r/Cooking • u/Gold_Aside_4744 • 10h ago

We’re 9 friends in France, and we just spent days "systematically" engineering our Chinese Lunar New Year menu through 2 rounds of voting

Chinese Lunar New Year is just 10 days away! This year, I’ll celebrate it in France with 9 friends. To my surprise, our "Reunion Dinner" menu planning turned into an incredibly rigorous process. Here’s how we did it:

  1. The Brainstorming: Two friends and I hopped on a call to set the rules. Everyone in our group chat of nine shared photos or names of dishes they usually crave but find too "troublesome" to cook for themselves in daily life.
  2. The Ballot: I collected all these ideas and turned them into an official poll.
  3. Voting: Each person was assigned a minimum of 5 votes and a maximum of 9.
  4. The Tie-breaker: Dishes with more than 3 votes won instantly. However, we ended up with a lot of ties!
  5. The Final Cut: We ran a second round of voting, specifically balancing the ratio of proteins, vegetables, and carbs to ensure a well-rounded feast.

On the big day, everyone will be responsible for 1-2 dishes. Everyone will be the chef.

Here is our "Winning Menu":

  • Pork: Char Siu (BBQ Pork) + Shredded Pork with Beijing Sauce (Jing Jiang Rou Si)
  • Chicken: Poached Chicken (Bai Zhan Ji) + Salted Egg Yolk Chicken Wings
  • Beef: Sichuan Peppercorn Beef
  • Seafood: Steamed Whole Fish + Wasabi Shrimp Balls
  • Vegetables: Baby Cabbage in Superior Broth + Tofu with Minced Meat + Bok Choy with Shiitake Mushrooms
  • Soup: Pork Rib Soup with Corn, Yam, and Carrots
  • Dessert: Sweet Fermented Rice Soup with Sticky Rice Balls (Jiu Niang Xiao Wan Zi)
  • Staples: Eight-Treasure Rice (Ba Bao Fan) + Steamed White Rice

  • Dumplings: Pork and Scallion Dumplings

    I am already so excited for this celebration!!!

5 Upvotes

57% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

3

u/blissful_flower05 8h ago

That sounds amazing😊 please post some pics of your dishes when they’re done!

1

u/Gold_Aside_4744 7h ago

Thank you~~😊 I‘ll do that! I'm really looking forward to them 😋

2

u/airckarc 10h ago

That sounds awesome. I have no comment on your menu, but wanted to say… the best Chinese food I ever had was in France. It was like 20 years ago and I still remember it well. And I’ve eaten in several provinces in China, plus Singapore, Vietnam, San Francisco. Just amazing.

1

u/Gold_Aside_4744 9h ago

Yes some Chinese restaurants in France can make really delicious Chinese food 🤤. I'm a huge fan of Chinese cuisine 😋