Lunar New Year Dumpling

            Every New Year is celebrated formally with fabulous dishes in the Chinese tradition. The types of fabulous dishes also differ in various locations of China. In the north, people normally eat dumplings whereas in the south, people have a tradition of eating rice cakes. Dumplings looked like an ingot, so they have a meaning of bringing people wealth. Rice cakes are sliced into layers, when they stick together it forms a stair shape which means it brings people to the next level. Chinese people love eating food with auspicious meanings during big festivals.

In my family, everyone gathers at my grandparent’s house to celebrate the Lunar New Year. They celebrate the Lunar New Year by eating dumplings because my grandparents are from the Dongbei which is located in the northern part of China. The dumplings my grandparents made are the main characters of the new year dishes. My grandparents start making it early in the morning by mixing an abundant amount of dumpling stuffings. When more people arrive at their house, they would help with folding the dumplings. Usually they will have a few unique dumplings with special stuffings. When I was younger, I was told that if someone eat the special stuffing dumpling, they will be lucky for the next year. I always get excited about getting the lucky dumpling, so I will eat more than I needed because I knew that the more I eat the higher possibility I will meet the special dumpling. My grandparents love it when I eat with enjoyment. 

After a few years, I started doubting the saying about whether or not special dumplings really give people a good fortune. Nevertheless, I would still act like I still believe in it faithfully and eat very happily to make my grand parents happy. 

Zhajiang noodles

Zhajiang Noodle

         The aroma from food are the most enticing smell in all fragrances. At the same time, China is like the heaven of food. Many people love and recognize China for the food there. My favorite dish is made of soybean sauce and noodles with tiny potatoes squares. It is very commonly seen in China called the Zhajiang noodles. As far as I know, regular Chinese food like Zhajiang noodles does not require that many utensils, machines or tedious procedures unlike food from many other countries. Even though it is easily cooked, it tastes super good and draws back a lot of memories.

            I like Zhajiang noodles because it is very common in small restaurants in the streets of China beside all kinds of sidewalks. In China, small restaurants look almost the same, with a front desk for ordering and paying, seats and a kitchen in the hind room. These small restaurants may look simple and crude but the dishes had good qualities in their flavor and amount. After ordering a bowl of Zhajiang noodle, a warm looking old woman would hold a big white bowl with steaming hot air with both hand to my table in less than eight minutes in most cases. On the surface of the big white bowl, there are full of yellow beans and potatoes covered in brownish black sauce. It will look salty just by looking at the surface. But it will not be salty if it is stirred evenly with the bouncy and chewy noodles beneath it. I love rolling the noodles on to my chopsticks when I eat the noodles. This way of eating made me feel satisfied and comforted after I lot of pressure in studying. Somehow, I felt the noodles are bouncier when I put a bunch in my mouth and chew it satisfyingly. The scent of the sauce smells delicious and the movement and smoothness of the noodles bouncing on my chopstick is like a little fountain of water sliding down. Whenever I see it, it reminds me of that period of time when I used to eat it every day for two months in a row. 

That's Claire ^^

Hi everyone! My name is Claire and I am a senior this year in The Northwest School. I was born in China and came to Seattle last year. I can speak Chinese and English. I love to watch entertaining television show that are funny; especially The Running Man from China. It makes me feel relaxed. I am also practicing drawing and painting so that I can become a good designer in the future. Other than that I also have a passion in cooking! Although I am still in the process of improving on my cooking skills, I enjoy trying it and watching other people cook.