by Tammy Lim

Created on: January 28, 2009

Chinese New Year is an important and grand event of the year for the Chinese. During this celebration period, a great variety of traditional food is prepared for family, relatives and friends. Each type of food that is consumed during this special occasion symbolizes something positive and good. For those who are still into ancestral worship, food is also prepared as an offering at their ancestor's altar.

On New Year's Eve, Chinese families gather to have their dinner together as a family. Fish is usually eaten or displayed on the eve of Chinese New Year. The Chinese word "Yu" or fish sounds like "surpluses". Whole fish symbolizes togetherness and abundance. Families may eat uncut noodles, which represents longevity and long life, which is called "Chang Shou" in Chinese. Other dishes include whole chicken which signifies prosperity and completeness. The oyster ("ho si" in Cantonese meaning "good events") and sea moss ("fa cai" in Chinese sounds like "to prosper") dish is served a New Year wish of "good events and to gain fortune". The abalone ("bao yu" meaning "sure of surplus") is a popular dish with Chinese businessmen.

Raw lettuce ("sheng cai" meaning "grow money") is popularly eaten with braised abalone. Cuttlefish ("you yu" sound like "countinual abundance"). Chinese leek ("da suan" meaning "counting") signifies auspicious abundance. When it is cooked with prawns ("har" in Cantonese sounds like "laughter"), it becomes "counting with laughter".

On New Year's Day, some Chinese family may serve a vegetarian dish, which is known as "Jai" in Chinese. This dish consists mostly of root vegetables, where each has a meaning or wish linked to them: black moss seaweed, pronounced as "Fai Choy" in Cantonese, means to become wealthy, dried bean curd signifies fulfillment of wealth and joy, bamboo shoots symbolizes well wishes in everything. A sweet dessert is also served, it consists of Ginkgo nuts represents silver ingots (also symbol of wealth),lotus seeds meaning to have many sons or continuous lineage of sons, "hong zao" or red dates implying "prosperity comes early".

Another popular dish that is eaten during this period is Yusheng or Raw fish salad. This dish is believed to bring good fortune and is usually eaten on the seventh day of the Chinese New Year. In recent years, this dish is being served throughout the period. Yusheng in Singapore is created by four local chefs, the "Heavenly Culinary Kings" of Singapore, Mr. Sin Leong, Mr. Hooi Kok Wai, the late Mr. Than

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