Introduction
Chinese New Year as celebrated in different parts of the world is also called Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival. As a time where family reunite to enjoy the start of the Year of the Ox, Chinese New Year is a food fiesta that not only highlights the Chinese gourmet but also reminisces our culture. This article will bring you a brief idea on some of the traditional goodies for Chinese New Year celebration apart from presenting to you some newer creations that you can incorporate for the celebration.
Traditional CNY Goodies
1. Nian Gao
Nian Gao, or sticky rice cake as it is also called, is a staple of Chinese New Year dinners. ‘Nian’ also stands for ‘year’, while ‘Gao’ is ‘high or tall,’ thus it represents a higher year of joy and richness. It is the traditional Filipino version of the Japanese mochi and is made with glutinous rice flour and sugar; versions include red beans, mixed nuts, or pandan flavor. Nian Gao is always served steamed and is pan-fried to a nice brown on the bottom.
2. Pineapple Tarts
This bubble wrap is created from the body of pineapple tarts, which in mandarin Chinese is called Fènglí sū, is one of the most popular traditional Chinese New Year cookies. These delicate, rugged tarts with a brushteened butter pastry and rose-pink pineapple jam inside represent wealth and fortune. The green color and the aroma of pineapple tarts are the things which make people happy and gives the feeling of Christmas in their hearts. People’s preference for pineapple tarts might continue to grow, although the tart’s texture and sweetness could change.
3. Angku Kueh
Angku Kueh is Nyonya kuih filled with palm sugar and red bean paste and has a skin made from glutinous rice flour. The shape is quite unusual -it is in the form of a clay shape called ‘ang’ or ‘ginger’,hence the name ‘ Angku.’ It is a sweet dish which is prepared and used as emblem of good luck in the year that is coming. Baked using rice mixture in small round bamboo cups, Angku Kueh is one of the CNY feast delicacies.
Love Letters
Love Letters which are also referred to as Love Livers or Heartlanders are crispy thin and wavy biscuits prepared from flour, sugar and margarine. They are so called because of their resemblance to the symbolic shape of a heart. Love Letters are smooth and tender and could actually be considered as really yummy to munch on during Chinese New Year.
Bak Kwa
Bak Kwa, or “dried meat” is a local delicacy that is sweet and salty that is often prepared using pork or beef. It is thinly sliced, grilled and dried to the state where it is rubbery and slightly sticky. Bak Kwa is time consuming; it takes hours to prepare and cook the food. It symbolizes family reunion as most families in Singapore and Malaysia prepare Bak Kwa during the festival. Love also gives the Bak Kwa as a gift to everybody during the season making it tasty and fulfilling..
Bak Tong Go
Bak Tong Go or known as Eight-Treasure Rice Pudding is a delicious rice based creamy pudding sweetened with coconut milk and palm sugar sweetener. Among these flavors, eight of them are added to this soup including lotus seeds, red beans, peas and dried longans. The sweet soup Bak Tong Go represents the desire for prosperity that will fill the year ahead, so it enjoys its place as the dessert of a festive table.
Modern CNY Goodies
Durian Pengat
Durian Pengat is one of the tastiest and most cream-like dessert, which is prepared by using the durian fruit. Served boiled in coconut milk and palm sugar syrup and blended into pudding with creamy texture. Durian Pengat can be classified as new generation puddings and it has received a relatively good attention among the durian consuming group in recent years. The dessert is opulent and Oriental and it can be perfect to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
Persimmon Cake
This variety of the cake is the more modern version with the persimmon membranes being soft and moist to include in the combination their puree sweetens the cake and gives it the deep rich fall color. Persimmon cake is delicious and I like setting aside the traditional sweets and make it during Chinese New Year celebrations. Customarily, the cake is eaten in families, during gatherings in a sign of reunion and joy.
Matcha Buns
Matcha is a combination between Chinese ‘buns’ and Japanese green tea powder; so, the blend between the two is spot on. It is steamed buns that have a soft and cotton like interior, and they are stuffed with sweet matcha paste or matcha cream. It is exhilarating to find these pastries green misty amongst other red and gold associations with growth and prosperity that are typical of Chinese New Year.
Raspberry Love Letters
Contemporary to the conventional Love Letters, the Raspberry Love Letters are sweet biscuits containing a tart fruity raspberry jam in the centre. The citrusy marzipan is a perfect counterpoint to the buttery cookie with its slightly salty taste: it adds a whole new dimension to this cookie, which is traditionally associated with Chinese New Year.
Milo Dinosaur Cake
Milo Dinosaur Cake is one preference taken by many Singapore and Malaysia especially on Chinese New Year celebrations. This cake has a texture of a rather heavy chocolate sponge cake that is filled and decorated with Milo powder and adorned with warm Milo. It depicts the Milo dinosaur drink for the upcoming year, which is a brand of enhanced powdered milk.
Conclusion
This is a good time to get together with relatives, friends and enjoy different new year food specialties all through out China. Listing out these traditional and modern Chinese New Year goodies is not only going to please your palate but also spread good luck, wealth, and happiness to your celebration table. Therefore, no matter which of them you like to prepare as a traditional Chinese New Year meal or to innovate with in your current contemporary recipes, these recipes will definitely make your CNY fun and fantastic. Happy Chinese New Year!