A taste of the Lunar New Year–the dinner on the New Year’s Eve

Yuanyuan LI

The joy of the New Yearis manifested not only by the lanterns and the spring festival couplets， but also by various food， so that our taste buds could be immersed in the happy atmosphere. For one and another year， these food， delicious as ever， have accompanied us for many new year festivals.

Toufu for blessings

As "fu"（toufu） and "fu"（a Chinese character that means blessings and happiness）are homophonic， tofu often appears on the table on the New Years Eve.

In general， tofu， rich in protein， calcium， magnesium， vitamin E， and other content， is very nutritious.And the high-quality protein in it makes it comparable to animal meat， making tofu exceptionally good among vegetable food.

Whats more， tofu is rich in a variety of bioactive substances， such as soy isoflavones， soy lecithin， soy oligosaccharides， etc.， which all have a certain health value. Free of cholesterol， tofu has instead the phytosterols， which can inhibit excessive absorption of fat and cholesterol and prevent people from getting fat in the spring festival after eating too much animal meat.

Id like to notice you that tofu is best to stew， boil or sauté but not to fry， such as minced meat with sauced tofu， stewed fish with tofu， all delicious and nutritious.

Rice cakes for making progress

Rice cake is also known as the "rice cake of the year"， which is homophonic with" nian nian gao "， meaning making great progress every year in Chinese. Therefore， the rice cake also often appears on the table on the New Years Eve.

Rice cakes， mainly made of glutinous rice， is clearly more suited to be a staple rather than a dish. The reason why glutinous rice is sticky is that the starch in it is mainly amylopectin， while the amount of amylose is rather small （usually less than 1%）. Ordinary japonica is just the opposite， the starch in it mainly being amylose. As amylopectin is easierto digestthan amylose， the same amount of glutinous rice， boiledto the same degree， is easier to digest and absorb than japonica， which also means faster blood sugar increasing （i.e.， blood sugar production index）. For those who want to control blood sugar， sticky staple foods must go with vegetables that are rich in dietary fiber to help to slow the increasingof blood sugar.

The best way to cook rice cake is to steam it or fry it with a small amount of oilyet not with a lot of it. Starch is very fond of "absorbing oil"， making it of high energyand harmful with substance like acrylamide. The rice cake is most delicious when it is still hot， so do not wait until it is cool. Cool rice cakes， especially fried ones， is difficult to digest， thus may causeabdominal distension for those who have gastrointestinal problems.

“Taiping Yan” for peace

Taiping Yan， a famous dishsymbolizing peace and harmony in Fuzhou， is a must on festivals.It has become a cultural symbolof Fuzhou and one of the intangible cultural Heritage of Fujian Province. With a shape similar to the dumplings that often appear on the table on Eve of the New Year， it is cooked in a rather different way.

The wrapper of Taiping Yan， also known as the pork wrapper of Yan， is made of minced pork hammered by a stick with the finest sweet potato powder. The white wrapper is fragrant， smooth， crisp and refreshing. The stuffing is made of chopped thin pork and the shrimp， the water chestnut， the Laver and so on plus a little soy sauce， scallion and other seasoning. After that， put a little green onion， oil and several husked duck eggs in the boiling broth and add some fans， mushrooms， Yuba and steamed flat Yan meat，then you can enjoy a bowl of steaming， slippery， tender and delicious "Taiping Yan".

"Taiping Yan" is finely cooked and of rich nutrition with a collection of "meat， bacteria algae， soy products， seafood and yam"， featuring great food diversity. It is mainly cooked by boiling with a small amount of oil and salt， thus making it relatively healthy among festive food.

Tengchong Pot for reunion

Tengchong Pot is one of the most distinctive "hotpots" in Yunnan province. Unlike the ordinary hot pots， it is provided in theearthenware hotpot with the local characteristics of Tengchong， which makes it very unique.

The cooking of the pot is also different with other hot pots. With fresh meat bone soup as the base material， it is then spread with a layer of pork rind. The production of the rind is also distinctive. First， dry the clean pork rind and then fry it with oil. After that， soak it with cold water and then cut it into slices.The pork rind is like a "boat"， on which you can put egg rolls， greens， taro， yam produced in Anhui， Jiangsu or Guangdong province， sweet potatoes， yellow shootsas embellishment. The pot， beautiful in color and round in shape， is tasty and fragrant， symbolizing"reunion， happy， festive" and other good wishes.

In the Tengchong Pot are various food， such as yam， vegetables and egg rolls， thus making it nutritious. What makes it imperfect is that the fried pork rind in it contains a lot of oil and heat. Of course， without it， the above-mentioned ingredients would find nowhere to place， so I suggest that you eat more of these and less of pork rind.

The above is a few common "elements" of the dinner on the New Years Eve.Of course， in addition to these， all kinds of fruits and vegetables are also a must. Fruits and vegetablesare not only bright in color， which will make the dinner table more colorful， but also rich in dietary fiber， vitamins， antioxidants， etc.， which are conducive to enhancing satiety， controlling weight and preventingcommon health problems during the festival such as inflammation and constipation. Eat meat and vegetablesin fair proportion， keep a balanced diet， and let us have a happy and healthy Spring Festival.