This is my first time participating in a big recipe link party like this, and I’m so excited to promote my fellow Asian bloggers’ creations. It’s always interesting and heartwarming to see how other cultures celebrate–there are similarities and differences. Not all the recipes below are vegan, but they’re all vegetarian and can certainly be veganized. I have another blog post about Chinese New Year (Tết, in Vietnamese) planned this week, in which I will share a recipe I made with my mom, and I will talk more about what the holiday means to us.
#SweetLunarNewYear Party: Sweet Recipes for a Joyful New Year
Snow Fungus Soup / Vermilion Roots
Three Color Dessert (Che Ba Mau) / The Viet Vegan
Pineapple Cookies (Nastar) / V for Veggy
Indonesian Honeycomb Cake (Bingka Ambon) / What To Cook Today
Chinese Peanut Cookies / Wok & Skillet
Vietnamese Steamed Rice Cakes / A Taste of Joy and Love
Gluten-Free Chinese Almond Cookies / Grits & Chopsticks
Black Sesame Shortbread Cookies / Little Sweet Baker
Ice Cream Mooncakes / Brunch-n-Bites
Coconut Red Bean Pudding / The Missing Lokness
Korean Caramelized Sweet Potatoes (Goguma Mattang) / What Great Grandma Ate
Cashew Nut Cookies / Anncoo Journal
One Bite Pine Nut Cookies / Yummy Workshop
Baked Coconut Walnut Sticky Rice Cake / Jeanette’s Healthy Living
Black Sesame Cream Puffs / Pink Wings
Cashew Nut Cookies / Roti n Rice
Mini Peanut Puffs (Kok Chai) / Malaysian Chinese Kitchen
Thousand Layer Cake (Lapis Legit) / Daily Cooking Quest
Almond Orange Spiral Cookies / Butter & Type
Year of the Rooster Mochi / Thirsty for Tea
Korean Tea Cookies (Dasik) / Kimchimari
Sweet Sticky Nian Gao (Kuih Bakul) / Lisa’s Lemony Kitchen
Sweet Rice Balls with Peanut Butter (Tang Yuan) / Omnivore’s Cookbook
Chick Egg Tarts / Dessert Girl
Red Bean Soup with Black Glutinous Rice / Nut Free Wok
Orange Scented Sweet Red Bean / Lime and Cilantro
I love the caramelized, earthy look they have, due to the coconut sugar, which has more nutrients than just cane sugar. I’m so thankful to Margaret for all of her valuable feedback on this recipe, and for letting me use her kitchen! Having amazing, hard-working friends like her is so inspiring and empowering.
- about 4 inches of fresh organic ginger, peeled and sliced (turns out to be about 1 cup of sliced ginger)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar, plus more for dusting
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, divided in half
- water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon dried lavender
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (heaping)
- 2 pinches of cardamom (optional)
- Wash and peel the ginger. Using a mandolin, slice the ginger as thinly as possible.
- Soak the ginger slices in a glass jar with the lemon juice and add about 3/4 cup of water (or however much it takes to cover the ginger).
- Fill a saucepan with about 1 1/2 cups of water. Add the ginger slices and the lemon juice mixture. Let the ginger boil for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- During the last 15 minutes, add the lavender to the boiling mixture.
- Take the mixture off the stove. By now, the liquid should have mostly reduced and evaporated.
- Transfer the ginger and reduced lemon juice mixture to a nonstick pan over medium heat. Toss the ginger slices with the coconut sugar. Add the vanilla and lemon zest. Stir the mixture until bubbly and caramelized—this should take about 15 minutes.
- Take the pan off the heat, and work quickly (and carefully!) with chopsticks to lay the ginger slices on a piece of wax or parchment paper. Make sure the pieces are not sticking together. Let these cool for about 10 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine a couple tablespoons of coconut sugar, with a couple pinches of cardamom. Dip each piece of candied ginger into the coconut sugar to lightly coat.
- Enjoy with a steaming cup of tea, with a good book or sixteen… 😉
If, like me, you are feeling hopeless because your country just elected a fascist, angry yam for president, and you have also been heartbroken about the whole damn world for a long time, take a deep breath…sip your tea slowly, and gather strength from the spicy ginger. Use your strength to resist and reject systems of oppression in all forms, and spread love and care to your fellow humans. There’s a multitude of ways to serve the planet, humanity, and animals. Grab onto that fire in your heart, to pursue what you are passionate about, to improve the world wherever you are.
“You have to find what sparks a light in you so that you in your own way can illuminate the world.” ― Oprah
PS: the ginger can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks. 🙂
Thank you so much for reading–I decided to try something new and interesting with the ending of that recipe, hehe. I just had to express myself…I hope it was inspiring in some way–let me know what you think! Chúc Mừng Năm Mới (happy new year)!
plantcrush 
This is so fun! I absolutely adore ginger but still haven’t tried candied ginger— I think you’ve convinced me 🙂
You must try it, Liz! It’s so good! And the homemade kind is way better than store-bought. It’s more gingery and fresh! 🙂
Happy Chinese New Year Ann! I have never tried making my own ginger candy before and yours looks and sounds so lovely 🙂
Happy Chinese New Year, Anita!! Thank you so much! 🙂
I’m so going to make this! I love ginger candy but have never thought of making it myself. Thanks for the inspiration. Have a sweet new year! I look forward to reading your next post about Tet.
Thanks so much, Christine!! 🙂 It’s amazing homemade! And thank you for inviting me to the recipe party! Hope you have a sweet new year too!
I have never had candied ginger! I love all the flavors, sweet, spicy, and tart. No doubt a great snacks for CNY! Happy New Year! Can’t wait to read your CNY post later this week! 😉
Hi Lokness! 🙂 Thanks so much–the flavor combination is truly a celebration! Happy new year to you too! I am excited to browse through your CNY recipe!
Your ginger recipe looks amazing. I love all the different flavors and can’t wait to try it. I buy a big box of organic ginger and can never use it fast enough. I must try your recipe. Happy #sweetlunarnewyear!
Hi Sharon! Thank you so much; I hope you love it! 🙂 I am obsessed with ginger! Happy Lunar New Year to you!!
I just discovered your blog and I’m so glad I did! The photography is beautiful. And these recipes will definitely come in handy for celebrating Chinese New Year this year.
Hi dear! Omg thank you so much; you are much too kind!! Let me know if you make the recipes, I would love to hear what you think!!