The Chinese New Year is an event that involves abundant foods. There are a lot of dishes served during the Chinese New Year. They nourish the body and at the same time they invite good fortune to enter one’s home.
Traditional Chinese New Year Dishes
Eight Precious Pudding - This dessert is made up of eight different dried sweet fruits. These fruits represent eight precious stones. It is also a lucky food because eight is a lucky numeral for the Chinese.
Flowering Chives Stir Fry - This is a Chinese delicacy and is best paired with noodles, fish, and the like. Flowering Garlic Chives represents eternity.
Jai - It is a dish made up of fibrous and root vegetables. It is believed that no animal should be killed during the first day of the Chinese New Year, which is why Chinese had come up with this vegetarian dish.
Jiaozi - Jiaozi are Chinese dumplings. Ingredients are ground meat that is enveloped by a thin wrapper that is sealed on its edges. Jiaozi represents wealth because it has been derived from the name of China’s earliest paper money. One jiaozi has a golden coin inside and the person who coincidentally has it, would have a lucky year in terms of wealth and properity.
Lettuce Wraps - Lettuce wraps is a delicious Chinese appetizer. It symbolizes more good fortune to come.
Lion’s Head Meatballs - This dish features oversized meatballs with “bok choy”. This dish symbolizes courage, strength, and unity among family members.
Longevity Noodles - It is otherwise called “Long life noodles”, so you should not cut it when you eat it.
Nian gao - This is a round-shaped sticky rice dessert. It symbolizes a sweet year and the union of the family members.
Peking Duck - This is a well-known dish of the Chinese. Duck symbolizes loyalty and commitment in Chinese.
Spring Rolls, Egg Rolls, and Clam Sycee - These are Chinese appetizers and they symbolize wealth and fertility.
Steamed Whole Fish - Fish represent abundance. As you eat this meal, you are welcoming abundance to your New Year.
Sweet and Sour Pork - The “sour” word found in the name of the recipe sounds like “grandchild” in Chinese. This dish symbolizes a soom-to-come grandchild.
Tea Eggs - Tea eggs are delicious snack or appetizer for the Chinese. These are eggs boiled in tea. Eggs represent fertility.
White Cut Chicken - This meal is made by poaching whole chicken with wine and seasoned by different spices. It represents prosperity and wholeness.
Yu Sheng - Yu Sheng is also called “The
Chinese New Year Salad”. It is commonly cooked and served during the 7th day of the New Year. It is believed that when you toss the salad high, you get lucky for the whole year.
