
(12-ounce) package frozen broccoli
and cauliflower florets, thawed
2
tsp. canola oil
3/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
Directions:
*
For sauce, stir together orange juice
concentrate, soy sauce, water, cornstarch and garlic powder; set aside.
*
Spray nonstick wok or large skillet with
cooking spray.
*
Add carrots; stir-fry over high heat 1
minute.
*
Add broccoli and cauliflower; stir-fry 2
to 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
*
Remove vegetables from wok; set aside.
*
Add oil to wok.
*
Stir-fry chicken in hot oil 2 to 3
minutes or until cooked through.
*
Push chicken up side of wok.
*
Add sauce; cook and stir until boiling.
*
Return vegetables to wok; cook and stir
until heated through.
*
Serve over hot cooked rice.
Materials found in Baloo's Bugle may be used by Scouters for Scouting activities provided that Baloo's Bugle and the original contributors are cited as the source of the material. |
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