年年有余(鱼) To be abundant, to be plentiful year after year
I know this post comes a bit late since Chinese New year was over for 2 weeks now, better late than never I guess. J
It is customary for Chinese to have a feast of symbolic dishes to welcome the Lunar New Year. There are a few “must serve” auspicious-sounding dishes during the Chinese New Year Eve "Family Reunion Dinner". Other than the usual chicken, duck and pork, fish is one of them that plays major role in festive celebrations.
Fish in Mandarin 鱼 is pronounced as “Yu". A homonym of fish, is the word abundance/surplus (余). Hence it is a Chinese ritual to serve fish during the reunion dinner to signify a wish for abundance and plentiful harvest year after year年年有余 (nian nian you yu). In addition, the fish is to be served whole, with head and tail attached, symbolizing a good beginning and ending for the coming year.
For this dragon New Year, it was our first CNY since we got back from Auckland. We were delighted to have a bigger group of 30 family members in celebrating reunion dinner. We joined my dad along with all my brothers and sister and her in-law Lee’s families’ to dine at Red Rock Hotel, Tian Tian Restaurant.
The following were some of the signature New Year dishes we had from our 8 course sumptuous reunion dinner.
The following were some of the signature New Year dishes we had from our 8 course sumptuous reunion dinner.
Prosperity salmon Yee Sang |
Braised abalone, sea cucumber, mushroom and broccoli |
Last but not least the FISH!
Soya sauce steamed grouper |
For the 2nd day of CNY, my 2nd sister-in-law suggested to have simple homemade family lunch at home. In view of the fact that during the first few days of Chinese New Year, dining out was very difficult because many restaurants were close for the New Year break, I gladly supported her idea and contributed my help in the kitchen.
The following was one of the dishes that I helped my sister-in-law to prepare. Steamed fish in Teochew Style, a favourite steam menu I often cook at home.
Teochew Style Steam Fish 潮州式蒸鱼 |
Hi Yin, I couldn't find the recipe of Braised abalone, sea cucumber, mushroom and brocolli? Could you please provide it? thanks, Kuan.
ReplyDelete