| Food item |
Simplified Chinese |
Traditional Chinese |
Hanyu Pinyin |
Description |
| Buddha's delight |
罗汉斋 |
羅漢齋 |
Luóhàn zhāi |
An elaborate vegetarian dish served by Chinese families on the eve and the first day of the New Year. A type of black hair-like algae, pronounced "fat choy" in Cantonese, is also featured in the dish for its name, which sounds like "prosperity". Hakkas usually serve kiu nyuk (Chinese: 扣肉; pinyin: kòuròu) and ngiong teu fu. |
| Chicken |
鸡 |
雞 |
Jī |
Boiled chicken is served because it is figured that any family, no matter how humble their circumstances, can afford a chicken for Chinese New Year. |
| Apples |
苹果 |
蘋果 |
Píngguǒ |
Apples symbolize peace because the word for apple ("ping") is a homonym of the word for peace. |
| Fish |
鱼 |
魚 |
Yú |
Is usually eaten or merely displayed on the eve of Chinese New Year. The pronunciation of fish makes it a homophone for "surpluses" (simplified Chinese: 余; traditional Chinese: 餘; pinyin: yú). |
| Garlic |
蒜 |
Suàn |
Is usually served in a dish with rondelles of Chinese sausage or Chinese cured meat during Chinese New Year. The pronunciation of Garlic makes it a homophone for "calculating (money)" (Chinese: 算; pinyin: suàn). The Chinese cured meat is so chosen because it is traditionally the primary method for storing meat over the winter, and the meat rondelles resemble coins. |
| Jau gok |
油角 |
Yóu jiǎo |
The main Chinese New Year dumpling for Cantonese families. It is believed to resemble a sycee or yuánbǎo, the old Chinese gold and silver ingots, and to represent prosperity for the coming year. |
| Jiaozi |
饺子 |
餃子 |
Jiǎozi |
The common dumpling eaten in northern China, also believed to resemble sycee. At the reunion dinner, Chinese people add various foods into Jiaozi fillings to represent good fortune: coins, Niangao, dried dates, candy, etc. |
| Mandarin oranges |
桔子 |
Júzi |
Oranges, particularly mandarin oranges, are a common fruit during Chinese New Year. They are particularly associated with the festival in southern China, where its name is a homophone of the word for "luck" in dialects such as Teochew (in which 橘, jú, and 吉, jí, are both pronounced gik). |
|
Melon seed/Guazi |
瓜子 |
Guāzi |
Other variations include sunflower, pumpkin and other seeds. It symbolizes fertility and having many children. |
| Niangao |
年糕 |
Niángāo |
Most popular in eastern China (Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai) because its pronunciation is a homophone for "a more prosperous year (年高 lit. year high)". Niangao is also popular in the Philippines, where there is a large Chinese population and is known as tikoy (Chinese: 甜粿, from Min Nan) there. Known as Chinese New Year pudding, niangao is made up of glutinous rice flour, wheat starch, salt, water, and sugar. The color of the sugar used determines the color of the pudding (white or brown). |
| Noodles |
面条 |
麵條 |
Miàntiáo |
Families may serve uncut noodles (making them as long as they can[88]), which represent longevity and long life, though this practice is not limited to the new year.
|
| Sweets |
糖果 |
Tángguǒ |
Sweets and similar dried fruit goods are stored in a red or black Chinese candy box. |
|
Rougan (Yok Gon) |
肉干 |
肉乾 |
Ròugān |
Chinese salty-sweet dried meat, akin to jerky, which is trimmed of the fat, sliced, marinated, and then smoked for later consumption or as a gift. |
| Taro cakes |
芋头糕 |
芋頭糕 |
Yùtougāo |
Made from the vegetable taro, the cakes are cut into squares and often fried. |
| Turnip cakes |
萝卜糕 |
蘿蔔糕 |
Luóbogāo |
A dish made of shredded radish and rice flour, usually fried and cut into small squares. |
|
Yusheng or Yee sang |
鱼生 |
魚生 |
Yúshēng |
Raw fish salad. Eating this salad is said to bring good luck. This dish is usually eaten on the seventh day of the New Year, but may also be eaten throughout the period. |
| Five Xinpan |
五辛盘 |
五辛盤 |
Wǔ xīnpán |
Five Xin include onion, garlic, pepper, ginger, and mustard. As an ancient traditional folk culture, it has existed since the Jin dynasty. It symbolizes health. In a positive economic growth dynasty, like Song, The Five Xinpan would not only have five spicy vegetables but would also include Chinese bacon and other vegetables. Moreover, it was offered to the family's ancestors to express respect and seek a blessing. |
| Laba porridge |
腊八粥 |
臘八粥 |
Làbā zhōu |
This dish is eaten on Laba Festival, the eighth day of the twelfth month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar. The congees are made of mixed walnut, pine nuts, mushrooms, and persimmon. The congees are for commemorating the sacrifices of ancestors and celebrating the harvest.
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