Lunar New Year: DIY Banquet Dinner
In the past, my family didn’t always celebrate Chinese New Years (AKA Spring Festival or Lunar New Years). If we did celebrate, we would do so by visiting family, eating dim sum, and receiving red envelopes (Lai See) from aunts and uncles. As fourth generation Asian American, I always knew that LNY was a big deal in Asian cultures, but personally, I didn’t grow up with the holiday being a huge part of my childhood. My mom is Chinese and my dad is Japanese, so my mother’s side of the family is the one we would typically celebrate Chinese New Years with.
One of my intentions this year is to learn more about my Asian heritage. With this intention in mind, I decide that I would create a banquet style dinner for my family for Chinese New Years. To help create an authentic and comprehensive menu, my friend, Jackie, assisted me with picking out all the main dishes and ingredients. We spent a few hours grocery shopping at the Asian markets for everything from steamed buns to the perfect noodles. We also went to a Taiwanese bakery to snatch the last few pineapple cakes, which are one of my favorite snacks/desserts.
I do love a good cooking challenge. This was by far the most amount of new dishes I’ve every attempted to make in one day. It was a bit overwhelming to cook everything without something burning or boiling over, but in the end everything turned out delicious and it was a great learning experience.
The Menu:
Longevity Noodles with Chicken, Ginger, and Mushrooms
Pork and Chive Dumplings
Steamed Cod (Usually, this dish is supposed to be a whole fish, but since my family isn’t a huge fan of striped sea bass, I went with cod.)
Ma Lai Go (Steamed Sponge Cake)
Red Bean Soup with Rice Balls and Lotus seeds
Stir-Fry Bok Choy
Steamed Tofu Buns (store bought)
Oolong Tea
(Click on items #1-6 to be directed to the recipe’s website.)
The Preparation and Cooking:
In total, it took about six hours to cook everything plus a little bit of time for decorating. I started around 3:30pm and my family didn’t sit down to eat until around 9:30pm. The trickiest part was trying to time the dishes perfectly so that nothing is left to the side getting cold while everything else is cooking. To help keep dishes warm, I suggest wrapping finished dishes in foil and placing them in the oven at about 200 degrees. The order in which I cooked everything goes as follows:
Start with the pork dumplings since these can sit in the refrigerator to cook later.
Second, prepare the steamed sponge cake. This dessert doesn’t take too long to complete and it can sit on the side while everything else cooks.
Third, start the Longevity Noodles. Once finished, keep on the stove at low heat or place in the oven to keep warm.
Fourth, start cooking the dumplings. Remove from the refrigerator and pan fry. Place in the oven over foil once finished to keep warm.
Fifth, start steaming the tofu buns. I suggest store buying to save time. Once finished, keep the buns in the pot to help them stay warm.
Sixth, start heating up the red bean soup. If you choose to make red bean soup from whole Adzuki beans, then you’ll need to prep them overnight to let the beans soften. Start boiling the rice balls and lotus seeds to soften.
Once the soup and toppings are in progress, start the bok choy and cod. Set aside once finished.
Remove dishes from the oven and start plating everything. Keep the red bean soup on the stove to stay warm until ready to serve.
Finally, once everything is finished, we are ready to eat! For some behind the scenes pictures of my cooking processes, see the photo gallery below:
Happy New Year! 新年快乐 (xīn nián kuài lè) Dinner is served!
Many of these traditional dishes are symbolic and meant to help bring prosperity, longevity, and good fortune. For more details on the symbolism and significance of each dish, click here. I tired to incorporate as many key dishes as possible, but since I was only cooking for a family of four, I needed to narrow down my menu to only a few recipes.
Now, it’s the first day of the New Lunar Year and we have lots of leftover to eat for the rest of the week! I hope you enjoyed following along my latest cooking adventure and maybe even learned a little about Chinese culture along the way. Lunar New Year is also celebrated amongst several different Asian countries and can vary by region as well, so there are tons of different ways to ring in the New Year.
For more information about traditions, symbols, and origins of Lunar New Year, I’ve included some links below:
Happy New Year!
新年快乐 (xīn nián kuài lè)
xx
Ella Kol
