February 8, 2021
Lunar New Year is just a few days away and I’ve already started prepping for it. In my family, my parents always create a list of must dos on the days leading up to New Year’s Day. The top priority is definitely cleaning the house, planning the menu, preparing the red envelopes, and filling each and every hallway with good fortune (in the form of auspicious sayings). My parents truly believed the more auspicious signs plastered all over the house, the luckier we will be. It’s one of the holidays during the year where we all gather together as a family over good food. Each member of my family always had a role. My mom would tackle the cleaning projects. My dad would focus on the décor and menu planning. My brothers would plot the different ways they would spend the lucky money. I would find a way to help out in the kitchen. The eve of Lunar New Year is when the food is the most plentiful. The family table is always stocked with dishes full of meats, vegetables, fruits, snacks, and desserts. Every dish we ate was always associated with an auspicious saying. Fish for prosperity. Whole chicken for unity. Sweet and savory dumplings for wealth. Oodles of noodles for longevity. Tons of citrus – specifically tangerines, mandarins, and oranges for fortune. I always remember my parents asking us every year if we knew why we ate the foods we ate on Lunar New Year. When they saw the blank looks on our faces, they would launch into their explanations for the meaning behind each dish. The biggest meal during Lunar New Year was always the evening before where members of our family (no matter where we were in the world) had to travel back home just to reunite with the rest of our family for a reunion dinner. I never truly appreciated all of these customs and traditions surrounding Lunar New Year until I grew much older. It wasn’t until I moved to the Midwest that I started to look back fondly on the memories of preparing for the holidays and celebrating with family and friends. Kevin and I still try to visit our families for Lunar New Year every year. During the past year, we had to move all of our celebrations from in person to virtual. This holiday was no exception. We would celebrate Lunar New Year with our families virtually. Planning a menu for two people is a lot easier than planning a menu for the whole family. Over the years, Kevin and I have been having multiple celebrations for Lunar New Year. Some years, we celebrate with his family. Other years, we celebrate with my family. This year, we will be celebrating with just ourselves. I’ve already started testing out recipes for Lunar New Year by mixing and matching a lot of the foods I was accustomed to eating during Lunar New Year growing up. Of all of the foods I love during the new year, dumplings are most definitely on the top of the list. Dumplings in any and all forms are welcome. On the days leading up to Lunar New Year, it is only fitting for me to make both sweet and savory dumplings to celebrate the momentous occasion.
For my take on savory and sweet dumplings, check out one or more of my tried-and-true recipes below.
Making even more dumplings in anticipation of Lunar New Year 2021:
Upcoming: I’ve been hard at work testing out a recipe for the fortune cookies featured in these photos. These cute little cookies can be finicky to get just right. Stay tuned for more updates on my adventures making these and other treats in the kitchen.
