My friends are always teasing me that I celebrate every possible holiday imaginable. Whether it be Diwali or Christmas, Passover or the Chinese New Year, I want to make sure I take advantage of any opportunity to celebrate the gift of life.
Even if you didn’t make it to the Chinese New Year Parade in your town, you can prepare your own celebration at home while also celebrating Meatless Mondays. A traditional dish for the Chinese New Year is Longevity Noodles or Yi Mein, made with very long, specially-prepared noodles. However if you don’t have access to them, you can use fresh Ramen, Pad Thai or any noodle of choice. Noodles together with sauteed vegetables and savory seasoning will make dinner special as you take time to reflect on the lessons of this New Year, Xin nian kuai le!
Recipe
One lb box of Rice noodles or noodles of choice, cooked-strained-set aside.
2 cups of assorted fresh vegetables, peeled, prepped/diced. I like sugar snap peas, red pepper, scallions, carrots, celery and bean sprouts.
One wok or very large saute pan
1 block of firm tofu, diced
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
Pinch of chili flakes
1/4 cup of Tamari
1/4 cup of seasonedfork garden stock
Add the oil the the skillet and saute the vegetables on high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, then add the cubed Tofu, the Tamari sauce and the cooked pasta. Toss until veggies and noodles are coated and add chili flakes to taste. If not enough salt, add more Tamari, if too salty or too dry add the garden stock to loosen it up. Serve immediately. If there are no nut allergies, provide bowls of crushed nuts for garnish and additional chili flakes for your spicier guests.
For more about celebrating the Lunar New Year we visited the HipFoodieMom blog written by Alice. Where she shares foodie details for ringing in the New Year and below is her list.
Tangerines and Oranges
Long Noodles
The Tray of Togetherness: a tray filled with things such as preserved kumquats for prosperity, coconut for togetherness and red melon seeds for happiness.
Nian Gao: a cake
Pomelo: a large citrus fruit
Jai: a vegetarian dish
Long Leafy Greens and long beans
Whole fish
Sweets
Yuanbao (Jiaozi): dumplings
