以福為食

以福為食

It's just the beginning of twelfth lunar month, but many Lingnan people have started to prepare foods for the Spring Festival.In this region, people especially treasure the new year and the luck it supposedly brings, so dishes presented for the Spring Festival require some good expression to bring good luck.

Commerce and trade in Guangdong has a long history of development, Cantonese therefore emphasise “wealth” a lot.Thus, on the tables of the Spring Festival all over China, Guangdong may be one of the areas that are most particular about the expression of luck.At the transition from the old to the new, preparing some foods with good wishes to expect fortune in the new year becomes the most important activity in Cantonese households.

Most of the foods worth being taken onto table are often specially named to make others more inviting to other people.For example, the pronunciation of tangerine and “auspicious”in Chinese are homophonic, as are “make a fortune” and hair weeds, “getting a promotion”and rice cake.They are all the must-haves for the festival.In Guangzhou, even if the rice cake is not intended to be eaten, it still shows up on the table in the hope of good luck.The radish in Cantonese is also pronounced “Cai Tou”, named after its homophony “Cai(wealth)”.Having radish cakes in the Spring Festival then means bringing in more wealth and treasure.

If a lucky name is not easy to think up, Lingnan people will seek good meanings in the shapes of foods, such as fried Jau Gok.The shape of Jau Gok and a purse, or wallet, are alike.In the past, Cantonese, regardless of the poor or the rich, will always fry Jau Gok on the Spring Festival's Eve to wish that the next year would be like the oily bright fi red Jau Gok, rich and af fl uent.In the Chaozhou-Shantou region, the Shu-ke cake with Chinese characters “Fortune”, “Longevity” and “Lucky”on them, which look similar to peach shaped cakes, are also necessary snacks.

Some of these auspicious courses for the festivals must be started several months in advance, but people just enjoy it.The housewife makes the best festival meals would make her household very proud, so is worth the effort.In many villages, people also serve open-air banquets and perform dragon parades to produce a lively and joyful atmosphere and to make the whole village more auspicious.

People add their expectation of wealth and fortune into the food, and they also ritualise the process of making and enjoying these foods as way of welcoming good luck.

剛入臘月，很多嶺南人已經開始準備過年的美食。在這個重視傳統節日，又以﹃飲飲食食﹄出名的地區，能端得上春節飯桌的美食，除了比平常菜肴凝聚更多的時間、技巧和心力，還需要特別帶來福氣的寓意。

廣東地區商貿歷史悠久，廣東人尤其看重“財運”。所以，在中國各地春節食桌上，廣東大概是最講究食物“彩頭”的地區之一。在新舊交替的年節時分，準備一些有好意頭的食物，求得來年的好運，成了廣東人家最重要的事情之一。

能端上新年飯桌的食物，大多有個好名字，使人更樂意享用。比方說名字的諧音通“吉”的金橘，諧音通“發財”的發菜，諧音通“年年高升”的年糕，都是必備的美食。在廣東，過年時的年糕，就算不吃，也要在家里擺上一塊，圖好意頭。 蘿卜廣州方言稱“菜頭”，取“菜”與“財”的諧音，過年食蘿卜糕，也寓意招財進寶。

如果名稱上不好找意頭，嶺南人就會在形狀上找吉祥。比方，廣州人過年都要炸油角。油角的形狀像荷包，即錢包。以前的廣州人，不管富家還是窮人，到了歲晚，總要開油鑊炸油角，寓意來年的日子，像油光發亮的油角一樣，油油潤潤、富富足足。潮汕地區的鼠殼粿形狀像壽桃，粿面上印有“?！薄皦邸薄按蠹钡茸謽?，成為年節必備的小吃。而用來制作陽江炒米餅的餅模上面，也刻滿了祥禽瑞獸，福祿平安的畫樣。

這些年節吉祥菜，有些要提前好幾個月準備，但人們卻對此樂此不疲。誰家的主婦把年菜準備得豐富又精致，誰家的年也會過得更有面子。很多村子里，還會大擺流水宴席，請來舞獅隊，增加熱鬧、歡愉的氣氛，他們相信這會讓整個村莊都更“旺”。

人們把對財富、運氣的期盼都放在食物里，也把制作、享用食物的過程，當作迎接福氣的儀式。

DONGGUAN SUGAR RING

東莞糖環

In Dongguan, families made the sugar ring with sticky rice and granulated sugar, cut out the ring with knives, and deep fry it in oil.As the sugar ring has a colour similar to gold, before the Chinese New Year, Dongguan households will prepare sugar rings as snacks for visitors to enjoy.

NANXIONG PRESSED SALTED DUCK

南雄板鴨

The most famous local product of Nanxiong must be its pressed salted duck, i.e.preserved duck.People in Nanxiong often start making preserved duck two months before the Lunar New Year.Nanxiong, which lies in the north of Guangdong, experiences huge daily temperature swings and cold, frosty weather, which adds to the fl avour of Nanxiong pressed salted duck.

CHAOZHOU-SHANTOU SHU-KE CAKE

潮汕鼠殼粿

Shu-ke cake has been an important cuisine for the Chinese New Year in the Chaozhou-Shantou region.Three or Four days before the New Year, families will make the cake with dry pulsatilla plant they collect, and sticky rice fl our.The cake is often shaped as a peach and inscribed with lucky Chinese

words like “fu” (luck), “shou” (long life), or “da-ji” (auspice).

GUANGDONG PRESERVED MEAT AND SAUSAGES

廣式臘味

It has been a tradition for Guangdong people to eat preserved meat and sausages with rice in the New Year.Normally, the meat and sausages are made in the fi rst month of the Lunar calendar.In the past, even preserved meat and sausages were once-a-year delicacies.Guangdong preserved meat and sausages have kept its traditional taste while embracing other practices.During the Tang and Song dynasties, Arabians and Indians would bring Guangdong sausages and preserved meats to their hometowns.

GUANGDONG NEW YEAR RICE CAKE

廣式年糕

The New Year rice cake has been a well-known traditional food in the province for a long time.Having a similar pronunciation as “nian-gao” (making progress every year), it becomes the must-have for Guangdong families during the Chinese New Year.Containing brown sugar, the traditional food has a dark orange colour and soft texture.In Guangdong, households will cut the cake into pieces and stir-fry it.

FORTUNE FROM FOOD

Text by Lan Xiaojiang Translations by Bian Jiajin&Yishan Photos by CFP