With the Chinese New Year being the most important event in the Chinese calendar, you'd imagine that Christmas got swept under the carpet. Not so, as celebrating Christmas becomes more popular throughout China.
Whilst you won't find the hype and shopping madness of Western countries, in major cities you'll see lights, trees and Christmas decorations on the streets and in stores. Christmas Day is not even a bank holiday in China, although it is in Hong Kong and Macao. Whether this is just part of the Chinese interest in Western culture, or a sales ploy by the big stores, who can say?
Christmas
With an increasing number of Christians, it can only be expected that more people will be celebrating the festive season in China each year. With little tradition and history, cooking for a Chinese Christmas dinner means you can cook any special occasion dish you choose.
However, there are a few suggestions we can make to get you started:-
- Peking Duck
- Cantonese Roast Duck
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Cookies
- Five Spice Peanuts
- Sesame Seed Balls
- Spring Rolls
Whilst many of the recipes above are traditionally eaten for the Chinese New Year, they will serve just as well for a Christmas dinner. As always with Chinese cooking, use the freshest ingredients, prepare them well ahead of time, so that all you have to do is cook!
An excellent resource is http://chinesefood.about.com/ which has lots of great recipe and food ideas for every holiday occasion including Chinese cookie recipes.
Choosing & Cooking Chinese Christmas Recipes
For further tips and ideas for cooking great and traditional food from around the world, visit Chinese recipes [http://www.worldwide-recipes.com/chinese-recipes.html]
This article was submitted by Jen Carter, owner of the Worldwide Recipes [http://www.worldwide-recipes.com] website.