Friday, January 31 marks the start of the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Horse. Chef Lilly Jan joined Jim Braude and Margery Eagan on Boston Public Radio to talk traditional Chinese celebrations, foods, places to mark the occasion in Boston. Lilly Jan is a chef instructor and a culinary anthropologist.
I've heard that part of the tradition of the New Year is cleaning the house and washing your hair?
I actually have professional cleaners at my apartment right now. You have to clean the house really thoroughly, and the thoroughness — this is where the Chinese guilt/manipulation comes into play — the cleanliness is dependent on you. (...) You're sweeping out all the bad luck from the previous year. The idea is to make it as thorough as you can allow it to be. I washed my car. I cleaned out my office today, and my desk. Even if you have a junk drawer, that needs to go — because you know in your own head where you took shortcuts, and where you allowed junk to pile up. So, it's about keeping it clean and getting all that stuff out so you can invite in the new good luck when the New Year starts.
It's the same with hair. You're not supposed to touch anything sharp, with scissors, or have anything close to you that is sharp.
And you can't even wash your hair?
You can't wash your hair for at least the first day. It's relaxed a little bit (...) but traditionally, you really shouldn't wash your hair for ten to 100 days — depending on how traditional you want to be — lest you wash away the good luck of the New Year.
The thing is, I know where I took shortcuts, and I'm not particularly superstitious, but my mother is and I don't want to deal with the guilt. So, I (...) have the apartment cleaned so that my mother can feel at least somewhat comforted by the fact that I'm honoring my ancestors.
When did this become such a big event here in the US?
In Chinese culture we don't do Christmas, we don't really understand Thanksgiving because Chinese people don't traditionally like turkey. This is a really big holiday — China shuts down. China almost never shuts down, but for two weeks China shuts down. (...) [You'll see a] mass exodus of people leaving cities going home to their families. This is a required family time unlike any other holiday.
Part of the reason it's sustained — just like a lot of other American holidays — is it's about family, it's about being back together with your family, wherever the kids have gone. For such family-based, traditional culture like Chinese people, it's held strong.
Do restaurants shut down, too?
It's up to the discretion of the owner. It can be a big weekend and a big holiday for them to stay open and to cook, but on the flipside of that is [that] you're not supposed to work, and you're not supposed to hold knives on the New Year's day. So, you're damaging your own luck in that way, if you're holding a knife, but you could be making money.
What's the knife deal again?
You don't want to cut your luck. You don't want to cut any luck that could be coming your way, or cut it off short. That's one of the reasons long noodles are really popular, long beans — things that extend your life, things that suggest longevity, health and prosperity.
Eight is the luckiest number, why is that?
[The word] 'eight' in Cantonese is a homonym for 'prosperity,' to grow. So, it's just a good luck number.
Do people still take care of their elders in China the way we traditionally think of?
Yes. My mom flew home [from the US] to Taiwan to spend the holiday with my grandfather.
Are you in trouble because you're not there?
A little, but she's okay with it because I'm a professional, you know. But I still honor her, and I call them, I Skype! (...) The idea [of parental care] is very deeply rooted. The average four-year-old who can take apart a whole fish, like I did, and know that the belly and the cheek and the head must be saved for my grandparents because it was the most nourishing for them.
So, now we get to the good part. What kinds of food are we serving?
You must have fish. (...) It's something that you absolutely should have, and it must be served whole. You can't shortcut it with fish filets, fish fingers. Won't cut it. You must have the head and the tail because the wholeness represents the wholeness of the coming year. (Actually, in Chinese restaurants it's better to get the head and tail because it means it's fresher, anyway.)
Chicken is another thing. (...) Again, with the head and the feet, everything.
On the chicken, too?
Yeah, it's a little distracting for some, so, do what you can.
How do you prepare chicken?
The most common one that I've seen is a boiled or an oiled chicken. It's basically the Chinese equivalent of a roast. It's a basic roast, then you have a ginger and scallion dip that comes with it, and it comes chopped into smaller, bite-sized pieces, but it's very popular because it presents well. (...)
A famous dish is 'beggar's chicken' where the entire chicken is enveloped in leaves and baked in a clay crust, but the head flops around and it doesn't look so great. It's a big holiday for families, so you want beautiful presentation.
Are there places people should go in Boston for the New Year?
Hands down, the most important thing that anyone can eat this weekend is dumplings. (...) They're really good luck, they stem from a really good history.
The mythology of it is that there was a Chinese doctor who was once trying to treat people who were fighting the bitter cold, and they were cold to their core. So, he took this meat, and he took some vegetables and he boiled them, chopped them up and put them in the dough. He fed them to people and it warmed them so much from their feet to their heads, and they looked like ears, so that's [what they're named after].
Great places to get dumplings — there's a bunch of places in Chinatown, which is a great place to go anyway because of the Chinese New Year festival there's going to be a lot of street vendors, despite the bitter cold, because it's such a big holiday.
What are your favorite places for dumplings?
I really love the Gourmet Dumpling House, they have a great variety of dumplings. They've got great food. Hei la Moon — they do dim sum but a lot of the dim sum items are dumplings. They are very good luck things. Dim sum comes from the Southern part of China, which is the Cantonese region, and they're highly superstitious over there — a lot of round things, a lot of things with peanuts in them. (...)
A lot of people believe that if you eat something sweet around New Year's it'll sweeten your life for good luck.
Explain dim sum for those who aren't familiar.
Dim sum is a small-plates brunch consisting of dumplings and spring rolls and other treats, sweet and savory. Traditionally, it's eaten on a Sunday with your family, and people come and go as they please. Because they come on small plates, you can order one thing, eat, and wait. You'll see a lot of families in China, when they go eat dim sum, they settle in. They bring papers — now it's iPads — they settle in and they read papers for three or four hours. The kids stop by, they eat, they go. It's a fun thing.
And they bring carts of food around to you, it's so fun.
Yeah, it's very popular, and you can point to things — if it's really foreign to you you can just point to things — there may be a language barrier but pork is a pretty universal. It's basically moving steam tables.
So how will you celebrate the New Year?
I'm going to have a reunion dinner. That's a really big one where you get all your family together on New Year's Eve, and you have dinner together, and ideally you have leftovers so you don't have to cook on New Year's day. I'm going to have a reunion dinner with my boyfriend, because my family is on the other side of the world.
Friday, I intend on doing absolutely nothing, because that is what my tradition tells me to do!
>> Hear the entire interview with Lilly Jan.
