Chinese New Year is the Spring festival considered the most important holiday in the Asian calendar. This centuries old celebration brings together family and friends, to renew their luck for the coming year. Many families clean the house, sweeping away any bad fortune and making way for good luck. I like idea of making way for good luck, but I also like that Chinese New Year is a time when families to gather for dinner.
Chinese New Year 2024 begins on February 10th, and celebrations culminate 2 weeks later with the Lantern Festival. 2024 is the Year of the Dragon! Those born in the Dragon years are characterized as charismatic, intelligent, confident, powerful and they are naturally lucky and gifted.
The Symbolism in Foods
With any Chinese festival, especially one as old and significant as the Chinese New Year, food always plays a large part in the celebration. For the Chinese, they are either eating or talking about food.
Chinese New Year is all about families getting together. And when they do, food is the centerpiece of the gathering. Generally, the foods served during Chinese New Year symbolize long life, prosperity, luck and happiness, and the foods eaten are symbolic of well-wishes for the new year.
Here are a few examples:
- Sticky rice symbolizes the “sticking together” of family and friends
- A whole fish symbolizes abundance
- Deep-fried spring rolls resemble bars of gold, and represent wealth
- The crescent shape of the Chinese dumpling resembles the Chinese ingot that was used as money until the 20th century, and symbolize wealth
- Stir-fried clams in their shells look like silver ingots of old China — representing wealth
- Long noodles symbolize long life
- Juicy Mandarin oranges signify good luck;
- Red apples represent both luck (due to their lucky red color), and peace (because the word for apple, “ping guo” sounds like the word “ping” for peace)
- Peanuts, known as the long life nut.
- The list goes on and on
Lucky foods, such as these, are prepared and served throughout Chinese New Year especially on New Year’s Eve when the whole family congregates for their new year banquet.
Wondering how I might plan a delicious Chinese New Year celebratory meal, I decided to ask a friend. Here, Helen Chen, leading Asian culinary expert, cookbook author, cooking instructor, and developer of Helen’s Asian Kitchen® cookware and cooking tools, shares her thoughts on how she likes to celebrate Chinese New Year.
Chinese New Year dinner is a banquet, and is a great opportunity to be generous with food. But, at the same time, I want to enjoy the celebration, and not have to spend all the time in the kitchen cooking it. That’s why this year my family will celebrate with a hot pot, or Fire Pot, dinner. The table is set with pot of boiling broth on portable burner in the center. Everyone is seated around the table, which is covered with myriad of plates with raw ingredients thinly sliced (beef, chicken, and seafood); prepared fish balls, and a variety of vegetables including bok choy watercress spinach, scallions, onion and mushrooms. Also on the table is a big bowl of noodles waiting to be boiled.
Everyone has with them a rice bowl, and dipping sauce and individual wire baskets for cooking the raw meat and seafood in the broth. They are placed in the basket so you don’t lose it in the broth. Bigger things, such as veggies, can be placed directly in the pot and pulled out with chopsticks.
Once cooked, season in the dipping sauce, and eat it. This process is repeated over and over again. By end of the meal, the broth is brimming with flavor from all that has been boiled in it. Then put in cooked noodles, one person will serve noodles and soup – which, of course, signify long life.
I find this a wonderful way to celebrate the new year. It is a low stress meal because the only prep I have to do is the cutting, and I can sit down with my guests and enjoy dinner. It is also a very communal way of enjoying food. Everyone can take part in it.
For dessert, I make an Eight Jewel Rice Pudding which is a very traditional Chinese steamed rice pudding with sweet glutinous rice, which is representative of the family and friends sticking together.
This is truly my favorite way of celebrating Chinese New Year. It creates connectivity during a very happy time.
However you seek to connect with friends and family, the Helen’s Asian Kitchen line is chock-filled with essential tools to build sales for the Chinese New Year.
I have many of Helen’s products in my kitchen – and have used them for years. Here, I’ve gathered together a few of Helen’s favorite items to help you celebrate Chinese New Year.
Add delicious homemade dumplings to the steamer with Helen’s Asian Kitchen Dumpling Press Quickly form and fill dough rounds, then seal in flavor with the classic decorative fluted edges. Simply roll and cut a 4-inch round of dough, or use store-bought potsticker wrappers, and drape over the open press. Spoon in 1-rounded teaspoon of filling and press the handles together to seal in the stuffing. Made from FDA-approved polypropylene. Dishwasher safe for easy cleanup. You can purchase it HERE
Affectionately nicknamed for its web-like design, the Stainless Steel Spider Strainer with Natural Bamboo Handle, safely scoops up foods and thoroughly drains away hot oil and boiling liquids. Foods sit securely in the shallow mesh strainer basket, and the natural bamboo handle prevents heat from transferring to hands during use. The Spider Strainer is perfect for making noodles, homemade dumplings and other types of pasta, blanching vegetables, deep frying, and so much more. You can purchase it here.
Helen’s Asian Kitchen Bamboo Chopsticks are made from 100-percent bamboo;, and feature tapered tips make picking up and holding foods easier. The square profile keeps them from rolling away when not in use and makes for a comfortable grip. Lightweight, strong, and won’t scratch surfaces. Your choice — dispose for easy cleanup or hand wash in warm, soapy water for reuse. 10 pair. 10.5” long each. You can purchase them here.
For steaming anything from vegetables, dumplings, and dim sum to meat, poultry and seafood, Helen’s Asian Kitchen Bamboo Steamer is made from 100-percent all-natural bamboo, helping retain fresh textures and flavors, and preserves precious nutrients. This 10-inch steamer easily turns almost any pan or stock pot into a steamer. The tiered design offers ample room for preparing a single or multiple servings. To help keep Steamer cleaner and prevent foods from sticking, use Helen’s Asian Kitchen Steamer Liners sold separately. You can purchase the steamer here.
Also handy for use with this steamer are
Steamer Liners to prevent sticking.
Steaming Ring for use on pots.
The Essential Wok!
For extra versatility in stir-frying, try Helen’s Asian Kitchen carbon steel wok for the ultimate in cooking performance. Carbon steel distributes heat evenly throughout the pan, and its flat bottom allows the pan to sit securely on a gas, electric and induction stovetops. You can purchase it here.
For nonstick devotees, try Helen’s Stir-Fry Pan with nonstick. The nonstick carbon steel distributes heat evenly, and the wok requires no seasoning. Purchase it here.
**Note: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
