Make Your Lunar New Year Sweeter with These Delicious CNY Goodies

Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year period is a time to celebrate and bring out tradition within the culture. Family comes in with incredible foods all focused on enhancing the chances of a prosperous new year as everyone celebrates the new year. It is often said that there are as many different types of sweets in LTunar New Year celebrations as there are possibilities because sweets are believed to ensure joy and sweetness for the New Year. Based on what the bloggers present for this Lunar New Year celebration, we have herein listed down some of the tastiest Chinese New Year goodies that you should not miss.

1. Nian Gao

Nian Gao or Sticky Rice Cake is perhaps the most popular dish during this lunar calendar New Year. Coated pearls are a Cantonese dessert made from glutinous rice flour, sugar and can be made with sweet potato or yam. The name “Nian Gao” sounds like “higher year” because is implies luck so it is placed in red packets or presented to older family members during the season.

There are various type of Nian Gao such as plain Nian Gao, sesame Nian Gao and Nian Gao with beans, and it is prepared by steaming, boiling or pan frying. It is a soft and sticky that can be taken alone or with an accompaniment of peanuts, sesame seeds or shaved ice.

2. Pineapple Tarts

Second in line for one of the most popular pastries for celebrating Lunar New Year is Pineapple Tarts. These delicious pastries are made in a form of a pineapple wedge and has a rich pineapple jam in them. These are perfectly baked with the crispy buttery flaky crust combined with the sweet-tart pineapple caramelised filling.

Pineapple Tarts were first introduced from Hong Kong in 1950s and yet it spread like-wild fire in all the South East Asian country. There are two main types of Pineapple Tarts: the Butter Cookie version which is a very thin and crispy pastry and the Crispy Sugar version which is a caramelised sugar glaze pastry. Well, both types are delicious and would be ideal for been served during the celebration of Lunar New Year.

3. Ang Ku Kueh

Red Tortoise Cake, known as Ang Ku Kueh in Singapore and many other South East Asian countries, is a favourite treat in many Chinese households. This cake is very sweet and soft and is prepared using rice flour, mung bean paste and sugar. It is mainly steamed until it turn soft then coated with peanut powder or sesame seeds.

Pursuant to folklore, Ang Ku Kueh is so named because its outward appearance is shaped like a tortoiseshell. It is thought that tortoises are long-lived animals and they are also considered to bring happiness and prosperity. Therefore, while relishing the taste of the Ang Ku Kueh, you are in fact consuming your luck as well as prosperity of the new year.

4. Sweet Potato Waffle

Love Letters are a famous traditional confectionery produced and consumed Widely in Malaysian and Singaporean homes during the celebration of the Lunar New Year festival. The name “Love Letters” was given to the product due to its thin and crispy texture plus the Heart shape, therefore can be taken as a love gift for a dear one.

Love Letters are prepared from sweet potato soft flour, sugar and one pinch of salt. The batter is poured thinly on a hot waffle iron then the end product is crunchy, slightly sweet. Love Letters go well on their own or accompanied by tea or coffee of your choice as a perfect snack.

5. Bak Kwa

Barbecue Pork Jerky or Bak Kwa is a popular snack especially during the Lunar New Year celebration in both Chinese and Malaysian population. Unlike western barbecued items which are prepared from large preserved pieces of pork meat, Bak Kwa is made from thin slices of marinated pork meat in sugar, soya sauce and spices which are barbequed until it has a sweet, tender look and feel.

This snack is considered to have a meaning of luck and advantageous bacterium; The red colour of the snack symbolizes happiness and luck; the pronunciation of ‘Bak’ in Hokkien is similar to that of ‘Eight’, representing prosperity. Bak Kwa is taken as gifts, eaten during house visits or incorporated in festive foods.

6. Jin Deui

Golden Pineapple Pastry or Jin Deui, often featured during Lunar New Year, features pineapple and red bean paste interior. Composed of a flaky, golden dough that enshrouds a plate of sweet and oily red bean paste, Jin Deui is a delicious cake that is easy to eat and satisfying to the eye.

In Chinese, this name can be broken down into the terms “Jin” which means gold and “Deui” which can be interpretted as dumpling and when combined the name “Jin Deui” literally means Golden Dumpling. Jin Deui is named as a symbolic importance of prosperity and therefore consumed as delicacies during the Lunar New Year festive season.

7. Onde Onde

Onde Onde is sweet dessert food commonly eaten in Malaysia and Singapore and is well suitable to be eaten during the Lunar New Year feast. These are little pouches of sweet palm sugar or coconut filling coated with desiccated coconut.

The word Onde means “squeeze”, this is the process of patting the dough into small pouch and putting into the sweet mixture. Onde Onde is thought to convey happiness and fortune therefore it is great to serve during Lunar New Year with relatives and loved ones.

Therefore, Lunar New Year is more than laughter and cheers, but sweet and delicious treats that symbolise luck and prosperity. Let aside the fact that these CNY goodies are yummy, most of them hold special meanings associated with the celebration of Chinese New Year.

Here are some of delicious Lunar New Year delicacies you should try this year to enhance your CNY celebration. From festive gatherings with kith and kin, to having them with friends, or distributing as New Year house gifts, every bite of these is guaranteed to usher in happiness, prosperity, and good fortune to everyone’s New Year. So before you get too caught up in worrying about the future and all its possibilities, take your pick from any of these scrumptious treats and make your Lunar New Year way better.

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