Food Blog: A Menu to Celebrate Seollal, the Korean New Year!

Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee's Seollal is About Honoring Elders and Making Mandu

Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee writes, "Lunar New Year was not always my favorite holiday. Growing up, my parents would wake us up in the cold winter dawn. My siblings and I would try to hide in the warmth of the blankets, but my dad would force us to get up in the still darkness."

But, she goes on to explain, she's come to appreciate the rituals that come with the holiday — particularly the ones around food. Of mandu ddeokguk, her favorite Seollal dish, Cecilia says, "The delicious meat-filled mandu was a bite of perfection, full of ginger and garlic and buchu and everything all in one hot bite."

Find Cecilia's Lunar New Year story and recipes below!