We've just entered the new Year of the Fire Horse. It only comes around once every 60 years and this one is suppose to be a doozy, according to Chinese Astrological forecasts. Fire horse can have lots going on, especially if you're doing something that relies upon heat -- like cooking. So turn on your stove and cooking something up. Here are a few ideas for you to cook up a wealth of wonderful flavors to welcome the new year. Do note that Lunar New Year (Tet in Vietnamese) is a festival that happens for days and the renewal spirit of the new year can linger and be celebrated for weeks.
Ideas for Lunar New Year celebrations
Lunar New Year is celebrated big time by Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese communities but there are many other folks who get in on the lunar calendar action. Look for celebrations wherever you are because you never know! Given the diversity of Lunar New Year, you can combine different dishes from various cuisines to make your table extra interesting. It's not simply "Chinese New Year". It's Lunar New Year. It's about moon phases. How to eat Tet? My Vietnamese table centers certain must-have dishes and these are what you'll often find on mine.
- Banh Chung Tet Sticky rice cakes are square and hefty, filled with mung bean, pork, and sticky rice. They are simple but incredibly savory and fragrant from the leaves they are wrapped in. You can make them, or buy them from a Viet market or deli. Then you want to refresh them so they're like fresh from the pot (see the video below). Cutting the cake and other info are in this post. You can fry it up into a crispy banh chung pancake too.
- Braised Pork Ribs in Caramel Sauce (suon kho) gives a nod to the notion that at Tet, the family harvests a pig and cooks up every part. Eat the saucy simmered pork with banh chung. Its salty sweetness is divine with the sticky rice!
- Char siu pork ribs can be done in the oven or on a grill, if going outside is your thing.
- Make a pomelo or grapefruit salad (goi buoi). You can use grapefruit for this salad recipe here or use pomelo for a more traditional Vietnamese salad.
- Want a feast? My family had Mandarin pancakes with Chinese roast duck. The pancake recipe is at my newsletter along with a quick duck recipe. But, you can elect to do the Full Monty by making this glorious Peking duck.
- And if you have friends or family who do not enjoy duck like I do, serve the pancakes with moo shu, a simple stir-fry that is clasically prepared with pork but you can use any meat or go vegetarian with the moo shu recipes here.
Have a pan-Asian noodle time
You cannot go wrong with noodles, a symbol of longevity. Here are some favorites:
- Beef Chow Fun is a classic and favorite at Cantonese restaurants. Get my recipe to make it at home to guarantee flavors your way.
- Garlic Noodles are a newish Vietnamese-American dish. There many renditions to choose from. Try my basic garlic noodles recipe, the chanterelle mushrooms and garlic butter noodles, or a garlic and daikon "noodle" recipe (they're all on this website). Or, venture to my newsletter for an umami shiitake garlic noodles or the delicious crab and asparagus garlic noodles.
- Singapore Noodles are spicy and sultry. Yes, you cake a batch from grocery store ingredients from my newsletter recipe here.
- Ginger, Carrot, and Scallion Noodles should be made with lots of young or mature ginger so they're loaded with gingery sweet heat. Get the naturlly vegan recipe at my newsletter.
- Panfried noodles with a crown of beefy tomato stir-fry is a Cantonese classic. I return to this recipe over and over and so should you. If you're gluten-free or just like rice noodles, panfry rice noodles into a pancake then top it with a saucy stir-fry. My crispy rice noodle pancake recipe and video how-to wild guide you.
- Pad Thai was influenced to a certain extent by Chinese foodways. Flat rice noodles are Chinese, for instance. If you serve me pad Thai, especially when it's prepared from the recipe at my newsletter, I would not complain.
Sweet endings
You gotta end with touch of sweetness. Buy some fresh fruit like tangerines or oranges. If you shop at an Asian market, look for tropical fruit like longans, mangosteen, or lychee. Prepare a fruit plate or just wash them and set them out for people to help themselves. But if you have time, do make something!
- Candied Orange Peels or Candied Kumquats speak to the tradition of candied sweetmeats for the Lunar New Year.
- Not-too-sweet cookies are fabulous to nibble on alongside the fresh fruit and candied sweetmeats. My go-tos include Ginger Cookie Coins, this peanut cookie, this sinfully delicious almond cookie, and if I feel like fast-and-easy flourless baking, this almond cookie.
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