New Year feast

• Cold spicy sesame noodles
• Sichuan pumpkin soup
• Sichuan quick-fried lamb
• Fresh fruit salad with almond tofu

In the spirit of the Chinese New Year festival - Friday, January 31 till February 14 - these recipes are from the Sichuan province in southwest China - a pepper-hot pumpkin soup, cold spicy sesame noodles and tasty quick-fried lamb. For a cool end to this meal (not from Sichuan), there is a luscious fruit salad with almond tofu - actually a jelly.

The original pumpkin soup recipe comes from a little book in my collection called Everyday Chinese. My friend Patty Yang translated Chinese recipes for the cold noodles and quick-fried lamb for me. I have used Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice as a reference and I highly recommend it.

The main recipes are for Chinese-size servings as you would have in a restaurant, but you can easily increase the quantities. The Chinese ingredients can be found in Asian shops.

Sichuan pepper: Sichuan pepper is a reddish berry with an enticing woody citrusy aroma and a hot and numbing impact in the mouth. Sichuan pepper is one of the spices in five spice powder. It is quite addictive. Toast and grind as you need it. Spread the pepper out on a tea towel and pick through and remove gritty black seeds and small twigs. Toast in a heavy pan over very moderate heat until fragrant and beginning to smoke, being careful not to scorch it. Grind the seeds while hot with a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder. Sieve through a fine strainer and discard the pale bits left behind.

Chinese sesame paste: Sesame seed paste or sauce is made from roasted sesame seeds and is not like tahini which is made from raw sesame seeds. The oil separates in the jar on standing, so mix it well before using. It can be diluted with sesame oil. Peanut butter can be used as a substitute.

Chinkiang vinegar: Chinkiang vinegar is black rice vinegar made from glutinous rice in Zhejiang province. It has a deep smoky flavour that is similar to balsamic vinegar. Chinkiang vinegar (I use Gold Plum brand) is inexpensive and handy to have in the pantry.

Chilli oil: Chilli oil can be very spicy so look for a mild one or make it yourself. The chilli sediment in the jar can be used as well if you like spicy hot food.

Preserved vegetables: Preserved vegetables are popular in China, made from cabbage, salted mustard greens or turnip. It is used to add flavour to dishes, particularly soups. Preserved vegetables can be found packed in crocks, cans and sachets from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand. Rinse before use to remove some of the salt. Store in a glass jar in the fridge.

Agar-agar: Agar-agar is a seaweed-derived setting agent and useful for vegetarians who wish to avoid gelatine. You can buy agar-agar powder in sachets, enough to set one litre of liquid.

Cold spicy sesame noodles

Sichuan quick-fried lamb

Diana Lampe is a Canberra writer, email: dlampe@bigpond.net.au