Chinese New Year is the sort of new year celebration I love.

Because unlike the Western tradition of big blowout parties, Chinese New Year is a time to get together with family, to give thanks for what you have, to retire your grudges, and to look forward to a year of peace and happiness. In that way, I think of it much as I do Thanksgiving.

It’s in the spirit of Chinese New Year (which this year starts Feb. 10) that I’ve reconfigured one of my favorite dim sum dishes – shrimp toasts. Not familiar with dim sum is? Think of it as Chinese tapas, or small plates of food. Traditionally, shrimp toasts are made of chopped or ground shrimp seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, scallions and rice wine. This mixture then is mounded onto little toasts and deep-fried. The result is creamy on top, crispy on the bottom, and richly flavorful through and through.