No one would frown on you for not making your own desserts. If you like to work particularly hard, you might want to also try your hand at a second noodle dish like Fuchsia Dunlop’s dan dan mian, or Rosheen Kaul’s creamy tofu noodles, because if you’ve ever been to any Chinese family gathering, you know that noodles are always the first to go.ĭepending on how much work you want to do, you can always pick up your ingredients to make walnut cookies and nian gao, or just buy them pre-made. It is traditional to make longevity noodles for the reunion dinner because you want to wish everyone a long life. Today is the day you jostle about at a few Asian grocers to grab your dried seafoods (conpoy, shrimp, oysters), dried mushrooms, Chinese sausage, black moss, dumpling wrappers and choice of noodles. Four days outĬreamy tofu noodles by Rosheen Kaul. Add some sui yuk (crispy pork) and soy sauce chicken to your order because more is more and no one likes to hear an aunty complain about your stinginess. If you’re not ambitious enough to tackle a celebration dish like Adam Liaw’s eight treasure duck, I’d forgo ordering a raw duck and go straight to your barbecue shop. Not only do you want the best quality meat, but you want something large enough to provide leftovers. Place your orders with the fishmonger (it must be a whole fish), the butcher and your local Cantonese barbecue shop. Here’s how to break down your time so you don’t pull all your hair out before the nian gao hits the table. If you’ve ever attended a reunion dinner you also know it is all about abundance and if you don’t plan ahead it’s a lot of hard work. The centrepiece must be a whole chicken and fish, supplemented by dumplings, noodles, nian gao (glutinous rice cake) and citrus. The food you serve is the most important part of the entire ritual and is representative of harmony, good fortune and (you guessed it) prosperity.Įvery family has their preferred dishes during the reunion feast, but there are a set of non-negotiables when it comes to the new year dinner. Instead, wear red, decorate your house in red, give children money in red packets – it symbolises luck and prosperity. Andif your children cry, it’s bad luck for you until the next cycle. You know what else makes you poor? Washing your hair on NYD. No congee for breakfast on New Year’s Day as it’s the breakfast of peasants and you’ll be poor for the year. You can’t take out the trash on the New Year’s Eve as it’s symbolic of throwing out all the good luck you’ve been fostering. You can’t take medicine on the day of the lunar new year as it might set you up for poor health for the whole year. For example, you can’t wear black or white as they’re the colours of death. The food you choose to serve is the most important part of the entire ritualĪside from placing a lot of nods to the ox all over your house, you’ll have to adhere to a strict list of dos and don’ts, as the lunar new year stirs up superstition. That’s correct: this year is bovine themed. Whether you put a lot of faith in the Chinese zodiac or not, it’s important to know which year it is, since that’s what you’re going to be decorating your home with as the host. As these are the main attributes of the ox, it is believed that these characteristics will manifest in all of us. If you like hard work, honesty and being positive, this is your year. Every lunar new year is marked by one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, and 2021 is the year of the ox.
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