There are certain things for which a recipe seems silly because it's more of a formula with variables rather than a specific set of ingredients and techniques -- a salad, sandwiches, casseroles, and in the case of Asian cuisine, fried rice. Fried rice is just something you throw together, pulling various ingredients from whatever choices you have in the fridge. You start with a base of leftover rice, then go from there. Meat? Pick one from what you have. Vegetables? Use whatever you have. Seasoning? Well, this one is a little tricky, but it always comes down to your personal preference. Jaden of food blog Steamy Kitchen always uses fish sauce, but I simply splash in some soy sauce, butter, and of course, my favorite hot sauce, sriracha.

If you're planning a fantastic Chinese feast this weekend for Chinese New Year, don't fret one bit if you're a little (or a lot) rusty with chopsticks. You could, of course, go the way of stabbing your dumplings and winding your noodles of long life with a fork, but we have a better idea. How about some chopsticks are a little easier to use?

Now, if you're a already a professional, then you might just need your own personal set of portable chopsticks. These aluminum chopsticks slide out of a fabric pouch and snap together. Not only are they pretty, but this keeps away the problem of disposable chopsticks creating waste! ThinkGeek also has a pair that screw together.

For an even more "green" Far East feast, the Bird's Eye Maple chopsticks are perfect, which are also fastened together with their very own chopstick rest. They are available from Porterhouse Crafts for $23 for two pairs.

If ever you go for dim sum on a weekend late morning or early afternoon, you might come across these tiny, ruffled dumplings. At first glance they look like every other dumpling, but when you bite into them, you know that there's something special going on inside. Xiao long bao are "juicy dumplings," which are filled with not only a regular meat and vegetable stuffing, but with broth. How does the both get inside the dumpling?!?!

Kuidaore enlightens us by trying her hand at xiao long bao at home. The key is a broth made with pork rind, which "is a miraculous thing extremely rich in albumen and collagen." When the pork rind is simmered in water, it converts into a gelatine that can be cut and added to the dumpling filling. When the dumplings are steamed, they "melt" back into broth.

We're familiar with chives, the long, thin green blades that are most often used as a mild onion-flavored ingredient in cooking. Garlic chives, however, are similar to regular chives, but have a flat, rather than hollow, tubular blade. As the name indicates, they have a garlic flavor.

I rarely see regular garlic chives outside Asian cooking. Koreans pickle the blades in a seasoning similar to kimchee, producing what is called "boo-choo kimchee." However, only recently have I tasted yellow chives, thanks to my Chinese brother-in-law and his family. Yellow chives are "blanched" by shielding them from sunlight as they grow, the same way white asparagus are grown. These albino chives still have a mild garlic flavor and are one of my new favorite dishes when they are stir-fried with beef or pork. I only have to wonder if they have any nutrients.

As we already know, the Chinese New Year is steeped with tradition, and lucky for us at Slashfood, many of those traditions are associated with food. If you plan to celebrate this weekend (we wag in the Year of the Dog this Sunday, January 29, 2006), or want to learn a little bit more about the culture, here are what some of the traditional New Year foods symbolize, mostly health, wealth, and togetherness, based on some research I've done around the web:

• Dumplings - Good luck, fortune, and family togetherness
• Lettuce - Prosperity
• Noodles - When noodles are served, they are never cut because long noodles represent long-life.
• Oysters - Receptivity to good fortune
• Seaweed - Specifically, the black moss seaweed is the Chinese word for it also means "wealth"
• Whole fish - The Chinese word for fish "yu," is the same word for "success" or "abundance." Serving the fish whole is a symbol of togetherness of the family.
• Turnips  - "Cai tou," the word for turnip, also means "good omen."
• Meat balls - Symbolize reunion because the Chinese word "rou wan" is the same for both 
• Chicken - Like fish, chickens are served whole to symbolizing togetherness of the family.
• Lotus seed - Is a symbol (or wish) of having many male offspring
• Ginkgo nuts - Represent wealth
• Dried bean curd - Like many of the foods that are served because the Chinese word for it also means something else, dried bean curd (tofu) symbolizes wealth and happiness
• Bamboo shoots - The word for bamboo shoots also sounds like the phrase for "wishing that everything would be well"
• Garlic chives - Symbolize "everlasting"
• Prawns - Stand for liveliness and happiness
• Mixed vegetables - Represent family harmony
• Oranges - We've already mentioned how they stand for abundance and sweetness of the New Year. 

With the Chinese New Year goings on around the world this weekend, it's no better time to stock your kitchen with commonly used Asian ingredients both in the pantry and in the refrigerator (right after you've purged it of all those useless gadgets). A lot of Asian foods are healthy and delicious, so if you haven't done much Asian cooking at home, let the new Year of the Dog be the year you try it.

I do a lot of Asian cooking at home, so these are a few things I like to have on hand:

• Soy sauce - I actually have a giant 1-gallon container in my refrigerator. Yes, keep soy sauce in the refrigerator. Also, if you are wary of gluten or carbs, there is wheat in soy sauce (who knew?)
• Sesame seeds - I have both regular and black sesame seeds. They taste the same to me, but the black ones add some contrast for presentation. However, there is a difference in taste between regular and toasted sesame seeds. If you buy regular sesame seeds, toast them yourself in a dry pan over medium high heat.
• Sesame oil - It's rarely used as a cooking oil, but rather, as a seasoning in marinades or added to a dish like a condiment just before serving for its fragrance.
• Rice - Short grain rice that is "sticky" when it is steamed.

While some of us may have already broken our 2006 New Year's resolutions, we do have a chance to start over, as this weekend marks the beginning of the new lunar year. Year 4703 is the Year of the Dog, and New Year's Day is Sunday, January 29, 2006.

Everyone knows it's the Year of the Dog, but do we really know what that means? The Dog is a symbol of loyalty, warmth and caring, so hopefully, we can expect a year of harmony, relative to the clamor that was the Year of the Rooster last year. Chinese astrology goes even deeper, though.

We won't go into all the element and animal combinations, but if you want to know the detail, 4703 is actually the Year of the Fire Dog! Like a hot dog? Yes, but don't jut go to LA's Pink's or Chicago's Portillo's and have a chili cheese dog to celebrate the new year!

There are a lot of traditions associated with Chinese New Year, and so many of them have to do with food! Between now and Sunday, expect a few posts with restaurants, recipes, and other ideas to celebrate the new year...again!