I was born in the year of the goat (or sheep or ram, depending on the region of Asia and translator). I took particular interest in ringing in this Lunar New Year because it’s again the Chinese zodiac year of the goat (the most commonly eaten meat in the world, by the way- thanks, goats- wish you were more common stateside).
On a side note, my dog, wife, AND mother-in-law were all three born in years of the SNAKE. Now you know why I’m always lookin’ over my shoulder.
Anyway, I looked into the lucky Chinese foods for the Lunar New Year that would be akin to black eyed peas in the South or 12 grapes in Spain. It seems that the Chinese rely on homophones for their symbolically lucky foods more than almost any other culture. For instance, the ultimate and most common lucky food is a whole fish, which in Chinese is pronounced “yu” which also happens to be the same way you pronounce the word for “surplus,” though they’re written as different characters. “Oranges" sound like “luck", a certain kind of yummy black algae sounds like “prosperity", and their words for a specific type of rice pudding sound like their words for “a more prosperous year.”
That said, they turn to some visual symbolism as well. Long noodles represent longevity- the longer the noodle, the longer your life. Several classics resemble gold ingot, from potstickers to spring rolls. Their traditions have tons more symbolism if you’re curious to look it up, but this email is long enough as is.
Tonight, we had some pretty basic vegetable stir fry, LONG rice noodles, spring rolls, juicy orange slices, and...
Salty fermented black bean and garlic sauce brightened up with fresh ginger and cilantro on top of tender white fish. Delicious, bold, and delicate, all at once. Perfection.
Happy Lunar New Year!
