8 Traditional Spring Festival Foods and Where to Find Them
Fireworks aside, the next best thing (or maybe the best thing actually) about Spring Festival is all the scrumptious traditional foods that go along with it. But what should you eat/gift and why during this more festive of Chinese festivals? Read on ...
Dumplings
Traditionally made and eaten at home on the first day of Spring Festival, dumplings represent change and fecundity in the new year. The shape of dumplings resembles ancient Chinese gold ingots (sycee) so they are a particularly wealthy omen. Some people even hide one jiao and five jiao coins inside the dumplings (much like the British tradition of hiding a silver sixpence in the Christmas pudding), which are thought to bring good fortune to whoever finds them.
Where to eat it: A list of our favorite dumpling restaurants, including Mr. Shi's, Baoyuan Dumplings, and Country Kitchen, can be found right here.
Fish
The popularity of fish on the Spring Festival table stems from the fact that the Chinese word for fish (鱼 yú) is a homonym for surplus (余). Fish is typically served whole at this time of year, and some families may choose to leave a little bit of the meat behind, putting the linguistic association into practice.
Where to eat it: We've always been fans of Cantonese chain Tang Palace for their traditional southern-style steamed fish. Elsewhere, try Country Kitchen's sweet and sour mandarin fish, the whole deep-fried fish the very embodiment of surplus.
Yuanxiao
Next on our list of Spring Festival foods, yuanxiao (or tangyuan) are balls of glutinous rice flour cooked and served in a light sugar syrup. They may be large or small, filled (with sesame, peanuts or red bean paste) or unfilled. Yuanxiao literally means “first evening,” referring to the first full moon after Chinese New Year, when Lantern Festival is held.
Where to eat it: Yuanxiao are easy to buy ready-made from supermarkets, so we suggest doing this one yourself. Simply follow the instructions on the packet or, if you're feeling adventurous, branch out with a recipe.
Niangao
Another homonym food, niangao (年糕, also known as Chinese New Year Cake) sounds like 年高, which means 'higher year,' or more grammatically accurately, an increasingly prosperous year. There are many styles of niangao around China, of which our favorite are the Cantonese style, which is sweetened with brown sugar and steamed in a round cake, and Shanghainese style, which is often sliced and stir-fried with pork and cabbage.
Where to eat it: Many of the city's high-end hotels have Cantonese-style niangao for sale at this time of year.
Spring rolls
With their shape like gold bars (kind of, if you squint...), spring rolls represent wealth in the coming year. This tradition is more common in southern China and overseas Chinese communities.
Where to eat it: You'll need to look to Southeast Asia to find the best of spring rolls in Beijing. We like Sanlitun Soho's Vietnamese House for their crispy rolls with tangy dipping sauce.
Hot Pot
Perhaps not strictly a Spring Festival dish, but hot pot embodies the communal aspect of the many reunion dinners held around Spring Festival. Not to mention, you can dip other Spring Festival foods, such as the aforementioned niangao, in the pot.
Where to eat it: We know there are better quality and less busy hot pot restaurants out there, but for us, it always comes back to Haidilao. Alternatively, check out our guide to some non-standard hot pot options in Beijing, or should you want to go the simple route, try the best self-heating hot pots out there – an exciting step in Chinese food innovation.
Citrus fruit
With their bright color, oranges, tangerines, and the like are associated with abundance and happiness. The words orange and tangerine also sound like gold and luck, depending on which Chinese dialect you speak. Ideally, the fruit should be bought with the leaves still attached, which symbolizes longevity.
Where to eat it: Available to buy from your friendly local fruit market.
Poon choi
Often translated as "big bowl feast," "basin cuisine," or "Chinese casserole, poon choi (盆菜) originated from the New Territories in Hong Kong, where it got it starts as a celebratory dish for guests visiting the villages. Primarily composed of choice cuts of meat and the best fresh and dried seafood, the story goes that poon choi leaves out lower-priced vegetables out of respect for guests. Although not specifically Spring Festival-related, poon choi is a popular choice for New Year reunion dinners both in Hong Kong and increasingly around China.
Where to eat it: A lot of the Chinese restaurants in Beijing's big hotels offer poon choi around Spring Festival.
READ: Get Cooking Over the Spring Festival Break with these Chinese Recipes
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Email: robynnetindall@thebeijinger.com
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