It’s not too late to celebrate the New Year, that’s Chinese New Year. January 23 marks the Year of the Dragon. So brush off those resolutions and celebrate with a family dinner.

“In Chinese culture, the family dinner gathering is the most important occasion of the New Year,” says Ceci Snyder, National Pork Board vice president for consumer marketing. “ Because pork is the most consumed meat in China, it’s not surprising that many of those family meals will center on pork.”

Teaming pork with traditional Chinese ingredients is a wonderful way to add variety to your winter meals. Pork’s the classic choice for use in sweet and sour to hot and spicy dishes. For add an instant Asian touch to your recipes, try Chinese bottle sauces such as teriyaki and soy sauce and hoisin. Just a splash can deliver a flavor boost to many foods. For example, add a dash of soy sauce to steamed vegetables. That little dash of soy can become your secret ingredient to countless sauces and gravies.

Speaking of secrets, hoising sauce is the secret to Chinese barbeque. To make a quick Chinese barbeque sauce mix equal portions of sweet sour sauce and hoisin together. Spread over ribs, let stand for 30 minutes before grilling. Brush with sauce one final time before serving.

Remember, it’s never too late to make new resolutions. For me, I’ve resolved to make January my month to stir-fry. Stir-frying is fast and allows one to utilize leftovers, which turn will save money. Here’s a few of my favorite stir fry recipes I’ve taught through the years at the St. Louis Community College’s Adult Education Culinary Classes. Give them a try – you too, may be inspired to resolve to stir-fry.

Mongolian Beef

1 lb beef flank steak

1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons rice wine

1 tablespoon hoisin

1 tablespoon hot beans, sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon sesame oil

peanut oil or vegetable oil

6 cloves garlic minced

2 cups green onion, cut into 1-inch pieces on the diagonal

3-4 ounces bean thread noodles

cooked rice

Trim fat from beef, and slice thinly across the grain into thin strips. Prepare a sauce in a small bowl of water, rice wine, hoisin sauce, bean sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch, and sesame oil; stir well and set aside.

Prepare bean thread noodles: Heat several inches of oil in a wok or fryer. Pull bean thread noodles apart slightly and drop into hot oil and stand back bit; almost immediately they should puff up enormously. When they have done this, lift them from the oil and drain on paper towel and begin stir-fry. Pour one tablespoon of oil into wok; add garlic and stir-fry briefly; add green onion and stir-fry until onions are tender, remove from wok - add the beef to wok and stir-fry about 2-3 minutes, then stir in sauce and cook until thick and bubbly. Add onions back to wok and stir everything together.

To serve, place some of the crispy noodles on a plate and cover with a portion of the stir-fry. Serve this immediately. Serves 2-4.

Hunan-Style Pork

1/2 pound boneless pork loin

1 Tablespoon plus 4 teaspoons cornstarch, divided

3 tablespoons soy sauce, divided

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 1/4 cups water

1 pound fresh broccoli, trimmed

2 tablespoons oil, divided

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root

1 onion, chunked and separated into sections

10 cherry tomatoes, halved

hot cooked rice

Cut pork across grain into thin slices; coat with mixture of 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sugar and garlic. Let stand 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine remaining cornstarch and soy sauce with red pepper and 1 1/4 cups water. Cut broccoli into bite-size flowerets and stems into thin slices.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok or skillet over a high heat. Add pork stir-fry for 2 minutes; remove. Add remaining oil, stir-fry ginger root for 30 seconds. Add in onion and broccoli; stir-fry for 3-4 minutes. Return pork to wok with tomatoes and soy sauce mixture. Bring to a boil and cook until mixture thickens. Serve over hot rice. Serves 4.