The Year Of The Tiger began February 1st and lasts through February 15th. There’s lots of time to celebrate with traditional dishes. We’re having one a day—as simple as a few dumplings and ending up the celebration with Peking Duck (roasted and served with pancakes, scallions, and hoisin sauce). There are more recipes below. Also check out…

Good luck foods for the Lunar New Year.
 
 
RECIPE: KOREAN SCALLION PANCAKES

Savory pancakes are a great way to use up leftover vegetables. You can shred anything including beets, but most popular re shredded cabbage, carrots, celery, and/or summer squash.

Korean Chinese pancakes, called pajeon or pa jun (photo #1), are crisper and chewier than Chinese scallion pancakes, called cong you bing.

Korean pancakes are thin and crêpe-like, made from a combination of rice flour and all-purpose wheat flour.

However, since most of us don’t have rice flour, this recipe uses only all-purpose flour.

The sauce calls for Gochujang sauce, a fermented hot pepper paste similar to Sriracha sauce (photos #3 and #4).

You can find bottles or small rectangular tubs in most grocery stores—either by the condiments (like ketchup) or in the Asian section. Or, you can use the hot sauce you have, or even chili flakes.

These yummy scallion pancakes are ready in 20 minutes, prep time is 5 minutes, and cook time is 15 minutes.

Thanks to Pampered Chef for the recipe.
 
Ingredients For 6 Servings

For The Pancakes

 
Ingredients For The Dipping Sauce

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the flour, green onions, pressed garlic, salt, pepper, and sugar in the large bowl; mix well. Add the water, eggs, and sesame oil, and mix just until the ingredients are incorporated. Do not overmix.

2. ADD the canola oil to a nonstick 8″ sauté pan and heat over medium heat for 1–3 minutes or until shimmering.

3. POUR ¼ cup (50 mL) of the batter into the pan, immediately tilting and swirling the pan so the batter covers the pan bottom. When the pancake starts to bubble and the edges are golden brown…

4. FLIP the pancake and cook an additional 45–60 seconds or until the bottom of the pancake is golden brown.

5. REMOVE the pancake from the pan and repeat the process for the remaining pancakes.
 
 
MORE RECIPES FOR THE LUNAR NEW YEAR

 
Plus, while not an authentic Asian drink like sochu, to start we have some cocktails:

 
For dessert we have:

Green Tea Fortune Cookie Cake

[1] Crisp scallion pancakes, Korean-style (photo © Pampered Chef).

[2] Chopped scallions. If you really love them, add more (photo © Karolina Grabowska | Pexels).

[3] Gochuchang, the Korean version of Thai Sriracha sauce (photo © Chung Jung One).

[4] You can serve it in a dish at the table (photo © Trifood).

[5] Make Chinese egg rolls at home. Here’s the recipe (photo © Red Stixs | NYC [now closed]).

[6] Korean bibimbap, one of our favorite Korean foods. Here’s the recipe (photo © Bibigo Ready Meals).

[1] New Supplant chocolates bars by Chef Thomas Keller are available in 45% cacao milk and 70% cacao dark chocolate (all photos © Supplant Company).

[2] There’s a 15% discount for Valentine’s Day.

[3] Plan ahead for Easter!

[4] Supplant chocolate melts in your mouth.

[5] Supplant benefits.

[6] Supplant sugar from fiber.

Thomas Keller is one of the country’s most famous chefs—if not the world’s. He currently holds seven Michelin stars, making him the most decorated chef in the U.S. His restaurants, French Laundry in Napa Valley and Per Se in Manhattan (three stars each*), set a standard for creativity, innovation, and excellence of execution. Now, Chef Keller has crafted chocolate bars made with sugars that are extracted from fiber, a new ingredient brought to consumers for the first time.

The fiber-based sugar is called Supplant, as are the chocolate bars Chef Keller makes from it. These bars, in 45% cacao milk chocolate and 70% cacao dark chocolate, are our Top Pick Of The Week.

Both have a silky-smooth texture and, like all fine chocolate, melt in your mouth. You won’t notice the difference between Supplant and chocolate made with granulated (table) sugar.

Supplant is a new type of sugar made not from sugar cane, beets, maple sap, or other conventional sweeteners, but from upcycled plant fibers that bake and taste just like sugar.

Supplant has half the calories of sugar, and a lower glycemic index! It also is prebiotic†.

There’s more information about Supplant, the sugar, below. But first, more about the chocolate.

The Supplant Company enlisted Chef Keller to create the chocolate bars. With a palate and skill set as fine as his, he was able to Supplant chocolate that is indistinguishable from chocolate made with table sugar.

The bars are made in Napa Valley in small batches, using Venezuelan cacao beans and sugars from fiber.
 
 
GET YOUR CHOCOLATE BARS!

The chocolate bars were first released last November.

You can now purchase both dark and milk chocolate bars from the company website.

There’s 10% off and free shipping using code SOMUCHLOVE at checkout (until February 14, 2022).

These bars were designed to demonstrate how delicious chocolate (and other recipes) can be when swapping out table sugar for a new type of sugar that’s healthier for humans and kinder to the planet.

They’re a great gift for the environmentally conscientious as well as the chocolate lover, as a small gift, a party favor, or a stocking stuffer.
 
 
WHAT IS SUPPLANT?

Cambridge, England-based Supplant Company is a plant-tech innovator that has created “sugars from fiber,” a revolutionary new ingredient that can change the standards of baking and other foods that use sugar.

What are “sugars from fiber?”

They’re a brand-new blend of sugars found naturally in plant fiber.

The scientific definition of fiber is the parts of food components such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts that don’t break down during human digestion. This is why fiber is low in calories and supports digestive health.

The scientific definition of sugar includes any disaccharides and monosaccharides. Stated slightly less scientifically, the chemical term “sugar” usually refers to all carbohydrates of the general formula Cn(H2O)n.

Most of us think of sugar as a sweet, crystalline substance that is produced from the juice of sugarcane or the flesh of the sugar beet. Other sweeteners are made from bee honey, corn kernels, maple sap, rice bran, and sorghum. Here’s more about them.

Fiber is mainly made up of sugars bound together in long chains. In fact, plant fiber is the most abundant source of sugars in the natural world. Supplant Company has harnessed agricultural side-streams†† and created a new category of sugar from “leftovers” that are often discarded.

These fiber-rich parts of crops are hugely abundant but don’t typically make their way into the food system.

Because it’s made from fiber, Supplant is lower in calories, has a lower glycemic response, and is prebiotic.

There are health benefits because Supplant behaves not like traditional sugar, but like the fiber one eats in carrots and Brussels sprouts.

How does it work?

Sugar is pulled sugar from the fiber in the stalks and stems of grains instead of from sugar cane.

Those stalks into a pulp; then an enzyme from fungi breaks down the longer molecular chains (polysaccharides) into shorter ones (oligosaccharides and sugars).

After the broken-down pulp is cleaned and dried, the result is a white powder now known as Supplant (photo #6).

They company wants Supplant to replace sugar at scale at multinational companies that make sugar-packed snacks and other foods.

In testing Supplant with shortbread, for example, Chef Keller noted that the aroma, texture, and taste of the cookies replicate that of shortbread made with 100% sugar.

We look forward to more foods made with Supplant. But in the interim, try the chocolate!

Discover more at Supplant.com.

 
 
THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SUGAR & OTHER SWEETENERS

*His more casual restaurant, Bouchon, also in Napa Valley, has one star.

†Prebiotic foods are high in special types of fiber that support digestive health. They promote the increase of friendly bacteria in the gut, help with various digestive problems, and boost the immune system. Prebiotic foods have also been shown to improve metabolic health and even help prevent certain diseases. Here’s more about them.

††For example, sugar is extracted from corn cobs, and from the straw of wheat and rice (what’s left over when the kernels and grains are processed).
 
 

Bread lovers take note: heart-shaped cheesy bread goes on sale today at Aldi’s. Mama Cozzi’s Pizza Kitchen, which sells take-and-bake pizzas at Aldi’s, has created a limited-edition cheesy bread for Valentine’s Day, for $4.99.

While “cheese bread” is typically a loaf made from dough that’s mixed with cheese, this cheesy bread is a heart-shaped crust topped with shredded cheese.

Pop it into the oven, and enjoy it as a snack or with dinner (it can be the “first course”).

Then, head to Aldi for another one.
 
 
The history of bread.

The history of Valentine’s Day.

The different types of bread.

For your bread-loving valentine (photo © Aldi).

[1] Today’s feature recipe is Jumbo Potato Tops (recipe and photo © Gelson’s Markets).

[2] If you don’t want to fry them, you can bake potato tots. Here’s a recipe (photo © Potatoes USA).

[3] A different take: sweet potato tots. Here’s the recipe (photo © North Carolina Sweet Potatoes).

We always welcome February 2nd, National Tater Tot Day. Far beyond the original Tater Tots (created by Ore-Ida to use up leftover slivers from slicing French fries), there are so many creative Tater Tot recipes. In addition to our featured recipe for jumbo tots, there are more Tater Tot (i.e. tot) recipes below. Legal disclosure: Tater Tots® is the trademark of Ore-Ida. Everything else is a generic potato tot.

> The history of Tater Tots.

> The history of potatoes.
 
 
RECIPE: JUMBO TATER TOTS WITH JALAPEÑO, JACK CHEESE & CHIVES

This recipe is courtesy of Gelson’s Markets, a quality supermarket chain in Southern California. While they are deep-fat-fried, there’s no grating involved. Instead, frozen hash brown potatoes are tossed with jalapeños and fresh chives, with a center of Jack cheese. Resistance is futile!

Ketchup is a standard condiment, but you can use others, such as marinara sauce, ranch dressing, or salsa.

How big are these tots? Beyond jumbo, these tots are gargantuan.

Many people eat tots as a side dish. We like them as a snack with beer. With the added jalapeños and jack cheese, these are perfect “beer tots.”
 
Ingredients For 16 Gargantuan Tots

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the hash browns, eggs, flour, jalapeños, chives, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl. Mix well with your hands.

2. PACK a 2-ounce scoop tightly with the potato mixture, transfer the portion to your hand, and squeeze out any excess moisture. Put a thumbprint-size indentation into the center of the portion, place a cube of cheese inside, close the hole, and roll it into a barrel shape. Repeat this step until all of the potato mixture is used.

3. HEAT the cooking oil to 350°F in a medium Dutch oven over high heat. Working in batches and using a slotted spoon, gently place 6 tater tots in the oil, making sure not to splash any oil. Fry the tots for 5 to 7 minutes, or until they are golden brown and floating.

4. TRANSFER the cooked tots to a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat this step until all of the tater tots have been fried.

5. SERVE warm with ketchup or your favorite dipping sauce.
 
 
MORE TATER TOTS RECIPES

February is National Snack Month, a good time to reflect on your go-to snacks. If they’re potato chips, maybe it’s time to reconsider (whole-grain pretzels, veggie chips?). If you have a sweet tooth, maybe wean off of Oreos to a crunchy fruit snack, like these apple chips. Thanks to Envy Apples for the recipe.

Envy is a crossbreed of Braeburn and Royal Gala apples. The apples were first launched in North America in 2010, after years of extensive evaluation by New Zealand researchers and apple growers.

Using natural plant-breeding methods (no GMOs), the breeders’ goals were ”sweet, sophisticated flavor, uplifting, fresh aroma, delightfully satisfying crunch, beautiful appearance, and naturally white flesh.”

Discover more about them at EnvyApple.com.

> The history of apples.
 
 
RECIPE: APPLE CHIPS

It’s so easy to make apple chips You can switch the sugar for noncaloric Splenda Original Granulated Sweetener. It measures and pours just 1-to-1 like sugar.

You also can leave off the sweetener on some of the chips, to see how you like them unsweetened.

In addition to snacking, you can use apple chips as a garnish for ice cream and sorbet, a topper for green salads or vegetable side and soup purées, for dipping in a sweet yogurt dip…even as a base for sweet nachos.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 225°F. Line two large baking sheet trays with parchment paper and spread out the apple slices evenly, making sure they don’t touch each other.

2. STIR together cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle the tops of the apples with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

3. BAKE for 30 minutes, flip, sprinkle the other side with cinnamon sugar, and then bake for another 30 minutes.

4. REMOVE the apple slices from the oven and then spread them out on a rack to cool completely. If you don’t have a rack, move the chips to a fresh piece of parchment on your countertop. The chips will harden and become more crunchy as they cool.

TIP: You can remove one slice from the oven and let them cool to see if it’s as crunchy as you would like. If not, bake the chips for a bit longer.

 
 
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*It’s important to slice the apples on a mandoline so they’re thin enough and uniform in thickness. This is hard to do with a knife—even the most skilled chefs use a mandoline. If you don’t have a mandoline, it’s worth getting one.

†Candied bacon recipe: To make candied bacon, preheat the oven to 375°F. Arrange thick-cut bacon on a cooling rack placed on top of a baking sheet lined with foil. Season with the cinnamon-sugar mix and if desired, cracked pepper or a pinch of chili.

Bake until the edges are crisp and the center is caramelized. Allow the bacon to cool for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a serving platter to cool completely.

For even sweeter, “candied” bacon, use straight brown sugar instead of cinnamon-sugar.

 
 
> CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] You can make these apple chips with sugar or Splenda Original Granulated Sweetener (photos #1 and #2 © Envy Apple).

[2] Envy is a cross between Braeburn and Gala apples.

[3] A mandoline is a great kitchen gadget for slicing fruits and vegetables (photo © Williams Sonoma).

[4] You can keep your own cinnamon-sugar (or cinnamon-Splenda) blend on hand for baked apples, baked goods, oatmeal, pancakes, yogurt, even bacon† (photo © King Arthur Baking).