For many, the Lunar New Year brings back fond family memories, filled with tradition, lively celebration, and, of course food.

Let’s look at how several area Asian Americans celebrated with their favorite dishes:

China Pearl Style New Year

For Patty and Brian Moy, owners of China Pearl and Shojo restaurants, the dish that defines new year is nian gao (年糕).

“I love the savory version with snow cabbage, shredded pork, and the nian gao is cut up from a thick, soft rod. It’s the easiest and simplest to make together, which leaves more time to enjoy and celebrate with the family,” says Patty Moy.

In addition to the savory chao nian gao (炒年糕), there’s also a sweet version that is pan-fried called jian nian gao (煎年糕).

“It starts as a big sweet glob in a thin foil container. I slice the nian gao into thin loaves and dip it in egg wash, then pan fry it similar to french toast. It gets soft and gooey on the inside, while being crisp on the outside,” says Brian Moy.

In Chinese culture, it is considered good luck to eat nian gao, because nian gao is a homonym for “higher year” or “grow every year” (年高), or, “a more prosperous year.”

Other dishes on the Chinese table for Lunar New Year are more complicated for younger generations to make, such as one that contains dried oysters, bean curd, black moss, and pig’s feet, say the Moys.

“I remember my grandma making this every year and I don’t see it often anymore – it’s one of my favorites and it’s such a hearty dish. I’m concerned, because some restaurants don’t sell these anymore. My eldest aunt now cooks and I’m trying to learn from her to carry our traditions forward,” says Brian Moy.

Many families learn to cook by touch, feel, and taste, so it’s becoming harder to pass these down to the next generation, he noted.

A Very ‘Representative’ Dinner

State Rep. Vanna Howard, representing the 17th Middlesex District, encompassing Lowell and Chelmsford, worked hard to make her mother’s traditional noodle soup recipe this year, when she celebrated holiday.

“It’s been 15 years since my mother passed. This year, I recreated her noodle soups for my family and it’s brought back so many memories. My mother would make a meat-based broth for my two brothers with pork tenderloin, beef balls, chicken bones, and pork bones. Since I am vegetarian, she would make a separate broth for me with solid pepper, garlic, scallions, preserved cabbage, soy sauce, and a little sugar,” says Howard.

As part of her family tradition, Howard tidies up and washes up on Lunar New Year’s eve to start the new year fresh, as well as gathers food offerings for her grandparents and ancestors. Another important holiday for Howard is Cambodian New Year on April 14, which marks the end of the harvesting season.

“In Lowell, we have five Buddhist temples, and it’s always very lively there with food offerings and games. We would eat at the temple and then we would chase each other and throw baby powder at everyone. The baby powder symbolizes washing away and rebirth — plus you smell good,” says Howard.

Lowell is home to the second largest Cambodian population in America with 35,000 Cambodian Americans.

Nepali Style New Year

Another growing population in Massachusetts is the Nepali community. Asian American Commission Commissioner and Nepali community leader Pralhad KC says he’s watched the Nepali population explode since the 1970s. There are many different ethnic groups in Nepal, with every valley having its own unique culture and dialect. As people from Nepal settle in the U.S., they carried their different celebrations and traditions with them.

“For new year’s, many Nepalis love to eat goat curry with rice, lentil soup or daal, and vegetable curry. Another popular appetizer and street food for Nepali is dumplings, which we call, momo. Unlike Chinese dumplings, momos are smaller in size and the grounded meat is spicier, with buffalo meat and chick as the most common. We also have a lot of vegetarian options too as we have many people who are vegans.”

The Egg Roll Judge

For Joy Lim Narkin, former anchor and reporter for NECN and NBC10 Boston, vegetarian dishes are a staple for her family. Narkin has recently relocated to Atlanta, Georgia to anchor Court TV with her family, and spent time cooking for the Lunar New Year.

“My family is from the Philippines, but we are Han Chinese. Some of the recipes we make include lumpia, a delicious egg roll, made with the heart of palms. Instead of pork, we put spring vegetables and tofu instead, like string beans, mushrooms, and carrots,” says Narkin.

Narkin says that this has been a difficult time for some Asian Americans, but that one can draw strength from the Year of the Tiger to be courageous.

“We have to stay strong and celebrate our strengths, and I’m proud that Asian American communities have started to come together and be more vocal.”

A Working Meal

Despite the pandemic, the Vietnamese community has stayed resilient and found ways to gather together to celebrate Tết. For Trinh Nguyen, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development (OWD), the new year is a festive time for the Vietnamese community.

“There are usually events in Fields Corner in Dorchester, which has been designated as the Boston Little Saigon Cultural District,” says Nguyen.

Tết in Boston, an annual Vietnamese Lunar New Year Festival organized by the Vietnamese American Community of Massachusetts (VACM) and the New England Intercollegiate Vietnamese Student Association (NEIVSA), took place on Feb. 6 this year. With lion dances, martial arts, live music, fashion show, raffles, and food, the festival was a lively time for the Vietnamese community.

In Chinatown and Quincy, Brian and Patty Moy have organized similar celebrations. A commonality among several Asian communities is the desire to carry on family food recipes and celebrations forward for the next generation.

SAMPAN, published by the nonprofit Asian American Civic Association, is the only bilingual Chinese-English newspaper in New England, acting as a bridge between Asian American community organizations and individuals in the Greater Boston area. It is published biweekly and distributed free-of-charge throughout metro Boston; it is also delivered to as far away as Hawaii.