Happy Chinese New Years From The Piglet Household

Happy Chinese News Years Hungry Readers!

We're ushering in the Year of the Dragon and what did the piggies eat to celebrate? A Chinese New Years dinner is a multi-dish affair, usually 8 (8 sounds like fortune/prosperity in Cantonese) or 9 (meaning long lasting in Cantonese) dishes are on the table.

Steamed Fish with soy sauce and scallions - fish is served whole and intact as it represents a good beginning and end to the new year, the Cantonese word for fish sounds like wish and so eating it means your wishes for the new year will come true, the fish can also represent fertility and marital bliss

Crispy Skin Chicken with Shrimp Crackers - chicken signifies a proper beginning and end to the new year

Crab soup - shellfish is a representation of the life and energy of the dragon

Veggies with Prawns and Scallops - scallops are served to symbolize wealth as they have the same shape of coins

Roast pig and BBQ pork - roast pig is served to signify peace and purity (Mama Piglet had to wait an hour in line today for the roast pig! Sadly the roast duck was already sold out by noon)

Bok Choy with Assorted Mushrooms - the Buddhist vegetarian dish that is meant to represent purity and the mushrooms also represent wealth and fertility

Steamed Fatty Pork with Taro - these are eaten in pairs, one slice of pork with one slice of taro

Pork-stuffed Tofu with Tomato sauce - my favorite as a child and tastes great as leftovers the next day

Soy Chicken Wings with Basil

Deep Fried Pork Balls

Lemon Jello Cheesecake (courtesy of Mama Teddy!)

Ya'll missed out on an AWESOME meal! Thanks for the great eats Mama Piglet! Happy Chinese New Years Everyone and may your future be full of wealth, prosperity, good health and many great meals!

(Meanings and representations comes from the following Vancouver Sun article written by Nathan Fong: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Lavish+feasts+usher+lunar+year/6009878/story.html#ixzz1jlKlUnAj)