How to Celebrate the New Year with the Dragon: Seven Recommendations 0 7

Add Spicy Sauces and Spices

The Dragon is a fire-breathing creature, so it will surely enjoy spicy dishes. Use chili peppers — both fresh and as spices — as well as other types of peppers and various seasonings. Choose whatever you like: basil, cardamom, curry, cloves, or rosemary.

If you are ready for experiments, try to spice up mayonnaise by adding a bit of sriracha sauce. A slightly spicy crab salad, Olivier, and herring under a fur coat — why not?
Ginger can be added to hot dishes, drinks, or sauces — it will warm you up after a walk on New Year's Eve and please the Dragon. A drink with lemon, honey, and ginger in the morning of January 1 will help with a hangover.

Use Fresh Fruits, Vegetables, and Juices

The Dragon is an omnivorous creature and prefers food as bright as itself. Therefore, your table should be filled with a variety of shades of fruits and vegetables, preferably all fresh. Be sure to prepare a plate with oranges and tangerines — they will bring happiness in the new year. By the way, according to an old belief, there should be 8 tangerines — this number is lucky for the Dragon.

Since the Dragon is green this year, this color should dominate the table. Serve hot dishes with various types of greens, slice celery, apples, cucumbers, avocados, and green bell peppers — then the fire-breathing creature will be favorable to you. If you serve juices, it’s better to choose freshly squeezed ones.

Cook Fish, Avoid Rabbit

It is fish dishes on the New Year's table that are most likely to bring happiness, luck, and wealth to the home. Moreover, the more complicated the fish is to prepare, the better. The Dragon appreciates complexity: it strengthens its character.

All types of salmon, perch, pike-perch, haddock, sturgeon, carp, or pike will do. A fish dish can simply be baked with a side dish — there’s no need to come up with complicated recipes, as the Dragon likes simple forms without excesses.

This year, avoid cooking rabbit or hare — these animals do not get along with the Dragon.

Avoid Convenience Foods

The Dragon is a majestic creature, so convenience foods and canned goods (except for caviar) are not suitable for it. Sprats, saury, and anchovies are better left for next year, and this year you should prefer whole products without pre-processing. The ultimate challenge is to replace canned peas with frozen green ones and canned corn with fresh. However, simple canned goods without added sugar and with minimal processing will also be acceptable.

Try Asian Cuisine

If you are tired of traditional New Year's salads, try preparing dishes from Asian cuisine this time. The Dragon originates from China, so food from this country will definitely please it. This could be classic Peking duck for the main course, smashed cucumbers instead of Olivier, and a typical Chinese dessert — fried milk.

Put a Wooden Figurine on the Table

The Dragon is green and wooden this year, so using wood in the table setting will be appropriate. This can be simply a wooden figurine or wooden candlesticks, placemats, utensils (why not use chopsticks?), or Christmas tree branches with a wooden base that can be beautifully arranged on the table. If you have wooden dishes, be sure to use them when serving.

Choose Bright Colors for Decoration

As mentioned, the Dragon loves bright and even extravagant things. Therefore, an abundance of colors, textures, and patterns in the table setting will only be beneficial. Choose a bright tablecloth or runner (red and green colors will look good), and you can add napkins in interesting colors. Between neutral and bright plates, choose bright ones; the same goes for utensils. If you manage to follow the Dragon's rules, be sure that you will enter the new 2024 year with the necessary conditions for well-being, happiness, and luck.