What are you cooking for Chinese New Year?

What’s the name of the place?

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I want to go to there.

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Cong Kai Star in Causeway Bay.

Wife now can’t find the Michelin reference. We went again tonight. Getting hooked on mango creations.

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Hotpot is also a great option, and is pretty easy to prep too. I have to scale the dish way down for the family, LOL.

Is it Poon Choi? Looks very fun.

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I liked this place too:

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I didn’t know Nem chua is new year food, I like it a lot, in France, they still sell the pork version.

Thanks for the English. My wife only knows the Chinese name.

We always refer to this dish as "the dish she always wanted, but we never give enough advance notice to order ". :).

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You get around!!!

Taking the hydro to Macao in a couple of hours. Let’s see what kinda goodies the Macaws got cooked up for cny.

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What adventure! Have fun! Do report back, recently just bought a Macau cookbook…

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Does that count the day before new year? i.e. should people cook much on CNY eve?

It doesn’t count the day before but typically (and hopefully) a family would be prepared before that. Given that the celebration lasts weeks, the preparation begins weeks before hand. I think the preparation is the most fun part. That’s when all the shopping, cooking, and preserving happens. The day before should just be preparing the house; i.e. sweeping away the old, final touches in decorations, setting up to receive the new year and its fortunes. There shouldn’t be a last minute flurry of cooking.

It’s not exclusively a New Year’s dish but it’s often shared during this time. Since it is one of those labor intensive items (wrapping small cubes in banana leaves), a preserved food, and a rather luxury item, nem chua is often given as gifts or served to guests during the new year.

The pork version is still available where I am (California). People are getting creative with new versions such as “faking it” by using ham and vinegar.

LOL. looks like there will be in our house. except we are only cooking for one meal.

What do they use to ferment the pork?

Well it’s naturally fermented but cured using nitrates These days most people use a commercially prepared mix that has the nitrates in them already and add additional seasonings to their taste. In addition to the pork meat there is also shredded pork skin which helps bind the sausage together.

Did you manage to get yourself a live fish? Good luck, enjoy your meal, and happy new year!

Thanks! I haven’t gone yet. I don’t want to go too early and have the dish sit for a whole day before dinner. But I don’t want to risk them running out of fish by going too late either. Still debating when to go…

Y’all know that Koreans and other countries celebrate Lunar new year, right? Drives me nuts when it’s referred to as Chinese New Year (apologies to OP).

I’m making an all-veggie lunch tomorrow: jap chae, ddukguk, buying dumplings, smacked cukes.

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Ah.

I originally thought the Chinese immigrants in other Asian countries celebrate New Year, but didn’t realize Koreans, and others do, too. This is good to know.

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