All the ingredients you need to celebrate Year of the Dog – beer, food, party traditions – from Friday 16 February 2018
Celebrate the arrival of Chinese New Year – Year of the Dog – with a genuine Chinese beer, Tsingtao (pronounced Ching-Dow and itself an anagram of ‘Toasting’), a new vegan recipe from award-winning Chinese restaurant, Yu, and some Chinese traditions to help your party go with a bang.
Tsingtao has a new look – a newly designed bottle to reflect its status as a premium world beer. Brewed, bottled and imported from Quingdao, this genuine import is crafted with mineral-rich spring water from the Laoshan Mountains and handpicked native rice, which gives its clean, crisp taste and makes it a great accompaniment to food.
Tsingtao is also a fantastic ingredient in all kinds of Chinese dishes, including vegan and vegetarian ones like this below.
Watch Victor Yu, head chef at luxury Chinese restaurant, Yu in Alderley Edge, Cheshire cook Tsingtao Salt & Pepper Tempura Vegetables
TaoRecipe from Mojofuel on Vimeo.
Chinese New Year, from Friday 16 February, will be known as Year of the Dog and the Earth Dog more specifically for 2018.
It is traditionally believed that those people born under the year of the dog possess the best traits of human nature, being honest, loyal, friendly and smart – with a strong sense of responsibility. That said, they are also thought to be stubborn and bad socialisers – so maybe ease them in gently to your Chinese New Year party!
Most Chinese New Year party preparations start a week before New Year’s Eve, so there’s plenty of time to get your beer on ice and use some of the tips below for a truly authentic celebration.
Clean Your Home – according to Chinese tradition, cleaning the house will ‘sweep away bad luck’ which may have accumulated inside over the past year and the clean house is then ready for good luck to start entering again.
Decorate – red is the main celebratory colour and symbolises good luck. Try to arrange decorations in quantities of eight, as it’s a very lucky number in Chinese folklore.
Firecrackers –make your party go with a bang by setting of firecrackers, which are said to scare bad spirits away.
Hand out money – prepare red and gold envelopes (Lai See) with money inside, which symbolise prosperity and good luck, to give as gifts to young children.
Cook – create your own Chinese cuisine at home, healthier than a takeaway and your guests will be impressed.
Foods you can eat at Chinese New Year for luck include:
- Noodles – for happiness and longevity
- Dumplings and spring rolls – for wealth
- Tangyuan (sweet rice balls) – family togetherness
- Niangao (glutinous rice cake) – higher income or statu
- Tangerines and oranges – fullness and wealth
- Fish – an increase in prosperity
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