Lunar New Year is the completion of the older form of calendar and families and friends reunite to celebrate the occasion. A focus when having these festive celebrations is the consumption of different CNY goodies that are believed to signify wishes and fortunes of the next year. From freshly harvested pineapples to lucky red packets for the Chinese New Year, scroll down to find out some of the tastiest Chinese New Year delicacies you should not miss this celebration!
Auspicious Fruits
Luck and prosperity are favorite CNY fruits, and some of them are used to serve as snacks and as decorative items. Top picks include:
- Pineapples – Whole fruits are cherished because the hard exterior and the sweet juicy and the yellow skin represents wealth. These are usually used to attract or call fortunes in people’s homes or working places. Mini pineapple tarts are also favourite CNY sweets as well Mini pineapple tarts are also familiar CNY delicacies.
- Oranges and tangerines – Whenever a Cantonese says orange and tangerine, it rhymes with luck and wealth. Shaped like wheels of circular ingots they are used for display or as lavish gifts hence the meaning of wealth. Mandarin oranges are the most symbolic fruits during CNY festivals.
- Tangerines – Tangerines imply prosperity and fertility. The rounded shape so emphasized and the color of gold suggests prosperity while the chubby fingers symbolize prosperity and togetherness. Local pomelo candy is relatively sweet and sour, it is commonly cultivated in the region.
Snacks with Auspicious Puns
In Chinese tradition, homophonic phrases and puns are quite popular and are considered to be auspicious ones. Popular CNY snacks feature creative names or ingredients chosen for their auspicious homophonic meanings:
- Confident crackers (确 Cóng) – The words crackers (爆竹) and prosperous (年) start with the same character of 年. Consuming these “buttery” cookies means wishing for no trouble in the coming year.
- Money – Silver coin cookies (银元宝)—These cookies are molded and engraved in the form of Chinese old silver dollars which symbolizes good fortune in business and money.
- Sugared Kumquats – Kumquats (金橘) sounds like gold oranges, and are symbols of prosperity and prosperity. The edible sugared fruits bring the taste of the sweet luck in producers’ terms in “eat your luck”.
- Nian gao (年糕) – This cake, prepared from glutinous rice flour (糕), symbolizes a ‘higher year’ because of the homonymy. It is believed that eating nian gao will result into improvements as well as personal development in the coming year. It can be steamed or fried Most people use it with vegetables and protein sources in their diet.
Auspicious Gift Packets
Hongbao are tiny red packets minutely filled with money, and are still often given today. These packets are also given during the celebration of Lunar New Year to bring in good luck for the future of the receiver. Hongbao are given between married couple and children or other young unmarried relatives. Companies also give out hongbao to its employees, customers and business associates.
The gift and the red colouration of it are vital. The colour Red stands for Energy, Happiness, Good Luck. Older persons exchange new notes and coins of currencies symbolically to pass on blessings to have a better and new year. The sentimental virtues of Hongbao outweigh its financial benefits making it an activity greatly valued by the recipients.
Besides money, there are creative riffs on hongbao gifts:
- Gold coins – Chocolates packaged in gold foil and trimmed in the form of coins.
- Practical red enveloped packets – The red enveloped packets can be clever designed to be shopping or dining cards that for example have an amount on it that a recipient can shop or dine depending on the amount on the enveloped card. Famous during this period of company’s Chinese New Year celebration.
Festive Gift Hampers
Gift baskets available in Chinese New Year are ideal for one to give to families, colleagues or clients and friends. Available in cheerful baskets or propitious red pockets, these luxurious trolleys are filled with a variety of CNY treats, fruits, wines, teas and many others.
Select from the many hamper offers being offered by established gift suppliers such as Royal King, Red White, Orange House and Hong Leong and Shihlin Taiwan. Look forward to receiving and providing exquisite feast hampers with luxury gourmet food such as XO sauce, bak kwa, butter cracker, pineapple tarts, bird nest, date, nian gao, prosperity candies, mandarin oranges and other symbolic Chinese New Year foods.
You can assemble hampers of your own by using small rattan baskets or pretty red packets with 10 pieces of colorful tangerines, pineapple pastries, trail mix with nuts, pack of orange chocolate coins, bak kwa jerky slices and dried fruit jellies, crackers and small pack of Mandarin orange tea. For an elegant finish, a Chrysanthemum wine or Chinese tea bottle should also be added.
Sweet Treats
With the holiday season around, I could not imagine the celebrations without these cute sweet treats. Stave off the rumbling of the growling stomach and also bring in luck for the new year symbolically.
- Kueh Pie Tee – Homemade Crust with sweet pineapple paste/ filling. Savor famous opened-topped tarts or tasty ones in pineapple forms.
- Bak kwa – Grilled marinade of barbecued pork meat. Bak kwa also tastes best when packed in high end gift boxes or packets.
- Candy tray – Small candies and cakes or what Gill calls candies trays that bring to mind CNY treats. Keep your eyes open for glazed kumquats, sugared peanuts, toffee caramels, sesame snaps, macaroons, dragon arms candy and etc.
- Love Letters – Delicate sweet meat rolls which can be made by cooking a rice, coconut milk and sugar batter in between two baking tins 16x4in in size over an open fire or BBQ pit. The thin sheets are then rolled.
Conclusion
Welcome the Lunar New Year with sweet pleasures and luck with these delicious and culturally approved Chinese New Year goodies and snacks. Gift pineapple tarts, mandarin oranges, nian gao, bak kwa jerky and packets with money or gold chocolate coins. What could be a better way to share with friends and families over these delicious cakes and bites for a joyful New Year that symbolizes prosperity, happiness and unity? Kung hei fat choi and a joyful munching this lunar new year’s!