Chinese Friendship Association rings in Lunar New Year with dishes from home, cultural show – lawyer

The Chinese Friendship Association recently hosted its annual Lunar New Year holiday at the East Baton Rouge parish library on Gudwood Boulevard. The reception was a home -made dish or participants can buy tickets at the door.

More than 81 different dishes gathered in the library meeting room and celebrated the Lunar New Year.

The Association celebrates holidays such as the Lunar New Year or Mid Ehumn Festival and organizes events for people to gather – whether it is to learn how to cook, exercise, walk or participate in Louisiana’s traditions together. In March, they host crab.

“Our goal is to encourage the community, friendship, exchange of culture and development,” said Jan Muly President of the Association.

The event was organized by Esther Yao, who participated in the organization since moving to Baton Rouge in 1997. She brought three dishes to the event.

“People probably know the name, but (it) probably has a slightly different way because I improved,” Yao said with laughter before the event.

One of the dishes he brought, 夫妻肺片 (Fuqi Feipian))Which translates to approximately the “pieces of the lungs of spouse and wife” is delicious and not as scary as it sounds. Despite the name, white is very rarely used. YAO makes its version of beef tendon, which it buys from the Asian market.

There are many different cuisines in China, many of which cannot be found on the same table or in Baton Rouge restaurants. But overnight they were all together, united by the experience of people who made them, being part of the Chinese Diaspora in Baton Rouge. Yao’s dish is a local Sichuan province, which is not the part of China it is from, but she has learned to make it online and experiment with different versions of the recipe before settling on the version she has made for the party.

Lynn he, an associate professor of violin at LSU, has been a member of the association for many years. A native of Shanghai, he studied in Pennsylvania before moving to Baton Rouge in 2007 to teach at LSU. He made Shenhai style spring rollers for the party, the way his parents learned him as a child.

“It’s really simple. The interior is sliced ​​pork, NAPA cabbage, and today I put some mushrooms, “he explained in Mandarin. “This is a nostalgic dish from my hometown, which is the best of its culture.”

He and his wife are part of the association because shortly after they moved to Baton Rouge.

“In this foreign land, we are a minority,” he said. “Of course, I would like to get together with people who speak my language who are from my people who can speak to me about culture and represent the best parts of it.”

His wife Maggie Yuan, who is from Taijuan, also made a Shanghai -style dish called 四喜烤麸 (sixikaofu,)) which is known in English as a gluten salad. This is a cold dish made from mostly mushrooms and baked gluten.

“I like it, even though it is not really (from) my hometown,” she said of the dish.

Yuan said she and many others during the event were moving away from their home cities years ago, so their traditions and recipes were “mixed” – not only what people have grown up. This is part of the way people adapt and change when adjusting to a new place after they get married or exposed to different types of kitchen.

In February, the Chinese Friendship Association will partner with the association of Chinese students and scientists of LSU to host performances, activities and cultural show to continue to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The event begins at 3:30 pm on February 22 in front of the Student Union before moving to the ballroom inside the building. No tickets, but pre -registration is required. For more information, visit www.instagram.com/lsucssa.