Chinese New Year, the year of the snake, begins on Jan. 29 and ends on Feb. 16. The reason it lasts for 15 to 16 days is because it begins when there is a new moon and ends following a full moon.
Foods eaten include noodles for a long and prosperous year; citrus fruits for luck and prosperity; sweet rice balls for unity; golden spring rolls for prosperity; fish for abundance; dumplings for prosperity; nien gao for lasting prosperity and leafy greens for wealth.
I have fond memories of going to Golden Duck Restaurant when it was in Kaimuki and ordering raw fish salad. Lynette Lo Tom remembers having this salad when she was a child and shared her recipe in her Hawai‘i Cooks, Star-Bulletin, “A Chinese Kitchen” cookbook.
This would be a great first course dish for a Chinese New Year’s feast and would take care of eating leafy greens for wealth and noodles for a long and prosperous year.
Raw Fish Salad
Serves 8 to 10 as a first course
2 ounces rice sticks (pai mai fun)
Vegetable oil for frying rice sticks
1 head iceberg lettuce, washed, drained and shredded
1 cup turnip, peeled, julienne cut and squeezed dry
1 cup carrots, peeled, julienne cut and squeezed dry
1-1/2 pounds firm, raw white fish (sashimi -grade), such as papio, (trevally or jack cravelly), nairagi (striped marlin) or kajiki (blue marlin), mahimahi (dorado or dolphin fish), sliced thinly
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, divided
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 cup green onions, sliced thinly, divided
1/2 cup julienned sweet pickled cucumber (cha gwa)
1/2 cup julienned pickled white ginger
1/2 cup pickled red ginger
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon hot mustard
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
Juice of 3 lemons
1 cup Chinese parsley, chopped
1 cup peanuts, roasted and chopped
Prepare lettuce, turnip, and carrots and set aside in the refrigerator. Mix fish with soy sauce, vegetable oil, 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon lemon juice and pepper. Set aside. Mix 1/2 cup of the green onions, cha gwa and gingers together. Put over marinated fish. Mix together brown sugar, hot mustard, five spice, remaining sesame oil, and most of the fried rice sticks. Toss all mixtures with lettuce, turnip and carrots. Garnish with remaining fried rice sticks, Chinese parsley and sesame seeds. Serve and eat immediately.
Nien gao or sticky rice pudding is very traditional. The sesame seeds on top symbolizes children and the red from the red dates means good luck. The stickiness from the sweet rice flour or mochiko symbolizes the family staying together.
Many Chinese restaurant make gao and sell it a few days before New Year’s Day. But if you don’t mind steaming the gao for 5 hours, here is a recipe for it for you to make it at home,
New Year’s Gao
Dissolve:
1-1/2 cups boiling water
1 pound Chinese slab sugar or wong tong
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
Cool.
With an electric mixer, blend till smooth:
2 pieces canned yams, the size of a finger
Mix in the sugar mixture. Then gradually add in:
1 pound sweet rice flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk
1/2 cup fresh or frozen grated coconut
Lightly spray three 8-1/2 inch X 2-1/2 inch deep glass dishes with vegetable oil spray. Pour mixture into the glass bowls and cover with foil. Place in a two layer bamboo steamer over a wok with hot water. Steam for 5 hours but check periodically to make sure you have water in the wok. After 3 hours, rotate the steamers. The longer you steam the gao, the darker and more caramel tasting it will become,
Remove from the steamer, immediately remove the foil and spray the top with vegetable oil. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and place a red date in the center. Let cool overnight. In the morning, turn out into a plate.
We are now ready to celebrate Chinese New Year on Jan. 29 with family and friends. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Call 808-934-2559 to place an order.
Email Audrey Wilson at audreywilson808@gmail.com.
