Tag Archives: Chinese New Year

Entrée/Dessert: Glutinous Rice Cake

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, superstition, family tradition; Verbal Lore – saying
  • Language: English with some Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: W.W.
  • Date Collected: November 15, 2020

Informant Data:

  • W.W. is a 22-year-old senior studying Mathematics and Computer Science at Dartmouth. He was born in Boulder, Colorado, but his family moved to Shanghai, China when he was 9 years old. Every summer vacation and Chinese New Year while in China, W.W. would visit his maternal relatives in Beijing with his parents and little sister. To celebrate the reunion of the extended family, his grandma would host a large dinner celebration at home with all the relatives invited, including all the uncles, aunts, cousins, and even the family pets.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context

  • “Nián gāo” (年糕) refers to Glutinous Rice Cake, but it can also be translated literally as “New Year Cake.” The name is auspicious because it sounds similar to the popular Chinese New Year’s saying “nián nián gāo” (年年高), which means “higher every year.” It is often used as a toast at the dinner table to wish good health for elders, successful careers for working adults, and stellar grades for children.

Social Context

  • Glutinous Rice Cake is always served for the traditional feast on Chinese New Year’s Eve. The extended family reunites to celebrate this special occasion. After the feast, the family watches fireworks and a special show on TV called “chūn wǎn” (春晚), which features singing, dancing, and traditional performances.

Item:

  • “Nián gāo” (年糕), or Glutinous Rice Cake, comes in two varieties: savory and sweet. The preparation process is straightforward but time consuming. First, boiled sticky rice is pounded into a paste and molded into dough. The dough is then cooked again, usually by steaming. Savory Glutinous Rice Cake dishes are usually served as entrées. The rice dough is cooked plain, typically in the shape of cylinders or flat slices, and subsequently stir fried with other ingredients or used in hotpot. For example, in Shanghai, Glutinous Rice Cake is often stir fried with cabbage and shredded pork. Sweet Glutinous Rice Cake dishes, on the other hand, are served as desserts. Sugar, assorted nuts, and dried fruits are added to the dough before cooking or mixed in afterwards. When purchased at the store, sweet Glutinous Rice Cake dishes are often packed in more elaborate shapes such as fish, which symbolizes surplus and unity.

Image Files:

Sweet Glutinous Rice Cake in elaborate packaging (Photo was taken by W.W.’s family members on November 7, 2020; it was ordered online.)

Sweet Glutinous Rice Cake being steamed (Photo was taken by W.W.’s family members on November 7, 2020; unfortunately the end product is not as beautiful as the packaging.)

Transcript of Interview Clip:

W.W. (collector and informant): When I was a child, um, I remember that my favorite dessert for Chinese New Year was sweet Glutinous Rice Cake shaped like koi. Since I was allergic to tree nuts, my parents and grandparents always bought it plain. The packaging was super elaborate, so I was always, um, a little, very disappointed actually, to discover that the rice cake itself was plain white. My family would steam the plain rice cake and serve it with nuts and other toppings placed separately on the side. I always struggled to eat it because it was very sticky. Apparently, the right technique is to stick your chopsticks into the rice cake and swirl them around until a decent sized blob forms. After eating the rice cake, we would cast lots to see who would clean the dishes because it was always a tedious chore to clean off the sticky remains.

Collector’s Comments:

  • Talking about Glutinous Rice Cake brings back happy childhood memories and evokes a strong feeling of nostalgia. I always preferred the sweet type instead of the savory type. My parents did not have the time to make rice dough themselves, so they bought it pre-packaged from the store, usually weeks in advance. I would always beg them to let me eat it before Chinese New Year, but my efforts were never successful.

Collector’s Name: Winston Wang

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Entrée: Braised Pork and Gold Ingot Egg

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish, recipe; Customary Lore – celebration, family tradition, superstition, historical story
  • Language: Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: Y.Z.
  • Date Collected: November 7, 2020

Informant Data:

  • Y.Z. is about ~50 years old, and she currently resides in Shanghai, China. She was born in Beijing, China during the Cultural Revolution and grew up in relative poverty, as was the case with most Chinese families back then. After attending university in Beijing, she pursued her graduate studies in the US. She learned many traditional Chinese dishes from her mother and enjoys cooking for her family.

Contextual Data:

Historical & Cultural Context

  • During the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368) in China, the main currency was gold and silver ingots shaped like tiny boats called “yuán bǎo” (元宝). Many traditional Chinese New Year dishes such as dumplings are prepared in the shape of these ingots as a symbol for wealth and prosperity.
  • In the 1960s and 1970s, China’s economy was in a terrible state. Meat, eggs, and sugar were heavily rationed. As a result, most families could not prepare meat dishes and desserts for their daily meals. During Chinese New Year, the rations were temporarily increased, so families would celebrate by making large meat dishes and fancy desserts.

Social Context

  • Chinese New Year meals are always eaten as family. Most of the dishes have auspicious names, colors, or shapes that symbolize longevity, wealth, or good fortune. By eating these dishes, families express their hope for more prosperity and blessings in the coming year.

Item:

  • Braised Pork and Gold Ingot Egg, or “hóng shāo ròu yuán bǎo dàn” (红烧肉元宝蛋) in Chinese, is a popular meat dish eaten for Chinese New Year, both in the northern and southern provinces. Diced pork belly is braised in a broth consisting of soy sauce, sugar, star anise, ginger, and garlic. Boiled eggs are then flavored using the remaining meat stock. Afterwards, the top half of the egg whites are removed to give the eggs a distinctive “yuán bǎo” (元宝) shape. Finally, the eggs are plated on top of the pork belly, and the family shares the dish together to express their wishes for the new year. There are several variations of this dish according to regional preferences. For example, in Shanghai, families tend to add much more sugar to the dish to give it a sweeter taste.

Image File:

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The completed dish (Photo was taken by Y.Z. on November 7, 2020; she prepared the dish using a recipe from her mother.)

Translation of Interview Clip:

Y.Z. (informant): The dish I’m introducing is called “hóng shāo ròu yuán bǎo dàn” (红烧肉元宝蛋). Um, this dish, we always had it for Chinese New Year when I was a child. So, when I grew up in the 60s and 70s, China’s economy was pretty behind. Ingredients like pork and eggs were scarce resources, rationed every month by the government. For each person, every month, um, there was about one pound of meat and eggs in total. So, usually, we rarely had a chance to eat meat. That’s why during Chinese New Year, when the rations are slightly increased, we would use, um, pork and eggs to make the dish. One reason why this dish is so popular is because the meat is braised in soy sauce and other condiments, including star anise, scallion, ginger, and garlic… uh, the remaining meat stock is used to flavor the eggs and can also be saved for other dishes. The reason why the eggs are called ” yuán bǎo dàn ” (元宝蛋), is like this. “Yuán bǎo” (元宝), they are Chinese ingots, the shape is like a boat. During the Yuan Dynasty, gold and silver were used as currency, and they were molded into such a shape. ” Yuán” (元) refers to the Yuan Dynasty, and ” bǎo” (宝) means treasure. So in this dish, you can make the eggs resemble “yuán bǎo” (元宝) by removing part of the egg white. I guess this is a nice wish, the hope that, next year, life will be bountiful, the family income will increase, so people make this dish “hóng shāo ròu yuán bǎo dàn” (红烧肉元宝蛋). That’s about it. Are there any parts that you are not clear about?

W.W. (collector): Great, thanks for sharing. So I wanted to ask, is this dish a Beijing specialty or eaten widely across China?

Y.Z.: Uh, this is great question. This dish, I think it is eaten in many places, by many people. For Chinese New Year, both in the north and in the south, it is one of the most common dishes on the dinner table, suitable for young and old alike. Everyone likes it very much and eats the dish to show their wishes. Even though, the standards of living are higher now, and the dish can be made any time of the year, but as a tradition, many families still prepare it as a festival dish for Chinese New Year.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I remember eating “hóng shāo ròu” (红烧肉), or braised pork, as a child, but this is my first time hearing about “yuán bǎo dàn” (元宝蛋). I am impressed by the level of creativity in the preparation of the eggs.
  • Homeopathic magic is present in the superstitions related to the informant’s dish: eating the ingot-shaped eggs brings wealth and good fortune.

Collector’s Name: Winston Wang

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Topping: Osmanthus Honey

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, family tradition, superstition, cooking technique
  • Language: English with some Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: V.Y.
  • Date Collected: November 7, 2020

Informant Data:

  • V.Y. is a 21-year-old senior studying Physics at UCLA. He is from Shanghai, China, though his family lived in Beijing for eight years before settling down in Shanghai. While in China, he celebrated traditional Chinese festivals with his family. He has especially fond memories of his grandma’s cooking.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context

  • Chinese cuisine varies greatly from province to province in terms of style, but Chinese chefs have classified eight regional cuisines, the most prominent ones being Cantonese cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, and Sichuan cuisine. In the modern age, it is not uncommon for Chinese families to combine ingredients and cooking techniques from two or more regional cuisines or modify existing dishes to better suit their tastes.
  • Chinese culture places heavy emphasis on the symbolic meaning of flowers: chrysanthemums symbolize longevity, plum blossoms symbolize perseverance, magnolias symbolize beauty, osmanthus flowers symbolize wealth and royalty, etc. Many types of flowers are used in teas and dessert dishes to infuse them with the corresponding symbolic attributes.

Social Context

  • In China, there is a stereotype that all grandmas are good chefs. Children always look forward to visiting their grandma’s house on special occasions like Chinese New Year to eat delicious home-cooked meals. Grandparents often spoil their grandchildren by feeding them an extravagant amount of food, much to the chagrin of their parents.

Item:

  • Osmanthus Honey, or “guì huā mì” (桂花蜜) is a special jam-like topping that the informant’s family uses for traditional desserts such as “tāng yuán” (汤圆), glutinous rice balls, and “guì huā gāo” (桂花糕), osmanthus cake. The technique of preserving flowers in honey is native to Haiyang (海阳), the hometown of the informant’s grandma; however, osmanthus flowers are more commonly used in Shanghainese and Hangzhou cuisine. While fresh osmanthus flowers are often preferred for dishes, Osmanthus Honey allows the distinctive fragrance of osmanthus flowers to be used in winter festival dishes, even when the flowers themselves are not in bloom. The preparation of Osmanthus Honey is quite simple: fresh osmanthus flowers are dried and submerged in honey; the resulting mixture is then stored in a glass jar for future use. Osmanthus Honey can be directly applied to the top of a dessert or mixed into dessert doughs.

Audio Clip:

 

Transcript:

V.Y. (informant): Sure. So um, my grandmother, who is from Shandong (山东) used to make this honey infused with “guì huā” (桂花), which is a kind of flower that’s common in China, especially in Shanghai. And it smells very nice, and it doesn’t really taste like anything, but it makes whatever you put it in smell like the flower. And we used to put it in honey and then put the honey into various doughs that we use for desserts, and we used to sprinkle it on top of “tāng yuán” (汤圆) and put it in “guì huā gāo” (桂花糕), which I believe is kind of like Shanghai specialty, which is a kind of, I guess… I guess custard isn’t the right word. It’s a desert made of dough, I guess. Uh, yeah. And I always feel like it’s it’s kind of a unique thing to our family, because I don’t think it’s a very common thing in China doing this. And I was really like how… this is, I believe, this is like a technique people do in my grandmother’s hometown, which is not Shanghai. And this is a flower from Shanghai. And we is always just thought it was nice that, you know, it’s kind of customs of different parts of China that we combine in our family. And yeah, yeah, there are other dishes that we, but this is just something that came to mind.

W.W. (collector): Um, yeah, also do you mind telling me where your grandma’s from?

V.Y.: Uh, from Shandong from a small city by the sea, called Haiyang (海阳). And, yeah, I visited there once. And it’s kind of interesting. It’s sort of an isolated city. I mean, obviously, now, there’s roads and airports and everything. But historically, it’s somewhat isolated. So their cuisine is kind of not represented. It’s kind of different from general Chinese cuisine. Like it’s almost a little similar to Japanese cuisine, because they’re next to the sea, and they eat like octopus raw and everything. And, yeah, then this is the this putting flowers in honey is apparently one, something they do there is, as I can recall.

W.W.: It’s very interesting. And, um, so do you know, whether this has any significance for like, Chinese New Year in general, or how this tradition started within your family?

V.Y.: Um, I’m not… I suppose it started, I guess, when my grandmother moved to Shanghai, because that was she, you know, she didn’t grow up here. That, I think is something like 40, 50 years ago. And, um, I mean, I guess back then, it’s having you know, any kind of sugar at all is kind of a luxury. And, you know, certainly you couldn’t really preserve “guì huā” (桂花), is definitely a seasonal things back then. So I think putting it in honey, you know, it’s a it’s a nice and tasty thing, but I guess also preserves the seasonal, seasonal delicacy. And I guess it’s kind of a nice thing to have.

Informant’s Comments:

  • Talking about Osmanthus Honey, I kind of miss it now…

Collector’s Comments:

  • I also have fond memories of my grandma’s cooking. Every time my family went to visit her in Beijing, she would cook for an entire day and prepare a grand feast.
  • One of my favorite Shanghainese dishes is “nuò mǐ ǒu” (糯米藕), or lotus root with sticky rice. It is often topped with honey and osmanthus flowers, though they are added separated.

Collector’s Name: Winston Wang

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Entrée: Soft-shell Turtle

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, belief, superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: J.T.
  • Date Collected: November 23, 2020

Informant Data:

  • J.T. is a 16-year-old high school student. He was born in Zhejiang Province, China, which is along the East coast of China and is considered the southern part of China. He celebrated the Chinese New Year every year with his family. The way his family celebrates the Chinese New Year consists of traditions that are common in southern China.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Soft-shell turtles are eaten during the Chinese New Year mainly because they resemble turtles, which are a common symbol of longevity. The soft-shell turtles eaten during the Chinese New Year are often the middle-aged ones since they represent strength and health. The elders often eat the head of the soft-shell turtle since they are the “head” of the family. The children often eat the soft shell, since it is the most delicious part of the soft-shell turtles, and it is believed that it nourishes people’s skin.
  • Social Context: During the Chinese New Year’s Eve, it is customary for an extended family to hold a large dinner gathering at home, and soft-shell turtles are often cooked as soup and shared among family members.

Item:

  • Soft-shell turtles are commonly eaten for the Chinese New Year because they resemble turtles, a common symbol of longevity. Since people do not commonly eat turtles, soft-shell turtles that resemble turtles are eaten instead. Soft-shell turtles are often cooked as soup. There may be different things added to the soups, such as meatballs, vegetables, etc.

Image File:

soft-shellturtle soup

Soft-shell turtle soup with meatballs (Photo was taken by J.T.; J.T.’s mother cooked this on the Chinese New Year’s day last year.)

Transcript of Interview Clip: 

S.T. (collector): What is one of the most interesting or important dishes that is eaten during the Chinese New Year in your family?

J.T. (informant): The most unique dish is probably the soft-shell turtle soup. 

S.T.: Wow, that is not a common dish. How do you normally prepare it?

J.T.: The first step is to kill the soft-shell turtle, and it is not easy since once the soft-shell turtle puts its head inside of the shell it is hard to get it out. There is a trick. We have to flip the soft-shell turtle upside down and as it takes the effort to flip its self back, it has to stretch out its head. We use scissors to shear off the head as soon as the head is out. After we kill the soft-shell turtle, we cut it pieces and clean it. We often make it a soup and add ginger and meatballs into the soup. To make the meat of the soft-shell turtle soft, we cook it with a pressure cooker.

S.T.: Why do you eat soft-shell turtles? Any meaning associated with it? 

J.T.: Turtle is obviously a symbol of longevity, but people don’t often eat turtles. So, we eat soft-shell turtles instead. People who eat soft-shell turtles are believed to live longer and healthier. Also, soft-shell turtles are nutritious. It is believed the skin of the soft-shell turtle nourishes people’s skin.

S.T.: Any custom when eating the soft-shell turtle?

J.T.: The elders often eat the head, and the children often eat the softshell. It is probably like the elders are the “head” of the family. The elders often let the children eat the soft shell of the soft-shell turtles, since it is the most delicious part of the soft-shell turtles, and it is believed that it nourishes their skin.

Informant’s Comments:

  • My favorite part is I get to eat the soft-shell every time since I am the youngest kid in the family. The skin of the soft-shell is very delicious. This custom also shows the elders’ love for the kids.

Collector’s Comments:

  • The soft-shell turtles are often eaten in the southern part of China probably because there are more lakes in the south and thus more soft-shell turtles. Additionally, people in the southern part like to drink soup, and the soft-shell turtle soup are very nutritious. My family also eats soft-shell turtle soup. We often associate the soft-shell turtle with heath and strength. People believe that the soft-shell turtle can make them live long because of the resemblance to turtles, and the skin of the soft-shell turtle nourishes people’s skin. These are both homeopathic magic.

Collector’s Name: Stela (Yunjin) Tong

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Entrée: Lamb

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, belief, superstition
  • Language: English with some Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: X.L.
  • Date Collected: November 23, 2020

Informant Data:

  • X.L. is a 21-year-old senior studying art history at Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts. She currently lives in Shanxi province, China, which is in the northwest part of China. She grew up in the southern part of China. Therefore, she understands how people celebrate the Chinese New Year in different areas of China. She celebrated the Chinese New Year every year with her family in the South and with her friends in Shanxi province.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: There are several reasons that lamb is eaten during the Chinese New Year. First of all, the word “lamb” (羊) in Chinese has auspicious meanings. Lamb in Chinese is pronounced as “yáng” (羊), and many auspicious words are related to it. For example, “sān yáng kāi tài” (三羊开泰), which means the New Year ushers in renewal and a change of fortune. Chinese people always say: “Three yangs bring bliss” or “three yangs meet bliss,” as blessing words at the beginning of a year. Another phrase is “xǐ qì yáng yáng” (喜气洋洋), which means be bursting with happiness. Additionally, in ancient China, the word “羊” is the same as “祥,” which means good fortune. Lamb is eaten also because according to traditional Chinese medicine eating lamb can help people better resist the coldness in winter. Lamb also represents prosperity and wealth in some sense since in the Agricultural Age the number of lambs is closely related to wealth.
  • Social Context: Lamb is eaten often on the Chinese New Year’s Eve when all the family members are gathered together at home. Lamb is often cooked and shared among all the family members.

Item:

  • Lamb is commonly eaten for the Chinese New Year because of its auspicious name and the fact that lamb can warm up our body in winter. Lamb is eaten almost in all areas of China, but in different areas of China, different types of lamb are eaten, and they are often cooked in different ways, such as grilled lamb, lamb soup, braised lamb, lamb hotpot, etc.

Image file:

lamb hotpot

Lamb hotpot (Photo was taken by X.L. when she ate lamb hotpot with her family on the Chinese New Year’s Eve last year.)

Transcript of Interview Clip: 

S.T. (collector): What is one of the most interesting or important dishes that is eaten during the Chinese New Year in your family?

X.L. (informant): My family likes to eat braised lamb. It is a big dish that requires a lot of time to cook. Therefore, we only eat it at big festivals, such as the Chinese New Year. It is like the Chinese New Year to us is a very important festival, so we cook the most delicious and most time-consuming dish to show that we treat this festival carefully.

S.T.: Why does your family like to eat braised lamb during the Chinese New Year?

X.L.: My family has the tradition of eating braised lamb in the winter because eating lamb can warm up our body. So, the Chinese new year is just a perfect time to eat lamb since it is the coldest time of the year. 

S.T.: Is there any good meaning associated with this dish? Any good hope behind it? Like you know fish is associated with wealth.

X.L.: There is a Chinese proverb called “sān yáng kāi tài” (三羊开泰). It is a very auspicious word and basically means a good start. This is what I can think of now, but I am sure that there are many other auspicious words related to lamb.

Informant’s Comments:

  • The braised lamb is considered a “big” dish, which needs to be cooked very carefully for like 2 hours. Everyone has to eat at least a piece to warm up and to gain good fortune.

Collector’s Comments:

  • For the Chinese New Year, my family also eats braised lamb for similar reasons as the informant. The kind of lamb we eat is Hu sheep, which is usually cooked with braising. In other areas of Chinese, people may eat different kinds of lamb or even goats, and they are often grilled or made with soup. Eating lamb is both homeopathic magic and contagious magic. The fact that lamb brings good fortune because the word “羊” resembles “祥” is an example of homeopathic magic, and the fact lamb brings wealth because it is a part of people’s property is an example of contagious magic.

Collector’s Name: Stela (Yunjin) Tong

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Entrée: Rooster

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, belief, superstition; Verbal Lore – folktale
  • Language: English with some Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: G.P.
  • Date Collected: November 23, 2020

Informant Data:

  • G.P. is a 22-year-old senior studying computer science at Middlebury College and Dartmouth College’s dual degree program. He grew up in Jiangsu province, China, and went to college in the US. He normally celebrates the Chinese New Year with his family in Jiangsu province, which is along the east coast of China.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Roosters are eaten during the Chinese New Year mainly because of its auspicious name. Rooster in Chinese is pronounced as “jī” (鸡), and in ancient China, the word “jī” (鸡) is the same as “jí” (吉), which means good. Many auspicious proverbs are related to “jí” (吉). For example,  “jílì” (吉利), which means good fortune, and “jí xiáng rú yì” (吉祥如意), which is used to wish people good luck. Additionally, roosters are traditionally considered an auspicious animal because of the many folktales associated with it.
  • Social Context: During the Chinese New Year, family members gather together to have dinner or lunch. The rooster is served as a main dish. It is cooked in many different ways, for example, chicken soup, boiled chicken, and calabash chicken, etc.

Item:

  • Roosters are eaten commonly during festivals. They are cooked in very different ways across different areas of China. In the southern part of China, people like to cook the whole chicken altogether as chicken soup. Chopped boiled chicken with salt and soy sauce is also common. In the northern part, roosters are often fried. For example, in the northwest part of China, calabash chicken is common. Roosters are eaten during the Chinese New Year mainly because of its auspicious name. The name of the rooster is a homophone for good fortune.

Image File:

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Calabash chicken (G.P. ordered this calabash chicken last year on the Chinese New Year’s Eve)

Transcript of Interview Clip:

S.T. (collector): What is one of the most interesting or important dishes that is eaten during the Chinese New Year in your family?

G.P. (informant): We often make chicken soup during the Chinese New Year Eve. Although we also eat hens at other times, we deliberately choose the strongest rooster to make the soup during the Chinese New Year. The rooster is a symbol of prosperity and health. We often cook the whole rooster altogether, which symbolizes that good fortune is held together. 

S.T.: Is there any reason that rooster has such an auspicious meaning?

G.P.: The story that I heard is that rooster crows actually not in the morning but at the darkest time of the night. The morning comes following the crow of the rooster. At the darkest time of the day, monsters often come out to search for people to eat. The loud crow of the rooster is a way to drive away monsters and thus protect the villagers. Thus, the rooster is often considered an auspicious animal. 

S.T.: The name of the rooster in Chinese is probably also related to some auspicious words, right?

G.P.: Yes, I think the word rooster in Chinese is “jī” (鸡) which resembles “jí” (吉), which means good fortune. 

S.T.: Any custom when eating the rooster?

G.P.: The elders often eat the head and the rooster crest. The rooster crest symbolizes the “top.” Eating the rooster crest expresses the hope of becoming the best at whatever you are doing. The elders eat the head because they are the “head” of the family. The children often eat the legs of the rooster, since it represents that the children can “run fast” (become the best students) in their schoolwork. 

Informant’s Comments:

  • The rooster is an auspicious animal in traditional Chinese culture. In ancient China, people wake up and go to work when hearing the crow of roosters. Thus, the rooster is often associated with diligence.

Collector’s Comments:

  • My family also eats roosters during the Chinese New Year. We also have the tradition of cooking the whole chicken altogether. My family believes that the whole chicken represents the union of the family. This is an example of homeopathic magic.

Collector’s Name: Stela (Yunjin) Tong

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Dessert: Glutinous Rice Ball

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, belief, superstition
  • Language: English with some Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: S.G.
  • Date Collected: November 23, 2020

Informant Data:

  • S.G. is a 22-year-old senior studying engineering and mathematics at Vassar College and Dartmouth College’s dual degree program. He grew up in Beijing, China, and went to college in the US. His family is a traditional Beijing family, which practices many northern-China traditions.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Glutinous rice balls are eaten during the Chinese New Year mainly because of its auspicious name and shape. For many Chinese families in mainland China as well as overseas, glutinous rice balls are typically eaten together with family. The round shape of the balls and the bowls in which they are served symbolizes family cohesion. The name of Glutinous rice balls, “tāngyuán” (汤圆), is also a homophone for union, “tuányuán” (团圆).
  • Social Context: During the Chinese New Year, family members gather together and glutinous rice balls often serve as a dessert at the end which is typically eaten together with the whole family.

Item:

  • Glutinous rice ball is a Chinese dessert that is a ball of glutinous rice flour and water that has been either boiled and served in a hot broth or syrup or else deep-fried.  Glutinous rice balls are traditionally eaten during Yuanxiao in the Lantern Festival and also serve as a dessert during the China New Year. It is pronounced “tāngyuán,” which a homophone for union “tuányuán.” Thus, the glutinous rice ball is a symbol of family reunions.  It is eaten in both northern and southern China, but in different areas, people may prefer glutinous rice balls with different fillings.

Image File:

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Unfilled rice balls, cooked with osmanthus and sweet fermented glutinous rice (S.G. took this photo last year during the Chines New Year when he and his parents were eating dinner at a restaurant.)

riceballs

Sweet rice balls with sesame filling (S.G.’s family made this two years ago on the Chinese New Year’s day.)

Transcript of Interview Clip: 

S.T. (collector): What is one of the most interesting or important dishes that is eaten during the Chinese New Year in your family?

S.G. (informant): My family likes to eat the glutinous rice ball, which is also called “yuanxiao.”  

S.T.: I like it as well. What flavor of the rice balls does your family normally eat? Sweet or salty? What fillings?

S.T.: We like to eat sweet rice balls with fillings such as sesame and sweet bean paste. When I go to the southern part of China, I often eat small rice balls with no filling. These rice balls are cooked with soup of osmanthus and sweet fermented glutinous rice.

S.T.: Why do you and your family eat glutinous rice balls? Any meaning or hope associated with it? 

S.G.: The glutinous rice ball is called “tangyuan” and “yuanxiao.” The name of it resembles the pronunciation of “tuantuanyuanyuan,” which means the union of the family. Eating glutinous rice balls expresses the hope that the family members are always united and bonded together.

S.T.: How do you normally cook glutinous rice balls? 

S.G.: We normally just throw the rice balls into boiling water and cook them for 15 minutes. 

Informant’s Comments:

  • Glutinous rice balls are often eaten during family reunions. Eating glutinous rice balls conveys a very traditional Chinese idea that family is an important part of one’s life. Instead of individualism emphasized in western culture, the Chinese people often prioritize the interests of the whole family.

Collector’s Comments:

  • The most renowned glutinous rice balls come from Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, which is near my hometown. My family also likes to eat glutinous rice balls. Unlike people in the northern part, who often like the filled glutinous rice balls better, we eat the unfilled rice balls more often. Glutinous rice balls are a very common dessert nowadays. People eat it during important festivals, but it really can be eaten whenever they want. The fact that the round shape of the balls and the bowls in which they are served can help with family cohesion is an example of homeopathic magic.

Collector’s Name: Stela (Yunjin) Tong

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Entrée: Dumpling

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, belief, superstition
  • Language: English with some Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: H.S.
  • Date Collected: November 23, 2020

Informant Data:

  • H.S. is 48 years old. She studied at Hangzhou Law school and worked in the field of law for years. At age of 30, She became a businesswoman. She grew up in the northern part of China and currently lives in the southern part (Zhejiang province, China). Because of her experience living in the northern part, she likes dumplings, which are more popular in the North. Her family likes dumplings as well: make and eat dumplings every year during the Chinese New Year.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Dumplings are eaten during the Chinese New Year almost in all areas of China. This dish is eaten mainly because of its auspicious name and shape. Dumplings in Chinese are “jiǎozi” (餃子) and are also called “交子,” meaning the transition from the old to the new. Thus, eating dumplings is a way to celebrate this transition. Also, the shape of dumplings resembles the shape of Chinese gold ingots. Thus, making and eating dumplings also expresses the hope of gaining wealth.
  • Social Context: On the Chinese New Year’s Day or the Chinese New Year’s Eve, family members gather together to make and eat dumplings together for the hope of gaining a good fortune, as well as to celebrate the transition from the old year to the new year. 

Item:

  • The dumpling generally consists of minced meat and finely chopped vegetables wrapped into a piece of dough skin. In China dumplings usually refers to boiled dumplings. Some people will place a coin or candy inside the dumpling in the hope of obtaining a fortune or having a sweet life, on the Chinese New Year’s Eve and special family reunions. 

Image Files:

dumpling

Dumplings are being cooked (Photo was taken when H.S. was cooking dumplings this year during the Chinese New Year.)

dumpling

Dumplings with pork inside (Photo was taken by H.S. when the dumplings were ready for eating.)

Transcript of Interview Clip:

S.T. (collector): What is one of the most interesting or important dishes that is eaten during the Chinese New Year in your family?

H.S. (informant): My mother is from the northern part of China, so as I grew up, we love cooked wheaten food. We eat dumplings a lot, and during the Chinese New year, the dumpling is a must.  

S.T.: What kind of fillings do you put inside of dumplings and what kind of flour do you use?

H.S.: We normally use wheat flour and sometimes cornflour. There are lots of different fillings, like pork with different vegetables, beef, shrimp, sheep, eggs with vegetables, or even something weird like sea urchin…

S.T.: Why do you and your family eat dumplings? Any meaning or hope associated with it? 

H.S.: Dumplings are often eaten during family reunions. Eating dumplings express the hope that the family members are always united. The shape of dumplings resembles the shape of Chinese gold ingots. Thus, making and eating dumplings expresses the hope of gaining wealth.

S.T.: Any custom when eating dumplings? Any tradition that you do only during the Chinese New Year?

H.S.: We sometimes place a coin or candy inside of one or two of the dumplings. Whoever gets the dumpling with the coin is the luckiest one. He/she is believed to have good fortune and sweet life in the new year.

S.T.: Do you know any folklore that is related to dumplings, since dumplings are such a representative Chinese New Year dish?

H.S.:  I heard that if you don’t eat dumplings, your name will be removed with the world of the dead and the living. After you die, you will become a ghost that has nowhere to go.

Informant’s Comments:

  • Making dumplings is also a social activity, during which all the family members gather together and make the dumplings. Even someone may not know how to make dumplings, but the fact that everyone is making the effort to do it strengthens the tie between family members.

Collector’s Comments:

  • My family also likes to eat dumplings a lot. Every time I went back home after leaving for a while, my mother will make dumplings with me together. For me, dumplings are a symbol of family reunions. It is also interesting to hear that dumplings are also related to the afterlife. The dumplings symbolize the transition from the old to new and from life to dearth, which is like the liminality stage. The fact that we eat dumplings for the hope of gaining wealth because of the resemblance in shape is an example of homeopathic magic.

Collector’s Name: Stela (Yunjin) Tong

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Entrée: Steamed Whole Fish

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – food, Customary Lore – celebration, superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: US
  • Informant: M.W.
  • Date Collected: November 13, 2020

Informant Data:

  • M.W. was born in New York in 2001. He grew up in Long Island with his parents and older brother. Currently, he attends University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he studies microbiology. He is fully Chinese as his parents are both from Fuzhou, China. He would celebrate Chinese New Year each year with his family. However, regarding the family feast, his family would typically go to a restaurant for the meal rather than prepare the food themselves. 

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Fish is a commonly eaten food in Chinese culture as the fishing industry in China is among the largest in the world. There is a large emphasis on sharing food in Chinese culture as meals are often eaten “family style.” While fish can be prepared in many ways, a whole fish serves as a great family style dish as its large size allows all members of the meal to have some.
  • Social Context: While Chinese New Year feasts are typically prepared and enjoyed at home, it is also common for families that celebrate to have a meal at a Chinese restaurant, instead.

Item:

  • A whole fish is a very common dish in a Chinese New Year dinner. This whole fish, which includes the skin, bones, head and tail, is usually steamed with ginger, scallions, soy sauce and other herbs. As for the type of fish, there’s no specific fish that must be used. The reason why all parts of the fish are included in the dish is because the whole fish represents the whole family being together to enjoy a big feast for the new year. It symbolizes unity, connectedness and the strength of familial bonds, which are all important features of Chinese culture.

Audio Clip:

 

Transcript:

C.C. (collector): What’s one dish that you and your family typically eat for Chinese New Year?

M.W. (informant): What we eat for Chinese New Year is a whole fish. This fish is prepared by steaming it with gingers scallions, soy sauce and other assorted herbs. The reason we eat the whole fish, including the head and tail is because it represents the whole family being together on new years. by having the whole fish it shows how it brings the whole family together to enjoy a big feast.

Informant Comments:

  • This is his favorite way fish can be prepared because of how simple the ingredients are and how clean the dish tastes.

Collector Comments:

  • A steamed whole fish is a part of my family’s Chinese New Year meal as well, and since it is one of the main dishes of the meal, we have a certain tradition with it. The younger members of the family must serve pieces of the fish to the adults first before eating themselves, and this demonstrates the idea of respecting elders in Chinese culture.

Collector’s Name: Chris Chao

Tags/Keywords:

  • Chinese New Year
  • Material Lore
  • Customary Lore
  • Food
  • Entrée

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Entrée: Catfish

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General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration, belief, superstition
  • Language: English with some Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Country of Origin: China
  • Informant: R.J.
  • Date Collected: November 4, 2020

Informant Data:

  • R.J. is a 21-year-old senior studying Economics at UC Berkeley. He was born in Houston, Texas but grew up in Shanghai, China. While living in China, he celebrated Chinese New Year every year with his family, participating in a variety of traditional festivities.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Fish is an essential dish for Chinese New Year across most, if not all, regions in China due to its association with wealth and prosperity. Although fish can be cooked in many ways, it is usually steamed with a mixture of traditional ingredients like ginger, scallion, and soy sauce. Certain types of fish, like catfish, are sometimes chosen over others because their names have additional symbolic meaning. Many households impose their own rules regarding how the fish is served, e.g., the fish head must be oriented towards guests or elders.
  • Social Context: During Chinese New Year’s Eve, it is customary for an extended family to hold a large dinner gathering either at home or at a fancy restaurant, to share an assortment of traditional dishes including fish. Usually, the dinner gathering also features other activities such as toasting to the elders’ health and giving red envelopes which contain allowance money to the children.

Item:

  • Catfish is commonly eaten for Chinese New Year because of its auspicious name “nián yú” (鲶鱼), which is a homophone for the characters that mean “surplus year over year” (年余). Typically, catfish is cooked with the body, head, and bones intact as a symbol for the preservation of wealth. After all, people want to receive the entirety of next year’s surplus rather than just a fraction.

Audio Clip:

 

Transcript:

W.W. (collector): Right. Thank you so much. Um, so as I told you earlier, for this project, we’ll be talking about Chinese New Year, specifically, a special festival dish that’s eaten during Chinese New Year. Uh, yeah so, can you describe the name of your item?

R.J. (informant): Yeah, absolutely. So the dish I’ll be talking about today would be catfish. Um, yeah.

W.W.: Cool. Yeah. So um, go ahead and tell us about catfish.

R.J.: Yeah, sure. Um, so before I dive into, like catfish, specifically, I would first like to talk about why Chinese people like to eat fish in general. And the reason is because the word fish in Chinese sounds a lot like the word surplus in Chinese. So in Chinese, fish is pronounced “yú” (鱼). And in, um, the … yeah basically, surplus is also pronounced “yú” (余). So, Chinese people really like surplus because they believe that if you’re able to save up a lot of money, um, in the current year, then in the next year, uh, it’s a pretty good sign, and you’ll have more to work around with because he had that savings from the previous year, right. So at the end of the year, during Chinese New Year, when people eat fish in general, they’re basically praying that this year, they got surplus, and that that surplus will carry forward to, um, the next year. So specifically, with regards to catfish, people eat catfish, because catfish in Chinese is pronounced as “nián yú” (鲶鱼). Now “nián” (年) in Chinese means year. So basically, when you combine those two terms, it means, uh, yearly fish. So basically, going back to what I said earlier of how, like, fish means surplus, it basically means having surplus year over year. So that’s the particular reason for why Chinese people like to eat catfish. Um, and specifically with regards to how they make it, I think one common thing, I’m not too sure about it, is that they always ensure that the fish is whole, so they never cut up the fish into parts. And the main reason is because they want to like have all of the surplus and not have like just parts of it right? When you divide it up, it becomes less than the whole, so that’s why they tend to, um, you know, cook it whole, like head, body all in one, uh, for … yeah.

W.W.: Cool. Um, thanks for sharing. Um, so, catfish, is this something that you eat with your family members or your friends during Chinese New Year?

R.J.: Yeah, definitely. So, um, pretty much every single year, we try to get at least one fish dish, um, on the table, basically the day before the New Year’s. Um, so yeah, catfish is probably the most common one that I eat. Um, we’ve also had like, other fishes, um, just sort of like, depending on what we’re feeling like. But I’ll say that catfish is probably the most common fish I’ve had on Chinese New Year’s Eve for like the past, say 20 years of my life.

Informant’s Comments:

  • An additional tradition that may be unique to my family is that we always try to go for the fish eye. Because apparently, from my parents, they’ve told me that eating the fish eye is a good symbol of prosperity in the next year because the fish eye is kind of like the core part of the fish. It represents the spirit and the heart of the fish, I guess, so they’ve always told me that if you’re able to get the fish eye really quickly, then, uh, next year, you’ll have good fortune. So, you know, one thing that we would do at the dinner table would be to fight over the fish eye. Uh, sometimes it gets pretty ugly, but other times, it’s usually pretty fun. Yep.

Collector’s Comments:

  • For Chinese New Year, my family also eats fish but not catfish specifically. In my family, the fish eye is viewed as the most nutritious part of the fish and a symbol of wisdom. It is usually given to one of the younger children to help them grow smart and strong. This is an example of homeopathic magic.

Collector’s Name: Winston Wang

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