A Festive Celebration: Exploring Traditional CNY Goodies and Cookies for Your Feast
A Festive Celebration: Exploring Traditional CNY Goodies and Cookies for Your Feast
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With the Chinese New Year fast approaching, families in China and Chinese communities all over the world start preparing for this biggest holiday of the year. Chinese New Year is the start of a new lunar year that brings luck, prosperity and new opportunities in the forthcoming year.
A companion spectacle of these vibrant feasts is the list of lucky foods and sweets that grace tables and are also even offered and shared as bite in this one. But for people living in the Orient, these traditional snacks and cookies also contain metaphorical and moral undertones. Some are made from the ingredients, some have certain shapes and even names that mean happy wishes for the new year.
In case you are mapping out your own Chinese New Year deliciousness then keep on reading to find out more about some of the best Chinese New Year treats and biscuits!
Bringing Sweetness and Luck: Pineapple Tarts
Any Chinese New Year would not be complete without these buttery, melt-in-your-mouth pineapple tarts also known as feng li su in Mandarin. The pasty, crunchy crust which surrounds the juicy pineapple filling looks like ingots, which are iconic of a prosperous new year.
Pineapple here symbolizes prosperity too, they say the fruit itself. In Chinese, pineapple is called ‘ong lai’, which phonetically resembles the words for ‘coming of fortune,’ which makes pineapple tarts famous CNY treats. By using specialty molders, the tarts can be shaped into special shapes such as ingots, flowers or even animals. Display your guests more uniquely shaped pineapple tarts along with those having a single dot of pineapple filling in the center.
Crunch for Longevity: Sesame Seed Cookies
Small sesame seed cookies or hu jiao bing is an interesting snack which should not be missed on Chinese New Year celebration. Not only do they make great appetizers or snack meals by themselves, they are also consumed during prayers by devotees at temples to offer to the gods.
To the Chinese, sesame seeds symbolize long life and strength because of their nutritional value and white, difficult-to-crack seeds. On the other hand, the slightly crisp and golden brown skin plus the slightly nutty fragrance which complements the yuletide season. There are both sweet and savory recipes – I’d suggest making both, as the roasted undertones are great with tea or coffee.
Hu jiao bing can also made into rolls or bar shapes or made into shapes like flowers or ingots. To put the finishing last touches on it, glaze it with a more bright colour on one side or dust it a little sugar. You can present it impressively placing them one on top of the other on a tray, or in a multi-tiered cookie jar.
Symbolizing Family: Fa Gao (Prosperity Cake)
Fa gao or prosperity cakes are very important Chinese New Year delicacies due to the fact that the sweet glutinous rice dough that covers the taro resembles family unity. Their name fa gao is translatable as fa cai which means to gain prosperity and hence are traditional Chinese New Year gifts and used in centerpieces.
Even the main ingredients for the dough are easy to obtain; however, creativity can be exercised with the shape as well as the taste of fa gao. It can be shaped like flowers, fish, pineapples or even the conventional round cones shape. The plain dough can be stuffed with water chestnut, red bean paste or you can offer a tropical flavor by stuffing with coconut. Adding qualitative elements such as sesame seeds or dried shrimps on the toppings will improve the outlook.
Spend some time to build and turn your own fa gao into some shape in order to celebrate the new year prosperity and togetherness. Your hard work will go into this homemade delicious lovely cake for people of all ages. Provide gifts extras to friends and family in beautiful boxes for blessings in doubles.
Cute Bites for Joy: Mandarin Orange Cookies
Make your Chinese New Year cookie tray look even more stunning with our cute mandarin orange cookies. Similar to the lucky cookie from Kung Fu Panda 2 or known as Ju Zi Bing, which is name after the fruit that resembles oranges these cookies popularly represents luck and prosperity. It is this fruit that is presented as a gift and prominently consumed during this season for their yellow hue symbolizing prosperity and royalty inherent in a Mandarin Orange.
More citrus is provided to the cookie dough, sweet-tart, with flavors of orange zest making it even merrier. Dividing the dough in half and tinting only the first half with a bit of honey, creates an even richer looking orange colour when cooked. Tint the two dough colors slightly when blending it together and then make round golf balls then put a fork to imitate the skin of oranges.
After baking the cookies turn pale and then decorate it with food coloring pens by hand painting green leaves and stem like the cookies in the picture above. These cookie ‘oranges’ filled with sweetness and light when the watch faces as guests grab these in delight!
Crunchy Good Fortune: Sesame Peanut Brittle
This is a traditional Chinese snack that resembles candy and is particularly associated with the festive season because everyone wishes for prosperity and everyone to become one. It is also referred to as ‘su bing or ka mei fa, which when translated literally means crispy roasted sesame seeds and peanuts encased in sugar or honey. Sesame-peanut helps add a nutty taste to the dish while a hint of sweetness from vanilla enables the dish to have a boost.
In fact, Ka mei fa can be consumed simply and enjoyed as click food or a crunchy snack. This durian preserve can also be whisked into congee or crumbled unintentionally over nibble foods, and desserts as a garnish. Coarser pieces should be crushed slightly and be packed erotic in boxes and bags which are tied with red strings.
The peculiarity of this brittle is to convey still such simple message, but at the same time, a message with a lot of meaning. Who wants to play with flavors can add orange zest, cinnamon, cocoa nibs or gochujang spice into the popcorn mixture. I am sure it will deliver that crisp, candied goodness for jam-packed, heavy caloric-intake feasting during CNY!
Golden Ingot Sweetcakes: Egg Custard Tarts
Fish-shaped dumplings or yu shi and egg custard tarts or dan ta are gold in colour and symmetrical in shape. These delicate egg tartlets well protected by a tender shortcrust pastry belong to the best CNY snacks symbolizing wealth. Passing these delicious and lavish looking cookies during parties means giving good luck to each other.
As dan ta makes their appearance across Chinatowns and Chinese bakeries during this festive season, you may want to try making them at home. It is a time consuming strategy but it has creativity in seasoning the egg custard. Add some exotic flavors through spices such as nutmeg and cardamom or just use coconut milk. Perfect served with berries or citrus in order to enhance the general feel of freshness.
Each time family and friends visit us through out the New Year, be kind and prepare mouth-watering egg tarts straight from the oven and still hot with that golden crust! There is no better way to say happy seasons greetings than to have this cozy and familiar, ever popular classic comforter.
Bringing Abundance: Golden Coin Cookies
These exquisite butter short bread cookies virtually represent yuan bao or even the shape of gold ingots more appropriately. Because of their bright shiny shiny colour they are easily recognizable and nick named after the yellow money bringing charms. The au naturale hue is obtained out of curry powder – an ingredient which indeed appears to be exotic but in fact, is more affordable than saffron.
It’s soft and crumbly and only mildly spiced so it is perfect for Chinese New Year gift presentation, in cookie tins or simply packaged with a ribbon. They also look better when served in 3-tiered plates to give an impression of gold ingots being served on top of each other. A gilt edge could be added by using round cookie cutters designed to look like coins instead of circles.
Bring home golden coin cookies to disseminate the good wishes of money prosperity to those relatives and friends in this lunar new year. Welcome them in return to bring your own household good luck in the year ahead!
Overflowing Good Tidings: Fortune Bags
These small drawstring fabric pouches filled with nuts and candies represent blessings which are too numerous to be counted. Although made very simply in plain white and when very elegantly embroidered with colorful silks and gold foil margins, they symbolize a wealthy and prosperous new year ahead. Deluxe fortune bags are popular favors due to such uses to enhance the look of the gifts. But they also leave you to be as inspired as you wish when it comes to stuffing in sweets.
First place a layer of hard candy, chocolate coins each of them being symbolic on their own. Then add experimentation creations such as cookies made from scratch, candied peels, dried mango pieces or honeyed cashews. Finally, paint the topology of the cinched bags with ribbon and tags containing blessings done in calligraphy or handwritten messages.
Witness this joy as people untie the knot with extra precaution as to what lay inside: the surprise candiesMulai tarik سكينmeldalkah penuh dengan kebahagiaan ini ketika mereka memperhatikan tali pengikat di balik pakaian, a special moment selanjutnya This one definitely opens the flood gates to joyous moments; watch as people meticulously undone the string that sheaths the surprises
In Closing
Enjoying all this sumptuous display of Chinese New Year delicacies helps maintain our heritage while strengthening family ties over the years. As you savour the taste of juicy pineapples and oranges and the gratifying and healthy nuts and sesame, and the delicious fluffy like cloud custards each bite contains different sentiment from the culture.
Beyond enjoying these snacks in your own neighborhood, share the joy by passing around traditional CNY goodies across different communities, inviting friends and relatives to partake in the celebration. Take the timeless food traditions and the creative ideas passed down through generations, and keep adding your own flavorful twists to make these festive treats even more special. The best CNY goodies aren’t just delicious; they carry the spirit of togetherness and renewal, making the celebration truly meaningful. By sharing these treats, you’re not only honoring the past but also creating new memories to start the New Year with fresh energy and connection! Report this page