Chinese New Year Menu

The Menu

Asian dishes like this Thai
Beef Stir Fry create a party on
your palate that rivals the one
going on in your dining room.

Gather you friends together for a tasty New Year's celebration dinner. Authentic Asian holiday cuisine will tantalize their taste buds.

Oriental Shrimp Soup In Thai cooking -- such as this velvety coconut soup -- citrus appears in the form of lemongrass, a highly aromatic and flavorful herb that looks like a scallion but tastes like fresh lemons.

Asian Slaw Salad with Sesame Dressing The Asians' love of vegetables is legendary, and this crisp and crunchy salad is chock-full of raw vegetables.

Petite Spring Rolls These tender bites of rice noodles, fresh vegetables, and herbs are traditionally served for New Year's. Wrap each appetizer roll in rice paper, sheets of pressed rice paste that can be found at Asian specialty markets or some large supermarkets.

Thai Beef Stir-Fry Traditional Thai seasonings of fish sauce, lime, ginger, and hot red pepper combine with beef strips and vegetable for a colorful dish.

Almond Cake with Fresh Fruit This dense, rich nut cake provides a finish with a flourish and -- if you serve it with oranges -- a wish for good fortune in the coming year. In China, fresh oranges are a must at any New Year's celebration, as they are believed to be similar to a certain kind of fruit in heaven.

Countdown to Your Party

Wrap a crisp white napkin
in bright red twine and tuck
in a phlax leaf and a set
of chopsticks for a
mood-enhancing place setting.

• Prepare vegetables and dressing for salad; cover and refrigerate in separate containers.
• Cut up zucchini, and peel and devein shrimp for soup; cover and refrigerate in separate containers.
• Cut up beef and vegetables for stir-fry; cover and refrigerate in separate containers.
• Prepare almond cake; cover and store at room temperature.

• Prepare spring rolls; cover and refrigerate.

• Marinate the beef for stir-fry.

• Boil water for rice and begin cooking soup.
• While soup and rice are cooking, stir-fry vegetables and beef.
• Assemble salads.

• Assemble salads.

• Soak dried fruit in liqueur. Drain after 30 minutes; cover and let stand at room temperature.

• Arrange cake, fruit, and reserved liqueur.