The Chinese new year is quickly approaching, so I wanted to find a fun read-aloud for the day. This week for our literacy snack idea, we’ll be reading, The Runaway Wok, by Ying Chang Compestine.

This is a remake of the traditional Danish folktale, The Talking Pot.

“When a boy goes to the market to buy food and comes home with an old wok instead, his parents wonder what they’ll eat for dinner. But then the wok rolls out of the poor family’s house with a skippity-hoppity-ho! and returns from the rich man’s home with a feast in tow!”

The Chinese new year emphasizes sharing. Families and friends gather from far and near to share a New Year’s Eve feast and to wish each other a prosperous and happy new year.

The most significant dish during the Chinese new year for children is the festive stir-fried rice. Parents urge their children to eat it so so that they will get along in the new year. So for our literacy snack this week, we’ll be having festive stir-fried rice!

Ingredients

eggs

salt

green onions

olive oil

garlic

frozen green peas

bell pepper

cooked rice

raisins

soy cause

Assemble

This will be a snack that you make ahead of time at home and bring in to share with the class. The recipe for the festive stir-fried rice is in the back of The Runaway Wok book. Requesting it from the library is a great option in case you don’t have the book. It’s a simple recipe and makes the perfect amount for your class to try some. I used quick rice that I made in the microwave, using 2 cups of the dry rice.

It’s a great opportunity to have the students try a dish that they may otherwise be hesitant to do so. A lot of them are surprised at how much they liked it!

While they are tasting their festive stir-fried rice, I made a free printable for them to work on. They get to draw in the circles the 3 things that the wok took from the rich family to give to the poor family.