Tuesday, January 28, 2014

The Year of the Horse (meat)

The Year of the Horse, here we go!


Sara needs to buy a whole bunch of red under garments; there is a horse in her house.  Her husband is a horse by the way.

The Year of the Horse is coming up and we have been doing a little research into what to be expected. Will we be prosperous? Happy? Successful? Healthy?

Well, according to one source, the year of the wooden horse will be a good year for those who are ready for a thrilling year. It will be a year of opportunities, which one will have to grab if they want a prosperous year. This doesn’t mean much, it is way more complicated than this, or so we’ve heard as there is no general prediction.  It depends on which sign under which the individual was born. This is way too complicated; let’s talk about food instead.

The traditional New Year dinner for the Imperial House consisted of 99 dishes, since the number 9 is an auspicious number. While a feast is still prepared in most Chinese households, the menu is way more limited. An abundance of dumplings are consumed but also other dishes, whatever the cook of the family decides. There are no rules, no musts, no has to be on the tables.... Though Chinese New Year, for the Chinese, is like Christmas, Thanksgiving, summer holiday and birthdays all combined into one it seems a lot less complicated than our must make dishes for big holidays. Families meet up and feasts are prepared and enjoyed all the while listening to the rattling of fire crackers being lit up in the neighborhood. 

So, is one supposed to eat horse during the year of the horse? Is there any auspicious reason to (or not to) do this? Not really but the eating of horse meat around the world is actually quite interesting.

There is no real reason horse meat is not eaten more habitually. The only reason really is that the horse is seen as a pet in many countries and cultures and thus protected for “humanitarian” reasons. Now, there are many people around the world who choose not to eat cow and pig so why this aversion to horse?

Horse, actually, is very lean and compares to both beef and venison and easily replaces both (as well as mutton and pork actually).  It can be prepared fresh and is also commonly found smoked and salted, thinly sliced and used as sandwich meat.

There was a scandal recently involving horse meat, you might remember. The scandal itself came about when it was discovered that horsemmeat was sold under the assumption that it was in fact beef. We can understand the reactions for sure and I doubt that horse will find itself into STARA creations.

To end, please find some interesting predictions for the STARA team:


Dog (Sara):

Work: This should be a lucky year for dogs, everything from work and investments to relationships are on the upswing (sounds great!)

Relationships: Consider proposing if you haven’t already (too late for that!) and demonstrate more love toward your spouse (hmmm, what am I doing wrong now?)

Health: Enjoy your good health but watch out for overeating (shit! I am in trouble now!!)


Monkey (Stacey):

It's important for the monkey to spread themselves around in order to gain success this year (hmmm….I thought the Dog should watch out for overeating!)

Wealth: Money is looking good for monkeys (yay!) with the potential for promotions and investments reaping rewards (She will for sure make CEO of STARA food this year!)

Relationships: If you're single, this won't be a great year for you (phew!) but those who are married can feel confident in the endurance of their union (awwwww! Howsweet!)

Health: Your overall health is good. Be careful of accidents such as from driving. (Another reason why not to drive in China!!)


Have a happy and prosperous New Year everyone!  Xin Nian Kuai Le!  Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

Happy Cooking!!



No comments:

Post a Comment