Thursday, Feb. 8, marks the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year, the Year of the Boar, and the start of a 15-day celebration that centers on family, rejuvenation, thankfulness and endless possibilities.
"For our families, it's something like Thanksgiving or Christmas," said Tony Chen of Springfield, Ill. "If you were in debt in the old days, it was the one period of the year when the debt collector wouldn't knock on your door."
The celebration, also called Spring Festival, includes special foods, symbolic acts and traditional festivities, and a feast.
The feast symbolizes "the unity of the family and honors past and present generations," said Stanley Tsai of Springfield. After the meal, parents and grandparents give children small red envelopes containing "lucky" coins. At the front door, auspicious rhymes written in Chinese, called spring couplets, are pasted for those in attendance.
Most celebrants wear red, "the color for celebration," Chen said. They also wear new clothes, symbolizing a fresh start. Prior to the New Year, celebrants clean their homes. Symbolically, cleaning on New Year's Day will cause good fortune to be swept away.
Lunar New Year is the oldest celebration in the Chinese calendar, believed to have started in 2000 B.C. It is celebrated on the first day of the first month of that calendar; the second new moon after the winter solstice largely determines when that date falls.
The origin of the holiday is said to be tied to the conquest of a mythical beast, Nian, the word "year" in modern Chinese.
According to legend, the ferocious Nian terrorized Chinese villagers until a mysterious stranger showed up and told the villagers they could scare off the creature by setting off firecrackers and painting their houses red. And so began the festivities of Lunar New Year, known as Guo Nian, or "passing of another year."
Food has always played an important role in Chinese culture and the New Year is no exception.
"The dinner should be well-balanced," said Chen. "There should be chicken, ducks, pork, beef and fish. Fish means abundance. In inland areas of China where there was no fish, people would carve a fish out of wood."
Other foods that might be served at a New Year celebration include:
- Nian Gao (Lunar New Year Cake), a sweet, sticky dessert similar to a pudding. Consuming it is said to ensure your advancement in the new year.
- Lo Bak Gao (Turnip Cake), a dish of white radishes or turnips, sausages, dried shrimp, black mushrooms and flour. It symbolizes increasing fortune.
- Jin Dui (Chinese Sesame Balls), fried balls of sweet potatoes and red bean paste, rolled in sesame seeds. The dish represents prosperity.
- Xiu Hou Joe (Crunchy Smiley Face), a sesame-coated sweetened fried dough ball that looks like a laughing face. It means long-lasting happiness.
"The meal is ended with noodles," said Carmen Tong, a spokeswoman for New York City's Lunar New Year Celebration. "They do very long noodles. It symbolizes long life."
Foods are heavily weighed with meaning in Chinese culture, said Linda Ayares, another spokeswoman for the New York event in Chinatown.
"Candied melons represent growth and good health, the lychee means strong family relations, the coconut represents togetherness," she said.
Fruits also figure into the celebration, Tsai said. Apples signify safety, peaches mean longevity, oranges bid good tidings, and pomegranates represent fertility. Tong said that fruit baskets are often given as gifts during Spring Festival.
As for the boar that symbolizes 2007, it is one of 12 animals found in the Chinese zodiac, each one possessing different traits. Babies born in 2007 just might end up like the boar.
According to the Chinese Culture Center in San Francisco, people born in the Year of the Boar are chivalrous and gallant. Whatever they do, they do with all their strength.
For people born in the Year of the Boar, there is no left or right and there is no retreat. They have tremendous fortitude and great honesty. They don't make many friends but they make them for life, and anyone having a boar year friend is fortunate for they are extremely loyal.
Boars don't talk much but have a great thirst for knowledge. They study a great deal and are generally well informed. Boars are quick-tempered, yet they hate arguments and quarreling. They are kind to their loved ones. No matter how bad problems seem to be, boars try to work them out, honestly if sometimes impulsively.
The recipes below, from Kikkoman International, demonstrate a small-plate menu. Because every dish in the Chinese culture has special significance, it is thought that the more items served, the more blessings you will receive.
Gung Hay Fat Choy! (Happy New Year!)
MANDARIN PORK BACK RIBS
3/4 cup orange marmalade (divided use)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons soy sauce (divided use)
2 tablespoons dry sherry
4 cloves garlic, pressed
3 pounds pork loin back ribs, cut into single-rib pieces
Yields 8 appetizer servings.
Combine 1/2 cup orange marmalade, 1/2 cup soy sauce, sherry and garlic; pour over ribs in large resealable plastic food bag. Press air out of bag; close top securely. Turn bag over several times to coat ribs well. Refrigerate 1 hour, turning bag over once.
Arrange ribs, meaty side down, in large, shallow foil-lined baking pan; discard marinade. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 F for 40 minutes.
Increase oven temperature to 400 F. Discard foil cover from pan. Drain off excess fat; turn ribs over. Combine remaining 1/4 cup orange marmalade and 2 tablespoons soy sauce; brush ribs with 1/2 of mixture. Return ribs to oven and bake 10 minutes. Brush ribs with remaining mixture; bake 5 minutes.
Nutritional analysis per serving: 570 calories, 29 g protein, 22 g carbohydrate, 40 g fat, 140 mg cholesterol, 0 g fiber, 1,440 mg sodium.
FULL MOON PASTRIES
1/2 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
All-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon five-spice powder
1/4 cup bottled stir-fry sauce
1/3 cup chopped green onions and tops
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Yields 16 pastries.
Cook pork in hot oil in large skillet over medium-high heat 1 minute. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon flour and five-spice over pork; cook and stir 1 minute, or until pork is just done. Stir in stir-fry sauce. Remove from heat and cool; stir in green onions.
On lightly floured surface, roll each pastry sheet into 12-inch square. Using 3-inch cookie cutter, cut each sheet into 16 circles. Brush 16 circles with egg mixture; spoon 1 tablespoon pork mixture evenly onto each circle. Cover filling with remaining circles, pinching edges together to seal. Cut 2 small slits in center of each.
Place pastries 2 inches apart on 2 greased baking sheets. Brush tops with egg mixture. Bake at 400 F in oven 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.
Note: Pastries can be assembled and frozen up to 2 weeks. Thaw unbaked pastries for 30 minutes; bake as directed.
Nutritional analysis per serving: 80 calories, 3 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 6 g fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 0 g fiber, 65 mg sodium.
FIRECRACKER PRAWNS
1/4 cup bottled teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch (divided use)
1 red jalapeno pepper
1 1/2 pounds (16- to 20-count) extra-large fresh or thawed prawns, peeled and deveined
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 green onions and tops, sliced
Yields 8 appetizer servings.
Combine teriyaki, sugar, ketchup, with 1 teaspoon cornstarch and 1/4 cup water.
Cut jalapeno lengthwise in 1/2; discard 1/2 of seeds. Chop jalapeno with remaining seeds and combine with shrimp, garlic and remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch.
Stir-fry shrimp in hot oil in wok or large skillet over high heat 2 minutes; remove. Stir teriyaki sauce mixture and pour into same pan. Cook, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens. Stir in shrimp and green onions and cook just to coat with sauce.
Nutritional analysis per serving: 140 calories, 18 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 5 g fat, 165 mg cholesterol, 0 g fiber, 450 mg sodium.
GOLDEN PHOENIX NESTS
1 cup diced, cooked chicken breast
3/4 cup diced Fuji apple
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup thinly sliced deli ham, cut into 1/2-inch squares
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
8 iceberg lettuce leaves, cut into 5-inch circles
Tangy honey dressing:
1/3 cup bottled sweet-and-sour sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon honey
Yields 8 salads.
In bowl, combine chicken, apple, celery, ham and almonds.
To prepare tangy honey dressing: Blend sweet-and-sour sauce, vegetable oil and honey. Pour dressing over lettuce and toss to coat all pieces. Fill lettuce leaves with about 1/3 cup chicken mixture and arrange on serving platter.
Nutritional analysis per serving: 170 calories, 8 g protein, 12 g carbohydrate, 10 g fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 135 mg sodium.
Kathryn Rem is the food editor for the Springfield, Ill., State Journal-Register.
Comments (0)
Greater Paramus News and Lifestyle Magazine
http://www.paramuspost.com/article.php/20070125235917509