New Year’s Eve Dinner Recipes!
Nine Spring Medicinal Dishes to Nourish You for the New Year
The Spring Festival is a time for reunion and companionship.
A sumptuous reunion dinner
not only conveys beautiful meanings and blessings
but also heals those busy days of life!
Of course, the combination of nutrition and health cannot be ignored.
If you want to have a nourishing and healthy New Year,
start with preparing a Spring Health Meal!
Cold Dishes for New Year’s Medicinal Cuisine
1. Cilantro, Black Fungus, and Purple Cabbage
Ingredients
1/4 Purple Cabbage, 20 Black Fungus, 1 tablespoon of Sesame, 2 Cilantro Stems.
Method
1. Soak the black fungus until soft, then blanch in boiling water and cut into thin strips;
2. Wash the purple cabbage and cut into thin strips, chop the cilantro;
3. Combine the prepared black fungus, purple cabbage, and cilantro with vinegar, salt, sesame oil, etc., and mix well.
Recommended Reason
Cilantro is warm and sweet, can strengthen the stomach, aid digestion, promote urination, relieve wind and detoxify;
Black fungus nourishes blood, benefits the stomach, moistens the lungs, and lubricates the intestines;
Purple cabbage is crispy and has a good appetite-enhancing effect.
2. Mustard Duck Feet
Ingredients
Duck Feet, Mustard.
Method
1. Clean the duck feet and boil in water for 3 minutes;
2. In a pot with clean water, add appropriate cooking wine, ginger, and garlic, then cook the duck feet until done and set aside to cool;
3. Mix mustard with a little warm water, then add appropriate vinegar, sugar, and salt, and pour over the duck feet.
Recommended Reason
Mustard is warm and spicy; it disperses cold, detoxifies, reduces swelling, stimulates appetite, aids digestion, warms the middle, promotes qi, and clears the eyes.
Vegetarian Dishes for New Year’s Medicinal Cuisine
1. Celery and Lily
Ingredients
200g Celery, 150g Fresh Lily, Appropriate Starch.
Method
1. Remove the strings from the celery, wash, and cut into thin sections;
2. Remove the base from the lily, wash, and separate into pieces;
3. Heat oil in a pan, add celery and stir-fry until 50% cooked;
4. Add lily, salt, and sugar, stir-fry until cooked, and thicken with starch.
Recommended Reason
Moistens the intestines and detoxifies, nourishes yin, moistens the lungs, calms the heart, and promotes urination.
Precautions
Lily is slightly cool; those with wind-cold cough, deficiency-cold bleeding, or spleen deficiency with loose stools should avoid frequent consumption.
2. Abundant Harvest
Ingredients
500g Winter Melon, 1 Carrot, Half a Loofah, 200g Peas.
Method
1. Cut the winter melon, carrot, and loofah into small cubes, blanch with peas and set aside;
2. Heat oil in a cold pan, add the ingredients when the oil temperature rises, and stir-fry with salt for about 3 minutes.
Recommended Reason
Loofah clears lung heat, promotes urination and reduces swelling;
Winter melon and corn clear heat and phlegm, regulate the middle, and stimulate appetite, benefiting the lungs and calming the heart;
Peas tonify the middle and benefit qi, promote urination;
Carrots strengthen the spleen, aid digestion, nourish the liver, and clear heat and stop cough.
Meat Dishes for New Year’s Medicinal Cuisine
1. Ginger and Angelica Lamb Stew
Ingredients
30g Ginger, 20g Angelica (Dang Gui), 500g Lamb, 10ml Cooking Wine, 3g Pepper, 50g Carrot, 25g Oil, 10g Green Onion.
Method
1. Wash and slice the ginger and angelica;
2. Stir-fry the angelica with cooking wine, cut the lamb into cubes, and peel and wash the carrot, cutting it into sections;
3. Place ginger, angelica, lamb, green onion, pepper, and cooking wine into a stew pot, adding 2500ml of water;
4. Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer for about 45 minutes, adding salt, chicken essence, and pepper to taste.
Recommended Reason
Warms the middle, benefits qi and blood, strengthens the stomach, and aids digestion.
Precautions
1. People with a hot constitution and symptoms of internal heat should not consume angelica and ginger lamb soup, as it may exacerbate internal heat and cause discomfort.
2. Lamb is rich in protein and fat, which can be difficult to digest; therefore, those with poor digestion, gallbladder diseases, or high blood lipids should avoid it to prevent discomfort.
2. Yam and Dried Tangerine Peel Duck Soup
Ingredients
100g Fresh Yam, 5g Dried Tangerine Peel (Chen Pi), 300g Duck, Oil, Salt, and Ginger slices for seasoning.
Method
1. Clean the duck meat with water to remove blood, and cut into pieces;
2. Wash and slice the fresh yam, and rinse the dried tangerine peel and ginger;
3. Place all ingredients together (fresh yam can be added after boiling for 15 minutes) in a soup pot, adding water;
4. Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer for 1 hour, seasoning to taste.
Recommended Reason
Tonifies the spleen, nourishes the stomach, benefits the lungs, and nourishes the kidneys, harmonizing the liver and spleen for overall well-being. This soup is mild and suitable for most people.
3. Dried Tangerine Peel and Mandarin Fish
Ingredients
1 Mandarin Fish, 2g Dried Tangerine Peel, Ginger, Salt, Soy Sauce, and Pepper to taste.
Method
1. Clean the mandarin fish, removing the internal organs, and make diagonal cuts on both sides of the fish;
2. Heat oil in a pan and fry until golden brown, then add wine, soy sauce, sugar, salt, and water, simmering on low heat for 15-20 minutes;
3. Add dried tangerine peel 5 minutes before serving.
Recommended Reason
Easy to digest, with benefits for qi and blood, strengthens the spleen and stomach, and alleviates fatigue.
Desserts for New Year’s Medicinal Cuisine
Eight Treasure Rice
Ingredients
500g Glutinous Rice, 50g Job’s Tears, 50g White Lentils, 50g Lotus Seeds, 50g Walnut Kernels, 50g Longan Meat, 20 Dried Dates, 60g Sugar.
Method
1. Soak Job’s Tears, White Lentils, and Lotus Seeds in warm water, wash, and cook in a pressure cooker;
2. Wash and soak the dried dates, roast the walnut kernels, and set aside the longan meat;
3. Wash the glutinous rice and steam until cooked;
4. Grease a large bowl, arrange longan meat, dried dates, walnut kernels, lotus seeds, white lentils, and Job’s Tears at the bottom, then add the cooked glutinous rice, steaming for about 15 minutes. In the end, pour syrup made from sugar and water over the rice.
Recommended Reason
Strengthens the spleen and nourishes the stomach, benefits yin and nourishes the kidneys.
Precautions
Diabetics should avoid adding sugar, and this medicinal dish should be consumed in moderation.
Teas for New Year’s Medicinal Cuisine
Hawthorn and Flower Tea
Ingredients
5g Hawthorn, 6 Rose Flowers, 5 Jasmine Flowers.
Method
Place hawthorn, jasmine flowers, and rose flowers in a cup, pour boiling water over them, cover, and steep for 15-20 minutes, then strain and cool before drinking.
Recommended Reason
Stimulates appetite and digestion, promotes fat digestion, and alleviates menstrual pain in women.
Precautions
Hawthorn is sour; those with excessive stomach acid should use caution.
Contributed by | Hubin Center
