Chinese almond cookies, with a Valentine's Day twist
Delicately scented tea eggs, for prosperity
Rice noodles and shrimp, for long life and happiness
My childhood, from a culinary standpoint, was a vast wasteland of pot roasts, pork chops, pizza, and casseroles, with the occasional Pillsbury cinnamon roll or piece of peanut butter toast thrown in for variety. Vegetables were boiled or steamed, bread was white, and cakes came from a box mix. Let's face it: Like many American kids, I grew up with exactly zero food-related traditions. A deep and enduring love for Utz potato chips is as close as I come to a cultural identity.
So if I want any food-related culture at all, I need to look elsewhere, which I frequently do. Enter the Year of the Tiger and my very scaled-down version of a Chinese New Year's feast. One thing that I love about this holiday is the symbolism of the food - dishes represent things like prosperity, luck, long life, happiness or good fortune. By the same token, the wrong dish may bring you bad luck or worse, so I fervently hope that my research didn't lead me astray!
