This year, Chinese New Year is on 19 February 2007 which is about one month away. Traditionally, Chinese families would gather for a feast one day before the start of the Lunar New Year. This meal is known as “tuan yuan fan” or “Reunion Dinner” since it is almost always eaten after nightfall as the last meal of the old year.

The venue is usually held in the home of the most senior member of the family. This is one of the most important meals for the Chinese. Members of the family, near and far, get together for celebration. The reunion dinner should be eaten with all immediate family members present as a symbol of strength and unity in the family.

There is usually an abundance of food prepared for this meal, even by poorer families. The Chinese believe that having an excess of food on the table symbolizes good fortune for the New Year, as it would bring excess wealth. Depending on which Chinese ethnic group and region, below are some traditional food or meals that are prepared on this special day:

• “Jiao zi” or dumplings. Meat and vegetables are wrapped not with rice but with a skin made of flour. This is a food commonly eaten as a meal in Beijing or northern parts of China. Family members would join in to make the dumplings which can be eaten throughout the New Year.
• Steamboat dinner, or “huo guo”. This is popular in Singapore and Malaysia. A family sits around a pot of steaming soup, place uncooked pieces of food into it and fish it out when it’s ready. This dish is easily prepared dinner since all is needed is uncooked food and the soup.
• “Fa cai”, or black moss, is eaten as the name of the moss sounds like “to become prosperous” in Chinese.
• Fish is a must but not eaten up completely (and the remainder is stored overnight), as the Chinese phrase (nián nián you yú), which means “may there be surpluses every year”, sounds the same as “may there be fish every year.”
• Raw fish salad, or “yu sheng”, may also be eaten. This dish is not found in China but in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Its name sounds like “growing luck”. This dish is also eaten on the 7th day of the Lunar New Year.
• “Nian gao”, also known as year cakes, may be fried to usher in the New Year. This is a sweet, sticky and glutinous cake which the Chinese believe that would make the New Year sweet and bring prosperity.
• Some Taoist or Buddhist families might abstain from meat throughout the New Year. However, for poorer families, this might be the only time of the year when they can eat meat in abundance. A kind of preserved meat, called “rou gan” or dried meat, is popular during this season.
• Another popular dish is tamarind and star anise chicken.
• Buddha’s delight, also known as (luóhàn zhai), is an elaborate traditional vegetarian dish comprising 18 ingredients. A type of black hair-like algae, pronounced “fatt choy” in Cantonese, is also featured in Buddha’s delight and other dishes, since its name sounds similar to fatt choy, the Cantonese word for “prosperity.”

This list is definitely not exhaustive as many Chinese communities living around the world may have their own unique food or dish for the reunion dinner.

Shou Sui

‘Shou Sui’ is when members of the family gather around throughout the night after the reunion dinner. During this time, they will reminisce about the year that has passed while welcoming the year that has arrived. Some people also believe that children who (Shou Sui) will help to increase the longevity of the parents.

So parents, do share with your children on the significance of Reunion Dinner and Shou Sui. It is a good tradition to be passed down.

Today is Dong Zhi. Most Singapore Chinese will associate this day to ‘tang yuan’ – glutinous rice flour balls. Well, want to know the history of Dong Zhi . . . Dong Zhi is a thanksgiving festival in the Chinese calendar. It marks the end of the year with a new one approaching. Literally, it means ‘the arrival of winter’.

The Winter Solstice Festival is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during this festival. Dong Zhi is the day when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest.

This celebration can be traced to the Taoist belief of yin and yang, which represents balance and harmony in life. It is believed that the yin qualities of darkness and cold are at their most powerful at this time. However, it is also the turning point, giving way to the light and warmth of yang. For this reason, the Dong Zhi Festival is a time for optimism.

This day is also the birthday of the Primival Lord Of Heaven (Yuan Shi Tian Zun), one of the Three Pure Ones in Taoism. Taoists will perform rituals on this day. But it is a pity that younger generation today is not very appreciative to this festival.

It is an occasion for the family to get together to celebrate the good year they have had. To symbolize the unity and harmony in the family, tang yuan is cooked and eaten during this festival.‘Tang Yuan’ also means “tuan yuan” (family reunion). The round shape of the rice balls symbolises reunion for the family, the sweet soup and pink colour is for harmony and good fortune. The flour balls may be plain or stuffed.

How to make tang yuan?

• Add cool or tap water bit by bit to one cup of glutinous flour until you can mix it to the same texture as playdough.
• Divide the dough into small portions. For pink ones, add colouring and knead on the dough to ensure even distribution of colour.
• For stuffings, the fillings can be gula melaka (coconut sugar) or crushed peanuts.

Alternatively, you can get ready doughs in wet markets or better still, supermarkets offer ready-packed ones with fillings of red beans, black sesame and peanut paste.

How to cook tang yuan?

• If plain soup is preferred, just cook the tang yuan in a pot of boiling water and add sugar to suit taste.
• For my family, I like to use dried longans for the stock. The brown-coloured soup makes it more appealing.

Either way, when the dumpling floats, they are done. Let them sink in for a short while more but do not overcook lest they become mushy.

So parents, hope you can make use of above tips to prepare tang yuan for your family. While you are enjoying the rice balls, do share the story of Dong Zhi with your children. This is one tradition and culture that we should pass on.