Chinese New Year dishes

Happy Chinese New  Year!!  This year I’ve decided to showcase some food which Chinese serve during the CNY period. I shall limit the food to those served during lunch and dinner.Every dish served has a meaning.

This is mixed vegetables. Typically it should contain some vegetables with long stems and leaves – this serves as a pray for long life for the elderly. Quite often, black sea moss (髮菜) is also included (not seen in this picture for environmental purposes) as it symbolises prosperity.

Abalone is often served in soup – just like the ones in the photos below – abalone symbolises good fortune.

Abalone with chicken soup

Abalone with sea cucumber soup

Duck (鸭肉) – symbolises fertility – I’ve been served roasted duck and Peking duck.

This is a meat ball (肉丸) dish – meat balls are round and this means ‘reunion’….that the family will always be united.

A pork dish is a must as it is said to bring about wealth, strength and abundant blessings.

Nestum prawns – (大虾) – in Cantonese this is pronounced as ‘ha’ which sounds like the sound of laughter – it is hoped that after eating the prawns we will have laughter i.e happiness all year long.

Spring roll

Abalone Porridge for Breakfast – Jeju Island

Jeju is famous for its lady divers who seek a living for themselves by diving for octopus, abalone and sea cucumbers. I was told that most of them are over 70 years old and may therefore be extinct someday. They lead  very ‘risky’ lives as they dive without the aid of  any breathing apparatus.   You may wonder why they do it, especially in such a male-dominated economy such as Korea. Well, the answer is because of circumstances i.e out of necessity. Most of them are the sole bread winner as their husbands died at sea whilst they were still young. So, in order to bring up their children, this was what they did….and they continue to do so until a very old age.

Hence, my meal of abalone porridge -  eaten with side dishes at this restaurant.

 Well, if you expect to see an entire abalone in your bowl of porridge (just like what I initially did) then sorry…..the abalone has been chopped into tiny pieces..so tiny and fine that it is no longer visible to the naked eye…anyway, I was told that all parts of the abalone is used in making this porridge i.e even all the internal organs are used and not thrown. After such a nutritious meal for breakfast I feel totally energetic.

Side dishes - this time with a fried egg!