Gung Hei Fat Choy! I love Chinese New Year!  Lots of eating with family, friends, lucky money, special treats, and new clothes (on the first day of the New Year you should wear new clothes to give yourself a fresh start).   But I also love that Chinese New Year for me is where I get to have a “do over”.  If there were any resolutions made on Jan 1 that haven’t started, then I can try again.  And, to all of you who also had good intentions to ie.  give up sugar, start a new workout, read more, floss every day, and/or eat more superfoods, well, don’t be discouraged as you can try again in the Lunar New Year….even if you aren’t Chinese!

My  Chinese New Year recipe is quite unconventional, in that the ingredients aren’t your standard New Year’s fare.  Because, frankly, most of the “special” dishes eaten at this time are not delicious to my North American palate, such as dried oysters, black moss (looks like a clump of black hair), jai (vegetarian gluten dish).  Doesn’t sound too appetizing, does it?  But I hope this Gung Hei Fat Prawns does! And, it’s loaded with superfoods.

Superfoods in this dish:

Prawns:  Besides containing protein, they are loaded with Vitamin D, B3, zinc, selenium, iodine, Omega-3’s.  They also contain astaxanthin which is an antioxidant that can protect the skin from premature aging.
Eggs:  Nature’s near perfect food.  Contains a wide range of vitamins, like vitamins A, D, E, choline, B12, as well as protein, lutein and zea-xanthan (both important for eye health).
Coconut:  Particularly high in fibre (one tablespoon of coconut flour has 5 gm of fibre), is antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antiparasitic and contains lauric acid which is found in mother’s milk. Breast-fed babies are better able to fend off infections than babies not given mother’s milk. Coconut oil contains 50% lauric acid.
Cilantro:  It contains lots of vitamins B, A, and C, as well as minerals, like potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron.  Also contains antioxidants like quercitin (which is a natural anti-histamine). Cilantro can also help detox heavy metals from the body.
Lime:  Contain vitamin C, folic acid and a range of phytochemicals, which are under the antioxidant family.

Gung Hei Fat Prawns serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. prawns shelled and deveined
• ½ t. salt
• 1 T. coconut oil
• 2 T. butter
• ¾ c. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 t. sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ t. soy sauce
• 1 lime
• ¼ c. cilantro, chopped

Directions:

• Pat the prawns dry, sprinkle the salt on the prawns and let sit for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile beat the eggs with the soy sauce.  Then heat a large non-stick pan with ½ T. coconut oil and pour the eggs into the pan, let it cook like a flat crepe.  Flip once and then when both sides are cooked, slide it onto a cutting board and cut the crepe into thing strips.  Set aside.
• Then heat the coconut oil over medium heat and fry the prawns until just cooked.  It is fine if it is slightly undercooked, as it will be heated through later.  Set aside.
• Melt the butter over low heat and add the shredded coconut, the sugar, stirring until the coconut has turned a golden brown.   Then add the prawns and the eggs strips, tossing to warm the ingredients through.
• To serve with the lime juice squeezed over top and along with the chopped cilantro.  To up the superfood quotient, I served this prawn dish over a mixture of steamed sprouted brown rice, quinoa and wild rice.

The Chinese Year of the Sheep (goat or ram) is thought to symbolize peace, tranquility and harmony.  Predictions indicate that this year will be a time of healing and nurturing.  We couldn’t agree more and will continue to make healthy and peaceful choices in our lives.

Best wishes to all of you for a happy, healthy and harmonious Lunar New Year!  {Kake} & {Kale}