Rats may not sound very appetizing, but you can’t argue with almost 5,000 years of zodiacal history. My friend Cynthia threw a party for the lunar new year, and though there was no champagne or pointy hats, there were dumplings galore, Hainanese chicken rice, noodles, and char siu bao. I arrived early so got drafted to help make shiu mai; when my incompetence at that became clear, I was shifted to the vegetable-chopping beat. Eventually I redeemed myself a little by making the jja jang myun. I hadn’t actually made it successfully at home yet, but fortunately Cynthia had bought the right kind of black bean paste, unlike me, and it turned out all right. She didn’t have any cornstarch, so I thickened the sauce by simmering a few extra wonton skins in it. Hey, they’re dusted in cornstarch.

The char siu bao were my favorite, although Cynthia considered them a failure because her yeast didn’t work properly and they weren’t really fluffy. They were more like crusty rolls. I love crusty rolls, though. Maybe it’s because I enjoy the faint sweetness of plain bao that I don’t usually like them with the barbecued pork filling — like eggs Benedict on banana bread. I’m definitely inspired to try making these, though Cynthia has warned that it’s a long process because you have to make the pork too. Maybe I’ll make a plain batch first — you know, just to test it.