foodahead Xin NianKuai Le Gong Xi Fa Cai Auspicious Lucky Symbolic Food of Chinese New Year GALLEYMASTERS 27 Feb 2018

Transcription

1 foodahead 27 Feb 2018 Xin NianKuai Le Gong Xi Fa Cai Auspicious Lucky Symbolic Food of Chinese New Year GALLEYMASTERS

2 Xin NianKuai Le Gong Xi Fa Cai (Auspicious Lucky Symbolic Food of Chinese New Year) Certain dishes are eaten during the Chinese New Year for their symbolic meaning Lucky food is served during the 16-day festival season, especially New Year's Eve, which is believed to bring good luck for the coming year The auspicious symbolism of these foods is based on their pronunciations or appearance Not only do the dishes themselves matter, but also the preparation, and ways of serving and eating mean a lot The biggest event of any Chinese New Year's Eve is the annual reunion dinner Dishes consisting of special meats are served at the tables, as a main course for the dinner and offering for the New Year This meal is comparable to Thanksgiving dinner in the US and remotely similar to Christmas dinner in other countries with a high percentage of Christians In northern China, it is customary to make dumplings (jiaozi) after dinner to eat around midnight Dumplings symbolize wealth because their shape resembles a Chinese sycee In contrast, in the South, it is customary to make a glutinous New Year cake (niangao) and send pieces of it as gifts to relatives and friends in the coming days Niángāo [Pinyin] literally means "new year cake" with a homophonous meaning of "increasingly prosperous year in year out"

3 Fish - an Increase in Prosperity In Chinese, "fish" sounds like 'surplus' Chinese people always like to have a surplus at the end of the year, because they think if they have managed to save something at the end of the year, then they can make more in the next year How a Fish Is Eaten Matters a Lot The fish should be the last dish left with some left over, as this has auspicious homophonies for there being surpluses every year This is practiced north of the Yangtze River, but in other areas the head and tail of the fish shouldn't be eaten until the beginning of the year, which expresses the hope that the year will start and finish with surplus There are some rules related to the position of the fish There are some rules related to the position of the fish The fish should be the last dish left with some left over, as this has auspicious homophonies for there being surpluses every year This is practiced north of the Yangtze River, but in other areas the head and tail of the fish shouldn't be eaten until the beginning of the year, which expresses the hope that the year will start and finish with surplus There are some rules related to the position of the fish The head should be placed toward distinguished guests or elders, representing respect Diners can enjoy the fish only after the one who faces the fish head eats first The fish shouldn't be moved The two people who face the head and tail of fish should drink together, as this is considered to have a lucky meaning These customs are observed in a lively and light-hearted spirit, full of laughing and banter Fish can be cooked in various ways such as boiling, steaming, and braising The most famous Chinese fish dishes include steamed weever, West Lake fish with pickled cabbage and chili, steamed fish in vinegar sauce, and boiled fish with spicy broth Lucky Sayings for Eating Fish (Niánniány uyú /nyen-nyenyoyoo/): May you always have more than you need! (Yúyuèlóngmén /yooywair long-mnn/): Success in your exam! ('A fish leaping over the dragon gate' implies successfully passing a competitive examination)

4 Chinese Dumplings Wealth With a history of more than 1,800 years, dumplings (Ji ozi /jyaoww-dzrr/) are a classic Chinese food, and a traditional dish eaten on Chinese New Year's Eve, widely popular in China, especially in North China Chinese dumplings can be made to look like Chinese silver ingots (which are not bars, but boat-shaped, oval, and turned up at the two ends) Legend has it that the more dumplings you eat during the New Year celebrations, the more money you can make in the New Year How they're made: Almost all Chinese people can make dumplings First they mix the dough, second make the dough into round "wrappers" with a rolling pin, third fill the wrappers with stuffing, fourth pinch the "wrapper" together into the desired shape, and fifth cook them Different Dumpling Fillings Have Different Meanings Chinese don't eat Chinese sauerkraut (suāncài /swann-tseye/) dumplings at Spring Festival, because it implies a poor and difficult future On New Year's Eve it is a tradition to eat dumplings with cabbage and radish, implying that one's skin will become fair and one's mood will become gentle How to Make LUCKY Dumplings When making dumplings there should be a good number of pleats If you make the junction too flat, it is thought to purport poverty Some Chinese put a white thread inside a dumpling, and the one who eats that dumpling is supposed to possess longevity Sometimes a copper coin is put in a dumpling, and the one who eats it is supposed to become wealthy Dumplings should be arranged in lines instead of circles, because circles of dumplings are supposed to mean one's life will go round in circles, never going anywhere Lucky Saying for Eating Dumplings (Zh ocáijìnb o/jaowwtseyejinbaoww/): 'Bringing in wealth and treasure' a felicitous wish for making money and amassing a fortune

5 Chinese Candy Box Chinese candy box is a traditional box used during Chinese New Year for storing candy and other edible goods The box usually has a lid; some are fancier and elaborate than others It is usually colored with a red or black motif, since traditional candy boxes were lacquerware Also red symbolizes good fortune and joy Due to the higher price of lacquerware, most modern Chinese candy boxes are made of plastic, but some of them are still made of lacquerware The box is generally used for Chinese New Year, though some regional Chinese cultures may use it for other important events such as Chinese marriages Usually it consists of 8 or 6 (Chinese auspicious lucky numbers) kinds of sugar preserved dried fruits or even dried vegetables like the bittergourd Glutinous Rice Cake a Higher Income or Position In Chinese, glutinous rice cake (Niángāo /nyen-gaoww/) sounds like it means "'getting higher year-on- by year"' In Chinese people's minds, this means the higher you are the more prosperous your business is a general improvement in life The main ingredients of niangao are sticky rice, sugar, chestnuts, Chinese dates, and lotus leaves Lucky Saying for Eating Dumplings (Niánniángāo /nyen-nyengaoww/): 'Getting higher year-after-year by year', can imply children's height, rise in business success, better grades in study, promotions at work, etc

6 Sweet Rice Balls Family Togetherness Sweet rice ball (Tāngyuán /tung-ywen/) is the main food for China's Lantern Festival, however, in south China, people eat them throughout the Spring Festival The pronunciation and round shape of Tangyuan are associated with reunion and being together That's why they are favored by the Chinese during the New Year celebrations Lucky Sayings for Eating Tangyuan (Tuántuányuányuán /twann-twannywen-ywen/ 'group-group round-round'): Happy (family) reunion! Longevity Noodles Happiness and Longevity Longevity noodles (ChángshòuMiàn /chung-show myen/) unsurprisingly symbolize a wish for longevity Their length and unsevered preparation are also symbolic of the eater's life They are longer than normal noodles and uncut, either fried and served on a plate, or boiled and served in a bowl with their broth

7 Good Fortune Fruit Fullness and Wealth Certain fruits are eaten during the Chinese New Year period, such as tangerines and oranges, and pomeloes They are selected as they are particularly round and "golden" in color, symbolizing fullness and wealth, but more obviously for the lucky sound they bring when spoken Eating and displaying tangerines and oranges is believed to bring good luck and fortune due to their pronunciation, and even writing The Chinese for orange (and tangerine) is (chéng /chnng/), which sounds the same as the Chinese for 'success' One of the ways of writing tangerine (Jú /jyoo/) contains the Chinese character for luck (Jí /jee/) Eating pomeloes / shaddocks is thought to bring continuous prosperity The more you eat, the more wealth it will bring, as the traditional saying goes The Chinese for pomelo (yòu /yo/) sounds like 'to have' (y u), except for the tone, and exactly like 'again' (yòu) Do You Know: Celery not only burns calories Tales that it has special weight-loss powers have long had dieters reaching for a stick of celery Celery is a very low-calorie food and an excellent choice when you're trying to achieve or maintain a healthy weight

8 Celery is approximately 75 per cent water and 25 per cent fibre Apart from aiding weight loss, it has a number of other health benefitseven though celery is often talked about in terms of its benefits for people trying to lose weight, it's not just made up of simply fibre and water It is low in calories, but it also contains a whole range of vitamins, minerals and other nutritional ingredients and was used in medicine since ancient times You can eat it raw, cook it as a vegetable or add to stews Celeries acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory which can help improve blood pressure and cholesterol levels and prevent heart disease It also contains immune systemboosting vitamin C Health Benefits of Celery: Celery has blood pressure reducing properties It contains active Phthalides, which relax the muscles of the arteries that regulate blood pressure so the vessels dilate Phthalides also reduce stress hormones, which can cause blood vessels to constrict The fiber is very good for weight loss Celery is purported to be a negative calorie food, which means it takes the body more calories to digest it than the food itself contains While this is not strictly accurate, a single stalk of celery still has only a few calories due to being full of cellulose The addition of celery to your diet will help you tremendously with your weight loss efforts I consider it so important to weight loss that it is an element in my weight loss boot camp Celery contains plant hormones that calm and soothe the central nervous system, which will make your losing weight an easier thing to do Celery leaves are a source of flavonoid antioxidants zeaxanthin, lutein and beta-carotene, which have antioxidant, cancer-protective, and immune-boosting functions Celery seed is used to treat colds, arthritis, and diseases of the liver and spleen in Ayurvedic medicine Celery seeds increase urine Celery essential oil, extracted from the plant, has been used for nervousness, osteoarthritis, and gouty-arthritis conditions The seeds and roots help breast milk secretion Celery is an alkaline food Most people are too acidic and thus suffer from a major body imbalance One result of this is extreme difficulty in losing weight Celery combines with just about any food, even fruit to some degree This helps the digestion and has many powerful health benefits in itself GALLEYMASTERS Mr Onkar A Dichwalkar - Manager Catering Tel: dichwalkaro@angloeasterncom