I remember Grandma used to make "December 8th porridge" 腊八粥. A mixture of rice and beans and some other dried goods slow cooked together. It signified the beginning of the new year celebration. My mom would make it on the regular basis after migrating to the US. The porridge has this beautiful burgundy red color that come from the chinese red beans and black sweet sticky rice. While the porridge is cooking, the aroma of cooked dates, chestnuts, and lotus seeds permeates the whole house. It is really not that difficult to make. You mix whatever nuts and grain you can find in your pantry with lots of water. Bring it to a boil and simmer until they are thick. I stopped making them not because it is too much work or anything. I stopped because I will eat the whole pot in about 2 days. We are talking about stock pot here. If I am to keep my girlish figure, I have to give up something. I gave up carbs. Yes, I am a very bad Asian.
Another tradition that I like a lot is that according to my grandmother, on New Year's day, you are not supposed to use the stove. The reason is that the stove god (灶王爺) works everyday of the year to help feed people. New Year's day is the only day he has it off. I worship the stove god! He gets his day off.Twelve years ago i.e. the last year of the dragon, my mom send me a red belt. She told me to wear it all year to avoid bad luck. Apparently you supposed to wear red on the year you were born. So if you were born on the year of the rabbit, you supposed to wear red on every year of the rabbit. I don't know if it is true or not. I wore it. It can't hurt.
The most important tradition is that on new year's eve, you make dumplings and eat them. I don't know how the tradition started, but ever since I was little, my grandmother had always made dumplings on New Years eve. It was a communal effort. The entire family gathered around, cooking together. This year, I had that in my house. I invited my friends over for New Year's celebration, dumpling making included, just like New Years eve I had back home. Of all the ones we made, only 2 left. My mom said that you must leave some food uneaten. It will give you good luck (年年有余). I guess based on the left over I had, I will have a lot of luck this year :) (In addition to dumplings, we had pastry, hot pot, a whole fish and 2 deserts.)Here is a fish dish that is simple to make:
1 whole flounder 1 to 1.5 lbs. Cleaned and descaled. Keep the fish as intact as possible
Salt to taste
2 Tbs Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry
2 Tbs mild flavored oil (such as canola oil, sunflower oil, or vegetable oil)
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut to matchstick size.
1 scallion, white part only, cut to matchstick size.
1 tsp szechuan peppercorns
1. Place the fish in a heat proof platter, season both side of with salt to taste, add cooking wine, and scatter the ginger and scallion on top of the fish. Let it marinate for about 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature.
2. In a steamer large enough to fit the entire platter, add enough water to the steamer (1" deep minimum) and bring it to a rapid boil.3. Place the plater with fish in the steamer, cover, steam for 8 to 15 minutes depend on the size of the fish and the power of the stove.
4. While the fish is steaming, in a small skillet, heat the oil with the szechuan peppercorns. Remove from heat when you can hear the peppercorn sizzle.
5. Remove the fish plater from the steamer, pour the oil over the fish. Serve hot.
Note 1: If you don't have a large steamer, use a large roasting pan across two burners. Cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil. Seal it well!
Note 2: I strongly recommend that you over cook the fish a bit unless you have a nice powerful steamer. You don't want to serve the fish raw to your guests (which I did).
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