Chinese New Year of the Goat

My plum blossoms!

The first day of the Chinese New Year is called Yüan-tan, the Day of Origin. This one day determines the luck for the entire year, so Chinese people are careful to use their best manners and to remain honest and peaceful. They spend the first days of the year making visits to friends and relatives. Parents and grandparents receive the first visits, and so on, until by the fourth day very casual friends may drop in. The fifth day is reserved for visits to people who live further away.

Visitors greet each other with kind words to help encourage a year of prosperity. The most common greeting is:

Gung hay fat choy (Pronounced more like "Goong Heyy Faat Choy") 

Congratulations, may you be prosperous! 




Agenda for today: 

1. Eat jai for breakfast:
In Buddhist tradition, no meat is eaten on this first day of the year. It’s traditional to eat a breakfast of jai, a hot vegetarian dish that is part of a Buddhist rite to give thanks for the fruits of the earth. There are many recipes for jai; you can adapt mine to suit your taste.

Ingredients: 

• 3 dried black mushrooms 
• 1/4-c. black fungus (fat choy) 
• 1 tsp. + 3 Tbsp. oil 
• 1 large egg 
• salt 
• 4 large Chinese cabbage leaves 
• 3 slices fresh ginger 
• 1/2 onion 
• 1 stalk celery 
• 1/2 lb. firm tofu 
• 1/2-cup vegetable broth 
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce 
• 2-oz. of cellophane noodles (mung bean threads) 

Yield: Serves 4-

1. Soak the dried black mushrooms in cold water for about an hour. Soak black fungus in cold water plus 1 tsp. oil for 15 minutes or until soft.

2. Beat 1 large egg in a bowl. Season with salt, and fry in a pre-heated oiled pan. Cool, then cut the egg into strips. Set aside.

3. Rinse 4 large leaves of Chinese cabbage, dry, and slice into 1/4-inch shreds. Also mince the fresh ginger, chop the onion and celery, and cube the tofu.

4. Combine vegetable broth and soy sauce. Drain the mushrooms, adding the mushroom water to the broth. Squeeze the mushrooms dry, remove the stems, and slice into thin pieces. Also drain the black fungus (but don't save the water). 

5. Preheat a wok and add 2 Tbsp. of oil. Stir-fry the ginger and cabbage for a few minutes. Remove and set aside with the egg.

6. Add 1 more Tbsp. of oil to the wok, and stir-fry the onion, celery, black mushrooms, black fungus, and tofu. Add the broth mixture, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer 20 minutes, adding water as needed.

7. Meanwhile, cover the noodles with warm water and soak for about 15 minutes. When they are soft, drain them and cut into 2-inch pieces with scissors.

8. Add the noodles, cabbage, ginger, and egg strips to the wok. Bring back to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and cook until the noodles are translucent- about 5 minutes. Serve with tea.

2. Visit family and friends: 

That's not going to happen this year, unfortunately, until next month.

3. Hang new prayer flags:

Today is also Losar, the Tibetan New Year. The word Losar means, literally, year- lo and new- sar. Before Losar, all the old prayer flags are removed, and tomorrow the new ones will be hung. 

Prayer flags in Tibet are made with woodblock prints of designs and the words of Buddhist prayers. They believe that the prayers on their flags will spread with the wind.

Last year I made my own prayer flags- see more about them here. This year I received a set of prayer flags made by my good friends in Seattle, and I plan to hang them in the back yard!

4. Give gifts:
Visitors at the New Year always bring a gift. Chinese New Year presents are similar in spirit to Christmas presents, but tend more often to be food items. Visitors bring gifts such as- 

• candied fruits or cakes 
• Chinese tea 
• flowers 
• a bag of oranges or tangerines 
• hóngbāo money (see below)

  

  Hóngbāo envelopes made by my students.

5. Hóngbāo: 

One tradition we try to maintain is gifts of hóngbāo for our kids. Most Asian stores carry these small red envelopes in an assortment of designs, or you can always make your own with red origami paper.

Supplies: Red origami paper or other thin red paper, pencil, scissors, glue stick, black pen, gold and silver metallic pens.

1. Click on the pattern below, and download it. Print on card stock and cut it out.

2. Trace onto red paper and cut it out again.

3. Fold on the dotted lines, and glue the flaps closed.

4. Decorate!

Remember to fill the envelopes with paper money only, and in even numbered amounts. The color red is good-luck, so money wrapped in red will surely multiply.

I teach my students the traditional Chinese way to show respect to their elders, with a bow, which should lead in return to receiving hóngbāo. If it doesn’t they can say, “Hong Bao Na Lai," which is "May I have the red envelope, please!"