Lunar New Year's Eve Reunion Dinner: Holiday-Inspired Cooking Demos

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Join us for a special food-filled celebration that pays homage to the traditional "reunion dinner," a time for families to gather together on Lunar New Year's Eve. In this special program hosted by the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art, local Asian American chefs will reflect on family traditions and present a trio of dynamic virtual cooking demonstrations. In just one hour, learn to make three different dishes that represent the fondest collective memories of these award-winning DC-area culinary forces and tastemakers.

Featured chefs include:

• Kevin Tien (Moon Rabbit, Hot Lola's, Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate)
• Rosie Nguyen (Rose Ave Bakery)
• Yuan Tang (Rooster & Owl)

Featured scholar:

• Hyunjung "Crystal" Rie (District of Cuisines) 

This virtual Lunar New Year’s Eve reunion dinner and celebration will delve into the history, significance, and symbolism of the food eaten by people from across the Asian diaspora during the festivities, most often at celebratory family get-togethers. Through cooking, photos, anecdotes, and stories, learn more about how Asian American communities celebrate the Lunar New Year. Enjoy a dynamic presentation of archival materials selected by scholar Crystal Rie. You are welcome to watch or cook along with Chefs Kevin, Rosie, and Yuan during the program. Recipes and an ingredient list can be found here.

Lunar New Year in a Box - Preorder your holiday treats
If you're in the Washington, DC, area, order a special "Lunar New Year in a Box" to taste a curated collection of small-batch sweet treats from our featured chefs. A limited number of boxes will be available for purchase via pre-sale orders through Moon Rabbit here.

About the Speakers

KEVIN TIEN
Originally from Louisiana, Chef Kevin started working in the corporate world after receiving a master’s degree from Louisiana State University. In 2009, his passion for food and service led him to a lasting career change that included culinary stints with chefs David Chang, José Andrés, and Tyson Cole before he opened his own restaurant, Himitsu. A finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Rising Star Chef of the Year, Kevin was also on Food & Wine magazine’s ”Best New Chefs” list and was named one of the “40 under 40” in both the Washingtonian magazine and the Washington Business Journal. In addition to being a semifinalist for Eater’s Young Guns Awards, Kevin also competed in Season 2 of Iron Chef Gauntlet and is a Chopped Next Gen champion.

ROSIE NGUYEN
Before Rose Ave Bakery owner Rosie Nguyen became “Chef Rosie,” she spent ten years as a pediatric nurse in Washington, DC. During that time, she taught herself how to cook and bake, taking on side jobs from prep cook and pastry assistant to baker and ice cream maker. Always hungry, curious, and ambitious, Rosie took the leap from being a nurse to opening her modern Asian American bakery in March 2020. A reflection of Rosie’s experience as a young Asian American, Rose Ave Bakery intends to spread love and knowledge to all, one donut at a time.

YUAN TANG
Michelin-star chef Yuan Tang conceptualized Rooster & Owl to develop inventive, contemporary American cuisine in a fun, collaborative environment. Tang worked as a federal auditor before giving up on a steady, predictable career to follow his passion. Previously, Tang worked at three-Michelin-star Jean Georges and one-Michelin-star The Modern and was the sous chef at one-Michelin-star Dovetail in New York City.

HYUNJUNG “CRYSTAL” RIE
Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Hyunjung "Crystal" Rie is an organizer of District of Cuisines, an oral history project documenting the lived experiences of Asian American restaurateurs in Crystal’s current home, Washington, DC. She is also a digital archivist at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Crystal holds a BA in art history from Emory University and an MA in Asian studies from Georgetown University. 

About the Lunar New Year
Also known as the Spring Festival in China, Lunar New Year is a fifteen-day celebration marked by many traditions and celebrated in a variety of countries and cultures, including Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Mongolia. A highlight that often kicks off the holiday is the Lunar New Year's Eve reunion dinner. It is a feast with a spread of symbolic dishes representing abundance, all of which are said to bring good luck and fortune. The fifteenth and final day of the holiday is sometimes marked by eating tangyuan, sweet glutinous rice balls, and carrying lanterns to conclude the celebration.
Read more about the Lunar New Year here.


This program is part of Lunar New Year DC, organized by the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Image courtesy of Kevin Tien, Rosie Nguyen, and Yuan Tang