In a few hours, the Lunar New Year will be ushered in!
Thousands of lights are on, wanderers are returning home, and the moment of reunion is full of warmth. Like mainland China, the Spring Festival is also the most solemn festival in Taiwan. On New Year's Eve, people talk around the fire, delicacies are served one after another, and blessings pour in. The festive atmosphere is instantly filled, and it is the most important New Year ceremony in Baodao.
The rich and warm New Year dishes not only unite the family's emotions, but also express their good expectations for the New Year. The steaming heat is filled with the comfort of reunion.
Follow Xiaoxin’s footsteps and see what’s for Taiwan’s New Year’s Eve dinner!
The most popular New Year dish among Taiwanese people
"If I could only choose one must-eat New Year dish, I would vote for 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall' because there are all the ingredients, and you can keep adding new ingredients all the time, eating it from New Year's Eve to the start of work!" Speaking of the most popular New Year dishes, many Taiwanese netizens said It means that "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" must be given priority.
"Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" is the most popular New Year's Eve dinner among Taiwanese people. Picture from Taiwan's "United Daily News"
This delicacy originating from Fujian, with a variety of ingredients and full of blessings and longevity, topped the list of the "Top Ten New Year Dishes" recently selected by Taiwan's "Social Lab". "The rich ingredients can not only satisfy your appetite, but you can also reuse the soup base like eating hot pot." Netizens who participated in the vote agreed that it is "a must-eat for 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall'."
The second-ranked dumpling is also considered by many netizens to be one of the indispensable New Year dishes. This dish, which looks like a "yuanbao", has a beautiful meaning of attracting wealth. Therefore, every New Year’s Eve, fragrant dumplings will be served to express full joy and blessings.
When it comes to how to eat dumplings during the Chinese New Year, many netizens share ways to eat them, with "dumplings wrapped with coins" being the most popular. If you are lucky enough to eat this "yuanbao", it means that you will have a lot of good luck in the new year, which is "delicious and fun".
Enjoying pig's feet during the New Year is also a custom among many Taiwanese families. As the saying goes, "Eating pig's trotters brings longevity and longevity, and eating legs replenishes the treasury." On such a joyful day as the Chinese New Year, eating delicious pig's trotters with your family symbolizes a full wallet and a wealth of money for the whole family in the coming year. Therefore, this dish, which is full of auspicious meanings, is regarded by netizens as a "must eat for good luck".
Ranking fourth to tenth are perennial vegetables (referring to vegetables in New Year’s Eve dinner), rice cakes, chicken soup, mullet roe, rice cakes, radish cakes and shrimps. Perennial vegetables represent longevity and good fortune, rice cakes, rice cakes, and carrot cakes represent climbing higher and higher, and mullet roe symbolizes many children and grandchildren. Since chicken has the same pronunciation as "home" in the Hokkien dialect, there is a saying that eating chickens means "starting a family".
Taiwan’s “Social Lab” website selected the “Top Ten New Year Dishes”.
In addition to the formal New Year's Eve dinner, every year on New Year's Day, Taiwanese families will put some "Si Xiu Zai" (i.e. snacks) in fruit boxes and fruit plates to entertain guests, and the host will also say some words that rhyme with them. auspicious words. There are not only "Eat red dates, good luck every year", "Eat sweets, give you a lot of money (i.e. make money)", there are also "Eat Fuyuan (i.e. longan), you will win the first prize", "Eat melon seeds, live a good life", "Eat dried beans" , will be promoted" and other statements.
It’s the same on both sides of the Taiwan Strait
Seeing this, I believe many netizens will sigh: These rather traditional New Year customs and customs cannot be said to be very similar between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, they can only be said to be exactly the same!
In fact, whether it is Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, dumplings or New Year dishes, whether it is the taste of mom, dad or grandma, the most important flavoring of New Year dishes is the taste of home. What the small family reunion delicacies reflect is the food culture of the same family and the same origin on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
On January 27, Taiwan's "Keelung Changxing Master Lu Dragon and Lion Troupe" was invited to perform lion dance at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei. The Spring Festival of the Lunar Year of the Dragon is approaching, and various traditional New Year celebrations in Taipei have been launched one after another. Photo by China News Service reporter Lu Mei
Taiwan has a population of more than 23 million, over 80% of whom are of Fujian and Cantonese descent. Their eating habits are similar to those of Fujian and Guangdong. After 1949, people from all over the world brought their hometown food to Taiwan. Under the background of different eras, food from various places has developed, integrated, and innovated in Taiwan, forming Treasure Island cuisine, and it is the genes of Chinese food culture that support its fame.
On February 4th, the Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon is approaching, and the New Year flavor is getting stronger in Taipei. The picture shows Taiwanese people coming to purchase New Year goods at the Nanmen Market in Taipei. Photo by China News Service reporter Lu Mei
Walking on the streets of Taiwan, a series of local flavors such as "Hunan spicy sausage", "Cantonese sausage" and "Yunnan pepper sausage" are quite eye-catching; the stores of Shandong steamed buns, Shanxi sliced noodles, Shaanxi Roujiamo and Chongqing pickled fish are even more popular. It is popular all over the country, and diners often queue up in long queues. In recent years, in addition to the "top-notch" snail noodles, the mainland's new Internet celebrity snack "Hot Milk Baby" has also become a new favorite in night markets and is very popular among Taiwanese people.
The mainland snack plum blossom cake is loved by young people in Taiwan. Picture from: China Times News Network
What connects these delicacies is not only the familiar home-cooked taste, but also the endless family affection and longing across the strait.
As sung in "Descendants of the Dragon" written by Taiwanese musician Hou Dejian and popular on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, "With black eyes, black hair, and yellow skin, you will always be the descendant of the dragon." As Taiwan's "United Daily News" commented, both sides of the Taiwan Strait are facing the same dragon. During the New Year, we post the same Spring Festival couplets, eat the same New Year's Eve dinner, and say the same auspicious words. There is also the same popular saying: "If you have money or not, marry a daughter-in-law to celebrate the New Year."
The Year of the Dragon is here, and both sides of the Taiwan Strait are welcoming a new year together. At this moment of reunion, I wish our compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait a happy new year and see each other often!