Best wishes to my readers on this, the eve before the Year of the Ox. Good fortune, recovering base metal prices, and happiness to All.
A personal note: I’ve spent more than six years in China, and I’ve taken well over 20,000 photos in that time. So one would think that, after so many years and shutter clicks, I would have managed to take at least one photo of an iconic Chinese ox pulling a plow, with which to decorate this post. And, after more than an hour of searching, I just happened across this mis-filed image, taken in 2004, in a Yi minority village located in the hills above Xichang, in Sichuan.
Posting will be light to non-existent until mid-week … though I might be tempted to update this post with some photos of the epic New Year meal to which I’ve been invited, and – if necessary – commentary on the fireworks (especially if they take out one of my windows – again).
Finally, it wouldn’t be fair to talk about the Year of the Ox, without giving brief mention to The Ox, at his best, here.
[UPDATE] In the course of this blog’s two year history, I’ve long intended to photograph and post all of the dishes served at a Chinese banquet (for the benefit of the 95% of my readers outside of China). For various reasons, I never have … before this afternoon. As a result of the generous hospitality of a good friend, I was invited to a (Sichuan-style) company banquet to mark the Chinese New Year. After the jump, a course by course photo essay on each of the dishes served. Believe me, this was a good one …
Before we get to the action, a brief comment. Years ago, my good friend, the famed China blog commentator, Scott Loar, once said to me: “In China, you will have meals by which you mark your life in before and after terms.” Indeed.
Let’s begin with the cold dishes:
Below, my pickle-eating friends and relative, are Sichuan pickles with chicken feet:
Thinly sliced pork and cucumber. Behind, in the small dish, is a chili hot sauce for dipping:
Next, the hot dishes …
Okay, this one was a highlight (for me). Those are mushrooms in there, and they were unbelievably good …
Eel in hot peppers …
On the left, those are some seriously hot peppers and beef; on the right, the steamed bread for making a sandwich with said peppers and beef …
Okay, this is a favorite. Though it’s not exactly clear, that’s a corn meal, bathed in some kind of mushroom sauce, over pork spareribs. So good …
In case it’s not clear … that’s chicken broth, and a chicken …
Not really sure about the meat in this dish, but whatever it was, it was spicy as all get out …
Dried beef, in hot pepper sauce, also spicy as can be …
Mercy, just before dessert …
Wait, the dumplings. The dumpings!
And now the dessert, starting with some kind of fried bread with a dried cinnomen powder …
Followed by the sweet rice soup, with glutinous dumplings …
And finally, the watermelon …
Man, I love Chinese New Year. And now, a nap before the real action starts later this evening.