CNY foods, recipes from China's regional culinary cuisines for Spring Festival

Chinese New Year of the Sheep kicks off Feb. 17, 2026. CNY (Spring Festival or Lantern Festival) celebrates an animal of the zodiac each year and 2026 is Year of the Horse. CNY anticipates good fortune. How better to celebrate than with food? Here are recipes and tips to eat your way through China's eight culinary regions and cuisines. Start with a virtual tour of China's food regions. from Travel China Guide.

Shandong (Lu or Mandarin cuisine) comes from north China, Beijing and Jinan City. Dishes focus on duck, carp, chicken and seafood, particularly abalone (shellfish). Shandong food emphasizes garlic, shallots and sea pumpkin. For a simplified Shandong dish, stir-fry prawns (shrimp), asparagus spears and chunks of squash or pumpkin in garlic, shallots and peanut oil.

Chuan (Szechuan cuisine) is eaten in Sichuan province. Food is very spicy and hot, using chilis, peppercorn, peanuts, sesame, garlic and ginger. For easy Szechuan, steam or boil cellophane, ramen or lo mien noodles or rice. Make a thin sauce, mixing crunchy peanut butter, garlic, sesame or peanut oil and minced ginger. Toss noodles with sauce, sesame seeds, sliced scallions, and peanuts. Offer red pepper flakes for students who wish to try it, but warn them that it's hot.

Hui (Anhui cuisine) originates in the Huangshan mountains. These foods employ vegetables, mushrooms and rice. For a Hui dish, steam jasmine or basmati rice. Make egg foo yung by mixing chopped bok choy, napa cabbage, mushrooms and bean sprouts in egg mixture and frying. Make gravy by simmering soy sauce with corn starch dissolved in cold water. Eggs are a Chinese New Year ceremonial food and symbolize fertility.

Min (Fujian cuisine) comes from the coastal region. Min cuisine specializes in soup. Using chicken broth, add any combination of sliced bamboo shoots, carrots, celery, water chestnuts, bean sprouts and shitake mushrooms. Set out wonton chips for garnish.

Yue (Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine) comes from Hong Kong. It's what most Westerners think of when they think Chinese food (Chinese buffet foods, for example). For an easy Cantonese sampler, set out assorted Chinese dumplings (potstickers), rice rolls (sushi) and dim sum. Asian Online Recipes has easy dim sum recipes. Serve with Chinese five-spice (cinnamon, anise, cloves, pepper and fennel seed).

Xiang (Hunan cuisine): Like Szechuan, Hunan food is spicy. It focuses on the "five elements": lychee fruit, longan berries, red dates, lotus seeds, and medlar fruit. The others might be tricky to find, but Lychee aren't too difficult to find canned. They can represent Hunan food. 

Jiangsu (Shanghai, Su cuisine): This cooking style uses many techniques and flavors. For a student Shanghai sampler, serve cubed tofu or dried tofu.

Zhe (Zhejiang cuisine): Stir-fry is a common technique. Students may enjoy a cooking demonstration using a wok. Cook whole smelt in oil with lemon. Toss in chopped vegetables (celery, carrots, broccoli, onions, green peppers). Serve with jasmine or oolong tea. This is perfect for Chinese New Year, as whole fish is one of the traditional foods. Sweet and sour pork is also popular.

Other Chinese New Year ceremonial foods include mandarin oranges, fat choy (algae), dumplings, noodles and dried fruit. To wish a happy new year, say "Gung Hay Fat Choy!"

Pancake Day recipes, Shrove Tuesday pancakes, waffles for Mardi Gras feast

Happy Pancake Day! Also called Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, it's the day Catholics celebrate in preparation for Ash Wednesday and the sacrificial Lenten season. Catholics give up

things for Lent. Traditionally that meant abstaining from meat, dairy, eggs, fat and sugar for 40 days till Easter. So they would use up or "shrive" the house of those foods and make them into pancakes. A

house shriven (purged) of temptation symbolizes a soul purged of sin (Catholics also to confession before Lent to ready themselves for the penitential season). There are probably as many types of pancakes as cultures in the world. Here are good ole American pancake and waffle

recipes for Pancake Day. You can cheat and use pancake mix--the best is Kodiak or Krusteaz Honey Wheat with high protein goodness. 

Flapple Jacks

Blend Kodiak buttermilk pancake mix with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, vanilla, milk, eggs and

applesauce. Add melted butter. Fry till golden brown. Top with sliced Michigan Macintosh apples,

whipped cream, butter and pure Michigan maple syrup. Serve with fresh breakfast sausage patties.

Indian Corn Pancakes

There's an old cafe in Muskegon, Michigan called Cherokee Restaurant. In the early 1970s, my mother

and I breakfasted there on Sundays after church. The Cherokee Restaurant was a pancake purveyor

long before IHOP. The specialty of the house was Indian Pancakes. Mix Krusteaz Honey Wheat pancake mix, eggs, corn meal, one can creamed corn, or whole kernel corn and melted butter. Cook bacon. Fry pancakes in bacon grease till browned. Serve with melted

butter and maple syrup. Top with bacon and eggs for a pancake sandwich!

Behemoth Belgian Berry Waffles 

Mix into pancake batter, vanilla, lemon curd or lemon juice and granola. Fold in Fresh or frozen berries: blueberries, blackberries, black raspberries, raspberries, strawberries or cherries. Top waffles with butter, cream cheese, fresh berries and syrup. Melt berry jam and pour over waffles. Garnish with whipped topping. Toss in a slab of ham or maple sausage.

Chocolate Cataclysm Pancakes

Add to Kodiak dark chocolate pancake mix, unsweetened cocoa powder, cold black coffee, vanilla, sugar and chocolate chips. Adjust to preferred level of sweetness. Blend with eggs, milk and oil. Fry in melted butter. Top with melted butter, maple and homemade chocolate syrup, and shaved dark chocolate and whipped cream. To make homemade chocolate sauce, blend half stick of butter with one cup sugar, dash of salt and 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa. Melt and blend with one can evaporated milk. Stir till heated and blended (add a little cornstarch to thicken if desired).

Bon Appetit! 

Healthy brunch recipes to use up leftover stale bread, holiday leftovers

Hosting a New Year's Day brunch? The last thing you need, after the spending extravaganza that was

Christmas, is something more to spend money on. New Year's Day is the time for resolutions to cut

back. So how about recipes to use up holiday leftovers, particularly stale bread, rolls, muffins and

baked goods. Don't pitch stale bread. Put leftover stale bread in a bag in the fridge (separate sweet

bread from savory). Gather up holiday leftovers of meat, sausage, cheese, dried fruit, nuts and eggs

(don't forget the separated egg yolks and whites leftover from recipes). Use up leftover vegetables

from veggies trays and holiday cooking (bits of onion, green pepper, mushrooms, etc.). When you

have enough. repurpose holiday leftovers in yummy recipes that use up leftover stale bread so it

doesn't go to waste. Remember these use up recipes won't have exact measurements and maybe

not even specific ingredients. It all depends on what leftovers you have and how much you have

leftover.

Brunch bread salad. Or, said fancier, Pan Ensalada. Use up any kind of stale bread, bagels, English

muffins, hot dog buns, hamburger buns, rolls, toast, you have. The only thing you can't use are sweet

breads or raisin bread. But don't worry--there will be other brunch recipes to use up leftover sweet

breads and rolls. Mix and match flavors of bread: onion, garlic, cheese, focaccia, pumpernickel, rye,

whole wheat and white.

Tear stale bread into bite-sized pieces and place in large salad bowl or mixing bowl. Clean the fridge

and gather leftover raw vegetable scraps. Chop and add any combination of onions, scallions, green

peppers, tomato, spring mix lettuce, cilantro, herbs. romaine or leaf lettuce, baby spinach, celery,

leeks or mushrooms. Toss with leftover Greek or Italian salad dressing or vinegar and oil. Add lemon

zest, salt, cracked pepper, oregano and basil. Season with gumbo file and pepper blend for a Cajun

twist. Shred and add leftover cheese bits if desired. 

Breakfast or brunch casserole: Here's a great way to use up holiday leftovers. Use any combination of stale bread, except sweet breads or bread with fruit. You can use seed or nut bread if you like. Omit the vegetables if desired. Use up leftover sausage, summer sausage, bacon or ham cubes if desired. Spray a 9x13 or 11x15 glass baking dish with olive oil. Place a layer of dried bread, broken into pieces, in the pan. Finely chop leftover onions and mince garlic and sprinkle over bread.  Beat six eggs with a cup of milk until smooth and pour over bread.

Slice mushrooms and green peppers and spread over egg mixture. Use up any vegetables desired. Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, whatever sounds good. Shred leftover cheese chunks and use up leftovers from bags of shredded cheese. Sprinkle 4-8 ox shredded cheese over egg mixture. Sprinkle ground pepper on top. Bake until bubbly (about 30 minutes at 350 degrees). Top with fresh cilantro and leftover diced tomatoes or grape tomatoes. 

Vegetarian brunch casserole. Make as above only swap out meat for nuts or nut bread. 

Brunch bread pudding with lemon sauce. Bread pudding is the quintessential New Orleans leftover

stale bread use up recipes, perfect for brunch. Use any kind of stale bread, bagels, English muffins or

rolls except savory (onion, garlic), cheese, rye or pumpernickel bread. Use any sweet bread like Hawaiian, cinnamon or raisin bread. You could even use muffins, pancakes, waffles, rolls or unfrosted cake. 

Tear bread into bite-sized pieces. Arrange in 9x13 glass pan coated with non-stick cooking spray and flour. Dot bread cubes with a half cup butter or one stick of butter or margarine. Drizzle with maple syrup, about 3/4 of a cup. Mix in any combination of chopped apples, dried fruit, figs, dates, cranberries, raisins, nuts or seeds. You can even add leftover citron or cinnamon red hots. For a super healthy brunch bread, add almonds, pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and chia. Blend together 2 cups of milk, 6 eggs, half cup of brown sugar, two teaspoons each vanilla and cinnamon and half a teaspoon of nutmeg. 

This is a great way to use up leftover nuts, fruits from fruit baskets, holiday leftovers of dried fruits left from baking before they get stale. You can even add in that horrible fruitcake Auntie Mildew insists on sharing every year. Toss in any leftover fruit going stale, like bananas or the cranberry sauce you made too much of. Bake 30-40 minutes at 325 degrees until bread pudding has set. Serve with lemon sauce--1 stick melted margarine, 1 cup powdered sugar, dash of salt, 2 T. lemon curd or lemon juice.