My Aunt invited me over to spend Chinese New Year in her hometown of Hsinchu (literally "new bamboo") County, about an hour and a half's drive south of Taipei. We met up for lunch, and then drove down along with two other aunts (my aunt's younger sisters) and a Presbyterian minister. Hsinchu county has a large Hakka population -Hakka or "guests" are a minority group with their own culture and language, but are otherwise physically indistinguishable from other ethnic Han Chinese people (like myself).
A highlight of some of my "firsts":
- Drank several shots of the notoriously potent Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor (a sorghum-based liquor that has around 50% alcohol content). The first sip tasted sweet and fragrant in my mouth, then a ferocious after burn down my esophagus. Luckily, I've discovered a clever trick to drinking this moonshine -- if you keep drinking, it won't burn as much.
- Drank traditional Hakka tea called "lei-cha," which requires grinding ingredients (green tea powder, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, rice) to a powder with a large wooden mortar and pestle, grind grind grind, then add a little water, grind some more, add more water until the restaurant guy deems the mixture has the right consistency, then pour the thick green concoction into small bowls, add sweet stewed red beans and rice puffs, and drink with a soup spoon. Surprising good and filling!
- When I embarked on this little Lunar New Year adventure, I thought to myself, "gee golly, I sure hope I get to see a molecular accelerator research facility!" My wish was granted. The place looked like a scene out of a spy movie, I half expected Dr. Evil to step out, or James Bond to run through the facility, creating havoc with random gunshots aimed at blank-expressioned enemies ill-trained in the arts of spy capture.
- Traditional new year's breakfast: perfectly pan-fried daikon/turnip (a long, white radish) cakes, long-life long green leafy vegetable, fresh cubes of cold tofu with soy sauce, grow cupcakes, and sliced braised tofu.
- We drove to the small town of Beipu, where we gorged on traditional Hakka dishes in a historic Ch'ing dynasty converted courtyard house: starter of mochi (glutinous rice ball) rolled in sweet peanut powder, savory glutinous rice dumpling soup, fried rice, pan-fried thin rice vermicelli, bitter melon with salty eggs, fatty pork on a bed of salty preserved cabbage, stir-fried crisp grassy vegetable, potato leaves stir-fried with garlic, eggs pan-fried with preserved pickles, salted pork on a bed of shredded radish, Hakka-style stir-fry with celery, tofu, and meat, mammal intestines (pig or cow I think, I am not an expert on animal innards), and a few other meat dishes. I'm a fan of Hakka cuisine now.
新年快樂 (xin nian kuai le)! Happy New Year!
2 comments:
Xin nian kuai le CJL! :-)
and Happy Year of the Ox
Sounds like you had one "hakka" of a New Year's, :-) but sad to hear you lost your camera (oh no!).
Missed you very much this year to exchange our traditional red envelopes, other delectable and fun assorted red gifts, and of course ... dim sum. :-(
I actually had Japanese food (sorry) for lunch with a couple co-workers this year to celebrate Chinese New Year. Although it was Asian, it was just not the same experience (especially since you weren't there to make sure we eat at least one healthy, green, or vegetarian option) - I'm having severe withdrawls from my CJLQ!
Feliz Ano Nuevo,
Juani :-)
Thanks, Juani! I miss our New Years celebrations too.
I was surprised to find out from Japanese friends that they don't celebrate lunar new year, what a pity! Traditionally, New Years lasts a whole month, just like your birthday, filled with lots of eating, drinking, gambling, and family. Who says the Chinese don't know how to party?
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