T

he phrase “May there be fish every year" in Mandarin is a beautiful New Year greeting. The pun is on the word “fish” that, in Mandarin, sounds like the word “surplus”.

The traditional whole fish is placed so that it points at the most honoured guest, and it’s said that you should always have leftover fish.

This festive holiday is celebrated all over where there are large Chinese populations, including my birth country, Taiwan.

Today, as an adult, I’m no longer based in the same city as my parents; I won’t be celebrating with them this time. But, even though we aren’t physically together, it’s incredibly important for me to feel connected to my family and home culture, to remind myself where I came from and to celebrate the Asian side of being an “Asian South African”.

Instead of going for a very traditional recipe, I based this year’s fish on a simple recipe from my family’s humble beginnings as Asian South Africans in the Free State.

Yesterday was Chinese New Year, marking the start of the year of the rooster. Cape Town food blogger Ming-Cheau Lin shares a recipe

Ming-Cheau Lin’s food blog is Butterfingers.co.za, where she writes about Taiwanese and Chinese recipes using local produce. Twitter and Instagram: @mingcheau