These Recipes Might Just Bring Some CNY Luck

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One way to get a bit of luck over the Chinese New Year holiday is to literally watch what you eat. The dishes served on Chineese New Year's Eve and over the subsequent holiday are considered to be auspicious and able to bring good fortune for the year ahead.

When it comes to spring festival, signature dishes such as fish are always popular because the pronunciation of 鱼 yú (fish) sounds similar to 余 yú, which symbolizes prosperity in Chinese culture.

Below are two classic fish-themed Chinese dishes that Beijingers love to feast on over the holiday.

Peacock Train Fish
孔雀开屏鱼
kǒngquè kāi píng yú

This dish is always a crowd-pleaser during Chinese New Year. In Chinese culture, people believe that when a peacock opens his feathers, good luck will also start rolling in. This dish is eye-catching as it resembles a peacock opening the feathers, hence the name Peacock Train Fish.

Ingredients:
1 bass
20g of ginger
20g of green Chinese onions
10g of red chilis
10g of Chinese cooking wine
15g of fish sauce
1 tbsp of salt
1 tbsp of lime juice

Step 1
Starting from the head, cut the fish into strips of equal width. Be careful not to cut off the joints of the fish's belly.

Step 2
In a metal bowl, add the fish, salt, lime juice, Chinese cooking wine, ginger, and Chinese green onions and let it all marinate for about 20 minutes in the fridge.

Step 4
Place the fish with the aromatics and sauce on a plate and put it in a steamer pot. Steam the fish for about 10 minutes on medium high heat.

Step 5
When done, take out the steamed fish and drain the water, remove the ginger and Chinese green onions, and pour the fish sauce while hot.

Step 6
Place some shredded green onions and sliced red chilli for decoration. In a small saucepan, heat a cooking oil of your choice (olive oil, peanut oil, etc) and pour this over the fish to add some extra flavor. Serve immediately.

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Steamed Fish Head with Diced Hot Chili
剁椒鱼头
duò jiāo yú tóu

This is another signature Chinese New Year dish. Red symbolizes good fortune in China and since this dish will be mostly covered by red chillis, you can expect to receive great luck in the coming year after eating this fish!

Plus, if you consider yourself to be a chilli lover whose taste buds just need a little bit more pungent flavors to spice things up, then this dish here is just for you!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp of cooking oil
1 fresh water fish (no more than 900g)
5 tbsp of red chilis
½ tbsp of fermented black beans
2 gloves of garlic
1g white pepper
1 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine
1g shredded ginger
1 tbsp of Chinese soy sauce
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of sugar
1 tsp of shredded green onions

Step 1
Clean the fish and place it in a metal bowl. Add the white pepper, shredded ginger, and Chinese cooking wine and let it marinate for half an hour.

Step 2
In a saucepan or wok over high heat, add the tablespoon cooking oil and then fry garlic and fermented black beans and red chillis until fragrant.

Step 3
Add the sugar, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Stir to combine.

Step 4
Put the fish on a plate and top it with the bean and chilli mixture.

Step 5
Remove the frying pan and place the steamer pot on the stove. Then add water and when it comes to a boil, put the plate with the fish inside. Let steam for for eight to 20 minutes over high heat.

Step 6
Remove the plate from the steamer pot and garnish the fish with shredded green onions. Serve immediately.

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Images: 美食天下, Irene Li

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