It’s rather fitting that my last post in this series should be about family, since I’ve leaned so heavily on my mother and mined her memories for most of the previous ones.
I’m supposed to be thinking especially about her this time of year. Not only is this the time to get together with one’s family, […]
Author Archives: Winnie Yang
This one’s for you, Mom
February 22, 2008 – 8:18 am
Nian gao
February 21, 2008 – 4:21 pm
When my mother was growing up, her mother would prepare nian gao for the Lunar New Year. These sweet rice cakes rarely made an appearance because they were so tedious to make: A-ma had to soak an entire sack of glutinous rice in water, then grind the rice with a millstone, and squeeze the water […]
Soll food: Or, Koreans like rice cakes too
February 20, 2008 – 9:09 am
Though I tend to call this holiday “Chinese” New Year, it turns out Lunar New Year is not the sole province of the Chinese. The Vietnamese have Tet, various Chinese communities in Indonesia and Malaysia have their versions, and Koreans have Soll.
Like Chinese New Year (and western New Year celebrations, for that matter), Korean New […]
Superstitions
February 19, 2008 – 6:59 am
I never knew there were so many rituals tied to the New Year beyond the larger, more public celebrations (big dinners, lion dances, etc.). My mom was very emphatic about getting all the cleaning and work on the house done before New Year’s Eve. And then there was Joyce H.’s recollection of how her family […]
Get festive
February 18, 2008 – 12:02 pm
While on my tang yuan expedition, I came across a shop that seemed to specialize in all things Lunar New Year-related. I neglected to jot down the name or address of this place, unfortunately, but you won’t miss it if you walk down Mott south of Canal. It’s on the west side, a tiny storefront […]
Tang yuan
February 15, 2008 – 12:44 am
Mom says one of the things one must eat for Lunar New Year is tang yuan, or glutinous rice balls. There are savory versions (some pork-filled, even), but I’ve only ever had the sweet kind, which can come stuffed (with red bean or sesame paste, among other things) or unstuffed.
Stuffed tang yuan are served […]
Red envelope
February 14, 2008 – 1:23 pm
The best part about this time of year, kids will tell you, is getting the hong bao, or red envelope. Like noodles, hong bao make an appearance at birthdays and other times of year (I saw them handed out most recently at a cousin’s wedding), but they’re most associated with the New Year.
They’re red, of […]
Long live noodles!
February 13, 2008 – 9:58 am
Before this assignment, the Lunar New Year associations I had in my head were few: lion dance, red envelope, and noodles. I mean, as a child, what’s funnier than seeing a bunch of your friends forced to dress up in traditional garb and parade around under a giant tasseled, eye-lid fluttering head? And what’s better […]
Clean slate
February 12, 2008 – 7:52 am
The days leading up to the New Year, Mom says, should be devoted to cleaning. To start off the year right, your house needs a total, thorough washing: windows, doors, inside, outside, everything. Chinese tradition takes this one step further. Any work that’s being done on your house, whether it’s a simple paint job or […]
They’ll make you rich, and they’re tasty too
February 11, 2008 – 11:31 am
Though many people (me, for example) love eating dumplings all year long, the New Year celebrations call for them especially: their shape resembles those boat-shaped ingots that the Chinese used for currency many, many centuries ago, and so they symbolize money, prosperity, wealth, good fortune, etc.
Photo by glutton
In NYC, many people swear by Dumpling […]