1 00:00:10,039 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Food Stuff. I'm Anne Rees and 2 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:17,720 Speaker 1: I'm Lauren Bogbaum, and today we're talking about Chinese and 3 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:23,119 Speaker 1: or Lunar New Year food traditions. We are, and we're 4 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: also featuring our very first guest. Yes, people will actually 5 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: talk to us. Oh, I never had any idea that 6 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:34,840 Speaker 1: this day would come. And two guests actually not even 7 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:39,599 Speaker 1: just one. Yeah, so this is a big episode for us, 8 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:43,160 Speaker 1: It really is. Um Uh. Yeah, Joe McCormick and Robert 9 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:45,280 Speaker 1: Lamb of Stuff to Blow Your Mind are going to 10 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: join us later on in the episode to share some 11 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:52,560 Speaker 1: of their some of their experiences and research. Yes, because 12 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 1: they have episodes coming out very differently themed yes, about 13 00:00:56,800 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: Lunar New Year, and we might probably are going to 14 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: appear on their show. So yeah, we're working together. Have fun. 15 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: Um I love Lunar New Year and or Chinese New 16 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,759 Speaker 1: Year and or Spring Festival. It has many names because 17 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 1: almost all the lucky foods have like word play involved, 18 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:20,919 Speaker 1: making them sort of edible puns, which is the best. Yeah, 19 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,120 Speaker 1: it's a it's a highly pun related holiday, so much so, 20 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:28,560 Speaker 1: and I mean there's even added layers of color and shape. 21 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: This is a lot going on here. And I did 22 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:36,680 Speaker 1: have the fortune, the good fortune to spend Chinese New 23 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:40,400 Speaker 1: Year in China a couple of years ago. And at 24 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:44,679 Speaker 1: the time I celebrate it in the US, like I 25 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:46,399 Speaker 1: kind of just used it as an excuse to go 26 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 1: get dam sum. Oh, well, that's any excuse to get 27 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: them sum. Is it good? Oh, it's excellent, and I 28 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 1: see like the dances. We have a bit of a 29 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 1: Chinatown in Atlanta. Um, But that was my only experience 30 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:01,640 Speaker 1: with it, and when I was in China, I realized 31 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 1: what a big deal it is and I had a 32 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 1: great time, even though I was shocked that everything was 33 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: closed all of a sudden. I didn't know it was coming. Um. 34 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:18,400 Speaker 1: But yeah, I've um, I enjoy celebrating it. I've never 35 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: I've never celebrated myself. But but it sounds completely amazing. 36 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:25,280 Speaker 1: And I've had a lot of the foods associated with it, 37 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: and they're all top top notch. Yes, I have a 38 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: celebration planned for oh no, yeah, okay, alright, so let's 39 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 1: dive in here later. New Year, as we said, often 40 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: called Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, it's coming up. 41 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:44,040 Speaker 1: I believe it's February, and this year is the year 42 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: of the dog. Specifically, it is an earth dog. Oh, 43 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:52,640 Speaker 1: I am an earth dragon. I'm a water dog. I love. 44 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,480 Speaker 1: She put her hands on her hip when she said 45 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 1: it was very official. It goes by a bunch of 46 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,799 Speaker 1: other names too, Um, decide from just Chinese New Year, yes, yes, 47 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: Vietnamese Tet, Tibetan Lasar, and Korean so now oh, and 48 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 1: that this year thing since is based on a lunar 49 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 1: solar calendar, where it falls varies each year. The first 50 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: new moon of the Chinese lunar calendar marks the beginning 51 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:21,320 Speaker 1: of the lunar New Year, and it lasts for fifteen 52 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:25,640 Speaker 1: days until the first full moon of the lunar calendar. 53 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:30,239 Speaker 1: The beginning typically falls between January twenty one in February 54 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 1: on Western calendars, which is why if you're born in 55 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 1: those months, you have to kind of go look up 56 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,280 Speaker 1: when you were born to find out what animal you 57 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:41,840 Speaker 1: are in the zodiac because it might vary. Because of 58 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: my very sure and this is a celebration that is 59 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:51,960 Speaker 1: shock full of traditions. The lunar New Year has been 60 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: around quite a while, astronomical records inscribed on oracle bones. 61 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: That's so cool, Um put it at at least fourteenth 62 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:03,640 Speaker 1: century b c. And Shang dynasty around that time. So 63 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: modern concepts of spring festival celebration are combinations of these 64 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 1: thousands of years of rituals and are influenced by by 65 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: Taoism and Confucianism and Buddhism, and of course every family 66 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 1: celebrates a little bit differently. Of course, we're going to 67 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:20,440 Speaker 1: be giving you kind of a generally what goes on, 68 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: but it's very specific for family, of course, and in 69 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: different countries. Um, this is a food show, so we're 70 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: going to focus mainly on those types of traditions. Weird, yeah, 71 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: But briefly, here's some non food traditions in history. Ten 72 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:40,040 Speaker 1: days before Lunar New Year Day, New Year's Day, I 73 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: should say, something called a sweeping of the grounds takes place, 74 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:45,839 Speaker 1: and this is sort of a deep clean of the 75 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: house to get rid of any bad luck that might 76 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:52,560 Speaker 1: be hanging around. Something I read from Columbia University and 77 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:54,880 Speaker 1: some other places, but primarily there said that in a 78 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: lot of Chinese homes there's a portrait of a kitchen 79 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 1: god or perhaps calligraphy for the kitchen god's name, who 80 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 1: takes note throughout the year of your cleanliness, your wastefulness 81 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: and kindness throughout the year. What do you say to 82 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 1: strangers when they come in um At year's end, he 83 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:15,600 Speaker 1: will report his findings to the Jade Emperor, the Jade 84 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: Emperor being a deity who rules over the heavenly domain 85 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:22,680 Speaker 1: and heads the heavenly court, similar a little bit to 86 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:25,800 Speaker 1: a human emperor on earth. And so your your heart 87 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: or stove or kitchen god is sort of the heavens 88 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 1: micro local bureocratic outposts exactly. And as the lunar year 89 00:05:35,839 --> 00:05:38,159 Speaker 1: is drawing to a close and you're doing your cleaning, 90 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:41,680 Speaker 1: you you would bribe the kitchen god with pastries or 91 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: candies or wine. You might even rub his lips if 92 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:48,160 Speaker 1: it's a portrait and not calligraphy, with honey, so he'd 93 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: tell the Jade Emperor sweet things about you. When the 94 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: ritual was complete, the portrait is burned and off he 95 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,440 Speaker 1: went to report to the Jade Emperor, and then his 96 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:02,440 Speaker 1: portrait was replaced with a new one. New Year's Eve 97 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: and New Year's Day are usually set aside for family 98 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 1: and honoring ancestors, called reunion dinners. In southern China, you 99 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:14,120 Speaker 1: might leave sugarcane stalks behind the door to represent the 100 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:17,480 Speaker 1: hope that you'll be climbing up that ladder, going up 101 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:21,039 Speaker 1: in life, to use some Western terms of phrase. Throughout 102 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:24,160 Speaker 1: the fifteen days, there will be lion dances and fireworks 103 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:29,479 Speaker 1: culminating in the Lantern festival, and a legend surrounding Lunar 104 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 1: New Year's involves a vicious human flesh eating creature called Neon, 105 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 1: which is the word for year that is afraid of 106 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 1: loud noises and fire. You know, your your firecrackers, the 107 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:44,240 Speaker 1: color red, which is why you see red a lot 108 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:52,039 Speaker 1: during this time. Red lanterns, red decorations. Yeah, around, and 109 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:56,240 Speaker 1: the story behind the Chinese zodiac goes like this. In 110 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:59,720 Speaker 1: ancient times, the Jade Emperor decided that the calendar should 111 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 1: flude animals. He degreed that the first twelve animals that 112 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 1: arrived to his palace would be integrated into the calendar. 113 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:10,720 Speaker 1: Two pals, the cat and the rat, were the first 114 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 1: to hear this news, and they decided to start out 115 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: early to arrive first. The cat, however, was notorious for 116 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: sleeping late, and he asked the rat to wake him up, 117 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:24,240 Speaker 1: which the rat promised to do. Yeah, you see where 118 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 1: this is going. Yeah, the rat forgot and in his 119 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: let's say, enthusiasm to wake the cat, and on his 120 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 1: journey to the palace he ran into a tiger, horse 121 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: and knox, all of these much bigger and faster animals. 122 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: The rat was not going to be left behind, though, 123 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 1: He convinced the ox to let him hit her ride 124 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:48,920 Speaker 1: on his back on the condition that the rat would 125 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:51,760 Speaker 1: sing the whole day, which, unless the rat was a 126 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:56,280 Speaker 1: fantastic singer, this sounds like horrible deal to me. I 127 00:07:56,280 --> 00:07:58,440 Speaker 1: can't imagine any friends that I would be like, oh, yeah, 128 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: you can ride for free in my all if you 129 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 1: sing the entire time, just the whole time. No, actually, 130 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 1: there's like why I have some very talented friends, But 131 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: you do? You do? I just feel like it'll wear though. 132 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:15,280 Speaker 1: But anyway, that's what the ox wanted, and the pair 133 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 1: arrived before the other animals, but the rap jumped off 134 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 1: and beat the ox to being the first one there, 135 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 1: and by the time the cat groggy awoke, rubbed his 136 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 1: eyes and got to the palace, all twelve spots had 137 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 1: been snatched up into this day. This is why the 138 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,600 Speaker 1: cat hunts and kills rats. Oh yeah, oh that's a 139 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:36,559 Speaker 1: great Oh, that's a terrific fable. Yeah, I like this. 140 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:39,280 Speaker 1: You can also use the zodec symbols to tell time. 141 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:41,720 Speaker 1: Apparently I'm not going to go into it, but that's interesting. 142 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: It's a public holiday. As I mentioned before. Workers in China, 143 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:47,959 Speaker 1: Hong Kong, and some other countries that have a large 144 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:52,120 Speaker 1: Chinese population, or any large population that celebrates um they 145 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 1: get seven days off in a row, which means a 146 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:59,440 Speaker 1: lot of traveling. In Fortune magazine dubbed it the greatest 147 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:05,680 Speaker 1: travel nightmare of the year. The seventh day of Lunar 148 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:08,559 Speaker 1: New Year is known as common Person's birthday and is 149 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: the day that everyone grows a year older. So you 150 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 1: have your birthday the actual date, but it's the common 151 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 1: person's birthday where you kind of acknowledge everyone yea. The 152 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:22,080 Speaker 1: Gregorian calendar was officially adopted in China in nineteen twelve, 153 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,559 Speaker 1: but both January one and Lunar New Year were celebrated 154 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:30,599 Speaker 1: as New Year. That is until mal Zadong and the 155 00:09:30,679 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: Chinese Communist Party came into power in nineteen they banned 156 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 1: celebrations of the Lunar New Year. The government grew more 157 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 1: and more lax, though, and as the twentieth century came 158 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: to a close, and it was more acceptable to participate 159 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:50,080 Speaker 1: in luter New Year's festivities once again, and once rolled around, 160 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:53,160 Speaker 1: the government put in place that week long holiday. So 161 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:57,280 Speaker 1: it's big, big celebration over there now. Yeah, yeah, not 162 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:01,240 Speaker 1: not small, no, and uh, let's let's talk about some 163 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:05,800 Speaker 1: of those things you might celebrate with, well, those delicious foods. Yeah, 164 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:07,840 Speaker 1: but first let's take a quick break for a word 165 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:22,880 Speaker 1: from our sponsor, and we're back, thank you sponsor. So, 166 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:26,800 Speaker 1: food traditions for the Lunar New Year actually start a 167 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:30,840 Speaker 1: couple of weeks beforehand with the Lava Festival, a harvest 168 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:34,920 Speaker 1: celebration with its own traditional porridge or kanji called lava 169 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:38,440 Speaker 1: porridge or sometimes eight treasure porridge. Eight is a very 170 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 1: lucky number. It's made of different kinds of rice, plus peanuts, dates, seeds, 171 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,040 Speaker 1: and so on. Families may make batches to share with 172 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:49,840 Speaker 1: relatives and friends, and some Buddhist monasteries make giant batches 173 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,959 Speaker 1: to share with the whole community. And yeah, it's kind 174 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:56,080 Speaker 1: of the official countdown to the new year. It's when 175 00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:00,280 Speaker 1: people start getting excited. And let's talk about the New 176 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 1: Year's Eve feast. Yeah, um, so that's celebrated with family, 177 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:08,720 Speaker 1: as we said, and it's one of the biggest meals 178 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:12,720 Speaker 1: of the year. It's like Thanksgiving, yeah um. For those 179 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 1: that celebrate Lunar New Year, a lot of dishes served 180 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:21,720 Speaker 1: have to do with hominem's, which is excellent In Cantonese. 181 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:25,440 Speaker 1: The word for good business is a homonym for oysters, 182 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:28,400 Speaker 1: so that's a frequent New Year's Eve item. The Cantonese 183 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,080 Speaker 1: word for shrimp sounds like laughter, so it shows up 184 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:34,320 Speaker 1: a bit too. You might find clams on dinner tables 185 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:37,480 Speaker 1: because when they're cooked, they open up like the opening 186 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:40,440 Speaker 1: of new prospects are so you have hopes for in 187 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 1: your new year. Jaza our meat field dumplings enjoyed at 188 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:47,840 Speaker 1: midnight is common in northern China. This also has to 189 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:51,559 Speaker 1: do with sounding similar to a word that means meeting 190 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:55,000 Speaker 1: of the old and New year. The shape plays a 191 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:59,120 Speaker 1: role too. It looks like a currency used in Imperial China, 192 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,000 Speaker 1: and yet on other level, since the process of making 193 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:04,680 Speaker 1: dumplings is time consuming and involves a lot of people 194 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:07,360 Speaker 1: working together, it's seen as a way to bring peace 195 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:11,000 Speaker 1: to the family. In some families, a gold coin might 196 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 1: be placed inside, granting whoever finds it even more luck 197 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:18,040 Speaker 1: and hopefully not a broken tooth, hopefully not to showcase abundance. 198 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:20,719 Speaker 1: For the last course of the New Year's feast, it's 199 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:23,200 Speaker 1: traditional to have fish, the word for which is a 200 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 1: hominem for abundance or sort plus. So you have the fish, 201 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:29,160 Speaker 1: but then you don't eat it. Oh yeah, or depending 202 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 1: on where you are, um, you might, but you have 203 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:36,560 Speaker 1: to leave some left over. Yeah. The head of the 204 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,720 Speaker 1: fish is positioned facing the elders are guests as a 205 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 1: sign of respect for luck. The two people across from 206 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:44,680 Speaker 1: the head and tailor is supposed to drink at the 207 00:12:44,679 --> 00:12:48,440 Speaker 1: same time, which I imagine causes some hilarity. That the 208 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:51,199 Speaker 1: fish is going to be eaten. The other guests have 209 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:53,600 Speaker 1: to wait until the person who the fish's head is 210 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:57,239 Speaker 1: facing has had the first bite. And it sounds very serious, 211 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:00,600 Speaker 1: but from what I read, it's all pretty lighthearted. During 212 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:05,000 Speaker 1: the New Year's holidays, traditional greeting translates to maybe eat 213 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:08,920 Speaker 1: fish every year. If you're not eating the fish, a 214 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:12,120 Speaker 1: main protein might be a simple dish of chopped chicken 215 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 1: that's been scalded and lightly boiled until it's white, and 216 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:17,760 Speaker 1: then seasoned with sesame oil. It's served warm with a 217 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:21,480 Speaker 1: couple of dipping sauces and uh, yeah, families spend the 218 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 1: whole night together and stay up until midnight, light fireworks 219 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:30,040 Speaker 1: and a ring in the official new year. Then, yes, 220 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:32,480 Speaker 1: you wake up the first morning of the new year, 221 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:34,760 Speaker 1: You're with your family, You maybe have a couple of 222 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:38,280 Speaker 1: singed fingers. Uh, you get dressed up in your best clothes, 223 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,880 Speaker 1: and you start the celebration of this whole multi week 224 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:45,800 Speaker 1: thing with a tea ceremony, wherein the younger generations offer 225 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:48,959 Speaker 1: cups of tea sweetened with candied fruits along with words 226 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 1: of good wishes to the older generations. The older generations 227 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:56,960 Speaker 1: respond with a red envelope traditionally filled with messages of 228 00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: good fortune, but these days usually containing a literal bit 229 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:02,520 Speaker 1: of good fortune in the form of paper money with 230 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 1: I believe specific denominations. There's yeah again, like like numbers 231 00:14:08,559 --> 00:14:11,920 Speaker 1: can be very lucky or unlucky, and depending on how 232 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:14,360 Speaker 1: close you are and and what the difference. Yeah, it's 233 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 1: it's a really intricate system and I don't understand it, 234 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 1: but it's great, it is. Yeah, um, and then uh, 235 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:30,280 Speaker 1: the feasting just continues for days. Ye. Anything fried is 236 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:33,200 Speaker 1: considered a symbol of wealth. It's sort of fancy, after all, 237 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:36,680 Speaker 1: to have access to so much fat. Also that golden color. 238 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:41,160 Speaker 1: Spring rolls in particular are popular, you know, the filling 239 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:43,480 Speaker 1: that's rolled in a thin dough and then fried, because 240 00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:48,239 Speaker 1: if their resemblance two bars of gold Oh long noodles 241 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,400 Speaker 1: for long life are eaten throughout the first five days. 242 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 1: They can be up to two ft or a little 243 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:55,880 Speaker 1: over half a meter long. And these are made by 244 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:58,560 Speaker 1: rolling up large sheets of dough and then slicing them 245 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 1: crosswise into noodle. Whereas normal noodles might be cut into 246 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:06,600 Speaker 1: manageable threads, these are left uncut. I have enough trouble 247 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:12,160 Speaker 1: eating noodles anyway, I would get into such There's even 248 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:15,560 Speaker 1: a picture somewhere someone took of me eating noodles, because 249 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:19,400 Speaker 1: I if you have long hair, it gets complicated. It's 250 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:21,200 Speaker 1: very it's very tricky. You always have to have a 251 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:23,560 Speaker 1: hair band with you if you're I've yeah, I've started 252 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:26,640 Speaker 1: just having one of my risks because in case of noodles, 253 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 1: noodles can happen anytimey time, and I want to be prepared. 254 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:34,680 Speaker 1: Um Pork, as with a lot of Western New Year's traditions, 255 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 1: is seen as good luck food symbolizing abundance and wealth. 256 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:41,760 Speaker 1: Turnip cakes are another popular option, especially in Taiwan, whereas 257 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:45,440 Speaker 1: associated with a phrase for good luck. It's traditional to 258 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:47,880 Speaker 1: do a lot of visiting with family and friends around 259 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:50,640 Speaker 1: the New Year, so it's always good to have easy 260 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,760 Speaker 1: snacks on hand, and this is formalized in a tray 261 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:57,080 Speaker 1: of togetherness, which is this platter of of bite sized 262 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:00,320 Speaker 1: sweets and snacks. Tray has eight compartment so he can 263 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: fill with different lucky foods depending on what kinds of 264 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:05,760 Speaker 1: wishes specifically you want to offer your guests, and may 265 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,440 Speaker 1: or may not have a center space to receive red 266 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,040 Speaker 1: envelopes with again a little bit of literal fortune in 267 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:15,000 Speaker 1: them um and so many different snacks can be on 268 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:19,320 Speaker 1: these trays. A red or black dyed watermelon seeds for fertility, 269 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:23,320 Speaker 1: candied lotus root for abundance, candied winter melon or ginger 270 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:27,040 Speaker 1: for good health and longevity, crispy little sesameseedballs or dried 271 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 1: cun quats for prosperity, dried pineapple for business success. All 272 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:36,800 Speaker 1: of these are kind of golden foods. Yeah, sweet golden stuff, yeah, lovely. 273 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 1: Other lucky dishes involved combining things whose names together means something. 274 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:45,800 Speaker 1: For two of this um like the combination of dates, peanuts, 275 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:49,920 Speaker 1: dried longen and lotuses to form the phrase to soon 276 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:53,040 Speaker 1: realize the birth of noble sons. Wow, Yeah, I love 277 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:57,760 Speaker 1: I love like all this wordplay and phrase smithe going 278 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 1: on here and peanuts. Peanuts are associated with long life 279 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:06,679 Speaker 1: and fertility. Fruits like per salmons, peaches, oranges, mandarins, pomelos, 280 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:09,840 Speaker 1: and tangerines are all common lunar New Year's food because 281 00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:13,200 Speaker 1: their gold skin represents prosperity and good fortune, and the 282 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:16,040 Speaker 1: word for gold is similar to the word for orange. 283 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:19,040 Speaker 1: The word for pomelo is similar to a word for 284 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:22,879 Speaker 1: prosperity or status. You want to buy them with the 285 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,320 Speaker 1: stems and leaves attached where possible, because this has an 286 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:29,840 Speaker 1: added longevity bonus. So many fruits that I've seen in 287 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:33,119 Speaker 1: the local international markets make more sense now that I 288 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:36,520 Speaker 1: know that. I'm like, oh, oh, that's why they still 289 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:39,560 Speaker 1: have the stems and leaves attached. Oh yeah, off the 290 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:43,560 Speaker 1: keep an eye out for that um. A dessert called 291 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,480 Speaker 1: Eight Treasures rice pudding is another way to get in 292 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:50,600 Speaker 1: some of those lucky ingredients. This is a molded glutinous 293 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:53,200 Speaker 1: rice dish. The whole grains of rice. You don't you 294 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:57,280 Speaker 1: don't pound them out, molded glutinous rice dish that's studied, studied, 295 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,720 Speaker 1: studied with with candied ms or citrus or lotus seeds 296 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:03,800 Speaker 1: or nuts or red bean paste or what have you. 297 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:06,119 Speaker 1: And then a kind of kind of flipped turned out 298 00:18:06,119 --> 00:18:10,200 Speaker 1: of addition, coated with sweet syrups. They're very pretty and lobster. 299 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:14,000 Speaker 1: This is a bad luck food and New Year's culture, 300 00:18:14,359 --> 00:18:16,560 Speaker 1: but it seems it's a good luck food for Lunar 301 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:18,400 Speaker 1: New Years due to the fact it kind of looks 302 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:22,480 Speaker 1: like a dragon. Yeah. Chicken, which Lauren mentioned earlier, is 303 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,400 Speaker 1: but it was also seen in our New Year's episode 304 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:28,560 Speaker 1: for Western New Year's traditions as bad luck. But in 305 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:31,680 Speaker 1: New Years, Lunar New Years is seen as good luck 306 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: for Spring festival, especially when served alongside the masculine lobsters. 307 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,080 Speaker 1: Since chicken is seen as a feminine yeah, it's a 308 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:43,040 Speaker 1: it's a feminine phoenix to the masculine dragon, right, the 309 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:46,200 Speaker 1: pairing of the two is perceived as promoting a harmonious marriage. 310 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: Our relationship is that is the happy family. It's like 311 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:55,480 Speaker 1: some non Chinese dish that we eat. It's like, now 312 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:59,359 Speaker 1: it's something phoenix phoenix and dragon is made anyway. A 313 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:03,080 Speaker 1: whole chicken is seen as a symbol of prosperity. Um. 314 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:09,520 Speaker 1: But there are unlucky foods, yes, pairs apparently and porridge 315 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:13,040 Speaker 1: anything in denominations of four because the word for four 316 00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:17,000 Speaker 1: sounds similar to the word for death and kitchen work. 317 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:21,520 Speaker 1: Sewing to should be avoided in general, because sharp objects 318 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:25,520 Speaker 1: are supposed to be avoided in general, so noted on 319 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,119 Speaker 1: noted on that and Buddhism, it is tradition that on 320 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:32,320 Speaker 1: lunar New Year no animals should be killed. On top 321 00:19:32,359 --> 00:19:35,080 Speaker 1: of that, vegetables are seen as purifying, so kind of 322 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:38,679 Speaker 1: similar to our whole detox I think we have associated 323 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,600 Speaker 1: with New Year. In the West, Um, Buddhists might partake 324 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:45,280 Speaker 1: in a vegetable packed dish called Buddhist the Light. Each 325 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:49,360 Speaker 1: of the vegetables involved frequently represent their own specific thing too. 326 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:53,480 Speaker 1: I Okay, this sounds like a tangent, but it's not. 327 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,199 Speaker 1: I promise. Here in the American South we have a 328 00:19:56,440 --> 00:20:00,520 Speaker 1: somewhat humorous saying, the higher the hair, the closer to God. 329 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:06,120 Speaker 1: I never know. It's great, um, And it's the same 330 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:10,439 Speaker 1: gig though with this traditional fortune salad or Prosperity salad. 331 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:15,360 Speaker 1: It's a combination of ingredients like salmon or cuttlefish, carrot, radish, citrus, 332 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:19,280 Speaker 1: and ginger shredded thin which the family gathers around a 333 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:21,600 Speaker 1: bowl of and tosses high into the air with their 334 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:24,879 Speaker 1: chopsticks to mix up before eating. And the higher the 335 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:28,560 Speaker 1: salad goes, the greater the family's fortunes. Or perhaps the 336 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:31,920 Speaker 1: more the salad overflows the plate, the more abundance will 337 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:34,879 Speaker 1: overflow in your life. Um, it's traditional to eat this 338 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:38,280 Speaker 1: on that everybody's birthday today, but it varies by family. 339 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:44,440 Speaker 1: That could be both fun and disastrous. I'm very clumsy. Yeah, 340 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 1: I'm afraid of getting a chopstick in the eye, honestly, 341 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:50,560 Speaker 1: But yeah, I could definitely overflow the plate. I can nail. 342 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:56,480 Speaker 1: You'd be great at this. Yes. We mentioned Prosperity cakes 343 00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:00,320 Speaker 1: earlier as being part of the Lantern Festival, and they're 344 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:04,760 Speaker 1: These are small, individual rice flower cakes that are leavened 345 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:07,359 Speaker 1: and they're steamed really hot so that they rise quickly 346 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:11,000 Speaker 1: and their tops crack or or blossom into these sections 347 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:14,119 Speaker 1: or petals or or a smile. Um. Some say that 348 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:17,399 Speaker 1: the more petals form, the luckier you'll be. And the 349 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 1: word for leavened sounds like the word for prosperous, so yeah, yeah. 350 00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:26,679 Speaker 1: Another Lantern Festival Day traditional dessert is a sweet and 351 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:31,200 Speaker 1: sticky rice dumplings. They use fine ground glutinous rice flour 352 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:33,639 Speaker 1: to make a dough, which may be then filled with 353 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,399 Speaker 1: sweet and savory paste, usually a red bean or a 354 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:40,040 Speaker 1: peanut or sesame or golden mung bean paste. And you 355 00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:42,639 Speaker 1: might serve these in a soup of ginger syrup or 356 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:46,800 Speaker 1: or sweetened hot water. Oh man, I'm getting so hungry. 357 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:51,280 Speaker 1: There's also a larger sticky rice cake called a young 358 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:54,879 Speaker 1: gau in Mandarin, made with glutenous rice flour and decorated 359 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:58,679 Speaker 1: with red dates. Usually serve warm or in slices fried. 360 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:02,720 Speaker 1: And if y'all have never had a sweet glutinous rice 361 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:05,760 Speaker 1: dough served warm, it's the same thing as mochi. If 362 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:09,680 Speaker 1: if you're familiar with with Japanese um uh so frequently 363 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:12,040 Speaker 1: in America ice cream field for reasons I'm still not 364 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:14,520 Speaker 1: entirely sure of. But but yeah, it's it's the same 365 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 1: thing as mochi dough. But when it when it's warmed 366 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:18,679 Speaker 1: up like that, it's got this sort of like sticky 367 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:22,520 Speaker 1: tachi uh, textures sort of like a less sweet hot 368 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:26,280 Speaker 1: caramel sauce, more solid less Yeah, I don't know, it's 369 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:28,879 Speaker 1: it's it's a very interesting gummy sort of texture that 370 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:32,399 Speaker 1: that I enjoy, but that can be difficult, yes to 371 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:35,320 Speaker 1: to to get right. And I think that Robert and 372 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:39,520 Speaker 1: Joe have stories about that. I believe they do a 373 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:42,600 Speaker 1: little bit later on to close out the festival. On 374 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:46,160 Speaker 1: the last day round, dumplings that resemble the full moon 375 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:49,080 Speaker 1: are shared amongst family members, again in the spirit of 376 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:53,199 Speaker 1: family unity. Apparently, it's a tradition for single ladies to 377 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:56,359 Speaker 1: write their phone numbers on mandarin oranges and then throw 378 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 1: them to the sea for their too love to find. 379 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:02,560 Speaker 1: And you know, I can't say there's any other better method. 380 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:11,800 Speaker 1: I don't believe in tender personally, so you know who knows. Um. 381 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:15,960 Speaker 1: So that's kind of China Lunar New Year. But there 382 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:20,879 Speaker 1: are definitely other other countries and traditions. Yeah, there's so many. 383 00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:24,200 Speaker 1: We've got just a couple to talk to you about. 384 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:26,760 Speaker 1: But first we're going to take one more quick break 385 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:39,920 Speaker 1: for a word from our sponsor, and we're back. Thank 386 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:45,000 Speaker 1: you sponsor. Okay, So here are a few that we 387 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:49,640 Speaker 1: ran across um popular ones um. This one is from 388 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:53,359 Speaker 1: Korea Toku and I'm so sorry if I butchered that. 389 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:55,920 Speaker 1: I watched the video, but you know, in and out 390 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:01,040 Speaker 1: this is a huge part of South Korea's New Year's tradition. 391 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:05,400 Speaker 1: It's a bowl of soup with egg, beef, vegetables, thin 392 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:10,199 Speaker 1: slices of rice, cake, and optionally kimchi or dumplings. I 393 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:12,600 Speaker 1: know it sounds really good. That's eaten at the start 394 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:16,000 Speaker 1: of the lunar New Year. It represents health, longevity, and 395 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:19,680 Speaker 1: it's sort of a birthday soup. Um. If you don't 396 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:23,639 Speaker 1: eat it, you won't get one year older. If you 397 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:27,199 Speaker 1: eat too, you'll get two years older. The sort of 398 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,320 Speaker 1: the story behind it um. In fact, instead of asking 399 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:32,680 Speaker 1: how old someone is, you can ask them how many 400 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:36,640 Speaker 1: bowls of this they've eaten. That's some pretty important soup 401 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:41,560 Speaker 1: right there. Yeah. Uh, slightly less intense, but also from Korea. 402 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:45,560 Speaker 1: You've got dusk or tea cookies. These are little melt 403 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:48,120 Speaker 1: in your mouth treats that are made from sesame seed 404 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,520 Speaker 1: powder and sugar syrups. Rice and honey syrups are traditional. 405 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:55,959 Speaker 1: They're a little savory and very sweet and sort of powdery. 406 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,240 Speaker 1: On the palate, almost like a like a well baked 407 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:02,000 Speaker 1: pie dough, and they're often molded into coin shapes, stamped 408 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,600 Speaker 1: with these pretty patterns and flavored with things like green 409 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:10,680 Speaker 1: tea or pine pollen, and stacked as high as possible. Uh. Ben, 410 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:15,440 Speaker 1: our coworker Ben Bullen his his lovely partner Brandy, brought 411 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:17,880 Speaker 1: some of these in for us one time. I can't 412 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,560 Speaker 1: say that they're necessarily to my taste, but I might 413 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:23,240 Speaker 1: not like the texture was strange for me, but I 414 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:26,480 Speaker 1: could see where people who liked them would like them 415 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:31,000 Speaker 1: very much. You can understand. Yeah, Yeah, they were pretty delightful. Yeah, 416 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:34,520 Speaker 1: these were the two that we ran across mostly, And 417 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:38,320 Speaker 1: I know there have to be so many more, oh dozens, hundreds, 418 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:40,919 Speaker 1: There's only so many research hours in a day, it's true. 419 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:46,000 Speaker 1: But please send us any that we missed. Oh absolutely 420 00:25:46,119 --> 00:25:49,800 Speaker 1: and uh and we can completely do more other episodes 421 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:52,679 Speaker 1: in the future about some I mean, I would, I 422 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:54,880 Speaker 1: think that I could. I could definitely talk an entire 423 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:58,879 Speaker 1: episode about dumplings. We have to. It's necessary, Yeah, about 424 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:02,400 Speaker 1: several differents sole episodes for several different kinds of dumplings. Probably, 425 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:07,400 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, just like a do Phil type thing that's 426 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:11,080 Speaker 1: a huge undertaking. We can have a mini series, the 427 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:17,720 Speaker 1: Dumpling mini series, the Dumpling Year Year You're Dumpling, I 428 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:19,960 Speaker 1: owe tune in. Oh, I would be so hungry the 429 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:23,800 Speaker 1: entire time. Yes, but this brings us to our much 430 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:29,919 Speaker 1: built up guest segment. Yes, that sound effect. Welcome to 431 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:33,560 Speaker 1: the studio. Guests, would you like to introduce yourselves? Sure, 432 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:36,320 Speaker 1: I'm Robert Lamb and I'm Joe McCormick, and we are 433 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:39,040 Speaker 1: the hosts of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, another podcast 434 00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:41,720 Speaker 1: here in the Stuff Family. It's really a privilege to 435 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:43,800 Speaker 1: be here with y'all. Oh, thank you so much for coming. 436 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:46,960 Speaker 1: I'm so excited our first guests. Yeah, that's great. Well, 437 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:49,600 Speaker 1: it seemed perfect because you guys were doing this episode 438 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,920 Speaker 1: for Lunar New Year, and we have some episodes coming 439 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:55,119 Speaker 1: out for Chinese New Year. It seemed like it was 440 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:57,520 Speaker 1: meant to cross over. Yes, it was meant to be. 441 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:00,480 Speaker 1: So were you all establishing any guest rich tools here? 442 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:03,520 Speaker 1: Like do you ask people what have you eaten? Today? Oh? 443 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:05,399 Speaker 1: That's a good one. Actually, do I mean do you 444 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:08,800 Speaker 1: want to share? My answer? Honestly would be, let's see, 445 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:12,399 Speaker 1: it would be a bagel that was provided by my employer. Okay, 446 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:16,919 Speaker 1: was it toasted? Yeah, I toasted spinach and cheese topped 447 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:23,480 Speaker 1: bagel with veggie cream cheese and a bag of pretzel goldfish. 448 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:29,720 Speaker 1: That's plain white carbs. Okay, you're still day left. Listen 449 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:34,680 Speaker 1: time cheese on there? Yes, um, I discovered earlier people 450 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:37,199 Speaker 1: have very strong opinions about bagels, So I want to 451 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:40,399 Speaker 1: come back to that topic so badly one day. How 452 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:44,080 Speaker 1: about you, Robert Trader Joe's Indian Food. Oh yeah, yeah, 453 00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:46,080 Speaker 1: they make a good one. Yeah, that's some good stuff 454 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:49,560 Speaker 1: right there. So tell us about your upcoming Lunar New 455 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:53,960 Speaker 1: Year episodes. Well, we have two of them. One is 456 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:58,119 Speaker 1: a discussion of the fabulous Terracotta Warriors so China and 457 00:27:58,359 --> 00:28:02,400 Speaker 1: and what we know out the as yet unbreached mausoleum 458 00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:05,639 Speaker 1: of the first sovereign Emperor. I think that, yeah, the 459 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:09,520 Speaker 1: first Emperor of China, Chin Chihuong, And I think after 460 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:13,640 Speaker 1: doing this episode, I'm convinced that his tomb is well 461 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,880 Speaker 1: we haven't been in his tomb, but his general death area, 462 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:19,880 Speaker 1: the necropolis, the you know what where all of that 463 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:24,000 Speaker 1: stuff is is like the coolest ancient death zone in 464 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:27,320 Speaker 1: the world. It's like cooler than the Pyramids, right, Yeah, 465 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:30,520 Speaker 1: I would definitely say so it's new to me. It's 466 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:33,160 Speaker 1: fresh to me, right. So, but when you guys sat down, 467 00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:34,600 Speaker 1: I was like, Oh, I'm sure y'all are going to 468 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:37,639 Speaker 1: be talking about very different things for your Lunar New 469 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:42,240 Speaker 1: Year episodes. Then yeah, I have no nothing about death 470 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:45,680 Speaker 1: zones in my notes. Yeah, but that's great. The other 471 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:49,280 Speaker 1: episode is The Chinese Typewriter, right, Yeah, so we have 472 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:53,120 Speaker 1: an interview with uh, what is he a techno historian 473 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:57,200 Speaker 1: sort of? Yeah, Thompson. Yeah, Thomas mulaney who wrote a 474 00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:01,160 Speaker 1: book called The Chinese Typewriter a History, and it is 475 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:05,800 Speaker 1: about the quest to create a way of translating typewriter 476 00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:09,240 Speaker 1: style technology to the Chinese written language, which doesn't have 477 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:13,920 Speaker 1: a phonetic alphabet or it doesn't primarily use. Yeah. So 478 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,400 Speaker 1: that's that's gonna be a fun discussion for everyone. I 479 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:18,240 Speaker 1: think it has. It has a little something for everybody, 480 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:22,440 Speaker 1: whether you're into technology or Chinese history and culture, or 481 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:29,040 Speaker 1: just what happens when one techno linguistic system crashes into another. Yeah, 482 00:29:29,040 --> 00:29:32,080 Speaker 1: that sounds really fascinating. Um, And you also have a 483 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:35,640 Speaker 1: story for us about a particular type of lunar New 484 00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:38,960 Speaker 1: Year food that you're familiar with, right, yes, yes, So 485 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:41,280 Speaker 1: you guys ask what are our personal histories with some 486 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:44,280 Speaker 1: of these traditional foods. And I do have kind of 487 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:47,760 Speaker 1: a fun story about the the nine gal the glutinous 488 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:51,440 Speaker 1: New Year cake. So this was a couple of years ago. 489 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:54,200 Speaker 1: My my son was three and we went up to 490 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,640 Speaker 1: Chinatown Mall here in Atlanta. We went into the little 491 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:01,080 Speaker 1: grocery store there and I want to to purchase a 492 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:04,800 Speaker 1: traditional treat for Chinese New Year. So I happen to 493 00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:07,640 Speaker 1: see one of these cakes, and I have to describe 494 00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:10,040 Speaker 1: the package here. It was It looks like the package 495 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:13,040 Speaker 1: of a toy, right, or maybe one of those like 496 00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:15,120 Speaker 1: rubbery fish that you put in a bathtub and you 497 00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:18,000 Speaker 1: watch it grow. Yeah, And it is, in fact, one 498 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:21,080 Speaker 1: of these glutinous New Year's cakes in the shape of 499 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:24,880 Speaker 1: a koi fish and then covered with a plastic mold 500 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:29,560 Speaker 1: that gives it the golden orange coloration of a koi fish. 501 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:32,160 Speaker 1: So was it not golden orange underneath? No, it was 502 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:35,240 Speaker 1: it was this pale white like it's actually a koi 503 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:40,520 Speaker 1: fish from a subterranean lake. I've seen two primary different 504 00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:44,600 Speaker 1: colorings on the Nyongao cakes like one is the pale 505 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,240 Speaker 1: white ones and the other is like the brown or 506 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:49,800 Speaker 1: golden brown ones. Do you think the difference is whether 507 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:52,960 Speaker 1: you caramelize the sugar you put in? Um? I believe 508 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 1: that some are made with brown sugar and some are 509 00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:57,720 Speaker 1: made with a white processed sugar. Yes, But but I'm 510 00:30:57,760 --> 00:30:59,719 Speaker 1: but I'm not don't don't quote me on this. I'm 511 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:01,840 Speaker 1: not totally positive. I've not made my own young gal. 512 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:04,840 Speaker 1: Not positive. Well, my guess with me that this one 513 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:08,080 Speaker 1: was definitely processed, and it was definitely mass produced. It 514 00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:12,080 Speaker 1: is it is almost certainly not a good representation of 515 00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:15,160 Speaker 1: the culinary tradition. That thing was stamped out of a 516 00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:19,520 Speaker 1: gas powered machine, right Yeah. I took it down, shared 517 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:22,640 Speaker 1: it with in laws in Mississippi. They were all very polite, 518 00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:27,240 Speaker 1: but clearly suspicious of the whole process. There were three 519 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:30,920 Speaker 1: possible ways to cook the nine gal on the back 520 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:34,440 Speaker 1: of the package, and I don't read uh Chinese, so 521 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:37,080 Speaker 1: I wasn't able to really make too much sense of it. 522 00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:39,600 Speaker 1: But we I think we went the microwave route. It 523 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:43,200 Speaker 1: came out very tough and rubbery. I think it's usually 524 00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:45,920 Speaker 1: supposed to be steamed, right, Well, that was one of 525 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:49,560 Speaker 1: the possible ways to do it had like three different recipes. 526 00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:51,880 Speaker 1: I mean, the good news was that it did not 527 00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:56,600 Speaker 1: run around and ransacked the town. So I I was 528 00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:00,880 Speaker 1: just before we I've never had a glutinous cake like that, 529 00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:03,960 Speaker 1: but I have. I have had little like um, not 530 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:07,959 Speaker 1: like not all in Youngo are sweet. There apparently like 531 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:12,080 Speaker 1: savory dishes. I think, especially maybe Southern Chinese savory dishes 532 00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:15,880 Speaker 1: that involved the rice cake. So I've tried to make 533 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:18,160 Speaker 1: one of those one time and it did not turn 534 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:20,000 Speaker 1: out well. But I'm not gonna blame it on the cakes. 535 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:22,000 Speaker 1: I'm gonna say it's probably because I did a bad job. 536 00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:25,560 Speaker 1: But so I've never had the sweet version. I was 537 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:27,520 Speaker 1: trying to look up videos about it to see what 538 00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:29,880 Speaker 1: it was like. In one video I found on the 539 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:34,440 Speaker 1: old YouTube's was a reading of a great illustrated children's 540 00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:37,520 Speaker 1: book called The Runaway Rice Cake. Yes, and it made 541 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:39,080 Speaker 1: me wish I had a kid. I could read this 542 00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:41,920 Speaker 1: book too. It's a fun one. I actually showed me 543 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:44,320 Speaker 1: the book and I actually borrowed a copy of this 544 00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:47,240 Speaker 1: from the library in recent months and read it to 545 00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:50,040 Speaker 1: my son. It's it's a pretty fun, fun a fun book, 546 00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:52,200 Speaker 1: and I think at the end he like it. Yeah, yeah, 547 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:55,560 Speaker 1: he loved it. At the end, the rice cake like 548 00:32:55,640 --> 00:33:00,320 Speaker 1: sacrifices itself and lets itself be eaten by an old woman. Yeah, 549 00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:03,560 Speaker 1: it's a story about generosity. So, like, there's a family 550 00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:06,520 Speaker 1: with not much to eat to celebrate New Year's but 551 00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:09,240 Speaker 1: they have a they have this rice cake that the 552 00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:11,400 Speaker 1: mother makes and they're excited about it. It's gonna be 553 00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:13,160 Speaker 1: really sweet, but it runs out of the house and 554 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:15,640 Speaker 1: pigs try to eat it, and they chase it, but 555 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:19,000 Speaker 1: they eventually end up sharing it with this poor old woman. 556 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:22,000 Speaker 1: She eats the whole thing herself. And I won't spoil 557 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:25,000 Speaker 1: the ending for you, but the gods are happy with this. 558 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:30,320 Speaker 1: Oh wow, Well what a riveting read. It's that Joe. 559 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:34,640 Speaker 1: You also sent us an Amazon product you found right. Well, 560 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:36,160 Speaker 1: I was trying to figure out so if you want 561 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:39,680 Speaker 1: to make young at home, or they're like or they're 562 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:42,160 Speaker 1: like products you need. So I was searching for it 563 00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:44,680 Speaker 1: in the food section on Amazon, but I found instead 564 00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:49,320 Speaker 1: a rice cake mold to make fish shaped rice comes 565 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,560 Speaker 1: the same way you were talking about, Robert, but the 566 00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:59,600 Speaker 1: product description was like perfect for concrete. Yeah, I mean, 567 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:01,280 Speaker 1: if you've got a lot of concrete you need to 568 00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:05,440 Speaker 1: use that. I'm all for multitasking. I don't know. Should 569 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:07,920 Speaker 1: you generally use the same things on concrete that you 570 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:11,040 Speaker 1: used to make food? It doesn't matter. I haven't, but 571 00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:13,920 Speaker 1: I guess some people are have very different kitchen habits 572 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:17,839 Speaker 1: than I do. I future episode perhaps absolutely. Are there 573 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:22,080 Speaker 1: any other food traditions that either of you do? No, sorry, 574 00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:23,880 Speaker 1: I just got a great idea. You should use the 575 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:26,240 Speaker 1: mold to make a bunch of rice cakes for your friends, 576 00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:33,080 Speaker 1: but put a couple of concrete ones the teeth. Hilarious. 577 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:35,480 Speaker 1: If there was an April Fools of New Year's of 578 00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:37,480 Speaker 1: Chinese New Years, then that would be perfect for that one. 579 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:40,239 Speaker 1: They would keep that in mind, keep that in the 580 00:34:40,239 --> 00:34:43,799 Speaker 1: back pocket. Yeah. Are there any other food traditions that 581 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:46,280 Speaker 1: either of you like to do for Lunar New Year's? 582 00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:50,319 Speaker 1: I can't honestly say I've ever made a celebration of 583 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:52,200 Speaker 1: Lunar New Year's, but I want to this year. I 584 00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:55,040 Speaker 1: want to do it for the first time because a 585 00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:57,359 Speaker 1: lot of the Lunar New year foods have been reading 586 00:34:57,360 --> 00:35:00,160 Speaker 1: about our things. I love to cook, I love dumpling things, 587 00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:03,920 Speaker 1: I love mustard greens, I love fish, I haven't yet 588 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:06,640 Speaker 1: figured out the appeal of the glutinous rice cake, but 589 00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:09,799 Speaker 1: I bet I could. I bet I could find that happiness. Yeah, 590 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:12,680 Speaker 1: I believe. So, I guess my main goes. I would 591 00:35:12,719 --> 00:35:15,520 Speaker 1: just like to have a good one, an authentic one, 592 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:18,600 Speaker 1: this year, if possible. So I think it's somebody in 593 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:21,520 Speaker 1: town has to has to have, like a proper home 594 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:25,719 Speaker 1: cooked or small kitchen solution here. Yeah, I I know 595 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:28,600 Speaker 1: that a few Chinese restaurants in town definitely do it, 596 00:35:28,719 --> 00:35:31,680 Speaker 1: like Canton House. I think it does a thing every years. Yeah, yeah, 597 00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:35,000 Speaker 1: Or I keep holding out hope that Sweetheart Bakery will 598 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:36,880 Speaker 1: have something because they do a great job with the 599 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:39,440 Speaker 1: moon cakes at a moon festival. They have like the 600 00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:43,839 Speaker 1: traditional kind and kind of a fusion approach. So I'm 601 00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:46,560 Speaker 1: hoping they have a similar approach in store for me 602 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:50,160 Speaker 1: with the with the glutenous rice cake. Here's hoping. Have 603 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:53,680 Speaker 1: you all heard about the supposed significance of the rice cake, 604 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:56,799 Speaker 1: because gal, I think, is a word that also means 605 00:35:56,840 --> 00:36:00,280 Speaker 1: like higher or higher up, So it's often associate aided 606 00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:03,640 Speaker 1: with the idea of like becoming more prosperous. We're advancing, yeah, 607 00:36:03,719 --> 00:36:07,600 Speaker 1: like like every increasing prosperity something like that, right, Um, well, 608 00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:10,520 Speaker 1: thank you both so much for coming on being our 609 00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:13,080 Speaker 1: first guest and due too. I don't I guess you 610 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:16,880 Speaker 1: could argue better timing than us. Their episodes will be 611 00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:20,960 Speaker 1: coming out actually near Lunar New Year, whereas ours is 612 00:36:21,080 --> 00:36:25,839 Speaker 1: coming out before. This is near that, that's nearby. She's 613 00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:30,000 Speaker 1: still in the lead up the sum and then we'll 614 00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:33,640 Speaker 1: pass the baton to you. Um. So, their episodes are 615 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:38,640 Speaker 1: coming out February the week out, yes, the weekend, okay, 616 00:36:38,719 --> 00:36:42,799 Speaker 1: and we might probably gonna guest on there as well, 617 00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:45,600 Speaker 1: So look for that listeners and check them out anywhere 618 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:48,279 Speaker 1: they're They're awesome. You have to blow your mind, all right. 619 00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:53,879 Speaker 1: Thanks for having us on. Thanks so much, and we're back. 620 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:57,960 Speaker 1: Thank you guests. Yes, hopefully they won't be our last guests. 621 00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:01,000 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I don't know. We have like the best 622 00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:04,759 Speaker 1: food things to talk about though, Yeah, and sometimes we 623 00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:06,960 Speaker 1: have snacks. Yeah, we're kind of we're kind of plotting. 624 00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:08,800 Speaker 1: We're kind of plotting to get a few more people 625 00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:11,120 Speaker 1: here in the studio with us in the in the 626 00:37:11,160 --> 00:37:16,120 Speaker 1: near future. So hopefully that'll work out. Yes, but now 627 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:23,960 Speaker 1: it brings us too listener mail. Yes, so Our first 628 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:27,359 Speaker 1: listener mail is from Julie, who sent is this Your 629 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:30,120 Speaker 1: episodes on brunch and tipping were especially great as someone 630 00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:34,120 Speaker 1: who bar tended brunch for many years, so many Mimosa's poored. 631 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:37,920 Speaker 1: I once was opening a sparkling wine bottle while not 632 00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:40,800 Speaker 1: really paying attention. The cork shot out of the bottle 633 00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:44,160 Speaker 1: right at my eyes. Luckily, as I rarely woke up 634 00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:46,680 Speaker 1: in time to fully make up my face and such 635 00:37:46,719 --> 00:37:50,160 Speaker 1: for these early shifts, I was wearing my glasses that day. 636 00:37:50,239 --> 00:37:52,640 Speaker 1: The glasses saved me from a black eye and only 637 00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:55,120 Speaker 1: sustained a minor chip on the edge of the lens 638 00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:57,359 Speaker 1: that made me laugh a little every time I put 639 00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:00,919 Speaker 1: them on. Oh, I'm so glad that that turned out 640 00:38:00,920 --> 00:38:05,480 Speaker 1: like that too. And see I have I overcame a 641 00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:08,960 Speaker 1: fear of opening sparkling wine bottles thanks to Lauren and 642 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:12,240 Speaker 1: food stuff. But this is what I'm talking about right here. 643 00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:14,640 Speaker 1: Just put a towel over it. It's gonna be fine. 644 00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:18,480 Speaker 1: I'm just gonna like, h I need safety goggles and 645 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:21,040 Speaker 1: a hair a hair tie at all time. Yeah. I 646 00:38:21,160 --> 00:38:22,840 Speaker 1: actually I was about to say, like, I feel like 647 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:25,160 Speaker 1: safety goggles would be a really good choice for you. 648 00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:28,160 Speaker 1: You're a little bit accident prone. Yeah, a little bit, 649 00:38:28,360 --> 00:38:33,360 Speaker 1: a little bit, uh, Tye wrote in about our cupcake episode, 650 00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:36,279 Speaker 1: flashback to my junior year of high school in the 651 00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:39,000 Speaker 1: state of Texas. I was in love with the show 652 00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:42,160 Speaker 1: Cupcake Wars, so much so that I wanted to start 653 00:38:42,200 --> 00:38:44,880 Speaker 1: making all the cupcakes I saw on the show. I did, 654 00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:47,280 Speaker 1: and since I was an only child, I just started 655 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:50,120 Speaker 1: passing them out at school. That was until I couldn't 656 00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:52,520 Speaker 1: afford to do that anymore, so I turned it into 657 00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:54,840 Speaker 1: a job where I would sell each cupcake for a dollar. 658 00:38:55,280 --> 00:38:57,840 Speaker 1: While making about two dozen per batch, and each batch 659 00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:00,120 Speaker 1: costing me about eight to ten bucks, it was us 660 00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:03,040 Speaker 1: about a fourteen dollar profit margin, which in high school 661 00:39:03,239 --> 00:39:05,920 Speaker 1: is great. I would sell to kids before lunch because 662 00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:08,120 Speaker 1: they were hungry. I would sell to kids after lunch 663 00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:11,000 Speaker 1: because they were still hungry. Our school had recently gotten 664 00:39:11,080 --> 00:39:13,280 Speaker 1: rid of vending machines, so if you wanted a snack 665 00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:15,799 Speaker 1: outside of lunch, you were just out of luck other 666 00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:18,080 Speaker 1: than me. By the end of the junior year, I 667 00:39:18,080 --> 00:39:20,399 Speaker 1: had raised enough money for a trip to Chicago, all 668 00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:24,280 Speaker 1: expenses paid by cupcakes. We even started to go legit 669 00:39:24,320 --> 00:39:26,680 Speaker 1: and sell cupcakes with our very own website, but that 670 00:39:26,760 --> 00:39:30,719 Speaker 1: business is now closed. We were called delight filled Cupcakes 671 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:35,279 Speaker 1: because every cupcake had a sweet filling. That's fantastic entrepreneurship. 672 00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:38,799 Speaker 1: It's terrific. Yes, and I believe he also tweeted at 673 00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:43,479 Speaker 1: us that you can freeze cupcakes frosting. Yeah, same tie 674 00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:48,000 Speaker 1: x YEA. How many ties could be listening? Oh, it 675 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:50,600 Speaker 1: could be a lot for gold Books. Who are producer 676 00:39:50,640 --> 00:39:58,399 Speaker 1: Dillard like he would have the answer? Three? Thank you? Oh, 677 00:39:58,640 --> 00:40:02,279 Speaker 1: thanks to both of them for writing in. You two 678 00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:04,480 Speaker 1: can write us in and please do so if you 679 00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:07,080 Speaker 1: have any more lunar New Year traditions or anything else 680 00:40:07,160 --> 00:40:09,680 Speaker 1: you want to let us know about. Our email is 681 00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:12,640 Speaker 1: food Stuff at how stuff works dot com. We're also 682 00:40:12,719 --> 00:40:15,120 Speaker 1: on social media. You can find us on Facebook and 683 00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:19,640 Speaker 1: Twitter at food stuff hs W. We're also on Instagram 684 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:22,399 Speaker 1: at food stuff. We hope to hear from you. Thank 685 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,920 Speaker 1: you so much to Afford mentioned amazing producer Dylan Fagan, 686 00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:28,719 Speaker 1: and thanks to Jale for listening. And we hope that 687 00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:30,520 Speaker 1: lots more good things are coming your way.