The Little One has been loving to do Tangram lately, so I diligently looked up some more options online and found quite a few websites that the little ones can practice on the computer.  Tangram is an ancient game originated in China, consisting of 7 geometric shapes and put together to form shapes.  Check out these sties to see if your kids will enjoy them too.

http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/games/area/tangram.html

http://www.creativeimaginations.net/PAGE4.html

http://games.ztor.com/tang/

Yi mein – 伊麵 – Flat Egg Noodles

Looking for an easy noodle recipe on this hot, humid, lazy summer day….then came across with this popular dish that I love growing up.  Dried fried yi mein (乾炒伊麵) is a very popular dish served in most Chinese restaurant.  They serve this dish for birthday and wedding banquet as well.  It usually comes together with the fried rice at the end of the banquet, as the noodle represents a long life and/or a long marriage.

Yi Mein is a type of Chinese flat egg noodles, made from wheat flour.  They are known for their golden yellow color and the chewy characteristics.  The noodles are usually available in dried form, and involves soaking to make it “stir fried-able”.  It is usually served with shredded port, mushroom, and sometimes with crab meat.

Now I don’t have any of these noodles on hand, and am way too lazy to drive 20 minutes to the nearest Chinese grocery store to get the noodles.  I have some other noodles in the refrigerator, let’s see if that will work.  I will report on that later this week!

Zongzi – 粽子 – zòng zi

Zongzi is a traditional Chinese food made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. They are cooked by steaming or boiling.  Just like moon cake and most other Chinese food, there are different versions of Zongzi, and there are different versions of eating Zongzi.  Fillings vary from mung beans, red bean paste, Chinese sausage, salted pork, salted duck egg, to chicken, and taro.  I like to eat mine dipped in sugar, while other people may eat it plain.  My husband likes it with soy sauce.

Zongzi is traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival.  However, it is a favorite of lots of people, so you can see them in the Dim Sum carts too when you go to Chinatown.

I’ve recently brought one over to my Venezuelan friend’s for her to try.  She loved it.  It reminded her of the Hallaca, a traditional Venezuela dish that she loves growing up.  That was pretty funny.  I have two pictures here of Zongzi and Hallaca, can you tell or guess which one is which?

Tomorrow, June 16th, is one of the Chinese holiday called Dragon Boat Festival.  The actual lunar date is May 5th.  When I was little, this holiday consisted of 4 things for me: No school, Dragon Boat race (super boring watching it on TV, sorry, it wasn’t that exciting for a 10 year old girl), eat Zong-zi (sweet rice mixed with meat wrapped in Bamboo leaves), and taking a bath at noon.  The day will then ends with a nice dinner, with everyone in the family gathered around.

A few things you should know about the Dragon Boat Festival.  1)This Dragon Boat festival is to memorializes the Chinese patriotic poet Chiu Yuan (340 BC-278 BC or 343-290 B.C.), who committed suicide by jumping into the river after tying himself with big rock on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month.  He was loved by the people at that time, and many fishermen tried to rescue him but his body was never found.  Then the people threw food into the river to feed the fish, so that the fish wouldn’t eat Chiu Yuan.  The people then splashed the water with their paddles and beat the drums loudly to try to scare the fish away.  Yes, you got it.  That is exactly how the Zong-zi and the Dragon Boat come from.

Now the Dragon Boat race becomes an international sport.  So whoever and whatever you are, raise your cups and give yourself some Dragon Boat spirit.

A good friend of mine got married a couple of weeks ago.  It was a beautiful wedding on a beautiful sunny day, and I was very honored to be in the bridal party.  She had a semi-traditional Chinese wedding, as her husband is not Chinese.  One of my favorite Chinese wedding tradition is the Tea Ceremony.  This is when the bride and the groom serve tea to the elders and show their respect, it is also a chance for the elders to give their good wishes to the newlyweds.  I don’t want to risk not explaining it right.  Here’s a good explanation of what I found on The Chinese Historical and Cultural Project.

On the wedding day, the bride serves tea (holding the teacup with both hands) to her parents at home before the groom arrives. She does this out of respect and to thank her parents for raising her. The tea at this time does not need to have the lotus seeds or dates, and the bride does not need the assistance of a “lucky woman.” She pours and serves the tea by herself without the groom.

Traditionally, after the wedding ceremony, the newlyweds serve tea (holding the teacups with both hands), inviting the groom’s elders to drink tea by addressing them by formal title, e.g. first uncle or third aunt.

The general rule is to have the woman on the left side and the man on the right side. The people being served will sit in chairs, while the bride and groom kneel. For example, when the newlyweds serve tea to the groom’s parents, the bride would kneel in front of her father-in-law, while the groom would kneels in front of his mother.

The newlyweds serve tea in order, starting with the groom’s parents then proceeding from the oldest family members to the youngest, e.g. the groom’s parents, then his paternal grandparents, then his maternal grandparents, then his oldest uncles and aunts, and all the way to his older brother.

In return, the newlyweds receive lucky red envelopes (“lai see,” which means “lucky”) stuffed with money or jewelry. The helpers, who are usually women blessed with a happy marriage or wealth and chosen by the fortune teller or bride’s mother, also get lucky red envelopes stuffed with money from those being served. These envelopes are placed on the platter which holds the teacups.

I recently finished Shanghai Girls by Lisa See for one of my book clubs, and it was a great book and easy read. Lisa See is the New York Times bestselling author of Peony in Love, Snow Flower, among other titles.

This story took place in 1937 Shanghai, my birth place. Some of you may have heard the expression, “Shanghai is the Paris of Asia” with its European architecturals, rich culture, and glamorous citizens. However, during that era, it’s also the homes of millionairs and beggars, gansters and gamblers, patriots and revolutionaries, artists and warloards.

In that time of political uncertainty and foreign occupancy, the story follows two sisters, Pearl and May, born to an affluent merchant family and lived a carefree life until their father gambled away the family business and sold them to an American man who were looking for brides for his sons. Their journey from Shanghai to the U.S via Hong Kong was nothing short of hardship. . .Once in Los Angeles, they try to adapt to a new life, and find love with their new husbands while facing strict rules and customs in 1940 Chinatown.

In the heart of the story, Shanghai Girls is a story about sisters, love, and family. It’s also about daughters and mothers, and how different and similar we are at the same time. As daughters, we like to rebel against our mothers; as mothers, we became our mothers, whether we like it or not. It’s a great book.

壽 – longevity – shòu

Chopsticks turns 6 today, I can’t believe he is 6 already.  I want to keep him in a time capsule, so he will never grow old.  I remember writing the words of the week Happy Birthday for Dumpling’s birthday, so just to be fair, I should do one for Chopsticks too.

It is considered most fortunate to live a long life, so the symbol 壽 is often found in many decorations throughout a typical Chinese household.  Longevity noodles are usually served at dinners on birthday celebrations, or during Chinese New Year.  Traditionally, longevity noodles are made with a single lump of dough. The dough is stretched, then folded and stretched again until each fold creates thin threads of noodles. The process will not be finished until there are a thousand strands of noodles.

When you get a chance to enjoy it, try not to break off the noodle you are picking up, since it is believed that the longer the noodle is, the longer it suggests your life will be.

I will not be making longevity noodles for my 6 year old birthday boy tonight.  He wants to go out for sushi!  Oh well, I will make him spaghetti for lunch instead then.

Easter is this Sunday.  This year I’ve been pretty lazy about decorating the house, until this week.  Finally, the boys and I decorated about one and a half dozen eggs.  It was so fun.

All the egg painting activities reminded me of Cloisonne Eggs that my parents had in our house for decorations growing up.  They are not for Easter though, just for everyday decorations.  They look very similar to the Russian enamel eggs, but mostly with traditional Chinese designs such as flowers, birds, etc.

Chinese Cloisonne is one of the oldest kind of artwork made of red copper roughcast and decorated colorful glaze. It was well known in the time of Jingtai of Ming Dynasty (1450–1456) for the most exquisite production.  Chinese Cloisonne is also called “Enamel with copper roughcast and inlayed copper wire” abbreviated for Enamel and usually called cloisonne.  The ancient “Cloisonne Technique” is a unique procedure of hand painted and applied brass wire and enamel. This technique is associated most often with Chinese beads and with Fabrege eggs.

Anyhow, these eggs are beautiful.  I would love to find them from my parent’s house, why not give a little Chinese twist to Easter.  You can also find these mini ornaments from Smithsonian Stores as well!

So now that Chinese New Year is over, my Chinese friends and I have been exchanging ideas about what we did for the kids’ classroom presentations for the New Year.  A friend told me a really cute idea, that I am definitely stealing for next year.  She got some of the calligraphy brushes, ink, and some rice paper at a local Pearl River in New York.  She demonstrated how to write a few simple Chinese words to 20 first graders!  I thought that was such a wonderful idea!

I learned the Chinese calligraphy when I was little, but I haven’t touched a Calligraphy brush for a very very long time.  I had pretty good hand writing too!  There is something really relaxing about holding a brush, and drawing these characters.  There are 2 types of ink you can use, inkstick, or pre-mixed bottle.  The pre-mixed bottles are the most convenient, but I really enjoyed using the inkstick.  The ink from the inkstick is made from lampblack (soot) and binders, and must be rubbed with water on an inkstone until the right consistency is achieved.  It takes a lot of patience to get the right consistency, but there’s something really soothing about it.

When the kids are a little bit older, I am definitely going to introduce this to them.

Lantern Festival – 元宵節 – Yuán xiāo jié

Lantern Festival or 元宵節 is celebrated on the 15th day of the first month in the lunar calendar. This is not to be confused with Moon Festival, which is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar. Traditioanlly, 元宵節 marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebration as it’s the first full moon of the new year. Once again, families gather together for one last time before returning to work and “normal” life. During the gathering, everyone is to enjoy some 湯圓, tāng yuán, made out of glutinous rice. As you have seen from our previous posts, Chinese people believe in symbolic food, the circular shape of the tang yuan reminds family members to stay together and be united. So don’t forget to eat your tang yuan on 2/28 this year!