Chinese Appetizers 5427

Giggles

Hi Giggles,

If you're in the mood to be authentic, throw a few small dishes of freshly stir-fried or boiled peanuts on the table (the latter can be done with or without shells, btw), plus a few dishes of any sort of pickled vegetable available at your local Chinese grocery ("fresh" if possible, otherwise it is generally available canned/jarred). These are often served at the beginning of a meal in China, and the drinkers (usually the men) will snack on these things as they imbibe (beer in the summer, a very potent 100+ proof sorghum liquor in the winter). Also, it will get increasingly fun--and amusing--to try to pick up peanuts with chopsticks as the blood-alcohol-level of the guests rises. A plate or two of licoriced olives would also add authenticity, but I was never especially fond of these, and expect that they might taste quite vile with martinis.

Have fun at your party--this will be my fourth year away from China, I really miss the Chinese New Year celebrations (kind of like Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa all rolled into one, but without all the religious baggage).

Cheers,

Adilah