{"id":26472,"date":"2017-01-08T06:00:08","date_gmt":"2017-01-08T14:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shescookin.com\/?p=26472"},"modified":"2020-05-11T19:00:51","modified_gmt":"2020-05-12T02:00:51","slug":"grilled-red-snapper-and-the-year-of-the-rooster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shescookin.com\/grilled-red-snapper-and-the-year-of-the-rooster\/","title":{"rendered":"Grilled Whole Red Snapper and the Year of the Rooster"},"content":{"rendered":"
While the Gregorian calendar New Year has passed, many people around the world are preparing for the Lunar New Year, more commonly referred to as Chinese New Year. The most important holiday in Asia is a two-week celebration filled with ancient and modern new year traditions and symbolic Chinese New Year food to prepare. 2017 marks the Year of the Rooster and the celebration of reunion and family traditions begins on January 28, 2017.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jump to Recipe<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Banh chung<\/em> is a labor of love and my Vietnamese friends remember their elders going through the process, but readily admit to buying packaged Banh Chung these days. I love learning about the food of different cultures and still remember Chef Haley Nguyen demonstrating the fine art of wrapping the square cakes of rice, mung bean, and pork in banana leaves and then boiling them. Click on the link to read more about the art of making Banh Chung<\/a>.<\/p>\n Banh Chung is square-shaped and the Southern variety called Banh Tet (roll-shape) is unique to Vietnam’s Tet holiday. Banh Chung is a food made from glutinous rice, mung bean, and pork and is wrapped in green leaves (usually banana leaves) and symbolizes the Earth. Xoi<\/em>\u00a0(sticky rice) is always present as meals to worship the ancestors must include this dish. Xoi in Tet holidays can be seen in many forms: Xoi Lac (sticky rice with peanuts), Xoi Do Xanh<\/em> (sticky rice with mung bean), and Xoi Gac<\/em>\u00a0(sticky rice with special \u201cgac\u201d fruit). Xoi Gac<\/em> is favored because of its special red color \u2013 symbolizes the luck and new achievement for the New Year. Xoi<\/em> is usually served with Gio Cha<\/em>\u00a0(Vietnamese \u00a0ham or sausage) or\u00a0Thit Ga<\/em> (boiled or steamed chicken).<\/p>\n In 2014 and 2015 I was actually been able to celebrate Chinese New Year in Shanghai. Avenues are bustling with shoppers, store windows beckon you inside with glittering baubles and enticing discounts, and the city is swathed in a blaze of crimson.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The photo below was taken in the Zhouzhuang water village near Shanghai. It was moderately “foggy” (they don’t use the word “smog”) that day, but not as awful as it can get.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Symbolic foods play a huge part in the feasting during Chinese New Year; the most common Chinese foods\u00a0include dumplings, fish, spring rolls, and niangao. <\/em>Fish represents an prosperity, dumplings – wealth, spring rolls – wealth, glutinous rice cake – higher income or position, sweet rice balls – family togetherness, longevity noodles – happiness and longevity.<\/p>\n Throughout the first five days of the celebration, the Chinese consume tons of long noodles in hopes that they\u2019ll translate into long life. Some dishes are even eaten simply because they have a lucky sounding name. For instance,\u00a0fat choi<\/em>, made of hair-like plants and pitch black, is an absolute must-eat for most Chinese families, and sounds like the phrase \u201cget richer\u201d in the local lingo. Often fat\u00a0choi<\/em>\u00a0is served alongside\u00a0ho shi<\/em>, dehydrated oysters whose Chinese name bears a strong resemblance to the sounds for \u201cgood events.\u201d.<\/p>\n Nowadays, dumplings,\u00a0jiao zhi<\/em>\u00a0\u9903\u5b50<\/strong>, are the major food on\u00a0the New Year\u2019s Eve and the first meal on the first and the fifth day of New Year.<\/p>\n Families traditionally spend New Year\u2019s Eve preparing the dumplings and will eat them at midnight. It\u2019s a custom that dates back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The dumpling is shaped like an ingot, which personifies wealth. The saying associated with dumpings, or\u00a0jiao zhi<\/em>\u00a0\u9903\u5b50, is \u201cgen shui jiao zhi<\/em>\u201d \u66f4\u6b72\u4ea4\u5b50, or \u201cring out the old year and ring in the new.\u201d Legend has it that the more dumplings you eat during New Year celebration, the more money you can make in the upcoming cycle.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On the final day of the festivities, everyone dines on\u00a0nian gao,\u00a0<\/em>sweet rice cakes, or \u201cgo.\u201d Shaped like the full moon (and eaten on the full moon) these glutinous cakes are shared amongst family and friends as a sign of unity. In this case the word \u201cgo\u201d sounds similar to the word for \u201chigh.\u201d For the Chinese, this translates as doing all things in life at the highest level; careers, education, etc.<\/p>\n Eating fish is a tradition on Chinese New Years Eve and Grilled Whole Red Snapper is not only delicious but comes together quickly and makes a stunning presentation. My signature recipe for Chinese New Year is Grilled Whole Red Snapper with Ginger Soy Sauce<\/a>.<\/p>\nChinese New Year Food<\/h2>\n
Grilled Whole Fish for Chinese New Year<\/h2>\n