The Year of the Monkey
Happy Chinese New Year!
Today is the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year. The period before Chinese New Year is one of the biggest annual migrations of people, all going home to their families to celebrate together. This is for the New Years Eve dinner, also known as the reunion dinner, normally done at home rather than in a restaurant. A variety of dishes are served at the reunion dinner, these usually include fish and dumplings, which signify prosperity. It also includes lettuce, shallots, celery, duck and Chicken – each of these represent a different attribute.
The Chinese Zodiac has a different animal representing a year on a 12-year cycle. Meaning that the year of the Monkey hasn’t happened since 2004 and won’t happen again until 2028. The monkey is the 9th animal in the Zodiac and each animal is said to have different attributes. If you were born in the year of the Monkey, you’re thought to be sociable and innovative. Every zodiac sign has lucky numbers, colours, flowers and even directions. Next year the year of the Rooster will be celebrated.
Chinese New Year is celebrated with the colour red, which is seen as a sign of good fortune. Red envelopes/packets with money in, called Ang Pow are given on Chinese New Years and are a sign of future success. It is also seen as favourable to give an even amount of money rather than an odd amount. These are very different to Pak Kum, which are white envelopes given at sad occasions like funerals.
There are many taboos, which surround the New Year, these are things that shouldn’t be done on the first day of the year.
- Washing your hair – this shouldn’t be done, as it’s a sign of washing away good fortune.
- Taking medicine – if you take medicine on the first day this means you will be sick for the whole year.
- Wearing black or white – these are mourning colours.
Do you have or know of any Chinese New Year traditions? Let us know!
How well do you know Chinese New Year?
Happy Chinese New Year! Here’s hoping the Year of the Goat (or possibly Sheep) is a good one.
See how much you know about this important Chinese holiday with our quiz. How many did you get right?
Dinner starts with family
For most people, ‘Chinese food’ would represent the customary weekend or end-of-the-month takeaway, which could include chicken fried rice, spring rolls or even barbeque spare ribs. It is a fact – little known as it may be – that many Chinese families do not eat these dishes on a regular basis. Most of them are probably cooking meals like these daily and are sick of it! 🙂
Ever since I was young, my parents have stressed the importance of traditional Chinese cuisine, and as chefs, they know it’s all about the flavour. Dinner is the most important meal, as this is the time when all the family sits down to eat.
The main ‘ingredient’ to a usual family dinner is steamed rice or ‘fān’– always white long grain rice, never wholemeal or pre-boiled, and it is always cooked in a rice cooker. Each person at the table has their own bowl of rice and they each pick some ‘sūng’ – dishes that are laid out in the middle, so everyone can have a bit of everything. ‘Sūng’ can be things such as steamed fish with ginger and spring onions, cured meats or mixed leafy green vegetables with oyster sauce. My father does most of the cooking so he sometimes creates his own dishes, such as stir-fried tofu with pork and sweetcorn or marinated chicken wings.
The number of dishes available varies to cater for however many people are at the table, and dinnertime is only over when all of the dishes are eaten – it is sometimes a tough job but it has to be done!
Since living in London, I have tried a number of different cuisines, such as Greek, Lebanese and Japanese, but nothing seems to fill in the gap of a family dinner. Regardless of whether it is Chinese New Year or even just to celebrate the fact that it’s Sunday, I have been unable to indulge in the comforts of a close-knit family dinner as often as I would like to and the idea of resorting to a takeaway, just to fill the void, seems like a somewhat empty substitute.
Has the family dinner gone out of fashion or to some people, is there no place like home?
Katie
