Chinese New Year, more commonly known as the Lunar New Year, marks the commencement of Spring in China! Therefore, it is also known as the ‘Spring Festival’.
The Chinese culture puts a lot of stock by the concept of “luck” and it reflects in their customs and traditions. They also give an immense amount of importance to food, which is why they eat food items that are considered auspicious or lucky in Chinese culture.
Consequently, to stay in line with the approaching Spring Festival in China, I have brought to you a menu that incorporates traditional Chinese New Year lucky food items! These delicacies are absolute goodies, definitely worth trying and they represent the Chinese culture during one of its more significant yearly festivities.
Dumplings or Jiaozi
These delicious round dumplings symbolise prosperity and togetherness in the Chinese culture. Family members in China get together during this time of the year to prepare this mouth-watering dish and eat at midnight. A very interesting aspect is that one gold coin is placed in the dumplings for one lucky person to find it. I thought the practice was so innately fascinating. Jiaozi can be stuffed with anything – ground beef, pork, chicken, veggies like cabbage, green onions and such.
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp of salt
- 1 cup of water for kneading
For the filling:
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tbsp of soy sauce
- Chinese cooking rice wine
- ¼ tsp of freshly ground white or black pepper
- Chinese cooking rice wine
- Ground meat (I typically use pork)
- Shredded green cabbage
- Spring onions (washed and chopped)
- 4 tbsp of bamboo shoots
- Minced ginger (2 slices)
- 1 clove of finely chopped garlic
Recipe
- Knead the dough till it becomes soft and pliable.
- Cover the dough with a muslin cloth and let it sit for at least half an hour.
- For the filling, throw in the meat, soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, and white pepper in a large bowl, while stirring continuously.
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix it well.
- Divide the dough into 40-45 pieces.
- Roll out each piece into a circle with a diameter of 3 inches.
- Place a small portion of the filling in each rolled out piece, then wet the edges slightly with water.
- Fold the dough inward and cover the filling. It should look like a half-moon!
- Pinch the dumplings’ edges to seal them.
- To cook, bring a large boiler of water to boil and throw in half the dumplings, stirring them so they don’t stick.
- When the dumplings boil for the third time, they’re done. You can fry them at this point or eat them steamed with a spicy seasoning!
Egg or Spring Rolls
Why are spring rolls called spring rolls?
They are called Spring rolls because they are specifically eaten during the Spring festival in China. Eating spring rolls is considered symbolic during the Chinese New Year as they stand for wealth and hence is a very popular food item! Let’s take a look at the recipe.
Ingredients
- Egg roll wrappers (1 packet)
For the filling:
- 1 pound of pork (either fresh or barbecued)
- 2 stalks of diagonally cut celery
- Onion (washed and sliced)
- Mushrooms
- Green onions (spring onions)
- Bean sprouts
For the seasoning:
- 1 tsp of soy sauce
- Oyster sauce (optional)
- A dash of salt and pepper
- Less than 1 tsp of cornstarch
For the gravy:
- 1 tbsp of cornstarch
- 4 tbsp of water
- ½ tsp of soy sauce
- Black pepper powder and salt (to taste)
- 2 tbsp of vegetable oil (to stir fry)
- 2 to 4 cups of oil (to deep fry)
Recipe
- Cut out the pork in strips and throw in all the seasonings! Mix well.
- Marinate the pork for at least 20 minutes.
- While the pork gets marinated, heat a pan and add the oil to stir fry the veggies.
- When the oil is hot enough, add the onion, celery, and salt (a dash) and fry till done.
- Remove from pan. Next, add the pork and cook till it turns tender.
- Next, fry the mushrooms and bean sprouts.
- Add water and the rest of the fried ingredients and cook till the gravy thickens.
- Add the chopped green onions and set aside to let it cool down.
- To wrap the rolls, mix the cornstarch with water until you get a glue-like consistency.
- Place like a tbsp of the filling in the egg roll wrapper, roll it closed and seal it off with the cornstarch mixture.
- When the oil for deep-frying is hot enough, slide in the egg rolls one at a time and fry till they turn golden brown.
- As an alternative to cornstarch and water, you may also use beaten eggs.
Tang Yuan or Sweet Rice Balls
In South China, people relish the sweetness of these rice balls all throughout the Spring Festival. The reason why it is a widely popular dish in the celebrations of the Chinese New Year is because it symbolises togetherness and being reunited with your family members. Tan Yuan is so mouth-watering and even easier to put together.
Ingredients
For filling:
- 80 gms of peanuts or black sesame seeds
- 3 tbsp of sugar (I use brown sugar)
- 40 gms of butter
For wrapping:
- 150 gms of glutinous rice flour
- 5 tbsp of hot water
- 3 tbsp of lukewarm water
Recipe
- Roast the seeds (or peanuts) over a low to medium heat till they start giving off a nice fragrance.
- Cool the seeds down and grind them into a paste.
- Add the butter and mix well.
- Refrigerate the mix till it turns firm.
- Divide into 20-25 portions and keep aside.
- Now, to make the dough, mix the hot water and glutinous rice flour with a spatula.
- Add the lukewarm water and start kneading the dough with your hand till it becomes soft and pliable.
- Divide the dough into 20-25 portions.
- Flatten each portion and fill it with one refrigerated ball. Seal it off completely.
- Follow this step for each portion.
- Bring to boil a large boiler of water and slide in the balls in it. Stir continuously to avoid sticking the balls.
- After a few minutes, you will notice the balls float up to the surface. This means that they’re done.
- Take them out in a bowl along with some liquid and serve warm.
Steamed Whole Fish
The word, Yu (meaning fish) sounds very similar to the Chinese words for ‘wish’ and ‘abundance’. Hence, it is customary to serve a plate of whole fish at the end of a Chinese New Year meal. For enhanced symbolism, the fish is served from head to tail to wish people an abundance of everything in life. A special ingredient to nail this recipe is salted black beans! It really brings out the flavour, making this meal a delicacy even after the Spring Festival has passed.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp of salted black beans
- 1.5 pounds of red snapper or any other whole fish available near you
- 1 tsp of fresh ginger (finely chopped)
- 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
- 1 tsp of garlic (minced)
- ½ tsp of salt
- ¼ tsp of sugar
- 1 tsp of soy sauce
- ¼ tsp of sesame oil
- 2 spring onions for garnishing (chopped)
Recipe
- Remove any extra salt from the black beans by placing them in a bowl of warm water and stirring continuously.
- Slash the fish crosswise, at least three times on both sides.
- Next, in a bowl, throw in all the ingredients (including the beans).
- Apply the mixture on the outsides and the cavity of the fish.
- Refrigerate this for at least half an hour.
- Take the whole fish out and wrap it with a plastic wrap and microwave for at least 4 minutes.
- Cook till you’re easily able to prod the fish with a fork.
- Garnish with spring onions and serve hot!
Longevity Noodles
Owing to the extended length of these noodles, they stand for longevity and it is of utmost importance that they’re not cut short during the preparation. These noodles are stir-fried, which is one of the easiest ways to put together a recipe and one of my most favourite meals to indulge in during the Chinese New Year.
Ingredients
- 10 cups of water
- A pack of spaghetti or dried thin egg noodles (I use the latter for this recipe)
- 1 tsp of salt
- 4 cups of chicken broth
- 1 tbsp of soy sauce
- 1 tsp of sesame oil
- 2 tsp of water and cornstarch mix
- Black pepper (to taste)
- Spring onions (washed and chopped)
Recipe
- In a large saucepan, boil the water, add salt and parboil the noodles.
- Rinse them thoroughly with cold water, making sure they don’t stick together.
- Bring the stock to a boil, and stir in the rest of the ingredients.
- Cook it for a while (about 10 minutes).
- Pour this hot broth on the cooked noodles and garnish with the spring onions.
- I usually chop up some ham and spread it on top to impart a meaty flavour!
Try out these lucky food items to usher in the Chinese New Year and its festivities! Let me know if something caught your attention particularly in the comments below.
