Must Have Food Menu At Chinese Citizens' Dining Table When Celebrating Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year Meal (Van Thanh / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Chinese New Year does not only talk about red packets and red knick-knacks. But, it also talks about the diet. During Chinese New Year celebrations, there are several Chinese specialties that are mandatory menus and should not be missed.

Apart from being delicious, these Chinese New Year food menus also contain special meaning for those who celebrate.

If you are not familiar with these menus, here VOI will discuss 10 typical Chinese New Year celebrations and their meanings.

Basket Cake

Basket cake or nian gao is a mandatory food menu for Chinese New Year. Basket cake means the hope of a more prosperous year. Usually, basket cakes are arranged on top of red cupcakes or on large trays. A presentation like this indicates that the host is prepared to receive a year's worth of welfare.

Jiaozi

Jiaozi (Image: Frank Zhang / Unsplash)

Having a shape similar to dim sum, Jiaozi is often served as a typical Chinese food in the hope of bringing abundant sustenance and harmony in the family.

Fish

The mandatory food menu for Chinese New Year celebrations is fish. Fish symbolizes luck. When serving fish at the dinner table, the head of the fish should face the honored guest or parents. Other family members can only eat fish after the person facing the fish's head has started eating first. The position of the fish should not be moved and the fish meat should be left a little to eat the next day.

Santang Oranges

As a dessert, it is mandatory for santang or mandarin oranges to be at the dining table during a big meal on Chinese New Year's Eve. Orange signifies abundance of sustenance, prosperity and prosperity.

Siu Mie

Siu Mie (Picture: Debbi Tea-Unsplash)

This fried noodle is served without being cut into pieces. Mi deliberately left long as a symbol of longevity. Some Chinese citizens call it longevity noodles or Changsshou Mian.

Sweets

There are two types of special sweets served during Chinese New Year. First, sweet rice balls are round white. Second, the candied octagon with eight different variants. The octagonal sweets are often referred to as a prosperity box, because this food is a typical Chinese food that has a meaning of prosperity.

Lapis legit cake

Not only is there during Eid, lapis legit cake also seems to be a mandatory food menu for Chinese New Year. Lapis legit has a special meaning, namely the hope that sustenance comes multiple times, like the shape of a layered cake.

Fried Spring Rolls

Spring rolls (Picture: Fran Hogan-Unsplash)

In Cantonese, spring rolls are also called chun juan. The color and shape of the spring rolls are considered to be similar to gold bars which symbolize wealth.

Sauteed Green Vegetables

Green vegetables must also be present at meals during Chinese New Year. Green vegetables are usually cooked by sautéing them with additional meat or simply sautéing them in vegetable oil. A menu of vegetables symbolizes harmony and good luck.

Green vegetables also signify prayers for parents for good health and longevity.

Boiled Egg in Soy Sauce

Eggs boiled in a solution of soy sauce and tea are the last menu served by Chinese families when celebrating Chinese New Year. This boiled egg means fertility. So, the hope is that anyone who eats boiled eggs during Chinese New Year can have many children.