OOP: Asian Resources (was Re: SC - Barley malt syrup?)

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Stefan li Rous wrote:
> 
> At least once a year the feast that Adamantius describes
> is a wonderful Chinese feast. Some of these may have been the Chinese
> New Year, as I think about it.

Yes, the Lunar New Year is celebrated as a more-or-less religious
holiday at our house, and it is traditional to prepare certain dishes as
part of the celebration to bring certain qualities to your experience in
the New Year to come. Often these are the most broad symbolism:
golden-skinned chicken dishes denoting prosperity, shrimp for laughter
and happiness (shrimp are "har" in Cantonese), and two fried fish with
two lop cheung susages denoting regeneration in the present and in the
future -- the two fish are usually plated as a yin and yang  design;
fish are seen as representing healing, regeneration, and fruitfulness,
and the sausages (highly preserved) imply that these effects are lasting.

The rest is just what you feel like cooking, and it varies from year to
year and according to your mood. Certain foods are avoided (and these
traditions may be family-based, rather than national or even regional).
For example, squid and octopus are avoided during the first month of the
New Year because they're seen as grasping-- must be the suction cups.
Sauteed vegetables are out, because the hiss in the pan is supposed to
sound like arguing. Maybe if you're a snake. I guess. What-_ev_er, as my
kid would say.   

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com