New Year’s desserts usually mean champagne, more champagne, and leftover sugar cookies that you could probably chip a tooth on. But Lunar New Year desserts are something much more special. The Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations across Eastern and Southeastern Asian Cultures, and families honor the holiday with feasts and festivals. It's a time for togetherness, and is there anything that brings people together better than dessert?
No, fish jelly is not jelly made of fish. It’s a jelly molded into the beautiful shape of a fish. Fish symbolizes abundance and excess in Chinese culture.
Boba tea? We don’t know her. Just kidding. We do, and she’s wonderful. But we’ve gone way more wild for the Mango Sago, a fruity pudding made with mangoes and tapioca pearls. Which we would wear as a necklace any day.
Okay, so the idea of a rice cake makes us think of those crunchy “cakes” that we used to put peanut butter on and pretend it tasted good. (No, Mom, it’s not the “same as a Reese’s peanut butter cup.”) Thankfully, Nian Gao is not that kind of rice cake. It’s a cake made with rice flour that’s sticky and gooey and oh-so-good.
These Black Sesame Shortbread Cookies are a little nutty, a lot of buttery, and absolutely something that will get stuck in your teeth. But it's worth it. Trust us. Or don't! We'd gladly take your cookie.
Dessert and soup aren’t words we often think go together. Kinda like how Ross and Rachel don’t go together…yeah, we said it. But unlike them, dessert and soup work together beautifully in this sweet and healthy Red Bean Soup. (#RachelShouldHaveStayedOnThePlane)