Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
With a millenary tradition, Chinese food is a must when talking about gastronomy. This Lunar New Year will be the perfect plan to bring fish, ravioli, spring rolls, rice balls, and Nian Gao to the table.
The Chinese New Year brings with it several traditions; however, when it comes to eating, there are seven foods that are present in every table of the descendants of this millenary culture.
Seven, that magic number that shows us, among other things, the symbolism between the sacred and the earthly, as well as those foods that in this New Year seek to obtain from the gods good luck, prosperity, abundance and good health.
1. Wantán or Chinese dumplings
This traditional Chinese food has a history of 1,800 years. Chinese wantan or Chinese dumpling is a classic food and a traditional dish eaten on Chinese New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
The traditional dish calls for abundance, as it usually refers to gold and silver bullion. Legend has it that the more empanadas you eat during New Year's celebrations, the more money you will attract in the coming year.
Wantanes are usually filled with finely chopped meat and vegetables wrapped in a thin, elastic skin. Among the most popular are those filled with pork, shrimp, fish, chicken, beef and vegetables. They can be boiled, steamed, fried or baked.
The superstition in this dish is not lacking, and is that the Chinese do not fill this dish with cabbage, at least not during the Spring Festival, as it implies a poor and difficult future.
Besides, they should have a good number of folds, for if the joint is too flat, it is believed that there will be poverty. Some Chinese put a white thread in the wantan, and it is supposed that whoever eats it will have a long and good life.
In addition, they should never be served in a circle, but in a straight line, because the life of the person who eats it will go round and round without getting anywhere.
2. Spring rolls
You can't imagine Chinese food without those delicious rolls stuffed with vegetables,
Spring rolls get their name because they are traditionally eaten during the Spring Festival. It is an especially popular dish in Eastern China: Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Fujian, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, among others.
The dish that resembles a goldenrod is Cantonese. Thin dough is wrapped around vegetables or meat and these are fried and then served with a particularly sweet sauce.
3. Fish
Fish on the table is a Lunar New Year staple. It can be boiled, steamed or simmered. The most famous Chinese fish dishes include steamed fish, western lake fish with pickled cabbage and chili, steamed fish in vinegar sauce, and boiled fish with spicy broth.
In the New Year, the fish to be eaten is selected by name and meaning.
So, carp [??] sounds like the Chinese word "good luck" [?], so eating carp is considered to bring good luck for the coming year.
Chinese mud carp: The first part in Chinese for "mud carp" [??] is pronounced like the word for gifts [?]. This is why the Chinese think that eating the mud carp during Chinese New Year symbolizes wishes for good fortune.
Catfish: The Chinese characters of "catfish" [??] sound like [??] meaning "surplus of the year". Thus, eating catfish is a wish for a surplus in the year.
4. Nian Gao
The image of a sweet rice cake [?? ?? ??], or Nian Gao, is a welcome sight during Chinese New Year.
Nian Gao [??] symbolizes progress, advancement and growth. Nian [?] means "year" and "g?o" [?] is a homonym of "g?o" [?], which means high or expensive.
Year after year Chinese families inevitably buy or make this gift for the New Year celebration, hoping for a better year ahead.
5. Tangyuan. Sweet rice balls
Another delicious dessert made with rice in Chinese cuisine is tangyuan. They are small balls made with this cereal, filled with peanut or black sesame paste. They are cooked and served in a curious sugary broth.
It is the main food for the Lantern Festival of China, however, in southern China, people eat them during the Spring Festival. The pronunciation and round shape of yangyuan are associated with gathering and being together. That is why they are favored by the Chinese during New Year celebrations.
6. Good luck fruit
Certain fruits are eaten during Chinese New Year, such as tangerines, oranges and grapefruit. These fruits are selected for their color, as they resemble the golden color, which symbolizes fullness and wealth.
By eating and showing tangerines and oranges, it is believed that one will attract good luck and fortune due to their pronunciation and even their spelling. The Chinese character for orange ?and tangerine? is [?], which sounds the same as "success" in Chinese [?]. One of the ways of writing mandarin [?] contains the Chinese character for luck [?].
7. Longevity noodles or yi mein
These noodles are served on birthdays as well as Chinese New Year, representing the wish for a long, happy and healthy life. The noodles can be served stir-fried; with oyster sauce and shiitake and bok choy mushrooms in a simple broth lightly seasoned with soy and ginger.
This dish is composed of plain and uncut noodles, either fried or boiled and are made with flour, egg and carbonated water. They have a golden color and a slightly hard texture. They should never be cut.
This time, to celebrate the close of the New Year, we will be celebrating big in Redwood City. Saturday, February 20th at 5pm at the following link: peninsula360press.com/lunarnewyear2021
