This year there will be lots of parties happening, and whether you are heading out to celebrate with friends or staying in with family, and our traditions here in North America usually involved gathering together and sipping bubbly beverages, enjoying fondue and watching fireworks. And of course there is giving your Sweetie a kiss at midnight of the New Year!
We are exploring some food traditions from around the world for celebrating the night before, and New Years Day! As we are all about the heart of the home - the kitchen - we are going to focus on exploring good luck foods for bringing in the New Year!
Eat Some Lucky Food For The New Year
Green healthy food will not only attract abundance, but also set you up with a cleansing, nutrient rich meal! Think sweet peas, green beans, brussel sprouts, lettuce, kale (Danish), cabbage (Germany & Ireland), collard greens (U.S.).
Here's a great recipe perfect for an appetizer from the Fraiche Living website that hits the green luck button perfectly: https://fraicheliving.com/orange-tofu-or-chicken-lettuce-wraps/
Go Vegetarian with Buddha's Delight. It is a vegetarian stirfry meal all about self-purification and served on the first day of Chinese New Year. It usually contains tofu, carrots, cabbage, mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Keep onion, garlic, scallions and other alliums out to keep it tradtional. Stick with a vegetarian diet for the first five days of the year for a full self-purification practice.
Round foods in Asian cultures are considered harmonious.
Noodles - long long noodles - are a wonderful tradition from many Asian countries. The trick is to keep your noodle in one piece, so you can't bite it or let it break or break the longevity. Slurp!
Pork is a symbol of wealth and prosperity from multiple cultures, so grab your Staub or Le Creuset cocotte and do up a gorgeous Pork Roast or chops for your New Years meal. Or do up a pork stirfry to enhance your luck with the green mentioned above! German, Swiss and Irish traditions love fatty pork as the fatty meat is symbolic of fattening your wallet. Pigs dig with their snouts, representing forward movement and progress.
* We just happen to have a sale of 25% off in-stock Le Creuset - shop in person at the store - until December 31st, 2022.*
Fish are another symbol of forward moving progress, as well as representing surplus in Chinese traditions. Catfish is considered lucky due to the name sounding similar to "year surplus". Eat the fish dish last during the holiday, and leave a bit on the plate as this represents surplus at the end of the year.
Dried beans and grains represent abundance because they swell when cooked. Some cultures eat rice right after midnight to attract lots of good luck. South Asian religions use rice in ceremonies, so in Indian rice is used to soak up bad omens. Japanese mochi are a popular appetizer, and are rice dough ball filled with sweet bean paste. Tangyuan, sweet rice balls soaked in sweet sauce, are popular for Chinese New Year. Bibimbap is a Korean dish of mixed rice in a hot bowl with sauteed vegetables, chili and soybean paste. Latin countries serve rice with beans for New Years and rice pudding appears in Swiss and Finish homes for a lucky dessert.
We wish you a Happy New Year and lots of wonderful eating!