Western
civilization does New Year’s celebrations all wrong.
Western
New Year’s celebrations are all about looking back – and Monday morning quarterbacking
is never truly satisfying. Do you really want to hear the past year’s Top 100
songs played back in ascending order of popularity, rehash every natural
disaster and political scandal of the year, and re-read the obituaries of every important
person who has passed on during the past twelve months? Worst of all, after the celebration itself –
typically a frenzied and wildly overpriced evening on the town (look out for those sobriety checkpoints!)
– there's nothing to look forward to but taking down the Christmas tree.
No
wonder everyone wakes up on January 1 with a hangover.
On the
other hand, Chinese New Year celebrations – which I grew up with alongside their
champagne-fueled Western counterparts – are all about looking forward. Sure,
the past year may have been marked by screw-ups, disasters, and disappointment, but
so what? The advent of a new year is a
chance to reset the clock, get back up, and start out again from scratch – and that
in itself is genuine cause for celebration.
In the
days leading up to Chinese New Year (which falls on January 23 this year), houses
are cleaned (to ensure a fresh start), new clothes are purchased (ditto), and
decorations in lucky colors – red and gold – are put up everywhere to invite
good fortune for the following year. On a trip to Singapore several years ago,
my parents loaded up on gaudy bright-red New Year decorations, the likes of
which they’d never seen anywhere else – a six-foot long red dragon, which
they’ve taken to hanging over the dining room table, and long strings of fake
red-and-gold firecrackers (including a battery-operated one that lights up and
makes obnoxious popping noises when you press a button). In the years when
they’ve hosted big Chinese New Year’s parties,
they’ve left the outdoors Christmas lights up to add to the festive look.
(Conveniently enough, Chinese New Year typically takes place in late January or
early February, which always gives us something to look forward to in those
blah days after the other New Year.)
Like all
worthy celebrations, Chinese New Year festivities are centered around food. But
not just any food – everything eaten during this important time must contribute
to one’s good luck in the following year.
This
focus on securing one’s future good fortune begins the moment one wakes up on
New Year’s Day. While Western custom dictates waking up every January 1 to the
taste of Alka-Selzer and regret, Chinese
tradition requires that you start the new year with a taste of something sweet,
to ensure sweetness in the year ahead. (I clearly remember being fed a bit of
rock candy before breakfast one Chinese New Year morning during my childhood –
right before a dental appointment!)
To
ensure that your friends and family have an equally sweet start to their year,
you must also have a pretty box of sweets – such as candied kumquats, melon,
and ginger – on hand when they drop by. If they come over for lunch or dinner,
traditionally lucky foods you can serve them (and yourself) include clams,
lettuce, whole chickens, and pretty much anything round or orange or gold – all
of which symbolize wealth and completeness.
Besides
being auspicious, traditional Chinese New Year dishes can be delectable – fresh
clams stir-fried with savory black-bean sauce, juicy poached or roasted
chicken, and, of course, lettuce wraps – but some may be acquired tastes for
those who did not grow up with them. In particular, Chinese sweets tend to be
problematic for non-Asians – they’re generally a lot
less sweet than Western desserts, and the bouncy, toothsome texture of some of
the rice-based sweets is an unfamiliar and startling sensation for many.
Still,
festive meals call for dessert, and most Chinese-Americans have plenty of
non-Chinese friends who share in their celebrations (and also deserve any good
luck that comes along). Since sweets in general are lucky, as are round, orange
or yellow things, pretty much any sweet, round, orange or yellow thing will
serve as good insurance against misfortune – this is why tangerines, oranges,
and kumquats are popular New Year’s treats and decorations.
Still, pointing your non-Asian friends towards that decorative bowl of tangerines while you enjoy your
sticky-rice new year’s cake is not very classy. Instead, I’d serve a dessert
that pleases all constituencies involved (because this is America, doggone it!). This almond cake topped with candied orange
slices (inspired by a Mexican almond cake by Paty Jinich) has all bases
covered: It’s round. It’s orange. It’s laden with an exceptionally lucky fruit. The cake is sweet but not too sweet, with a
moist, tender texture that will please everyone at your table. And if any of
your New Year’s guests are avoiding gluten, you’re also safe: the cake is also
flourless and gluten-free.
Back in
high school, one of my English teachers gave a fantastically depressing lecture
about New Year’s Eve. He told us that it was a profoundly sad occasion because
that’s the time when people reflect upon the failures and disappointments of
the past year and realize they’re a year older and they’ll never get that time
back. Nobody actually enjoys all those big parties and all that champagne, he
said. All they’re doing is trying to hide from the pain.
Speak
for yourself, dude.
****************************
This
cake takes as its point of departure Paty Jinich’s version of a Mexican convent
sweet – a flourless almond cake topped with a marmalade glaze. To make this
simple cake prettier and more festive, I’ve replaced the original marmalade
topping with candied orange slices (based on a surprisingly easy recipe from Food and Wine), and replaced the original port flavoring in the cake with a mixture
of orange juice and orange flower water.
FLOURLESS
ALMOND CAKE WITH CANDIED ORANGES
For
the cake:
2 cups
blanched almonds
¾ cup
sugar
4 eggs
½ cup (1
stick) butter, at room temperature
1
tablespoon vanilla extract
2
teaspoons fresh orange juice
1
teaspoon orange flower water
For
the candied oranges:
2 large
navel oranges
3 cups
water
1 cup
sugar
Sugar for garnish (optional)
1.Butter
an 8-inch round cake pan or springform pan, and cover the bottom with a circle
of parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2.In a
food processor, pulse the almonds and sugar together until finely ground. Add
the eggs and pulse until all is thoroughly combined. Then add the vanilla,
orange juice, and orange flower water. Cut the butter into chunks and add to
the batter, processing until thoroughly combined.
6. Pour
the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the top of the cake is golden
brown and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about
30 minutes.
7. Allow
the cake to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan and cooling it completely on a wire rack.
8. To
make the candied oranges: If the oranges have been waxed, dip them briefly in a
pot of boiling water, then rinse and dry them thoroughly to remove the wax. Cut
them crosswise into ¼-inch slices.
9. In a
wide, deep skillet, combine the water and sugar and bring to a boil. Add the
orange slices and cook over medium-high heat until the oranges are translucent
and the liquid forms a thin syrup, about 20 minutes. Gently stir the oranges
from time to time to ensure that they cook evenly.
10.
Reduce the heat to medium low and continue cooking until the syrup thickens and
reduces and the orange rinds are tender.
11. Once
the oranges are cool enough to touch, arrange them decoratively over the top of
the cake, glaze with the leftover cooking syrup, and sprinkle with extra sugar, if desired.
