Chinese New Year feasting

According to Chinese astrology, people born in ox years are natural leaders: calm, responsible, hard-working, and modest. Famous Oxes include Napoleon, Johann Sebastian Bach, Charlie Chaplin, George Clooney, and President Barack Obama.

The 15-day Chinese New Year period is all about spectacle, from the fireworks and dancing dragons to the fabulous food. It is a time to gather with family, honor ancestors and celebrate with a big banquet that symbolizes prosperity in the New Year. That’s why it’s a holiday anyone can enjoy ... and a perfect time to host a party.

Symbols Made Simple

From the décor and color scheme to the food, Chinese New Year is rich in beautiful symbols. Start with your table. Decorate it with red and gold accents to represent good luck and prosperity.
Noodles – in dishes such as Wonton Soup and silky Sesame Ginger Noodles – stand for longevity. Roasted Duck is a traditional New Year favorite, its golden color symbolizing good fortune for the year ahead. And Steamed Fish is a centuries-old sign of abundance.

Supplement the meal with other symbolic foods, such as pot stickers or spring rolls (said to bring prosperity because they resemble gold ingots) and a bowl of tangerines or oranges (their Chinese names sound like the words for “luck” and “wealth”). And, of course, don’t forget the fortune cookies.
Easy Chinese Roast Duck

1 (4 to 5-pound) fresh or thawed duckling, quartered

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1 tablespoon five-spice powder*

1 tablespoon powdered ginger

1 teaspoon ground pepper
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Rinse duckling; drain and pat dry. Discard excess fat; pierce skin thoroughly with fork. Combine soy sauce, sherry, five-spice, ginger and pepper in large bowl. Add duckling; rub with mixture and let stand 30 minutes.
2. Place on rack in shallow roasting pan, skin side up. Roast 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from oven; drain off pan drippings. Turn oven temperature to broil and raise oven rack 4 to 5 inches from heat source. Broil duckling 2 to 3 minutes or until skin is crisp. Makes 4 servings.
*If five-spice powder is not available, combine 1 teaspoon crushed fennel seed, 1/2 teaspoon crushed anise seed, and 1/2 teaspoon each ground cinnamon, cloves and ginger.
Steamed Fish With Hot Oil

3/4 pound sole fillets
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, slivered
2 green onions, slivered
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon dry sherry
1teaspoon Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1. Arrange fish on heatproof plate that fits in bamboo steamer or on wire rack placed in large skillet with cover. Sprinkle ginger and green onions evenly over fish.
2. Combine soy sauce, sherry and sesame oil in small bowl. Pour enough water into wok or skillet to come about 1 inch below steamer or rack; bring to boil. Place plate in steamer or on rack. Cover and steam 2 to 3 minutes, or until fish flakes easily when tested with fork. Drain off liquid from plate; keep fish warm.
3. Heat vegetable oil in small saucepan until very hot; drizzle evenly over fish. Immediately top with soy sauce mixture. Makes 2 to 3 servings.
Sesame-Ginger Noodles

1 pound uncooked fresh Chinese-style thin egg noodles, spaghetti, vermicelli or
linguine

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3/4 cup sliced green onions and tops

2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt; drain, rinse under cold water and drain thoroughly.
2. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, sugar, cornstarch and water.
3. Heat vegetable oil in hot wok or large skillet over high heat. Add green onions and stir-fry 10 seconds. Add soy sauce mixture; cook, stirring, until sauce comes to a boil. Add noodles; cook, stirring, 1 minute or until sauce returns to boil and noodles are evenly coated with sauce. Remove from heat.
4. Add sesame oil and sesame seeds; toss well to combine. Makes 4 servings.
Wonton Soup
1/4 pound lean ground pork

2 ounces medium raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and minced

2 tablespoons minced green onions
and tops

4 teaspoons soy sauce, divided

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

24 wonton wrappers
3 (14-ounce) cans chicken broth

1/4 cup dry sherry

1/2 pound bok choy

2 tablespoons chopped green onions
and tops

1/2 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1. Combine pork, shrimp, minced green onions, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, cornstarch and ginger in medium bowl; mix well.
2. Arrange several wonton wrappers on clean surface; cover remaining wrappers to prevent drying out. Place 1 teaspoon pork mixture in center of each wrapper. Fold wrapper over filling to form a triangle. Gently fold center point down and moisten left corner with water. Twist and overlap opposite corner over moistened corner; press firmly to seal. Repeat with remaining pork mixture and wrappers.
3. Bring 4 cups water to boil in large saucepan. Add wontons. Simmer 3 minutes; remove with slotted spoon. Discard water; pour broth and sherry into same saucepan.
4. Cut bok choy crosswise into 1/2-inch slices, separating stems from leaves. Add stems to broth mixture; bring to boil.
5. Add wontons; simmer 1 minute. Add bok choy leaves and chopped green onions; simmer 1 minute longer.
6. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 2
teaspoons soy sauce and sesame oil. Serve immediately.
Makes 6 servings.
Photo: Stepping Out 2
Caption: The Tuskegee Airmen overcame segregation and prejudice to become one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II.
Defeating racism and Nazis
Tuskegee Airmen reflect on history and Obama
By ALEX COSTELLO

“I wanted to fly,” said Clayton Lawrence. “[It was] as simple as that.”

Lawrence’s dream was one that many young men of his day shared. Now 85 years old and living in Queens, he remembered back to when he first became a pilot.
“
Since I was a kid, I was making these toys airplanes,” he said. “You made them out of the balsa strips, and you had the Japanese tissue [on the wings]... That was my first interest in flying, and it just grew from there.”

When World War II broke out in 1940, Lawrence knew that he’d finally have his chance to fly. In 1943, he took his tests, passed them, and was shipped out to Biloxi, Mississippi. A year later, following the same dream, William Johnson was heading down south, too. Johnson was riding on a train from Lowry Field in Colorado to Key Field in Mississippi for more testing. Riding on the train with him was another cadet. They were both young and excited, and started talking.

“When we got to St. Louis, Missouri, because of the racism, we had to separate,” said Johnson, who is now 83 and lives in Glen Cove. “I had to go to the front of the train, and he got to stay wherever he wanted. “So I always wondered what happened to that young man,” he added.

Lawrence and Johnson, along with thousands of others, were part of the Army’s “experiment” during World War II: the Tuskegee Airmen.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first, and only, all-black flight unit of World War II. The unit was formed in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1941 by Congress, but was opposed by the military, which, based on a study, believed that blacks were less intelligent than whites and would therefore be unable to operate the aircraft.

To try to stop blacks from being able to fly while still conforming to Congress’ wishes, the bar for entrance to the Tuskegee program was set incredibly high.

“It didn’t come easily, and there were so many forces working against us that I didn’t know if we would succeed,” said William Wheeler, 85, of Hempstead. “But, fortunately, they set the bar pretty high as far as education was concerned. And because we were all pretty much educated, we were able to cope with the obstacles they threw in front of us.”

And even after passing rigorous requirements to enter the Tuskegee program, participants still had to deal with discrimination and hardships during training.

“Guys would want to drop out, and the [other] guys would gang up on him and tell him ‘You can’t drop out, man! No way!’” Lawrence said. “ ‘They said we weren’t going to make it, but we have to prove to them that we will make it and that we can do it.’ ”

It was because of their fantastic flying record that the Tuskegees began to gain respect within the military, even if they did still have to face prejudice and racism outside in civilian life. But they made large, historic steps for race relations in the U.S., and that is something that President Barack Obama has acknowledged by inviting every surviving Tuskegee Airman to his inauguration this week.
“I feel very proud that the president-elect remembered his origins and remembered that, as he put it, that we were responsible for setting up a pathway for him to eventually become president,” Wheeler said prior to the inauguration. “And he remembers that to this day, and it was on that basis that he invited us to come down. So we feel very proud of that event.”
Regardless of political leanings, the historic nature of Obama’s presidency is undeniable. And for many, especially those in the black community, his election means even more. “If you think of Martin Luther King, on the night before he was assassinated, he said, ‘We will reach the promised land,’ ” said Johnson. “And it’s my feeling now that we have reached the promised land.”
Comments about this story? ACostello@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 207.