New Year's Eve Dinner - The reunion dinner on New Year's Eve is the highlight of the Spring Festival and the most important dinner for a family.
Although the dishes of the New Year's Eve in the north and the south are not the same, they all pay attention to good luck: chicken (rich and auspicious), fish (more than every year), eight treasures rice (sweet and sweet), rice cakes (step by step) and so on.
These customs have also been preserved and continued in Taiwan...
The picture shows Lin Jinan, head chef of Huaiyang Cuisine at Din Tai Fung in Beijing, introducing the New Year's Eve dishes.
Photo by Liu Yueqing
Lin Jinan, the head chef of Huaiyang Cuisine at Beijing Din Tai Fung, specially prepared a sumptuous Taiwanese New Year's Eve dinner for you, come and try it!
White chopped chicken
The picture shows the white cut chicken.
Photo by Liu Yueqing
According to the customs of Fujian and Taiwan, the 2nd and 16th day of the lunar calendar are the days to worship the Lord of the Land, which is called "doing teeth".
The last dental procedure on December 16 at the end of the year is the last dental procedure - the tail tooth.
At the end of each year, the company will hold a banquet for employees to reward everyone for their efforts in the past year.
There must be a whole chicken dish at the tail tooth feast, but usually there is no chicken head.
Because there is such a saying: at the tail-tooth banquet, the person facing the chicken's head is "fired".
Therefore, there is no chicken head in the dishes, which means that employees can celebrate the New Year safely without worrying about losing their jobs.
Big Braised Noodles
The picture shows the big braised noodles.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Eating noodles during the Spring Festival has a beautiful meaning of "long, long".
Dalu noodles are traditional noodles in the north. They were introduced to the island by soldiers from the north of the mainland when they went to Taiwan. They belonged to Taiwan's "outside provinces" and were only sold in public units at first.
Regardless of meat or vegetable, after simmering in broth, the starch in the noodles will merge with the soup, thicken naturally, and form a thick brine, which is wrapped on the noodles and has a very rich taste.
Zhejiang style square meat
The picture shows Zhejiang-style square meat.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Zhe-style square meat is shaped like a meat-shaped stone in the Forbidden City in Taipei, formerly known as streaky glass meat.
Pork belly is one of the representatives of Huaiyang cuisine, seasoned with fermented bean curd and rice wine.
Straw glass pork was introduced from the mainland to Taiwan, and it did not sell well at first, because the native Taiwanese were not used to fermented bean curd.
After improvement, only rock sugar, ointment and soy sauce were added, and chicken bones were used as the bottom to remove fishy smell. After 6 hours of simmering, Zhejiang-style square meat that melted in the mouth and was fat but not greasy was born.
Buddha jumps over the wall
The picture shows Buddha jumping over the wall.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
佛跳墙起源于福建，主要原料是海鲜和高汤。“坛启荤香飘四邻，佛闻弃禅跳墙来”是其名称的由来。台式佛跳墙与大陆传统的佛跳墙有一定差别，主要的区别在于汤头。传统佛跳墙的汤头由动物性胶质食物和高淀粉蔬菜熬制，汤汁呈现金色，是金汤；而台式佛跳墙则以海鲜原本的味道为主，汤头是清汤，更为清爽。
黄鱼豆腐
图为黄鱼豆腐。受访者供图
鱼在中国传统饮食文化中有着浓墨重彩的一笔，自古以来就有“无鱼不成席”的说法。而提到吃鱼，大家不免会想到它的“好搭档”——豆腐，“千滚豆腐万滚鱼”，越炖越入味。年夜饭中的鱼不能断头断尾，鱼头要指向家中长辈，忌讳翻面(吃鱼翻面容易让人联想到打渔翻船)，最后还要剩一点……黄鱼代表“年年有余”，豆腐的“腐”与“福”谐音，所以这道黄鱼豆腐意味着富裕和幸福。
荷叶蒸虾
图为荷叶蒸虾。受访者供图
广东人的年夜饭少不了虾的身影。因为在粤语中，“虾”和“哈”同音，所以年夜饭吃虾，吃完笑哈哈。荷叶蒸虾采用淮扬菜做法，将荷叶铺在蒸笼中，铺上煮熟的大白虾，围成一圈，中间放上一碟咸中带甜的蘸酱。不仅保留了虾的鲜味，其造型还有“圆圆满满”的寓意。宝岛台湾盛产各类海鲜，虾在台湾年夜饭桌上必不可少。
八宝饭
图为八宝饭。受访者供图
八宝饭有着悠久的历史。相传周武王在8位贤臣的帮助下推翻了殷商王朝，故让御厨用8种珍品制成八宝饭，在庆典上犒劳功臣。台湾八宝饭以传统八宝饭为基础，选取豆沙、糖莲子、糖渍白芸豆、芒果蜜饯、圣女果蜜饯等7种甜味食材，与长糯米一起蒸成八宝饭，讨“八(发)”的彩头，寄托着人们对新年财源滚滚、甜甜蜜蜜的期待。
炸年糕
图为炸年糕。朱贺 摄
吃年糕是年的象征，北京有百果年糕、福州有芋艿年糕、宁波有水磨年糕、南京有桂花糖年糕……“粿甜吃甜，发粿发财，菜头粿吃好彩头”是台湾的一句老话，甜粿即甜年糕。台湾起初的做法是蒸年糕片，但年糕凉了以后就会变硬，难以入口。因此，当地人想到了在年糕片外裹上用面粉、鸡蛋和水做成的糊，再用油锅炸。这样做出来的年糕哪怕放置了很久，也依旧软糯。
The Taiwanese New Year's Eve condenses the deep family love on both sides of the strait. I wonder if everyone is greedy?
The Chinese New Year atmosphere is on the tip of the tongue, and the food from both sides of the strait is deeply connected.
The Spring Festival is the grandest, most lively and most important traditional festival of the Chinese nation.
May the compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait celebrate the Chinese New Year in peace and harmony, and welcome the Chinese New Year in a lively and happy manner.
What is your favorite New Year's dish?
Tell me in the comments section!
Author: Liu Yueqing