13 Foods to Celebrate Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year does not get the same level of respect as other holidays when it comes to food. We recognize Thanksgiving as a holiday defined by what’s on the table. We fret over Easter and Christmas table settings for our celebrations. And yet, the masses do not recognize one of the world’s largest festivals for its culinary traditions.
Food is at the core of every Chinese New Year Celebration, and with good reason. The typical dishes are steeped in the legacy and heritage of the holiday. The intent is to symbolize the promise of the new year through the dinner table. Certain foods are considered lucky, and by consuming them during this time, a family can expect to receive good fortune. Failure to eat these foods signifies the opposite.
One meal can influence the outcome of the next year. It’s high stakes eating.
While the menu varies by family, most celebrations contain some combination of these dishes. Let’s take a deeper look at the stories behind 13 foods to celebrate Chinese New Year.
Whole Fish
What started as a miscommunication created a long-lasting tradition. In Chinese, “fish” is a homophone for “wish” and “surplus.” You can totally see the confusion:
“Fish? I thought you said wish.”
Due to this, Cantonese people feel it is auspicious to eat fish to insure that your wishes for the new year come true. Either way, for seafood lovers, this is a fortunate coincidence.
However, the meaning behind whole fish is not limited to the nuances of pronunciation. Consuming “whole” foods (not that kind of whole foods) signifies the idea of surplus. Ending the year in excess could be an indication that there will be even more at the end of the following year.
It’s pretty simple. Eat fish, get surplus. In addition to this thematic connection, different varieties of fish have individual meanings as well. Some fish are considered more lucky than others (Crucian carp, Chinese mud carp, and catfish) because of homophones for their names in Chinese.
Regardless of your preference for seafood, eating a whole fish also symbolizes a whole life. So whatever you decide, use it as an excuse to eat a ton of fish! Additionally, whole chicken/pork/duck are also popular as the centerpiece of the dinner table since they also symbolizes having a whole life.
Dumplings
While we think there’s never a wrong time for dumplings, Chinese New Year is the perfect incentive to indulge on one of our favorite treats.
In northern China, dumplings are traditionally eaten on Chinese New Year’s Eve. In this area, the dumplings are actually made to resemble the Chinese currency from the Imperial days (silver ingots). This connection between the appearance of the dumplings and physical similarity between dumplings and the historic currency resulted in dumplings symbolizing wealth.
Even your financial advisory knows a prosperous year begins with lots of grains and meat.
Eat dumplings, get money.
Spring Rolls
“Rolling” into our next dish… Traditional Cantonese spring rolls were named after the actual holiday behind Chinese New Year. Historically, this celebration began to commemorate the start of spring. What was once known as “Spring Festival” evolved into what we now know as “Chinese New Year.”
Starting to see a connection forming?
Spring rolls were usually eaten during Spring Festival (because of course they were). In addition to the literally link between them, the cylindrical shape of the fried spring rolls rolls resembled gold bars. Because of their appearance, they then grew to symbolize wealth. Our previous equation still applies.
Eat spring rolls, get money. Simple enough.
whole chicken
In addition to the theme of whole proteins signifying longevity, chicken has additional meaning as a dish that represents unity and togetherness. Since a whole chicken can typically feed an entire family when thoughtfully prepares, it’s inclusion on the dinner table is a sign of group prosperity, ensuring ensures the entire family unit benefits from the spoils of the new year.
Buddha’s Delight
Up to this point, every dish has been very meat heavy. If only there was a vegetable-forward dish to balance out the dinner table….
Buddha’s Delight (also known as Jai) is a labor-intensive dish which aims to cleanse the body using only vegetables. Tradition details that its 18 ingredients are laid out on the kitchen table on New Year’s Eve such that the new year can start with its preparation. This dish follows a Buddhist practice where individuals avoid killing fish, chicken, or livestock to begin the lunar year because it is seen as a time for purification, both physically and spiritually.
Beyond this overarching theme, each ingredient holds its own unique meaning and symbolism (the wish for more children, blessings for wealth for the household, etc.). Since the dish has been eaten for over hundreds of years, it carries a rich and deep history.
One of its ingredient in particularly is considered to be especially lucky. Resembling a long strand of hair, “fat choy” is a moss-like vegetable, whose name is similar to the typical new year’s greeting (Gung Hay Fat Choy). As a result, consuming this ingredient on New Year’s Day has grown to symbolize prosperity.
Glutinous Rice Cake
Part of the significance of these rice cakes is lost in translation, so in order to properly frame things, we need to start with the basics. As its name suggests, this dish is a cake prepared from glutinous rice flour. It also contains sugar, chestnuts, dates, and lotus leaves. In Chinese, it is known as “niangao” which sounds extremely similar to the phrase, “getting higher year by year.”
While we’re pretty sure this has been Snoop Dogg’s life motto, this phrase has significant meaning in the context of Chinese society. In this setting, “higher” refers to the prosperity of the family or business. Therefore, it conjures the hopes of moving “higher” up the social hierarchy into positions of more prominence.
The cake is a symbol of a better future, especially for those marginalized and struggling. However its importance isn’t related to the themes of struggle raps. The roundness of its appearance represents family unity and continuity. It’s basically a reminder to appreciate everyone who was there with you before you made it.
Sweet Rice Balls
This dessert (tangyuan) is prominent in Southern China, and in the context of Chinese New Year, it also signifies unity and togetherness. This theme is prominent in many dishes since the beginning of the holiday also marks the start of the world’s largest human migration. With tens of millions of people returning home for a celebratory meal the round balls make strong reference to family reunion.
As for preparation, it can be served simply as plain white balls, or stuffed with a variety of fillings like black sesame, red bean, or peanut paste. Some may add food dye to the rounds to introduce a pop of color.
Regardless of variety, sweet rice balls are often served in a sugar sauce which symbolizes the prospect of a “sweet” life.
Longevity Noodles
This is not any old bowl of noodles. These noodles are long AF. While your natural instinct may be to cut them into more manageable lengths, we would recommend against it.
This is because the length of the noodle represents the eater’s lifespan. It’s a simple relationship: the longer the noodle, the longer your life.
In addition to that health benefit, they can also make for a badass noodle lift picture too.
Tangerines and Oranges
Time to revisit the theme of tradition resulting from homophones. In Chinese, orange/tangerine is a homophone for “success.” In addition, the written character for “tangerine” happens to be the same as the one for “luck.” In case you didn’t know, a successful new year involves lots of vitamin C.
Candy
Because what’s dinner without dessert? Like everything else in the Chinese New Year tradition, the selection of candy is intentional. Symbolizing a “sweet life,” there are specific candies that are important to eat during the holiday.
Wax-Cured Meats (Chinese Sausages or Jerky)
The act of drying and preserving raw meat has been in existence for thousands of years. In ancient China, this process took on added significance as curing meat was seen to be a sacrifice of to the gods. During this time, it was believed the gods would snack on these offering. The act of the deities consuming the meat was thought to have transformed the remnants such that they could then be consumed by humans. Now this practice has evolved into jerky and sausages being symbols of prosperity.
Seafood (Lobster and Abalone)
Long before Jim Jones had you thinking that you were a baller, Chinese people were balling out at their celebrations by eating expensive seafood to bring prosperity and happiness for the new year.
Let us know how you celebrate Chinese New Year!