12+ Recipes to Welcome the Dragon Year

🧧 🧨 From dumplings and noodles to braises and candy, get ready for the 🐲

Hello there!

A major Asian holiday is coming up and I want you to plan ahead. That’s why this week’s dispatch is coming at you early.

First up, many of you signed up for the Milk Street Kitchen cooking class on Tuesday (there were nearly 450 people registered!). I was majorly cheered.

And to top it off, a number of you who attended cooked along. I wasn’t sure that could happen because there was a lot of fast talking and action on my part. You followed along! 75 minutes goes by in a flash. April Dodd, cooking class manager for MSK, kept me on the clock. We made the steamed banh mi lettuce wraps and peanut sesame candy recipes from Ever-Green Vietnamese.

Afterwards, I got photos of what was made! The first two photos came from Talitha and the third from Marissa — who turned leftover steamed banh mi into a banh mi-panzanella salad! The remaining photos are from my kitchen.

Now that I got over the tech fear, humps and hurdles, I hope to do some more classes on my own so stay tuned.

One reason I chose to showcase the candy (kẹo lạc vừng) was because it’s a popular treat for Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year.

🐲 🧧 🧨 Next Saturday, February 10, kicks off the Year of the Dragon. If you’re into Chinese astrology, this article from the Morning Post in Hong Kong is an even keeled one.

Candy and sweets are often exchanged for the holiday so I encourage you to get your paws on a few treats. There’s plenty sold right now at Chinese and Vietnamese markets but know this: Homemade will always taste better. The stuff shipped from overseas is iffy. Do enjoy the decor and bright colors when you’re shopping at Asian markets these days. It’s like Christmas done in Barbie colors!

Whatever sweets you eat, balance things by eating savories too. No need for sugar spikes! Here are a few recipes to get you going:

Dessert

I’ll start with dessert because honestly, that’s what I’d make first so that they’re ready to serve when needed. Sweets for Tet are ones that keep well. You’re not suppose to work too hard on the first days of the year so bank your efforts.

• Candied orange peels — Preserved fruit (sweetmeats) are typically served as a little nibble. I candy navel orange peels because they’re local, no waste cooking and delicious. Buy ones with thick, pithy skins so you get a meaty sweetmeat. Get the recipe.

• Candied kumquats — My mom’s favorite are candied kumquats. They keep for a very long time. I have some from 2023. Now’s the season for the cutie fruits. Kumquat trees are harbingers of good luck. Get the recipe.

• Almond cookies — My go-to recipe is in Into the Vietnamese Kitchen but on my website, there’s an amazing almond cookie recipe by San Francisco Chef Belinda Wong. For a flourless and a stress-free cookie, try this crisp macaroon-like almond cookie.

• Peanut cookies — My friend Karen Shinto shared this short, peanutty recipe with me years ago and I return to it annually. They’re delicate and swank. If peanuts aren’t for your, try cashew or sunflower seed butter. Get the recipe

• Black sesame peanut mochi — A pan of this chewy, nutty, not too sweet mochi cake by

  Cynthia Chen McTernan
  of Two Red Bowls on Substack is killer good. It freezes well too. Get the recipe

• Cashew coconut brittle — The coconuty candy was one of dad’s favorite candies. When he was alive, I made sure to make him a batch (or two) for Tet. The recipe is in Vietnamese Food Any Day.

• Peanut sesame candy — Once you make one batch of this candy, you want to toy with it. For ideas, check out variations in the recipe Notes section on page 272 of Ever-Green Vietnamese.

Noodles and Dumplings

After candy, why not indulge in some carbs? It’s a new year celebration. Noodle around for long life and fun! I’m planning to make crab and glass noodles (miến xào cua) and my two recipe iterations are in Into the Vietnamese Kitchen and Vietnamese Food Any Day.

If you want to make dumplings, take a look at my Asian Dumplings cookbook. The first chapter’s Chinese dumplings will satisfy all your needs. If you want gluten-free options, see this GF dumpling post at the website.

Have a dumpling party! It can be casual. For example, when I was recently in Honolulu, I made my basic gingery pork and napa dumpling filling from the book (I have it memorized by now!) and set my friend, Dr. Mike, to work. We froze some and poached the rest serving them with soy sauce, vinegar and Thai chiles. I also made a garlic noodles to go along with the dumplings.

For noodly inspiration, check out these Pass the Fish Sauce recipes:

• Ginger scallion noodles

• Viet garlic noodles with shiitake

• Garlic noodles with crab and asparagus

• Wontons in chile oil

• Wontons in broth (omit the noodles!)

Something Braised in Caramel Sauce

Vietnamese Tet menus always include something braised in bittersweet caramel sauce. Such cozy dishes, called kho (“caw”), represent Viet comfort food. My go-to include:

(l) Pork and egg kho from VFAD. (r) Tofu and egg kho from EGV.

• Pork Riblets in Caramel Sauce — While I was growing up, these ribs were always on our Tet table. My recipe in Into the Vietnamese Kitchen is old school and the one at the website is made in the Instant Pot. Get the recipe.

• Pork and egg in caramel sauce — Cooked with coconut water for a sweet lilt, this is the southern Viet must-have. Thịt kho trứng is typically made with pork belly but you can use pork shoulder. There’s an instant pot recipe in Vietnamese Food Any Day.

• Black pepper caramel tofu and eggs — The above southern Viet porky favorite is a gut buster and honestly, I prefer the vegetarian iteration in Ever-Green Vietnamese. Serve the đậu hũ kho trứng (EGV, page 217) with tangy crisp pickled bean sprout salad (page 172) for the quintessential pairing. Alex C., an EGV recipe tester, served the tofu kho to friends for Tet in 2022. Alex had had the conventional pork version and gave the tofu version a 👍.

Sticky Rice Cakes — Bánh Chưng and Bánh Tét

It ain’t Tết without sticky rice cakes filled with mung beans and pork, all wrapped up in banana leaves. Square ones are called bánh chưng and cylindrical ones are known as bánh tét (not the same as Tết).

My mom made bánh chưng this week, saying, “I’m going to keep making my annual batch until I can't do it any longer.” That’s commitment.

I have a detailed bánh chưng recipe in Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. It’s the recipe I still use. My primer on Tet sticky rice cake will help you refresh, eat and panfry one.

I hope these ideas spark your creativity in the kitchen. Serve up the Year of the 🐲 with verve.