Student Q&A: The foods and festivities of Lunar New Year
To celebrate this Lunar New Year and the Year of the Ox, we checked in with students from Vancouver Community College’s (VCC) Asian Culinary Arts program to find out how they're celebrating, and of course, what they're cooking.
Kevin Soo – VCC Asian Culinary Arts student
What do you remember most as a child about Lunar New Year?
Definitely the festive atmosphere and the food. Seeing the renowned lion dance, learning to write auspicious idioms and hanging them as decorations, receiving red envelopes, and eating all the snacks that are only made once a year.
How do you celebrate Lunar New Year today?
Almost the same! A simple family dinner with my cousins and grandparents, though I am more appreciative of these dinners as opportunities to see family are sparse now that I'm working more.
What are your favourite Lunar New Year foods to cook or eat?
Definitely the snacks. We only get to eat them once a year so I gorge on them. The two that stand out the most to me are the peanut pastry (gok zai) and sticky rice cake (nian gao).
What traditional foods have you learned to cook at VCC?
Lots! There are so many we learned at VCC. In regards to specific dishes cooked during Lunar New Year, though there are a few, I believe it is more of a symbolic ritual where certain ingredients are used rather than specific dishes being cooked. For example, fish is usually cooked as fish in the Chinese language is a homophone for surplus; a good luck wish for abundance. For Lunar New Year-related dishes, dumplings (Jiao Zi) and white turnip (radish) cakes were taught. Dumplings, for parts of China, are traditionally made together as a family so it was nice as my classmates/co-workers are kind of like my second family.
What message do you have for anyone celebrating Lunar New Year during COVID-19?
Wishing everyone a happy Lunar New Year! Best wishes for everyone's safety and health especially during this pandemic.
Gok zai (yau gok) fried peanut dumplings. Photo by used under CC BY 2.0
Sally Wu – VCC Asian Culinary Arts student
What do you remember most as a child about Lunar New Year?
I love our big family reunions around Lunar New Year, seeing my cousins and getting red envelopes!
How do you celebrate Lunar New Year today?
All my extended family would get together at my Auntie’s house for a big meal!
What are your favourite Lunar New Year foods to cook or eat?
There isn’t one specific dish, it is more the abundance of mouth-watering food that makes the holiday!
What traditional foods have you learned to cook at VCC?
I really loved making dumplings! It is such a traditional food that an entire family can get together to make and talk at the same time.
What message do you have for anyone celebrating Lunar New Year during COVID-19?
Stay cheerful and safe! In order to have in-person gatherings next year, we must stay in our bubble this year to keep our loved ones safe!
Fu pei guen (bean curd rolls) made and photographed by Sally Wu – "A dish taught by Chef Barry I made at home."
Learn how you can join the only full-time Asian Culinary Arts program in North America.