Hello Kindness,

But why is the color red auspicious for the Chinese? You want to read this! #joylucksupperclub story time!

or Jump to Recipe here.

Dad's oldest brother, Uncle H told us the story of Chinese New Year.

He begun by explaining that the saying "Gong Xi Fat Chai" does not mean Happy New Year. It’s actually a wish for prosperity to bestow upon the recepients of the greetings. It is a wonderful thing, but the correct way of wishing someone Happy New Year in mandarin is Xin Nian Kuai le ( pronounced shin nee-an kwai le). Then he proceeded with the story to tell us why.

Chinese New Year was originally a celebration to welcome Spring, marking the end of winter. As a country with 4 seasons, China relies heavily on the coming of Spring, so the people can work on the land, grow food and eventually harvest the crops. Chun Jie ( the spring festival) is awaited every year.

In ancient China, there was an evil monster named Nian (same character as year in Mandarin). Every spring during Chun Jie, he would come down from the mountains to terrorize the village to feed. He would prey on men and children, and eat the crops, leaving the villagers in despair. What happened next.

That is until one day by luck, a villager was wearing a red garment. When Nian saw the vibrant colour, he jumped ,making the villager startled.

The villager was so surprised that he dropped the heavy metal buckets he had been carrying. The bucket bounced down the hill behind Nian, and how the loud noises scared the monster away.

Excited with the good news the village uses red colour as a lucky charm and protective colour from Nian.

They painted the walls, hung red ornaments scrolls, wore red clothings.Rattles and firecrackers were hung to scare away the monster, and these practices still continue until today!

What red dish is more fitting than a homemade honey #charsiu? They are marinated in angkak ( red yeast rice), fermented red tofu, soy sauce, five spices and lots of honey to make it saucy!  I’m cutting some slices for you!But you are too late to the party, now here is a recipe for you to make it yourself. Promise its very easy!