Katie Chin's Chinese New Years Favs

by Katie Chin, Tastemaker in Residence

Chinese New Year is right around the corner and falls on February 5th, 2019!!  Gung Hay Fat Choy!!  It is the Year of the Pig.  Serve Chinese New Year Long Life Noodles to usher in longevity and Good Fortune in the New Year!

I hope you enjoy these Chinese New Year Long Life Noodles with your family for Chinese New Year. It’s a two-week celebration filled with laughter and good cheer.  Noodles are traditionally served on Chinese New Year Day to symbolize longevity…the longer the noodle, the longer the life! Noodles should always be served uncut to ensure an extra long life. Other auspicious foods to serve on Chinese New Year include Potstickers (their shape resembles a gold ingot, an ancient form of Chinese currency), whole fish (to symbolize abundance: the Chinese word for fish, “yu” sounds like the world for abundance), a whole chicken (to symbolize family unity and round shaped foods like black mushrooms to symbolize riches. I like to get all my Chinese New Year party decorations and accessories from Cost Plus World Market!

Get your whole family into the act and dress everyone in red for good luck. Other rituals include not sweeping on Chinese New Year day, so you don’t sweep out all your good luck and don’t scold your kids because only positive sentiments should come out of your mouth. Also, don’t wash your hair on Chinese New Year day or you’ll wash out all of your good luck. My personal favorite is making sure you step into new shoes on Chinese New Year day so you start the year off on the right foot!