Lunar New Year 2022 is the Year of the Tiger and starts on Feb. 1, lasting to Jan. 2, 2023. If you were born in 1938, 1950, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 and 2022, you are tigers.
For the Lunar New Year’s Day, dumplings are associated with wealth, and the more you eat, the more money you can make in the coming year. In some parts of China, a white thread is placed inside a dumpling and the person who eats that dumpling is supposed to possess longevity. Do not arrange the dumplings on the platter in a circle but instead arrange them in lines as a symbol of life actually going somewhere.
Before eating a dumpling, all the people at the dinner table have to say “Zhao cai jim bao” which means “Bringing in wealth and treasure.”
Before eating spring rolls at a New Year’s celebration, it is common to say “A ton of gold,” as it symbolizes a carrier of prosperity.
Niangao is a glutinous rice cake made of sticky rice, sugar, chestnuts or yams and dates. Saying “Getting higher year after year by year,” is for the general improvement in life. We certainly need to eat niangao this year for a definite improvement in our lives of COVID!
Here’s a quick and easy New Year’s pudding from ‘Yum Yum Cha, Let’s Eat Dim Sum in Hawaii’ by Lynette Lo Tom:
Easy New Year’s Pudding
Niangao
1 (16 ounce) can yam, reserve liquid
1 (16 ounce ) box dark brown sugar
1/2 cup grated coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
20 ounces (about 5-1/4 cups glutinous rice flour or mochiko)
1 dried red date (hung jo)
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Mash yams. Add brown sugar and coconut; stir until well-blended. Add oil, water, liquid from the canned yams, and flour, mix well.
Pour batter into a lightly greased 8-inch round cake pan (or line with ti leaves).
Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours. Alternately steam over boiling water for 2 hours. Cool, slice with plastic knife or dental floss. While pudding is still hot, place red date in center and sprinkle sesame seeds.
The round shape of sweet rice balls is associated with reunion and being together.
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Fish should be the last dish in the dinner. It is considered a good omen to have more money in the coming year. The position of the table is very important with these rules:
• The head should be placed toward distinguished guests or the elders.
• One can only eat the fish after the one who faces the fish head eats first.
• The fish should not be moved, so it cannot be turned over to eat the other side.
Steamed fish of Jing Yu is Hawaii’s favorite way to cook locally caught fish. Here is a recipe from ‘Yum Yum Cha, Let’s Eat Dim Sum in Hawaii’:
Steamed Fish or Jing Yu
Serves 6 to 8
1 teaspoon salt
2- to 3-pound whole opakapaka, ehu, kumu, sea bass, or uhu, scaled and cleaned
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons peanut, vegetable or canola oil, divided
2 tablespoons finely slivered fresh ginger, skin scraped off
3 tablespoons chopped green onion
Chopped parsley to garnish
Sprinkle salt inside and all around the fish; place in shallow heat-resistant dish. Combine sugar, soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon oil, pour over fish. Sprinkle with ginger and green onion. Steam, covered over boiling water for 15 minutes or until fish is done and begins to flake.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil to almost smoking and pour over fish. Garnish with Chinese parsley to serve.
• • •
Steamed whole chicken is a symbol of the family. It is first offered to the ancestors asking them for blessings and protection.
Many fruits and vegetables are eaten, each with special meaning:
• Bamboo shoots represent longevity.
• Poria mushrooms represent blessings and fortune.
• Muskmelon and grapefruit represent family.
• Seaweed represents wealth and fortune.
Fa gao is a dessert and symbolizes a wish for success.They are unfrosted cupcakes cooked in a steamer.
Here is an easy fa gao recipe by Nora Horvath of Food Network magazine that she re-created from her grandmother’s vague directions:
Pau Pau’s Steamed Cupcakes (Fa Gao)
Makes 10 cupcakes
1-1/4 cups pancake mix such as Bisquick
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1-1/3 cups water
Fill the bottom pot of a steamer with 4 inches of water. Bring to a rapid boil. Line 10 individual 3-inch cupcake molds with paper liners and arrange in 2 bamboo steamers.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the pancake mix, flour, brown sugar, and water until smooth. The batter should be thick but runny.
Divide the batter evenly between the molds, filling each about 3/4 full. Stack the bamboo steamers and cover with the lid. Steam for 15 minutes. Lift the lid, remove the steamers and allow the cupcakes to cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Along with these foods come the etiquette of eating a traditional Chinese meal:
• Never stick your chopsticks into a bowl of rice. It is bad luck and disrespectful.
• Never tap your bowl with the chopsticks. It is very rude to the hosts.
• Always eat with your mouth closed and never slurp. It is considered rude.
• Never start eating before your host.
• Always serve someone else first before you serve yourself.
• Never pass a piece of food to someone with your chopsticks.
Xinnian hao or “New Year Goodness.”
Xinnian Kuaile or “New Year Happiness.”
Gon Hei Fat Choy or “Happy Lunar New Year!”
Email Audrey Wilson at audreywilson808@gmail.com.