Come celebrate the Year of the Tiger on Feb. 14 with events planned by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. Call 533-3181 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address):

» Chinatown Open House: 6 to 9 p.m. Feb. 5, free. Visit Chinatown for traditional Chinese lion dance. It begins at 8 S. King St., where the Narcissus queen and her court will visit neighborhood businesses.

» Chinese New Year Celebration: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Feb. 6, Chinatown Cultural Plaza, free. Enjoy jai (monk's food), gin doi (doughnut), gau (New Year pudding) and jook (rice soup). Watch ethnic dance and martial arts demonstrations.

The following recipes are by Linda Chang Wyrgatsch, who teaches Chinese cooking to Narcissus pageant contestants.

SWEET PRECIOUS NUTS RICE

2 cups sweet glutinous rice (mochi rice)
2 cups water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup seedless Chinese red dates (see note)
1/2 cup lotus seeds (see note)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup cooked gingko nuts (see note)
1/4 cup candied red cherries or red plums, or other fruit
1/4 cup candied green cherries or green plums, or other fruit
1 cup tou sa (Chinese sweet bean paste) or tsubushian (Japanese unstrained red bean paste)

Wash rice and soak in water for 1 hour; cook in rice cooker; cool. Mix cooled rice with sugar; set aside.

Brush inside of 10-inch heat-proof bowl with oil. Arrange dates, lotus seeds, raisins, gingko nuts and cherries in decorative pattern on inside of bowl. Spread half of rice on arranged fruit. Spread tsubushian over rice, then remaining rice over tsubushian. Steam for about an hour; cool for 10 minutes. Invert bowl onto platter; serve warm. Serves 8.

Note: Find seedless Chinese red dates, lotus seeds and gingko nuts in Chinatown. Boil dates until soft (10 to 15 minutes) and lotus seeds until soft (10 to 20 minutes), then drain. Canned gingko nuts work well in this recipe.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 430 calories, 8 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 15 mg sodium, 87 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 20 g sugar, 7 g protein

MA PO TOFU

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 pound ground pork
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped green onions
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon hot chili paste (sambal oelek)
1 block (20-ounce) soft tofu, drained and cut in small cubes
1 tablespoon cooking wine
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorn powder
1/4 cup chopped Chinese parsley

Heat wok or skillet; add oil. Brown ground pork; add garlic, green onions, ginger and chili paste; stir fry about 2 minutes. Add tofu, wine, 1 cup water, salt, soy sauce and sugar; cook 30 seconds. In small bowl, stir together cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water to make slurry; stir into wok and cook 30 seconds. Sprinkle peppercorn powder and parsley on top; serve while hot. Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 350 calories, 26 g total fat, 6 g saturated fat, 40 mg cholesterol, 440 mg sodium, 11 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 17 g protein

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Hawaiian Electric Co. presents this weekly collection of recipes as a public service. Many are drawn from HECO's database of recipes, accessible online.