Today is the second day of Chinese New Year. Just like Thanksgiving and Christmas, there is much food gorging activities during this time multiply by 15 days (Yes, Chinese New Year is that long). From reunion dinners to home visits to reunion lunches and more reunion dinners, there’s no telling when eating will cease.
You could say the annoying part is that Chinese Near Year doesn’t exactly fall during the best time of the year. You see, for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I can stuff myself with food all I want and then when New Year’s eve comes, there’s always the New Year’s resolution to save me. But since Chinese New Year comes after New Year’s eve, no resolution = I’m doomed. And now that I think about it, Chinese don’t make resolutions during Chinese New Year.
Wait a minute…
Actually, I’m not that doomed.
The Baha’i Fast. In March. Perfect.
Uh oh… before fasting is Ayyam-I-Ha (more on this next week). Just know Ayyam-I-Ha will last for 4 days and there’s a lot of eating during this time too. I suppose that’s what happens when living a multi-cultured, multi-race, multi-religion life. I haven’t even gotten to Muslim’s Ramadan and Hindu’s Deepavali. Calm down, Ai Ping.
Let’s just focus on being on the second day of Chinese New Year. And to ease up stuffing ourselves with of all types of food that should totally be avoided, let’s have some roasted vegetables couscous. No no, a bite won’t do. A serving. Oh trust me, it’s really delicious. After that, we can go back to binge eating crap. I promise.
Quick Recipe Serves 2
what you need:
Couscous:
1/2 cup couscous
3/4 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegan and vegetarian)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs lemon juice
1/4 tbs olive oil
A pinch of garlic powder
Vgetables:
1 small eggplant (1 1/2 cups chopped)
1 small zucchini (1 1/2 cups chopped)
1 cup whole cherry tomatoes
1/8 tsp coriander
1/8 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp parsley
1/8 tsp thyme
Garnish:
Cilantro, chopped
Paprika
Pine nuts, roasted
Salt and black pepper, to taste
directions:
Roasted Vegetables:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 F.
2. In a large bowl, add the chopped vegetables and herbs. Drizzle some olive oil, sprinkle salt and black pepper.
3. Place the vegetables in a greased baking sheet and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.
4. 15 minutes before the vegetables are ready, prepare the couscous.
Couscous:
1. Over high heat, put the chicken broth or water to boil in a saucepan. Add the salt.
2. Place couscous in a large bowl. Pour boiled broth or water over couscous, cover with a cloth and let sit for 10 minutes.
3. Take a bite of the couscous and if it’s still crunchy, cover with the cloth and let sit for a few more minutes. If it’s ready, fluff it.
4. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic powder and roasted vegetables in. Season with salt and black pepper. Toss to combine. Serve immediately with cilantro, paprika and roasted pine nuts.
My last post: Hokkien Noodles (Malaysian Stir Fry noodles)
What is your go to dish to ease up from eating crap?
