Chinese New Year Archives - Pickles and Tea

Chinese New Year Recipe: Instant Pot Hainanese Chicken Rice

09 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Celebrations, Chinese, Comfort food, Cook books, Entrees, Family style, Instant Pot, Main Course, Poaching, Poultry, Singaporean

Okay okay, if you grew up in Singapore like me, Hainanese chicken rice is not technically a new year dish. It's more of an eat-it-whenever-you-want dish. However, a whole chicken, is also served at new year to symbolize family, unity and togetherness. White Cut Chicken...

Chinese New Year Recipe: Lo Han Jai or Buddha’s Delight

05 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Celebrations, Chinese, Cook books, Family style, Food traditions, Instant Pot, Main Course, Recipes, Stir-frying, Vegan, Vegetarian

Commonly known as Buddha’s Delight, this vegetarian dish is usually eaten on the first day of the Chinese New Year. I’ve turned it into an everyday dish using some of my favorite vegetables with miso paste added for a truly delicious sauce! For new year, the...

Longlife Noodles

13 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Celebrations, Comfort food, Entrees, Family style, Main Course, Singaporean, Stir-frying

Adapted from The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook (Sasquatch Books, 2009/2012) Noodle dishes are always served during birthdays and Chinese New Year because the Chinese believe they symbolize good fortune, prosperity, and longevity. The longer the noodles, the longer (and luckier) your life will be — so don’t...

Homemade Bak Kwa (Chinese Pork Jerky)

02 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Baking, Broiling, Celebrations, Chinese, Comfort food, Easy, Kid-friendly, Malaysian, Singaporean, Snacks

When I first came to the U.S. as a college student, one of the foods I missed most from Singapore was bak kwa. It's kind of like jerky, but made with pork and with Chinese flavors. Beef jerky didn’t cut it—not even teriyaki-flavored—and even though salmon...

A Dumpling for Every Friend: #4–Ms. or Mr. Gluten-Free (White Chicken Curry and Sticky Rice Dumplings)

05 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Appetizers, Appetizers/Sides, Celebrations, Comfort food, Indonesian, Microwave, Poultry, Snacks, Steaming

A decade ago, hardly anyone understood what the term "gluten-free" meant, celiac disease was very under-the-radar, and finding gluten-free products at the grocery store was challenging. Today, just about everything sold at the grocery store is gluten-free, even water and face cream! (Yes, I'm being facetious.)...

A Dumpling for Every Friend: #3–The Meat Lover (Spiced Beef Momos)

30 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Appetizers/Sides, Celebrations, Chinese, Comfort food, Food traditions, Meat, Sauces, Steaming, Taiwanese

You may be married to one. Your best friend may be one. You may even unknowingly be nurturing one at home. My point is: I’m sure everyone knows at least one meat-loving carnivore, someone who frowns at a meal sans meat and/or shuns anything remotely...

Sweet Potato Chinese Dumplings (Jiaozi)

30 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Appetizers, Boiling, Breakfast, Celebrations, Chinese, Comfort food, family, Food traditions, Kid-friendly, Vegan, Vegetable

On February 19, 2015, we will welcome the Year of the Sheep. And so begins another round of eating because a new year celebration isn't a celebration without lots of food! I’ve written many posts on Lunar New Year foods: from a Singapore favorite, raw fish...

Celebrating Lunar New Year with Foods From Different Cultures

29 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Celebrations

Every year, Lunar New Year is celebrated around the globe with great fanfare: lion dances, red packets stuffed with money, and of course, 10-course banquets comprising dishes made with exquisite ingredients and brimming with symbolism--foods that are homonyms or look-alikes for gold bars, prosperity, family...

Indonesian-Style Pineapple Tarts for Chinese New Year!

07 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Chinese, Food traditions, Indonesian, Interview with a grandma, Sweets/desserts

The snake may not be my favorite animal but I just learned a very interesting factoid about the Year of the Snake which starts this Sunday, February 10, 2013. Just as a snake sheds its skin, this is a good year for making dramatic transformations,...

New Beginnings Part II: A Chinese New Year Dish Called Yu Sheng (鱼生)

19 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Celebrations, Chinese

As I mentioned in New Beginnings Part I, I’m investing all my New Year mojo in yu sheng (Mandarin for "raw fish"), only my version uses tea-cured salmon which is technically still raw. Also called yee sang (in Cantonese), this "salad" is usually eaten in restaurants...

Pickles and Tea Chinese New Year Tag