"lunar new year" news and stories

The LA Times heads into the Year of the Pig with a full section dedicated to pork, Chinese cooking, and restaurants.

Russ Parsons sings the praises of pork, with recipes for Cider-brined pork chops with wild rice, Ragù with pork ribs, sausage and pancetta, and Five-spice roast pork belly. Also included: an information box with resources for top pork in Los Angeles.

Perfect for Chinese cooking, it's high season on the farmers' markets for baby bok choy and yu choy. Vickie Fan, of restaurant Beacon in Culver City, shares recipes that make good use: Scrambled eggs with garlic chives , Stir-fried baby bok choy, and Ru yi cai ('As you wish' vegetables).

If you're not cooking at home, then you can do contemporary dim sum from Mission 261 in San Gabriel Valley or any number of Chinese restaurants that have quite a history there, or pick up Asian sweets and pastries from Phoenix.

The celebration of the Chinese New Year actually starts a few weeks before the actual New Year Day, and one of the traditions is preparation for the new year by cleaning the house. Chinese people believe that the house should receive a thorough cleaning in order to "sweep" away any bad luck that has accumulated in the house over the past year.

Now I'm not one for sweeping in my house, since I have carpeting, but I do like the idea of "cleaning house," or at the very least, my kitchen. Last year, I made it a point to look through the drawers, and force myself to part with gadgets that I know I will never use: a garlic peeler, a melon baller, etc. This year, I decided to look through my pantry and do an exorcism. Admittedly, it needed it. There were cans of vegetables that expired sometime last year, a small bag of all-purpose flour that was also expired (I didn't do much baking last year), and spices that were definitely long past their prime. Yes, it hurt me to toss them into the trash, but it gives me an excuse to buy anew!

What do you have in your kitchen that's past its prime and needs to be thrown out? Don't be shy...

It's February, and let's face it, by now, almost all of us have already broken our New Year's resolutions. However, we do have a chance to start over, since this coming Sunday, February 18, 2007 is the beginning of the new lunar year. Year 4704 is the Year of the Pig.

Everyone knows it's the Year of the Pig, but did you also know that it's the year of the golden pig? The Pig (sometimes referred to as "boar") is a symbol of sincerity, honesty, and patience -- an all around "nice" person. We won't go into all the deep details behind Chinese astrology, but we will say that because the year of the Golden Pig only comes every 600 years, it's pretty special -- we're talking about the difference between plain old pork and Nueske bacon! People are expecting prosperity in Year 4704, and anyone born this year is sure to be wealthy in the future.

There are a lot of traditions associated with Chinese New Year, and so many of them have to do with food! Between now and the first day of the new year, expect a few posts, aside from the ones we've already started, to celebrate the new year. Gung Hay Fat Choy!

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 you thought the chaos was over because Valentine's Day has passed, think again. The Lunar New Year is this weekend (Sunday, February 18), and it's a whole new cycle of fun.

Because lychees are traditionally associated with Asian cultures, a lychee martini is the perfect way to start off this weekend. There are several ways to make this subtly flavored cocktail -- whether using a lychee flavored liqueur or regular vodka mixed with lychee syrup -- but my favorite recipe really puts the lychee flavor out there by combining both!

In a cocktail shaker, combine 3 oz. lychee infused vodka or lychee liqueur (like Lichido) with 1 oz. lychee syrup (you can make your own using this recipe, though there are sources online for purchase) and ice. Pur into a martini glass and garnish with a fresh lychee.