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Top Chinese New Year Dishes for a Prosperous Year!

by Stefanie | 24 Jan 2021

Are you in charge of prepping for the reunion dinner this year?
Or perhaps you’re looking to impress your significant other’s parents?

Either way, Chinese New Year is equivalent to the season of feasting! Born and raised in a traditional Chinese family, I’ve come to learn of certain dishes that are served purely for their symbolic meaning. So here’s a laydown of some of the most popular and auspicious dishes to include in your menu this CNY!

You’ve probably heard of the idiom, 年年有余 (níanníanyoǔyú), which means to always have an abundance every year. In Mandarin, fish (鱼: yu) sounds like abundance (余: yú) hence it symbolizes that a fish dish plentiful access throughout the years. It’s also a tradition to have it served as a whole with the head and tail intact as it represents luck.

With a history of over 1,800 years, dumplings have been a popular dish in North China known for bringing fortune. Chinese dumplings are made to look like Chinese ingots due to its boat-shape. Urban legend has it that the more dumplings you eat, the more fortune you’ll get in the year to come.

Another common dish you’ll see during CNY are prawns. In Cantonese, prawn (har) sounds like the sound of laughter (har har) therefore to eat prawns would mean to bring happiness and joy to the family for the year ahead. Similar to fish, it’s a tradition for prawns to be served with its head and tail still intact and of course, the bigger the prawn, the more prosperity you’ll get.

You’ll just know it’s CNY when you see this colourful salad appearing on menus and for a good reason. In Mandarin, the words yu and sheng symbolizes an abundance of fortune and good tidings throughout the year. The higher you toss and the bigger a mess you make while devouring your Yee Sang, the more fortune will fall right to you.

When it comes to dessert, there is none other than a glutinous rice cake, also known as nian gao. Translated literally, nian gao means to have a high year. So, eating this delicious dessert would also signify that all good things are coming at a high rate therefore heaps of prosperity await you in the new year.

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Top Chinese New Year Dishes for a Prosperous Year!

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