The main dish in China for the New Year. Recipes for Chinese New Year of the Rooster

The Chinese New Year has arrived, and, according to the lunisolar chronological system, the Year of the Rooster began on January 28th. This holiday is traditionally celebrated in China, South Korea and Vietnam, as well as in countries with large Chinese diaspora communities such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Food plays a key role during the celebrations, with many families preparing traditional dishes containing ingredients believed to bring good luck, prosperity and longevity in the new year. We have selected 21 dishes suitable for celebrating Chinese New Year. All of them are extremely appetizing and aesthetically beautiful.

Korean rice dumpling soup tteokguk is eaten on Lunar New Year in South Korea. Eating it symbolizes becoming a year older. It is also associated with purity, clarity and longevity.

Whole steamed fish is an essential component of the holiday table. Eating whole animals, not gutted, when serving symbolizes family unity.

Red sticky rice is a must-have component of New Year celebrations in Vietnam. The red color is achieved by adding breadfruit and symbolizes wealth.

Roasted braised duck is a flavorful alternative to Peking duck and a symbol of fertility.

Macaroons resemble coins and symbolize good luck in the new year.

Boiled pak choi cabbage is served at the festive table with soy sauce. In China, this variety of cabbage is synonymous with wealth and prosperity.

Stewed chicken with walnuts is another New Year's hit. After all, both chicken and walnuts represent family unity. Plus, it's a great dish to share with your loved ones.

Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce is also served for Chinese New Year. The long stems of cabbage symbolize youth and a long and healthy life.

Boiling and preserving fruits with sugar as a treat for guests is a Vietnamese tradition. On Lunar New Year, candied orange peels are served because oranges are a symbol of good luck and wealth.

These long and elastic noodles do not break and therefore symbolize longevity and eternity. It is served with black sesame and shallots.

The dumplings are popular because they resemble ancient Chinese gold coins. The more of them, the better, and there can be a lot of filling options. For example, with daikon and pork.

This vegetarian dish, Buddha's Delight, is commonly eaten by Buddhist monks. Each of the ingredients symbolizes different types of luck.

Chinese traditional niangao sweet rice cookies represent progress, advancement and growth.

A bright and juicy salad of fresh vegetables and fish is popular in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. It should be shared with the family as vegetables also symbolize family unity.

Tea eggs in Chinese are a symbol of wealth, prosperity and fertility.

Turnip pies with sausage and bacon represent increasing luck and advancement in school or work.

Korean dumplings with kimchi are called mandu and are also an integral part of the festive table for the Lunar New Year.

These Chinese-Malaysian fried shrimp with pineapple are said to bring both money and good cheer. Pineapples symbolize prosperity, and in Cantonese the word for shrimp is synonymous with laughter.

Buttery and deliciously delicious, pineapple cakes are a Taiwanese delicacy that represents wealth and good fortune.

The Vietnamese New Year's delicacy is banh tiung, which looks like small wrapped gifts. It is a steamed glutinous rice, mung bean and pork cake.

Korean braised short ribs are served on holidays and special occasions such as Lunar New Year as they take quite a long time to prepare. Luckily, most of the cooking time is simmering, and the results are simply delicious.

New Year in China is one of the most important holidays. The Chinese call it Chunjie - Spring Festival. The New Year celebration lasts up to 10-14 days, there are processions, masquerades and carnivals, fireworks are set off... Of course, the Chinese do not forget festive dishes.

China is a very large country, and each part of it celebrates New Year differently. In some areas, the Chinese cook rice, while in others they eat sweets. But absolutely all Chinese on this day try to get a good prediction of their fate, to predict their material well-being. Therefore, almost all dishes on the festive Chinese table symbolize prosperity.

Like us, in China there is a belief: how you celebrate the New Year is how you will spend it. Therefore, the table should be bursting with a variety of dishes. Almost all Chinese make dumplings for the New Year - jiaozi - they are sculpted by the whole family, and various fillings are placed inside. Superstitious Chinese can put exactly those fillings in dumplings that symbolize a good life for them. So, they often make dumplings with peanuts - this means that the whole year will be sweet, and if you come across a dumpling with chestnuts or dates, then a boy will be born in the family.

Chinese cabbage is a must on the holiday table, as its name coincides with the word “close.” It is usually fried, as this method of cooking is reminiscent of a fun and hot holiday night.

Read also: New Year in China: fish, dumplings and ancient traditions>>>

Another indispensable attribute is fried fish. The Chinese believe that if you leave a little fish on your plate, you will attract abundant wealth to your home. So much money that you can’t even spend it.

On the first day of the New Year, the Chinese also follow a special menu. Rice dishes predominate, as it symbolizes prosperity and a good harvest. In Hunan province, they prepare sticks of rice - niangao, and also drink sweet wine and eat zongzi - glutinous rice wrapped in reed leaves. In some areas of China, the first dish is chicken soup, as chicken is a symbol of calm. It’s also good to eat chicken wings, especially for young family members, because then they supposedly spread their wings and fly up. One of the main Chinese snacks is eggs, also an integral part of the New Year, they symbolize gold and silver.

Noodles are very popular. And the longer, the better - then life will be long. And, of course, in China they prepare sweets for the New Year. May next year be a success. In addition to the usual sweet dishes, the Chinese bake fortune cookies. Pieces of paper with sayings of ancient sages are inserted inside the cookies - this way you can understand what awaits you next year and receive a warning about danger.

Marble eggs

6 eggs
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. black tea
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp black peppercorns
Tangerine zest to taste

Step 1. Place the eggs in a saucepan with cold water and bring to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes.
Step 2. Remove the eggs and make cracks in the shell using a knife. Place the eggs back into the water.
Step 3. Add the rest of the ingredients, close the lid, cook over low heat for 2 hours. Serve cold or hot.

Chinese chicken soup

1 chicken breast
2 carrots
1 onion
1 leek
1 clove of garlic
200 g cabbage chicken broth
30 g Chinese dried black mushrooms
150 g spaghetti
3 tbsp. soy sauce

Step 1. Cut the onion, carrots into slices, chop the garlic. Cut the breast, salt and pepper.
Step 2. Heat oil in a large saucepan with a thick bottom, add chopped vegetables and fry for 10 minutes. Then add chicken and shredded cabbage. Fry for 2 minutes.
Step 3. Pour broth into the pan and simmer for 15 minutes.
Step 4. Soak the mushrooms and spaghetti in cold water for 20 minutes, then add to the soup and cook for another 7 minutes.
Step 5. Add soy sauce, salt, if necessary, add a little sugar.

Jiaozi (dumplings)

For minced meat:
450 g peeled shrimp
120 g canned bamboo shoots
4 tbsp. water 2
tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp Sahara
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
Corn flour
Pinch of black pepper
Dough:
3 cups flour
1/2 cup hot water
1/3 cup cold water
1 tbsp. vegetable oil

Step 1. Preparing the dough. Pour the flour into a bowl, make a well in the center, into which pour, stirring, water - first hot (boiling water), then cold. Add oil. Knead the dough well.
Step 2. Roll out the dough into a long sausage and cut into small equal pieces, the size of a cherry. Using a wooden rolling pin, roll out circles with a diameter of about 5 cm, so that the edges are slightly thinner than the middle.
Step 3. Prepare the minced meat. Finely chop the shrimp and bamboo. Mix all ingredients until smooth.
Step 4. Stirring, add corn flour until it reaches normal cutlet mince.
Step 5. Place 1-2 teaspoons of filling in the middle of each flatbread. Bring the edges together over the filling and seal to form a crescent. Or collect the dough in a bag and secure the top.
Step 6. Place a cloth napkin or lettuce leaves on the bottom of the steamer. Place dumplings. Steam for 5-7 minutes.

Nian-gao

Chinese pastries made from rice (less commonly wheat) flour. Nian gao is always eaten on New Year's Eve, and is not forgotten throughout the year. Niangao is made from rice or wheat flour with the addition of various fillings, such as jujube paste, fruit, and soy puree. The pie is steamed or fried. In Shanghai, niangao is shaped into a round cookie, the dough is made into a loaf and served already sliced, sometimes niangao is not a big pie, but small cupcakes.

1 cup glutinous rice flour (available at oriental spice and grocery stores)
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 egg
½ glass of water
2 tbsp. milk
2 tbsp. dried fruits

Step 1. Heat the water, bring to a boil, and then dissolve the sugar in it and cool.
Step 2. Add flour, milk and egg to the water.
Step 3. Knead until the dough is smooth.
Step 4. Finely chop most of the dried fruits and add to the dough. Grease a baking dish with oil.
Step 5. Distribute the dough over it. Cook either by steaming for 45-50 minutes, or you can also bake in the oven.

Fried Chinese cabbage

1 head of Chinese cabbage
1 head of garlic
3 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. butter

Step 1. Divide the cabbage into leaves and wash. Separate the leaves from the fleshy part. Chop everything coarsely.
Step 2. Heat olive oil in a frying pan, add garlic cloves and the fleshy part of the leaves. Fry for 5 minutes.
Step 3. Place the leaves in the pan.
Step 4. Fry for another minute, add butter and soy sauce. Simmer for another 2 minutes.

Fried mullet with ginger

1 mullet
1 jar preserved ginger
1 stack vinegar (3%)
2 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. Sahara
1 stack vegetable oil
salt, pepper - to taste

Step 1. Wash the fish, remove scales, fins and entrails, then make 2-3 light cuts diagonally. Salt, pepper and fry in vegetable oil until cooked.
Step 2. Cut the canned ginger into strips. Mix flour and sugar with vinegar, add ginger and a little water and boil for 5 minutes. Pour this mixture over the fish.
Step 3. When the gravy thickens, remove the pan from the heat. Place the fish on a platter and garnish with chopped celery.

Destiny Cookies

100 g flour
50 g powdered sugar
2 tsp corn starch
2 squirrels
Vanillin
A pinch of salt
3 tbsp. vegetable oil

Step 1. Write predictions on small pieces of paper. Heat the oven to 160 C.
Step 2. Beat the whites with butter and vanilla until light foam.
Step 3. Sift flour with starch and salt, add powder. Pour the mixture into the whites and beat. The dough should turn out like condensed milk.
Step 4. Place a tablespoon of dough on baking paper and spread to form a circle.
Step 5: Bake until the cookies are golden brown. Take out one circle at a time.
Step 6. Take the cookie with a glove, put the fortune in the middle, fold the cookie in half, and then in half again. Be careful not to break. Place in a glass or shot glass until cool to prevent it from unraveling.

Caramelized apples

4 firm sour apples
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup flour
1 egg
0.5 stack. water
7 tbsp. corn oil
Deep frying oil
Ice water
1 tbsp. sesame

Step 1. Peel the apples, cut them into 4 parts, remove the core and cut each quarter in half. Pour lemon juice into a container, place apple slices there and mix well. Let it brew.
Step 2. Make the batter: mix flour, water, 1 tbsp. butter and egg.
Step 3. Heat oil in a wok or deep fryer. Dip the apple pieces into the batter, then immediately deep-fry for 2-3 minutes until they are lightly browned. Remove and let the fat drain off.
Step 4. Fry again for about 1 minute until the apples are golden and crisp. Remove and let drain.
Step 5. Heat the butter in a frying pan and melt the sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Step 6: Once the sugar has dissolved and turned light brown, add all the apples. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and stir quickly until all apples are evenly coated with caramel.
Step 7. Place on a plate and serve with a bowl of cold water so that guests can dip the apple pieces into it with chopsticks. This will allow the caramel to harden.

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For the Chinese to hear “Happy New Year!” on January 1st. just as wild as if you were congratulated on March 8th in winter. The Chinese New Year comes later than the Western one and, unlike the banal change of the calendar, carries much more meaning.

Chinese New Year is a spring festival. It falls on one of the days between January 21 and February 21. And this is what happens in China two weeks before and two weeks after the holiday.

Firstly, it is customary to celebrate the Spring Festival at home with the whole family, which means that approximately half of China working in big cities returns home at this time.

Secondly, the Chinese are not entitled to vacation. There is no such clause in the Chinese Labor Code. That is, national holidays are the only opportunity to travel. This means that within two weeks after the holiday, half of China is intensively exploring the tourist spots of the Celestial Empire.

Thirdly, in 2016, the population of China was (for a second!) 1.3 billion people. Now imagine 750 million people moving from one place to another at the same time.

Traditions for celebrating Chinese New Year vary across provinces and cities:

In the Wudang Mountains (Hubei Province), all houses are thoroughly cleaned, and on the door there is a red and gold image of the character Fu 福 (happiness, prosperity) straight or inverted. The same is done throughout China. The doorposts are also decorated with red inscriptions wishing good luck in the new year. They often hang like this throughout the year and change on the eve of a new holiday.

Also common here the custom of hanging an image of the “sweet god” in the kitchen. Before the New Year, housewives smear his lips with honey or sugar syrup, so that when this god goes to heaven to report on the behavior of his charges, only sweet speeches would flow from his lips.
The New Year's meal is one of the most plentiful. In Udan, on the eve of the holiday, pork sausage is prepared and hung outside to dry.

Making dumplings with the whole family is an integral tradition. Many families make dumplings in the shape of ancient money bars, and put a coin in one of them. The year will be especially successful for the one who receives this surprise.

There can be more than 20 dishes on the New Year's table. Among them there must be fish, chicken, pork, beef, duck - often all dishes at the same time. In poor families, only one meat dish is placed on the table, but no one touches it - to show the neighbors that they can afford it, and not to actually eat it.

A typical New Year's gift is a hongbao, a red envelope with money, which in Hubei Province is usually given to children or the elderly. The amount depends on the wealth of the giver and the status of the recipient. The older the person, the more money it is customary to give.

On the first day of the new year they go to visit each other. The Chinese give practical gifts: cigarettes, alcohol, large bottles of vegetable oil or packages of milk. No romance, but a lot of benefits.

New Year in China is red. This is connected with the legend of the terrible monster Nian, who crawls out on the last day of the old year and is afraid of the color red. Red also symbolizes happiness and good luck. Well, thirdly, according to legend, people whose year begins in accordance with the Chinese cyclic calendar (year of the Rat, Rabbit, Tiger, Ox, etc.) will have a difficult year. To ward off trouble and attract good luck, they are shown wearing red underwear, which appears in huge quantities in stores on New Year's Eve.

Despite the fact that Russia has already celebrated the Year of the Mouse and celebrated the Year of the Ox, in China the New Year will begin only on January 26, on the day of the first new moon of the new year. The Chinese New Year (Chunjie) celebration is highly ritualized and surrounded by many customs. Preparation for this holiday includes not only preparing delicious dishes, but also cleansing in a figurative and literal sense, saying goodbye to everything bad that happened last year. For example, throwing away unnecessary things during New Year's cleaning symbolizes getting rid of everything that pulls you back; distributing debts allows you to enter the new year without unnecessary burden. On New Year's midnight, it is customary to open all windows and doors so that the outgoing year does not linger. The tradition of staying awake throughout New Year's Eve probably came to Europe, and even to Russia, from China, where it is customary to protect your home and city from a monster that, according to legend, comes only on this night. The ancient monster can be scared away using the color red, lighting fireworks, exploding firecrackers, and staging noisy theatrical performances. The role of the New Year tree in China is played by the Tree of Light, which is decorated with garlands, lanterns and fresh flowers. The main color of the Chinese New Year - red - symbolizes life and the beginning of spring, and the New Year itself is called the Spring Festival in China. It is therefore not surprising that there are many weddings in China during the New Year. New Year's fun lasts 15 days and ends with the Lantern Festival on the full moon. As elsewhere, New Year in China is a family holiday, but the Chinese consider their family not only living relatives, but also long-gone ancestors, for whom they also prepare a place at the festive table.

The Chinese do not take the patrons of the year as literally as has been customary in Russia in recent years, and do not try to avoid beef dishes on the New Year's table just because the Year of the Ox is coming. People in the Celestial Empire are also skeptical about the clothes in which it is better to celebrate the New Year. The main thing is to have at least one item of clothing in bright red color, and good luck will accompany you all year long. If you were born in the year of the Ox, continue to wear something red all year for protection from dark forces. Traditional New Year's gifts in China are sweets, money in beautiful red envelopes and paired items symbolizing unity and harmony in the family. Two tangerines are usually given to guests and they receive the same gift in return because “two tangerines” sounds the same as “gold” in Chinese. In general, it is very typical for the Chinese to transfer the meaning of a word to its homonyms (words with the same pronunciation or spelling). For example, the word "turnip" also means "luck"; “fish” sounds the same as “profit,” so it’s customary to leave the New Year’s fish dish for the next day in order to carry over all profitable business into the new year. Under no circumstances should you give a Chinese person something in the amount of 4 pieces, since the word “four” is consonant with the word “death”.

Traditional Chinese New Year dishes are very symbolic, but this symbolism is often understandable only to the Chinese. Most New Year's dishes have a “karmic” purpose - they are dedicated to deities or attract good luck to the house. For example, dumpling noodle soup, popular in southern China, symbolizes long life, so the noodles should be eaten whole, without chopping. Whole chicken and fish symbolize prosperity; duck - fidelity; eggs - fertility; oranges - good luck. Dumplings, one of which contains a coin, is a popular New Year's dish in northern China, because the name of the dumplings - "jiaozi" - sounds the same as the phrase "farewell to the old and welcome to the new."

The rice cake that is traditionally served on the New Year's table is called Nian Gao (nyangao), which means “higher and higher every year.” There are many varieties of this dish in different areas of China. In some places it is sweet, sticky and brown, in others it is white, dry and meant to be added to soup. There is even a chewable variety of Nian Gao. The only thing these dishes have in common is sticky rice in the recipe.

Peking duck is one of the most famous Chinese dishes in the world. Europeans like Peking duck because it does not contain unexpected ingredients, as in many traditional Chinese dishes. In the best restaurants in China, Peking duck is served very ceremoniously with three courses (duck meat with vegetables, pancakes and sauce, fried meat with rice, broth). Many Chinese cook a simplified version of duck for their New Year's table. Traditionally, duck is served with pancakes, plum sauce and green onions, which are used to make brushes for brushing the pancakes with sauce, and then these brushes are eaten along with the pancakes.

Chinese New Year Recipes

Ingredients:
250 g pork,
250 g dill, parsley and other herbs,
2.5 cups flour,
1 glass of water,
2 onions,
ginger, black pepper - to taste.

Preparation:
Finely chop the meat, onions and herbs, squeeze out the excess juice and add salt and spices. Prepare the dough from flour and very cold water, roll it into a rope, divide it into balls and flatten it into pancakes. Put minced meat in them and make dumplings. Place the dumplings in boiling water. When the water boils again, add cold water, bring to a boil and remove the finished dumplings.

Ingredients:
1 duck,
3 tbsp. honey,
3 tbsp. soy sauce,
1 tbsp. sesame oil,
50 g salt.

Preparation:
Scald the cleaned duck with boiling water, rub generously with salt and leave in the refrigerator for 10-12 hours. Mix honey, sauce and sesame oil, rub the duck, leaving a little for pouring inside, and leave the duck for an hour. Pour the remaining sauce with a small amount of water, pour it inside the duck and sew up the hole. Place the duck in the preheated oven on a rack over a baking sheet filled with water. Fry the duck for 90 minutes (half an hour at 220C, then at 190C). The finished duck has a bright golden brown skin.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts without skin,
4 tbsp. Sahara,
3 tbsp. rice or wine vinegar
2 tbsp. orange juice,
1 tbsp. lemon juice,
50 g soy sauce,
120 ml chicken broth,
100 ml water,
1 tsp sesame oil,
2 tbsp. any vegetable oil,
0.5 tsp black pepper,
2 tbsp. starch,
2 tbsp. fresh crushed ginger,
1 tsp crushed garlic,
200 g shiitake or white mushrooms,
100 g Chinese noodles (rice, bean, egg),
onions to taste.

Preparation:
Cut the meat into thin slices, place in a deep plate, add half the amount of sugar, vinegar, juices and soy sauce and leave in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

Cook the noodles and drain the water.

In another bowl, prepare the sauce: combine the broth, water, sesame oil and pepper with the remaining sugar, vinegar, orange and lemon juices and soy sauce. Pour a small amount of the mixture into a cup, dissolve the starch there and mix everything.

Pour oil into a hot frying pan or wok, add the marinated meat and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Place on a plate, and add mushrooms and onions with ginger and garlic to the frying pan, fry for about 30 seconds, then add the sauce, meat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the noodles, turn off the heat and leave for 5-7 minutes.

Ingredients:
7-8 eggs,
1 tbsp. salt,
1 tbsp. dark soy sauce,
2 tbsp. black tea leaves,
2-3 star anise,
2-3 cm of cinnamon,
zest of 1 tangerine.

Preparation:
Prepare the “broth” in advance: 400 ml of water, sauce, salt, tea, tangerine zest, anise and cinnamon, cook for 3 hours.

Add salt to a saucepan with eggs and water, bring to a boil and leave on low heat for 20 minutes. Remove the eggs, cool and gently crush the shell until small cracks appear. Place the eggs in the hot “broth” and leave for 7-8 hours. For a more vibrant taste, you can keep the eggs in the broth for about 30 hours. Marbled eggs can be stored for up to 5 days if they are not peeled.

Ingredients:
50 g brown sugar
70 ml water,
120 g glutinous rice flour,
1 egg,
2 tbsp. milk,
50 g dried fruits (dates, prunes, raisins, candied fruits).

Preparation:
Boil water, dissolve sugar in it and cool. Add flour, egg, milk, stir and knead until the dough becomes homogeneous. Add chopped dried fruits and spread the dough into a greased low baking dish. Traditionally, this pie is steamed for 45-50 minutes, but you can also bake it in the oven.

Ingredients:
10-12 wishes written on narrow paper strips,
1 egg white,
30 g sugar,
30 g flour,
salt, vanilla - to taste.

Preparation:
Beat the egg whites and vanilla until foamy. Separately, mix flour, sugar and salt and gradually add to the protein, stirring constantly. Prepare 2 baking trays. Spoon the dough onto the first one, trying to make the cookies thin and in a regular round shape, and place the baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes. At this time, fill the second sheet with blanks. Remove the first sheet from the oven, and use a wooden spatula to wrap each cookie with a piece of paper with a wish. Don't forget about the second sheet. Leave the finished cookies to cool and harden for 20-30 minutes.