Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is a time for celebration and feasts of epic proportions. Amanda and I tend to make whatever Asian dishes we think tastes good,but there is actually lots of tradition (and superstition) behind this special meal. We’ve only scratched the surface of the possibilities so definitely view this as a work-in-progress . Follow this link to jump to the recipes.

Past Feasts

Happy Year of the Rabbit!

Foodbuzz 24,24,24:Chinese New Year

Fish

A popular expression that is said during the new year is 年年有余 (pinyin:nián nián yǒu yú),which translates literally to “every year we have surplus”. The idea is that whatever we get in the new year,we hope to get it in abundance. The character for surplus,余 (pinyin:yú),in Chinese is a homophone for fish,魚 (pinyin:yú). So when you hear someone say “every year we have surplus”,it sounds exactly the same as “every year we have fish”. Because of that,fish is an important part of the new year’s feast. According to tradition,it is good luck to have leftover fish from the meal so that you’re carrying the fish (surplus) into the new year. Some families,like mine,will take it a step further and have an entirely separate fish that is purely on display for the meal and is kept untouched. Whether or not you do that is entirely up to you.

Noodles

Noodles are used to represent longevity and long life. In China,they actually serve a single,really long,uncut noodle strand but I haven’t been able to find anything like that. These are often eaten for birthdays but we figure it’s a nice sentiment for the new year’s too. They’re also easy to make! Just cook the noodles in any extra braising liquid from the beef shanks or oxtails,throw in a little bit of the meat,garnish with some cilantro and scallions,and serve! It shows you can have a really tasty dish for really no extra work at all.

Dumplings

New years gives us an excuse to make dumplings in massive quantities Dumplings are typically served during new year’s because they are similar in shape to gold ingots used in ancient China. So I guess having lots of dumplings equates to having lots of money? Sounds like a good deal to me!