Chinese New Year

Pull out your wok and polish the chopsticks — Chinese New Year is around the corner, and Sunday night is New Year’s Eve. The first day of the traditional 15-day celebration coincides with the new moon. The gods are welcomed and some families abstain from meat.

On the second day, prayers are offered to the ancestors. This is also considered the birthday of all dogs, so the family dog merits a treat and special attention. During the following two days, sons-in-law are expected to make a visit of respect to their wives’ parents. On the fifth day, called Po Woo, everyone stays home because the God of Wealth comes to visit.

Over the next few days, more visits are made to friends and temples. Farmers display their produce on day seven and squeeze the juices from seven vegetables to make a New Year’s beverage.

When visiting, a bag of oranges or tangerines is brought as a gift. Eight varieties of candied fruit arranged on a tray await visitors and the house is filled with flowers and blooming plants.

In Chinese, the word “eight” sounds like the word for prosperity and is subsequently the luckiest number in Chinese culture. Oranges and tangerines also symbolize prosperity. Cut flowers represent wealth and position. Peonies, azaleas and narcissus are favorite New Year’s flowers. Blooming plants symbolize rebirth.

Friends and extended family members are invited home to dinner on the tenth through the twelfth day. By the thirteenth day, everyone is sated with rich food. A simple meal of rice porridge and mustard greens cleanses the system. On day fourteen, preparations are made for a closing festival. The Lantern Festival is held on the final day at night, under the full moon.

In preparing the enormous quantities of food consumed during the two-week celebration, the home chef not only fusses over the presentation of food, but must also pay attention to the symbolism of the food served. On New Year’s Day, tofu is not on the menu because it is white, a color associated with death. Many dishes include eight ingredients, matching the lucky number eight. Noodles signify long life if they are served uncut, so noodles stretch out long and supple.

Dumplings look like coins and bring good wishes. Sometimes a real coin is hidden inside a dumpling, a sign of good fortune for the one who finds it. A whole fish represents togetherness and abundance for the family. Chicken is also served whole to symbolize happiness and a long marriage.

Colin Tom, owner of the New Moon on Verdugo Road in Montrose, is consulting with his chef on New Year specials. The popular local Chinese restaurant was fully booked for Valentine’s Day and this weekend will be devoted to decorating for the New Year.

“My wife is shopping for decorations in Chinatown. She will be buying good luck candies for our patrons. The chef has some great plans for specials, too,” Colin said.

Paul Liu, manager at Grandview Palace Inn, invites community residents to try his orange chicken lunch special during New Year’s. Liu says that the orange chicken is the most popular dish at the Foothill eatery in La Crescenta.

At the Panda Inn Express in La Cañada, spicy firecracker chicken debuts on the menu in time for New Years.

“According to Chinese mythology, Nian, a man-eating beast came into towns in search of people to feast upon every spring. The frightened townspeople used bright red decorations and firecrackers to scare Nian away and thus ensured prosperity in the new year.” Andy Kao, director of food and beverage for Panda Express explained.

Kao’s chicken dish features strips of marinated chicken breast, crisp red, green and yellow bell peppers, sliced onions and red chili peppers cooked in a wok and served with Panda’s spicy firecracker sauce.

During the next two weeks, Panda Inn’s Restaurant Group will send Express associates to visit schools across America to teach children about Chinese New Year traditions, Chinese heritage and the zodiac calendar. The children will be treated to lunch prepared in a wok, and they’ll learn how to eat with chopsticks.

Celebrating the Year of the Boar at home is easy with tangerine pork roast. Decorate the table with fresh cut flowers. Use red and gold, the colors of luck and prosperity, for tablecloth, place mats and napkins.

Kung Hay Fat Choy! (Wishing you good fortune.)

Write Lynn Duvall at boblynn@ix.netcom.com