Winter Solstice is an important Chinese festival. Some Chinese will tell you it is a bigger festival than Chinese New Year. When I lived in the US, I used to explain it to my friends as the Chinese Thanksgiving. As with all Chinese festivals, Winter Solstice dinner also revolves around food and family.
This year, some of the food my family picked is somewhat untraditional. No Chinese festival is celebrated without chicken. It is a bit like turkey is a must for Thanksgiving. Instead of the usual poached chicken or crispy chicken, this year, we had Szechuan Pepper Chicken. The chicken is marinated with lots of flavors. The pepper leaves on the side are crispy and fragrant.
Szechuan Pepper Chicken
Next comes some perfectly sautéed shrimp with Gai Lan (Chinese broccoli). This fresh-tasting dish is made even more appetizing by all the colors.
Sautee Shrimp with Gai Lan
For those who have been to our Sham Shui Po Foodie Tour, you may be familiar to the bean curd sheets that accompany a kind of Chinese bak choy. Don’t mistake how simple this dish looks for its great taste. It is anything but bland. A great choice for vegetarians and carnivores alike!
Chinese Bak Choy with Bean Curd Sheet
No Chinese celebratory dinner is complete without some Chinese mushrooms and abalone. There is no exception for Winter Solstice dinner. If not chosen well or cooked right, abalone could be very tough. Tonight’s dish was just simply perfect. The abalone almost almost melted in my mouth. I only wish there was more!
Abalone with mushroom
Sham Shui Po Foodie Tour participants might also recall the braised goose we try on the tour. Tonight, we savored the traditional Chiu Chow braised goose, squid, pork belly and tofu. I picked one of each, making sure each is soaked in the braising sauce, then dipped in a little vinegar before slowly savoring them all. They were all so tender! Here’s a secret tip: after soaking it into its sauce and dipping into the vinegar, add some Chiu Chow chili oil! It really brings out the flavor. Other diners might wonder if you really know what you are doing, but once you share this tip with them and they try it for themselves, they would think you are a true Hong Kong Foodie!
Braised Goose, Pork Belly, Squid and Tofu
Traditionally, a festive meal includes fried rice and noodles. For our Winter Solstice dinner tonight, we were served olive fried rice with pork. A bit different from the typical Hong Kong-styled fried rice but it was simple and delicious!
Olive Fried Rice
We were so busy eating that I forgot to take a few other photos. Another traditional item on a festive menu is a steamed fish. Instead of this traditional dish, we ordered fried pomfret. We also tried stuffed tofu hot pot cooked in a peppery soup. As a grand finale for our Winter Solstice dinner, we had sweet dumplings with black sesame fillings in red bean soup. In Chinese, the sweet dumplings are called tang yuan which signifies coming or uniting together.
What a full belly we had! We now look forward to the next big Chinese event, Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner!
Cecilia
Hong Kong Foodie
