Lunar New Year 2011: A Spoonful of Good Luck For the Year Ahead

Kuala Lumpur / Hong Kong — Food is an important part of the Lunar New Year and Chinese families the world over gather to feast on traditional delicacies that are said to bring prosperity and good luck in the year ahead.

Vox Asia correspondents explore the Lunar New Year specialities served up in two Chinese communities — in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, and in Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, majority of the population are ethnically Chinese and the Lunar New Year traditions are heavily influenced by neighbouring Guangdong province.

About a quarter of the Malaysian population are ethnically Chinese, the second largest community after the Malays, who comprise of just over 50% of the total population.

MALAYSIA		HONG KONG
MALAYSIA		HONG KONG
*Prosperity Toss (Yee Sing)* Yee Sang, also known as the Prosperity Toss, is a Teowchew-style raw fish salad. It contains a range of ingredients ranging from strips of raw fish, commonly salmon, shredded vegetables and fruit, and a variety of sauces. Yee (fish in Chinese) is commonly conflated with its homophone abundance, while sang means increase or rise. Hence this dish is considered by Malaysians as a symbol of abundance in terms of wealth, health and happiness. Tip: The higher you toss it, the luckier you are!	cccc	*The Big Bowl Feast (Pun Choi)* Pun choi means a feast held in a big basin. Traditionally, 14 layers of food are placed in a wooden basin, usually starting from the least expensive items such as turnip or deep-fried pork skin to the most expensive — seafood or chicken. Auspicious ingredients, including hair moss or Faat Choi (signifying wealth) and fried fish (signifying surplus) are included during the Lunar New Year for good luck.
Year Cake (Nian Gao)		Nian Gao, Turnip Cake and Water Chestnut Cake
Nian Gao means year cake, and is commonly consumed during the Lunar New Year as it is considered to bring good luck. Despite numerous varieties, the glutinous rice, which is grounded into paste, is a key ingredient. Nian or year, sounds similar to sticky and gao, meaning cake sounds identical to high. As such, consuming Nian Gao symbolises that an individual will be able to raise him or herself higher in all aspects of life in the coming year.		The most popular New Year cakes are Nian Gao, water chestnut cake, taro cake and turnip cake.In Cantonese, turnip is called choi tau and choi sounds the same as wealth. The Cantonese name of water chestnut is ma tai, which means working actively. Consuming water chestnut cake symbolises good luck in one’s career in the upcoming year.
*Love Letters (Kuih Kapit)*		Laughing Sesame Balls (Siu Hao Jo)
Made from sugar, flour, eggs and coconut milk, Love Letters, or Kuih Kapit in Malay, are crispy wafers that are folded into fan or cigar shapes. These wafers are laborious to create and must be cooked at just the right temperature to obtain the perfect golden shade. The mould needs to be hastily placed over the flame and rotated in a timely manner for even cooking. Wafers must be folded into specific shapes while hot.		Siu hao jo are deep-fried cookie balls coated with a crispy layer of roasted sesame seeds. This delectable small ball of pasty is then deep-fried until it cracks open like a laughing mouth, which symbolises happiness and joy.
Kuih Bangkit		Taro Balls (Wu Ha)
Kuih Bangkit is another popular Lunar New Year cookie that crumbles and melts in the mouth. Made from powdered sugar, tapioca flour, rice flour and moistened with coconut cream, these tasty bites are often pressed into little animal or flower shaped moulds, baked and usually marked with a red dot for colour and good luck.		Traditionally, wu ha means spreading the laughter and joy to other families. Slices of taro are bundled together and rolled into a round shape. Despite the simple ingredients, taro slicing is a tedious task and much care is needed in ensuring that the temperature of the cooking oil is perfect for frying wu ha.
Pineapple Tarts		Red Melon Seeds
For the Chinese, these are a must during Lunar New Year, because the shape and colour of pineapple signifies prosperity. The salty, buttery, bite-sized tarts, filled with quarter-sized dollops of pineapple jam, are must-haves during festive seasons in Malaysia. Although fiddly to make, when done well, they are definitely well worth the effort. Typical shapes include the flat, open tart topped with pineapple jam or rolls filled with jam.		Rich in magnesium and phosphorus, these melon seeds are dried and roasted before being dyed a festive reddish colour, which symbolises prosperity. It is a tradition for hosts to serve guests a bowl filled with these dried melon seeds. The action of dipping a hand into the bowl is called yao en in Cantonese, which means making money.