This year I decided that I will not cook a standard set of dishes for the New Year, only something simple and original.

I'm sick of Olivier. On every family holiday, in every department of cooking and dining room. Towards the New Year, I can’t even look at Olivier. I never liked vinaigrette either, and the fish under the fur coat - my God, how much suffering during cooking, and after all, no one even eats it from home. This year, I decided that I would only cook something simple and original for the New Year of the Dragon.



It seems to me that if I once again find myself in a situation where I have to eat cold sandwiches with sprats, I do not vouch for myself. How much longer can this go on? And that beauty takes a whole day, and some people, like my mother, cook for two days in a row. To break the cycle, I had to go through tons of recipes. And all in order to find something symbolic, in the style of the coming year of the Dragon. After all, even the same “Herring under a fur coat” can be served as a dragon.

The first thing I came across in the rivers of the Internet is a dragon salad. I suspect the author's idea was that it was a snake. But I like to think it's a dragon. I would add him a sharp ridge and clawed paws of Bulgarian pepper. The ingredients are simple, as is the cooking itself: potatoes, chicken fillets, pickles, onions and mayonnaise.

Boiled potatoes need to be stretched with a fork. Then mix with finely chopped onions, boiled fillets (it is better not to cut and tear into small pieces) and mayonnaise. I liked the saline in the role of scales the most. Cut the cucumbers into mugs and lay out the top of the salad, pre-layed on a plate in the shape of a winding dragon. Voila! Next, only the decor according to your own desire: cucumber, lettuce leaves and peas for the eyes are welcome.

The most important thing is that you will get a dragon in green, which coincides with the symbol of the coming year.



Then I came up with the idea to see what was going on in Chinese cuisine. The dragon is Chinese, there is something interesting. And there were traditional rice dumplings in a bamboo leaf, symbolizing the back of the dragon. They are called rice dumplings, but our dumplings are far from them, of course. Zongs cook with anything: sweet and salty, with meat and dried fruits, with mushrooms and beans.

The idea is to mix the rice with the filling (the meat is pre-marinated, the beans are cooked and the mushrooms are roasted), wrap in a bamboo or cane leaf, tie with a rope and cook for 2 hours. At the same time, rice must be soaked in water for at least an hour, and preferably for all 3.



Rice and filling are taken in approximately equal proportions of 300 g per 300 g, trying to place the filling in the middle of the triangle. First, the sheet is twisted into an envelope, then soaked rice is tamped along the walls, dates, dried apricots, pickled pork meat or shiitake mushrooms are put in the center. On top there is still a layer of rice, then wrap the leaf in a triangle and tie the culinary twine. Boiled after that in water or broth.

It looks very interesting and tasty, and I even thought that the leaves of grapes or cabbage will also work perfectly. But I looked at the comments on this recipe and decided that it was better not to, too much trouble. By the time you roll and tie a rope, the New Year is coming. It's beautiful!



The Green Dragon Roll We're in the middle of my list, and I have to admit I was desperate at one point. I went to see master classes on sushi cooking. If you're an amateur like me, you probably remember that dragon rolls are sometimes more expensive in sets. These are special rolls that wrap not in nori, but in red fish or, as in the photo below, in avocado. As you can see, the roll can even be shaped like a dragon!

Green Dragon sushi is usually made from the following ingredients: rice, Philadelphia cheese, eel and avocado (can be replaced with cucumber). On top, water with unagi sauce and sprinkle with sesame. I don't know about you, but I even have a roll mat. And I would love to use it, but not everyone in my family likes sushi. To my great regret...



The salad that will tame the Dragon And then I met him - the long-awaited recipe for a ham diner salad that looks amazing. My son saw the picture and immediately wanted to try it! The thing is that the face of the reptile is very similar to the character from the cartoon “How to Train Your Dragon”. I also liked the idea of catching the Dragon by the tail in 2024. They say that if you find the right approach to it, it will bring wealth and luck.

The ingredients

• 1 chicken ham
• 2 boiled carrots
• 3 eggs
• 1 banana (for decor)
• 4 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp soft melted cheese
• 1 tsp mustard
• raisin
• handful
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper

Prepare ingredients: decoction and chop chicken ham, broth carrots and eggs, cut the banana with circles and spray with lemon juice (so as not to darken). Boiled carrots to grind. Take the eggs apart into proteins and yolks, sodium yolks on grater, and put the proteins aside, they are needed for decoration. Prepare the sauce: mix mayonnaise with cream cheese, salt and pepper. Get to the registration!



Povarenok

Choose a deep round dish to make the salad look like a head at the end. Elevate the bottom of the shape with food film. The first layer lay out half the carrots mixed with crushed raisins and a couple of spoonfuls of dressing. Then comes a layer of meat, seasoned with mayonnaise-cheese sauce. After that, lay out a layer of bananas, and behind them - the remains of carrots mixed with the remains of sauce and walnuts.

Well tamp the salad and put in the fridge for two hours. Then take it out and turn it over. With the help of walnuts and yolks, give the dragon a color as in the photo below. Use squirrels for your eyes and teeth! Eyes can be made even more realistic by using seaweed or pieces of nori leaf (the ones for sushi). Done! A real dragon.



Povarenok



Dessert in the form of a dragon Unfortunately, if with main dishes it was simply difficult, with desserts it is not at all dense. When I found this simple, sweet banana snack and snake-shaped strawberries, I thought it was a hard idea. But then I remembered that I had a fondue store in my closet that we hadn't used in 100 years. Still couldn't find a reason.

Therefore, for dessert, I will definitely serve fruit laid out on a plate in the form of a wriggling Chinese dragon. I am also thinking about which fondue to put in the center of the table: dark or white chocolate? A friend also gave me the idea that there was some sort of dragonfruit — exotic, but quite popular. The name and shape fit the theme of 2024, but I’m afraid to imagine how much it would cost me a couple of kilograms.



I chose a chicken dragon face salad and fruit fondue. I might even roll a couple of Green Dragon rolls for myself and my daughter. We love them so much! But as a main meat dish and snack, I'll prefer something more mundane. I think that chicken in creamy rosemary sauce or juicy elderberry will be just right.

Before choosing the main dish, I asked what the experts think about the products that will please the Green Wooden Dragon. The good news is that the reptile loves fish, meat, and poultry. Only turns my nose from canned food and semi-finished products - in this I am in solidarity with the Dragon. I think there’s room on the table for better ingredients. What do you think?