Chinese New Year Recipes and Traditions
Gung Hay Fat Choy!! So goes the traditional Chinese New Year greeting, wishing peace and prosperity. Also called the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, the Chinese have long celebrated this period marking the end of winter and the hope of a new spring. The New Year begins on the first day of the first lunar month and ends two weeks later. It is a time for family, friends and food. New Year's Day is January 26 in 2009.
Many traditions, symbolic and superstitous, surround the festival. Houses are cleaned in preparation so as to start the new year fresh. Rooms are filled with fresh flowers and tangerines, oranges, pomelos and kumquats — all considered lucky. A tray of eight traditional candied fruits, nuts and seeds is offered in many homes. Red — a very lucky color — is a favorite for clothing and decorations. Little red envelopes — hong bao (Mandarin) or lai see (Cantonese) — with a money inside are given to children as gifts.
A large family banquet is served on New Year's Eve. Foods are served whole — whole fish, chicken with feet and head still on, noodles served uncut — to symbolize prosperity and abundance. At midnight the sounds of firecrackers and the smell of gunpowder fills the air.
New Year's Day meals are often meatless and sometimes consist entirely of leftovers from the night before. But the remaining days of the Festival see all kinds of rich and tasty meals.
The seventh day of the festival is considered the birthday of all people. Traditionally every Chinese added one year to his or her age on this day and ate noodles to ensure longevity.
The last day of the two-week celebration is the Lantern Festival, when children carry red lanterns in a joyous procession.
Chinese New Year Recipes
Law Bok Gow
(Chinese steamed radish cake)
Law bok gow is a favorite Cantonese dim sum treat, especially popular during Chinese New Year celebrations. Usually called daikon, turnip or radish cake in English, it is really more of a savory pudding. The recipe below is very basic, but law bok gow is normally studded with savory garnishes and lightly fried on both sides until golden brown. Sometimes spelled lo bark goh. Read more »
Longevity Noodles
(Chinese egg noodles in broth)
Longevity, or long-life, noodles are a popular Chinese dish for birthdays and Chinese New Year. As their name indicates, they symbolize living to a ripe old age. There are innumerable variations on the basic noodle dish; this one serves a simple broth over the yi mein egg noodles. It is very important not to cut or break the noodles while cooking or serving them. To do so would be very bad luck indeed. Read more »
Shuan Yang Rou
(Chinese Mongolian hotpot)
Shuan yang rou, or Mongolian hot pot as it is often known in the West, is a very popular Chinese dish, especially in Beijing, and is primarily eaten in winter, when cold winds blow down from Mongolia. It particularly popular for Chinese New Year. Yang rou is Mandarin for lamb, the favored meat for this dish. Shuan can be roughly translated as "to swish." Read more »
West Lake Fish
(Chinese fish in sweet vinegar sauce)
West Lake vinegar fish (Xi Hu Cu Yu) is one of the most famous dishes of the Zhejiang culinary tradition in eastern China. Fish poached and glazed with a sweet vinegar sauce, this dish is named after a large, beautiful lake in the city of Hangzhou. Good for Chinese New Year when serving whole fish is considered lucky. Read more »
