I'm a bit late on wishing everyone a prosperous Chinese New Year, but better late than never, I suppose. In celebration of the upcoming year of the dragon, my roommate's parents came up to visit and cook a nice meal on New Year's Eve. Sorry, nice meal is an understatement. What I really mean is, they cooked an incredibly delicious meal comprised of fifteen-ish (or more; I lost count after a while) dishes for Yan Ping, Joe, and myself. My pictures don't do the meal any justice at all, since there were too many dishes to fit within the digital frames!! Also, Yan Ping's mother kept cooking throughout the meal as well. She ate with all of us towards the end, but she kept adding more and more dishes to the table as we were eating. You can imagine how stuffed we all were by the time we got to dessert! Unfortunately, I am still learning bits and pieces about Chinese cuisine so I will try my best to describe what we ate.
The main showpiece of the meal was the "hot pot." Essentially, it is a pot of boiling water with lots of yummy vegetables, fish, and meats. "Hot pot" is sort of a family-style meal, where everyone adds (and subsequently cooks) various vegetables, meats, and seafood in the constantly boiling soup. It's almost like fondue, but with a large vat of soup. And the longer you eat (and cook), the yummier the entire concoction becomes. By the end of it, the hot pot becomes an incredibly flavorful broth filled with cilantro, cabbage, pork, potatoes, fish balls, and cuttlefish. Two thumbs up!
There is no possible way I can describe everything, honestly. But the dishes that stick out in my mind include pea shoots with ginger, mu shu pork (!!), pickled eggs and pork, duck with green pea sauce/gravy, and homemade pork dumplings. All were delicious, but the mu shu pork and pickled eggs and pork stood out the most to me. What a star chef Yan Ping's mother was that night! Both her parents toiled all day to put together this delicious meal.
The most intriguing tradition I experienced during the meal was the presentation of the steamed fish. Every year, a whole fish is displayed with the New Year's Eve meal spread, but not eaten until the next day (New Year's Day). The idea is that something must be left for the new year as good luck. Each and every one of the dishes we ate that night had a special significance, too. Unfortunately, I can't remember everything -- I wish I did! Regardless, it was a wonderful night spent with wonderful people. Thanks to Yan Ping and her parents for hosting! Everything was delicious and I learned a lot!
The main showpiece of the meal was the "hot pot." Essentially, it is a pot of boiling water with lots of yummy vegetables, fish, and meats. "Hot pot" is sort of a family-style meal, where everyone adds (and subsequently cooks) various vegetables, meats, and seafood in the constantly boiling soup. It's almost like fondue, but with a large vat of soup. And the longer you eat (and cook), the yummier the entire concoction becomes. By the end of it, the hot pot becomes an incredibly flavorful broth filled with cilantro, cabbage, pork, potatoes, fish balls, and cuttlefish. Two thumbs up!
There is no possible way I can describe everything, honestly. But the dishes that stick out in my mind include pea shoots with ginger, mu shu pork (!!), pickled eggs and pork, duck with green pea sauce/gravy, and homemade pork dumplings. All were delicious, but the mu shu pork and pickled eggs and pork stood out the most to me. What a star chef Yan Ping's mother was that night! Both her parents toiled all day to put together this delicious meal.
The most intriguing tradition I experienced during the meal was the presentation of the steamed fish. Every year, a whole fish is displayed with the New Year's Eve meal spread, but not eaten until the next day (New Year's Day). The idea is that something must be left for the new year as good luck. Each and every one of the dishes we ate that night had a special significance, too. Unfortunately, I can't remember everything -- I wish I did! Regardless, it was a wonderful night spent with wonderful people. Thanks to Yan Ping and her parents for hosting! Everything was delicious and I learned a lot!
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| The spread -- one end of the table. You can see the steamed fish and the duck on the end there. |
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| The spread -- a better shot of the hot pot and sides that we cooked in it (e.g. cilantro, pork, bean sprouts, tofu, squid). |
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