The Year of The Fire Horse

 

As Lunar New Year celebrations begin around the world, 2026 ushers in the Year of the Horse—a symbol of forward movement, independence, and endurance. This year ushers in the Year of the Fire Horse—a rare, blazing return that only comes once every 60 years.

Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, falls between late-January and mid-February, with its date set by China’s ancient lunisolar calendar. This year the celebrations began on February 17th. Since at least the second century B.C., each new year has been named for one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, which repeat in a 12-year cycle. In Chinese astrology, each of the zodiac animals is believed to have distinct traits which are supposedly reflected in people born in that corresponding year.
The horse is revered in Chinese culture for its long-standing roles in agriculture, transportation, and warfare. However, in the Chinese zodiac, this galloping animal symbolizes strength, grace, endurance, loyalty, freedom, and success. Its strength, Lee explains, represents possibilities for personal growth and success.

In Chinese astrology, Horse years favor decisive action and independence, while also warning against impulsiveness.

Symbolic Chinese Foods

What gives a certain food symbolic significance? Sometimes it is based on appearance. For example, serving a whole chicken during the Chinese New Year season symbolizes family togetherness. Noodles symbolize long life; an old superstition holds that it's bad luck to cut them. Both clams and Spring Rolls symbolize wealth; clams because of their resemblance to bouillon, and Spring Rolls because their shape is similar to gold bars.

On the other hand, a food may have special significance during Chinese New Year because of the way the Chinese word for it sounds. For example, the Cantonese word for lettuce sounds like rising fortune, so it is very common to serve a lettuce wrap filled with other lucky food. Tangerines and oranges are passed out freely during Chinese New Year as the words for tangerine and orange sound like luck and wealth, respectively. And let's not forget pomelos. This large ancestor of the grapefruit signifies abundance, as the Chinese word for pomelo sounds like the word for "to have."

Fish also play a large role in festive celebrations. The word for fish, "Yu," sounds like the words both for wish and abundance. As a result, on New Year's Eve it is customary to serve a fish at the end of the evening meal, symbolizing a wish for abundance in the coming year. For added symbolism, the fish is served whole, with head and tail attached, symbolizing a good beginning and ending for the coming year.

And what about the sweet, steamed cakes that are so popular during the Chinese New Year season? Cakes such as Sticky Rice Cake have symbolic significance on many levels. Their sweetness symbolizes a rich, sweet life, while the layers symbolize rising abundance for the coming year. Finally, the round shape signifies family reunion.

An Asian Inspired Recipe

Thai Peanut Noodle Salad
Cook's notes:
Add some Asian flair to your menu with the sweet, sour, salty and spicy flavors that make up Thai Peanut Noodle Salad. Top with grilled pork or pulled rotisserie chicken for a main dish.

It's packed with flavor and healthy veggies and makes a very satisfying meal. The dressing really elevates this salad to a whole new level. 

Recipe adapted from Our Best Bites

Salad Ingredients:

• 8 oz. Udon noodles (vacuum-packed) or linguine noodles
• chopped green onions
• chopped cilantro
• 2 limes, cut into quarters
• chopped peanuts
• a variety of veggies-1/2 cup diced red pepper,1/2 cup diced yellow pepper, 1 cup matchstick carrots, 1/2 cup diced red onion, 1 cup diced cucumbers, 2 cups thinly sliced purple cabbage, 4 cups romaine lettuce

Thai Peanut Salad Dressing

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 lime, juiced and zested
• 2- 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon  seasoned rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• Optional 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro 
• 1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1-2 teaspoon Sriracha chili sauce (1 is mild with a bite, 1.5 is medium, 2 is hot)
• 2-4 tablespoons water or chicken broth

Directions:

• Cook noodles in salted water. Drain noodles and place back into the pan. Cover to keep warm. 
• If you’re not going to use noodles right away, add a drizzle of the peanut dressing and stir to coat. This will prevent the noodles from getting all clumpy. Keep dressing in the fridge until ready to use.
• Combine dressing ingredients in a blender, pour into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir and heat until warmed. Remove from heat. 
• Toss cooked noodles with waemed dressing and divide among 4 bowls. When you’re ready to assemble the salad, place noodles, veggies, and chicken in a large bowl and mix well. Sprinkle with green onions, cilantro, chopped peanuts, and garnish each serving with a lime quarter. 
• Squeeze lime juice over noodles and stir to combine.

Cooking tip: You can add meat to this dish by stir-frying shrimp or very thinly sliced chicken (partially freeze it first) in some olive oil with a couple of cloves of garlic, some fresh ginger, some green onions, soy sauce, and a small squirt or two of Sriracha chili sauce.