new year food...

one of my favorite things to do is cooking on new year's eve. last night my sister and i sat together and made 60 egg rolls. just as my mom makes it. if you ever go and have Chinese food with me you will notice that i rarely eat egg rolls and that's because of my taste. i like and adore the way my mom makes egg rolls. there is so much preparation in it that it is actually special to eat it. the way she makes it is not like anyone else I've seen. I've watched and listened to the many ways in which other people who claim to have the best egg rolls make theirs and i know for a fact that my mom was right, she does make the best. i wont be giving away her recipe any time soon or show people how to make theirs better. there are a few things that i will keep to myself and to our family. but that doesn't mean i wont invite my friends over for great food!

many new year's eves ago. my grandparents *dad side, my dad and my mom all sat together and they taught me how to wrap a traditional Asian recipe of goodies in banana leaves. it is called banh tet, traditionally given out for Chinese New Year to friends and family. It has many things in it to symbolize a prosperous year to come. it had a special short grain rice in it, beans, meat and a hard boiled quail egg. and you steam this little goodness packet and after wards you have something yummy to eat. most of the time you find these in the stores around Chinese New Year, and they are huge rolls or squares all very big and not very appetizing. the thing about the way i was taught to wrap them was as individual packets. we would then steam them and tie about 8 together to give to our family. we made a hundred or two hundred. i got really good at wrapping them towards the end. i guess its the Asian tamale. i really like that tradition. the whole making something for giving out to the family. it really keeps the tradition of family and good food alive.

i think that food is great, because everyone has to eat. you taste my vary from your upbringing but if you have an open mind and a brave stomach there are endless possibilities of learning other cultures through their foods. even regional foods are fun to learn and taste. the cuisine of north and south Vietnamese is very different, the variation of BBQ ribs from Memphis to Texas to Kansas city, even pizza from Brooklyn taste differently from the thick crust in Chicago. i love the adventure that food alone can take a person. so i urge everyone this new year to go out and try something new from a different region you wouldn't normally eat from. perhaps you might hate it, but better you might like it.

eat extraordinary everyday!