You can’t skip dessert, regardless of whether you are following traditions from the Chinese or Vietnamese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, or any other East or Southeast Asian country.
Kristina Cho’s Mooncakes and Milk Bread explain that Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday of the year. It is a time when families gather, prepare a big feast, and look forward to the new year. “We love my pau’s steamed cake, with their tops bursting to represent the luck and prosperity we hope for in the coming year.” You can listen to an episode of Genius Recipes Tapes podcast to learn more about Cho’s work.
Pau Pau’s Fan Gao
Cho writes that Fa gao is sometimes called “prosperity cake” because the taller and more beautiful the cake tops are, the more prosperous your new years promise to be. Bisquick pancake mixes in the U.S. can be used as a substitute for the self-rising flour found in Hong Kong.
Korean Sesame Tea Cookies
Lee points out that although traditionally made in a mould, this no-bake disk can be rolled into balls by hand.
Banh Hanh Nhan
Nguyen writes that Vietnamese food has a lot to do with Chinese cuisine. She developed this Chinese-inspired almond cookie dough for her book Into Vietnam Kitchen.
Chinese Peanut Cookies
Nguyen mentions that Hua heng bing is often sold in large plastic containers at the markets. However, she believes these peanut cookies (the recipe comes from Karen Shinto) are always better made homemade.
New-Classic Chinese Peanut Cookies
Yi Jun Loh, a recipe developer, ate peanut cookies every Lunar Year in Malaysia as a child. But, he decided to simplify the recipe and create a richer cookie! You can make them with peanut butter.
Jian Dui
WoonHeng Chia, a recipe developer, writes that Jian Dui, Chinese sesame balls made of crispy, chewy Chinese sesame, is delicious and has great meaning. The way they expand during cooking is a sign of prosperity. This dish is often used to wish someone good luck.
Mochi
Although it can be enjoyed all year, Cynthia Chen McTernan, a recipe developer, notes that “Nian gao,” the Chinese translation of the treat, literally means “year cake”, which indicates that it is currently mochi high-season.
Nian Gao
Joy Huang, a recipe developer, writes that my mom made mochi cakes as a child to take to potlucks with other Taiwanese American families. “The cake was chewy in texture (QQ in Taiwan), and my mom used to add sweetened red bean paste to it.
PichetOng’s Tangerine Pies – “Kuey Tarts”
These tarts are not made with tangerine in Singapore but with pineapple in Singapore. Chef Pichet Ong explains that citrus is a highly sought-after gift during Lunar New Year. He says: “Traditionally people give away fresh Tangerines, the Chinese homonym for gold.”
Pineapple Hamantaschen
“Though these tropical delights aren’t always grace tables across mainland China, but within Chinese communities in Taiwan Malaysia, Singapore and other countries, they take centre stage,” Loh writes about this riff on pineapple tarts. This time, Loh has fashioned it like the Ashkenazi Jewish treat Hamantaschen–Purim will be right around the corner.
