5 foods to ring in the Year of the Snake this Lunar New Year

Wednesday is Lunar New Year and East Asian communities across London will be ringing in the Year of the Snake with celebrations including gatherings, fireworks and extravagant dinners.

Many families start their festivities on Lunar New Year's Eve and continue the celebrations for 15 days after, said Ran Ai, a London chef whose family is from Beijing. 

She said one of the most significant parts of Lunar New Year is the food.

"In Chinese culture in general, food is very important," said Ai. "For people who grew up in China, the first thing we say when we meet someone is, 'Have you eaten?'"

"Chinese New Year being a family reunion, there's nothing better than to get everybody in the kitchen to cook together, sit around the table and eat together," she said. 

Ai, who grew up eating her parents' and grandparents' Chinese cooking before going to culinary school in Stratford, Ont., has been instructing Lunar New Year's classes at Jill's Table in London for eight years. 

"I think it's important for people to learn about different cultures and how important the food is," said Jill Wilcox, the owner of the kitchen supply store. "I think it's really interesting to see how important it is to Chinese people and how big a role food plays in this celebration."

Ai said every family does Lunar New Year cooking differently, though there are some common themes. The feast is usually big, with as many as thirty different dishes at the table that everybody shares, rather than each person having their own item of choice. 

There are also some staple ingredients that come up in recipes, Ai said, including garlic, ginger, scallions, soy sauce and chinkiang vinegar, which is a sweet black rice vinegar.

With her own Year of the Snake preparations underway, Ai shared some of the common and significant cultural dishes that she and other East Asian chefs and home cooks will make during Lunar New Year.

Dumplings

Ai said one of the most common foods families make during Lunar New Year are dumplings, typically eating them on New Year's Eve.

"The Chinese name of dumpling, jiaozi, basically means the turning point from the old year to the new year," Ai said.

"Traditionally, my family would come together on New Year's Eve and enjoy the meal, then half an hour before the year turns, we make the dumplings and cook it right past midnight. Then, we eat the dumplings," she said.

Lion's Head Meatballs

Lion's head meatballs are a traditional type of Shanghai cuisine, but contrary to the name, it contains no lion meat.

The dish, which is most often made out of ground pork, actually gets its name from its appearance, Ai said.

"The reason it's called lion's head meatball is because the size of the meatball represents the guardian lions outside of a traditional Chinese house," said Ai, referring to Chinese lion statues made of stone. 

The dish can be made in a soup form with vegetables or in a soy-based sauce, she said.

Meat Dishes

Beyond just meatballs, meat-based dishes are common during Lunar New Year, which Ai said has a historical significance.

"Back in the day, people didn't have a lot of money so they had to save the best food for the best time," said Ai. "Shrimp and pork dishes appear in New Year family feasts because they were only able to eat it once a year, so that was the time to bring it all to the table."

Fish

Similar to dumplings, the reason why fish is a popular Lunar New Year dish comes down to its name: "The name for fish, yu, means extra prosperity," said Ai. "There's a lot of hidden meaning to it."

Fish can be eaten standalone or can be integrated as part of a New Year's recipe, she said. 

Lucky Gifts

When going over to somebody's house for a Lunar New Year's feast, Ai said there are some dos and don'ts when bringing a gift for the host. 

"You're not supposed to bring anything related to time, like a clock or a watch. In Chinese culture, that means your time is up," she said. 

There is one safe bet for host gifts, Ai said: food.

"There's baskets of food, fruit or all kinds of New Year's snacks you can buy now in the grocery store and they come in really big packages," said Ai. "Food is always safe."