Lunar New Year Peanut Dumplings (角仔)

​

A perennial family tradition is to gather around the dining table before each lunar new year to make Kok Chai (角仔), a peanut filled dumpling that is deep-fried to a golden brown. Thank God for my grandparents and parents for keeping this tradition faithfully alive all these years - it is not easy to gather everyone but it is certainly worth it! Sometimes we innovate and experiment with different fillings and shapes, but mostly, it is the same old but gold shape and filling. Some get eaten by family and friends over the new year holidays; others get sent to the other half of the Chia family over in the States - it has always been a way for them to get a taste of home no matter where they are.