New Year!!

[oyceter]

Now that I have been attempting to plan Chu Xi dinner with sister and reading about other people celebrating online, I am homesick but also getting more into new year mode!

This year: I have no decorations up b/c I don't like the fancier/shinier/more decorated ones they sell around here. I just want red paper with black or gold words on it; no flowers, small children, cartoon characters, and whatnot! Fancy calligraphy and neat ways of writing the characters is good though. It is especially sad because my mom has been taking calligraphy for a while, so for the past few years, I actually had some written by her and her teacher, which was really cool.

(Now getting distracted by calligraphy. This fu is cool, though obvsly it would have to be a snake now. I also really like older style characters, esp. the ones that look like oracle bone ones. And then there are modern ones! I think my mom likes the slightly cao zi style ones, though not if they are too cao.

(As you can tell, I am a bit of a sucker for calligraphy. Also, my chinglish is crap.)

Anyway! The point being, are you guys doing anything for new year? Food details are HIGHLY encouraged. I am going to try steaming a fish again (*crossing fingers*) and the potluck with have dumpling wrapping, sister is making savory nian gao and sweet and sour pork ribs, and other people are in charge of veggies and meatballs in fen si and etc.

Comments

[heresluck]

I am making a bit of dim sum in solidarity. :D Probably siu mai (well, sort of -- I can't use shrimp), sticky rice steamed in lotus leaf, and char siu bau. And definitely hot & sour soup, because nothing says "fuck you" to a blizzard like hot & sour soup. Oh, and steamed green beans with garlic, because otherwise that is a lot of meat and starch with no veggies. Heh.

I am kind of craving turnip cake, but alas, I have no daikon radish. I think I need to look into growing my own, because having the closest daikon radish be three hours away is just not working for me, and I'm pretty sure they would keep okay in the root cellar with the carrots (although they might not last until CNY).

...now I am also craving lamb hot pot with daikon radish. Not festival food, but definitely blizzard food.

[oyceter]

I am so impressed you make your own turnip cake! (I am pretty sure I say this to you every time you mention it, but still!) Also, om nom nom... all the dishes sound so good.

[heresluck]

Please believe me when I say that I would NEVER EVER bother to make turnip cake myself if I could get it anywhere near my house. Of course, that goes for most dim sum. Well, except sticky rice. I like my sticky rice better than most restaurant sticky rice.

[oyceter]

Heh, yeah... my mom actually stopped making a lot of stuff when we moved to Taiwan because she could just buy good ones elsewhere.