The Celebratory Cuisine on the New Year's Day in Southern US!

Lunar new year is fast-approaching, and a lot of Asian countries are celebrating the lunar new year’s day with a traditional feast. What are you eating to celebrate the new year in your culture?

 

Have you heard or tried a dish called Hoppin’ John? It is a dish traditionally eaten in the southern United States on New Year’s Day. Hoppin’ John is mainly associated with North and South Carolina and Georgia. Historians believe that the recipe was created by people from _______________ who were enslaved; they had introduced black-eyed peas to America and grew them in small gardens on rice plantations. Dating back to the early 1800s, it is made with black-eye peas (a.k.a. cow peas), rice, and pork (in the form of bacon or ham). The meal can also include collard greens and corn bread. New Year’s Day is the traditional day to eat Hoppin’ John. Any leftovers can be enjoyed on later days, but be aware that the name of the dish changes to Skippin’ Jenny. Stretching the dish into leftovers demonstrates your sense of frugality and promises even greater prosperity in the new year!

 

Care for some fun trivia about Hoppin’ John by filling in the given blanks below.

 

The ingredients in Hoppin’ John have symbolic importance, and eating this on New Year’s Day pretends good fortune in the new year.:

1.   Black-eyed peas represent ___________________.

2.   Collard greens represent ___________________.

3.   Corn bread represents _________________.

4.   Pork, especially hem hocks, recall the cheap cuts of meat provided to ________________ people.

5.   Tomatoes represent ________________.

6.   As for the origin of the dish Hoppin’ John, one source suggests that Hoppin’ John was a handicapped man who cooked and sold the dish in Charleston, South ______________ in 1841. A more dubious explanation suggests that in South ____________, it was customary to invite a guest to dinner by saying “_____________ in, John!”

Answer Keys

1.  coins

2.  greenbacks/ dollars/ cash

3.  gold

4.  enslaved

5.  health

6.  Carolina, Carolina, Hop in!

 

Here’s a recipe for making Hoppin’ John!

 

Ingredients:

4 thick-cut bacon slices, chopped

½ cup f yellow onions, chopped

2 cups of cooked black-eyed peas or 2 packages (10 oz each) frozen black-eyed peas

½ cup of white rice (Carolina Gold rice preferred) or brown rice of your choice (fully soaked in water over night)

¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes (or Cayenne pepper)

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

 

Instructions:

1.   In a Dutch oven, cook bacon. Add onions until bacon is crisp and onions are soft.

2.   Add black-eyed peas, rice, 1 cup of water, and red pepper flakes.

3.   Cover and simmer over low heat until rice is cooked, about 20 to 25 minutes. Toss with salt and pepper and serve immediately!