45°
- Steamed juice buns, also known as soup dumplings. Across China, the New Year is welcomed with traditional dishes like soup dumplings with pork.
- Deep-fried whole sea bass with ground pork and pickled chilies. The Chinese word for fish -- "yu" -- sounds like the word for abundance or money. This dish is served with head and tail intact, to ensure both a good start and good finish to the year.
- Triple pepper chicken. As Americans traditionally serve turkey on Thanksgiving, Chinese celebrate their New Year with a chicken dish like this.
- Szechuan sausage with pearl mushrooms, leeks and green garlic. "Homemade sausage is prepared and enjoyed in virtually every home at this time of year," said Lin. "It's very traditional."
- Rice cake with shrimp and egg. Chinese rice cake, or "nian gao," in Mandarin, literally means "year cake" or "New Year's cake." That makes it a perfect food to ring in the New Year.
- Spicy cabbage with bok choy and white vegetables. Made with ingredients harvested at this time of year, this dish is sauced with spicy red oil, a colorful good luck symbol.
- Fuji Mountain beef This dish includes sliced beef topped with egg white and baby bok choy.
- Winery sweet ball soup To ensure a happy year, Lin suggests ending the meal on a sweet note. This hard-to-find Chinese soup is served hot and made with glutinous rice, fragrant osmanthus flowers, sesame and wine.
Cheng Du 23 is at 6 Willowbrook Blvd, Wayne. It's open for lunch and dinner daily, and dim sum on the weekends. Visit its website here.
Click here to follow Daily Voice South Passaic and receive free news updates.
