Chinese New Year's Eve Family Dinner - Nian Ye Fan
A significant reunion dinner in different regions of China
Celebrating the Spring Festival dinner, or reunion dinner (年夜饭 Nian Ye Fan), is very important to Chinese people, and the whole family must get gather to enjoy a sumptuous meal . Chicken, duck, fish and pork are necessary. Since different areas have different dietary habits, recipes for reunion dinner vary in the different areas. Let’s explore the recipes of the reunion dinner in the north and the south of China.
The whole family gets together for a big dinner
People in the north have flour-based food and meat dishes with large portions. They must eat dumplings. Shape of a dumpling is like a gold or silver ingot, and it means making a lot of money in new year.
In northeastern China, the most typical dish is "mess stew", such as "Braised Chicken with Mushrooms" and "Braised Pork with Vermicelli".
People in Beijing like the implication of everything going smoothly, and the reunion dinner is composed of 4 cold dishes, 4 fried dishes, 4 meat dishes and 4 soups. Main courses are Sixi Balls (Braised Pork Balls in Gravy), ‘Twice-cooked Pork’, and ‘Red Braised Pork Knuckle’.
However, people in the south of China stress the implications of food. They take Tangyuan and ‘Glutinous Rice Cakes’ as the must-eat for the reunion dinner. Glutinous rice balls, also known as ‘Tangyuan’ in Chinese, are usually served in sweet ginger soup. Their round shape signifies the whole family reunion. And eating Nian Gao, also known as glutinous rice cake, is like making a wish every year to be more successful and better than last year.
People along the southeast coast of China prepare seafood with light, fresh tastes, such as lobster, scallop, and oyster, as the main course.
In the southwest, people prefer spicy and salty tastes. Locals will cook lots of sausages, which are often made with lean and fat pork with chili and spice, tasting smoky and piquant. Pork steamed with rice flour, known as Fenzhengrou in Chinese, implies that your life and career will thrive and prosper.
Although the different areas have different recipes for the reunion dinner, all dishes are made for blessing the coming year. Preparing such a grand meal is difficult, but it brings love and best hope to the family.
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