Culture note: St. Valentine’s day in China

Happy St. Valentine’s day!!

Well, actually, there is no real ‘St. Valentine's culture’ in China, but since many friends have asked me whether St. Valentine’s day is celebrated in China, and how people would celebrate it, I thought I would write a shore culture note about it. And in my next post, I will share a romantic meal idea. :)

In China, there was no St. Valentine’s celebration until probably around 20 years ago. As in many other cultures, St. Valentine's  quickly became a day with a markedly commercial purpose. People could feel the atmosphere: the  music on the radio, the roses in the flower shops, the crowded shopping malls.

When it was first introduced to China, St. Valentine's  was not accepted by many people. St. Valentine’s day translated into Chinese is called ‘Qing Ren Jie’, as in ‘lovers’ festival’ if you translate it directly. So you can imagine, many couples were not convinced to celebrate it.

In the recent years, St. Valentine's  has gained popularity, and the celebration has become more ‘formal’.  The Chinese translation is now understood differently by most people: ‘lover’ refers to anyone with love, it is not only about two people as a couple, but also about anybody with love in their heart -- a big love. With its extended meaning in China, the ‘celebration’ is no longer restricted to a ‘couple’s world’.

Read more »

Culture Note: Chinese lantern festival (/Yuan Xiao festival) and the festival food

元宵节

                                 image source:http://bbs.chinataiwan.org/thread-52-1-1.html

Today is the last day of Chinese new year celebration, if you haven’t wished ‘happy new year’ yet, do it now. After today, we are in 2012 everyday's life. :))

Today is 15th of January in Chinese calendar. We call it ‘Yuan xiao jie’ as in ‘rice ball festival’, or another name ‘lantern festival’. So needless to say, there are two main celebrations, one is to eat rice balls, another one is to see the lantern exhibitions.

It is said that this festival started over 2000 years ago on the first full moon day in the new year. (In Chinese calendar, on the 15th and 16th each month, the moon is the fullest.) But custom of lightening up the lanterns started later, with the introduction of Buddhism in China --- every 15th of January lightening up the lanterns for the Buddhas. People also took this time to express their wishes.

Since Tang dynasty, lightening up the lanterns became more and more popular, and it eventually became an important ‘carnival’ in China --- all the streets were lightened up by lanterns, and people would go out to see (or we say ‘to appreciate’ the lanterns). Since then, not only the designs of the lanterns had more varieties, but also, people started putting some riddles or a line of poem on the lanterns, so others could try to get the answer or complete the poem. And along with the lanterns, there were also some performances as well.

Read more »

Culture Note: Spring Day in China and spring flatbread recipe

立春 和 春饼的做法

Spring Day is one of the twenty-four "solar terms" in Chinese tradition. It is called ‘Li Chun’, ‘Li’ （4） in traditional Chinese terms means ‘begin’, ‘Chun’ here refers to Spring. It means from this day onwards, the spring is beginning. It is normally on the 4th February each year. Sorry, this post is supposed to be posted yesterday, but I didn't get the time. :)

Yesterday, I wrote on my FB page saying that ‘spring is coming eventually’. However, a friend replied, ‘well, spring is still so far away’, since over here, it is really cold, and snow covers most parts of England. But in Chinese culture, even it is called ‘Spring day’, (or the beginning of the spring’), it does not really mean that we can have the ‘spring weather’ already. It simply means that we can feel the signs of that spring breeze, and see the spring greenish is starting to come.

In the next 15 days, there will be dramatic change in nature. In ancient China, these 15 days are divided into three parts, each five days as one part. The first five days means that wind is originated from the east now, the frozen ground is gradually defrosting; the second 5 days means that hibernating worms and animals are waking up from their caves; the third 5 days means that the ice in the river is starting melting, fish begin to float up to swim towards the surface. This is why Chinese people celebrate the ‘Spring Day’. Thus, ‘Chun’ / ‘Spring becomes a very ‘happy’ or ‘blessed’ word.

Read more »

112.Chinese hot-pot! (part IV)

:)) Promise this is going to be the last Chinese hot-pot post. But you see, we really eat a lot!! Ha… Here you go, it continues from yesterday.

Vegetables:

Well, vegetables here really just refers to those green leaves, because other vegetables might take longer time to cook, and simply boiling them probably cannot give it the best taste. Here are some common green leaves cooked in hot-pot.


Lettuce:

All sorts of lettuce are good, just need to wash the lettuce, and ‘separate’ the leaves, no need to chop into small pieces.


Chinese leaves:

However, for Chinese leaves, the best part for using in hot-pot is the heart. So you can peel off the outer layers, leave them for stir-fry next time, and use the heart part for hot-pot. Again, no need to chop, just wash and separate the leaves.

Read more »

112. Chinese hot-pot (part III)

---- What can you cook and eat in the hot-pot?

It seems these posts about hot-pot are taking me quite a long time, just like actually eating it. :)) Here you go, another continued post, this time it is about what to ‘cook’ (or ‘rinse’/shuan) in the pot.

In general, most kinds of meat, seafood, and vegetables that do not require long cooking times  can be used for hot-pot. Normally, one can easily have eight or nine big plates on the table full of fresh ingredients  ready to  cook in the pot --- surprised? :)) Let’s see --- these include sliced meat, fish and seafood, tofu, green leaves, fensi, mushrooms --- but you have to remember that we can have different kinds of each of these, so we can end up having at least 2 or 3 plates per ingredient. Here you can have choices, for example, if you are vegetarian, you can leave out the meat and seafood.

Now, let’s talk about them one by one. (It is only what we normally have for hot-pot, not including Cantonese style hot-pot.)

Read more »

112.Chinese Hot-pot! (part II)

--- Making the soup base at home

So the first 5 days of the Chinese new year celebration have officially finished. Now, until the15th of January in Chinese calendar, people’s greetings are changing from ‘Happy new year’ to ‘how was your new year?’ Or for some people still haven’t wished the ‘happy new year’ yet, they would say ‘happy belated new year’. What I am saying is that the new year spirit is not fading away yet:)) 

But let's talk about food -- Chinese hot-pot from the previous post.

Chinese hot-pot is almost a signature dish in Chinese cuisine, it is especially suitable for friends or family gathering. In Chinese we always use ‘re nao’ to describe this kind of occasions, it literally means ‘hot and noisy’, so you can imagine the hot steam going up from the middle of the table, and everyone is chatting over the hot pot while busy ‘cooking’ their own food.

Read more »

112. Chinese hot-pot!! I

-- A culture note as well as a recipe

image source:http://www.tupian99.com/show-4-79-fd9e9e387fea0bb3.html

Happy (black) dragon year on the 4th day!!

The festival atmosphere seems calming down a bit already over here in Oxford, but back in China, it is still everywhere. My parents over there have been very busy with visiting relatives and friends, eating and cooking. :)) I still hear the fireworks every time I talk to them.

So let's keep on talking about festival food. :) I always think food represents culture, just like Chinese dumplings. Here is another dish -- one of the most representative of China ----- hot-pot. So these couple of posts are not only just about cooking, but also about Chinese culture.

I always thought hot-pot is the English translation for this particular Chinese dish, or say a way of eating, but after seeing some other recipes online, which are also called hot-pot, I start thinking ‘hot-pot’ is probably not a very accurate term to describe this kind of Chinese food .

The original name in Chinese for this dish is ‘Huo Guo’, as ‘fire wok’. To describe it simply: it is all about  eating while you are cooking.

In Chinese history, there is no clear record describing when this way of eating actually started, but it must have been more than 3000 years ago. When the emperors held the worship or memorial services, they used containers called ‘Ting’ to boil meat in. Some say that was the early ‘predecessor’ of ‘hot-pot’.

Read more »

Culture Note: The first 5 days of Chinese new year celebration

Image source:http://sc.chinaz.com/tupian/1640505870.htm

When the bell rang midnight 12 o’clock on Chinese new year eve, the celebrations formally started.

The traditional celebration normally lasts for 15 days, until the lantern festival on 15th January, Chinese calendar. However, in modern days, the celebration mostly concentrates on the first 5 days, and then finishes with the lantern festival on the 15th day (well, more like 18th, when all the lanterns are packed away).

The whole celebration can be generally summarised as follows:  ‘visiting friends and families, to say happy new year’, ‘eating and eating’, and ‘setting off the fireworks’. But, there are different customs associated to each day.

For example, for married couples, on the first day, you need to celebrate the new year with the husband’s family; the second day is called ‘Hui Niang Jia’, which literally means to go back to wife’s family; on the third day, normally you can have a quiet day at home, just have dinner with your closest relatives; there is also nothing special on the forth day, so it is normally the best time to meet friends; the fifth day is called ‘Po Wu’, which means to ‘break five’, any ‘not-to-dos’ in the past four days, now you can break it, for example, clean the house, and throw away the rubbish. (Normally you are not supposed to clean the dusts away -- it is kind of metaphor for keeping  "wealth at home").:))

Read more »

Culture note: Chinese new year eve celebration --- ‘the Spring festival’ II

Where should I start? --- Food!! The night for Chinese new year is called ‘Tuan Yuan Ye‘, means ‘an evening for everyone to gather together’. The dinner for Chinese new year eve is called ‘tuan yuan fan’, which means that everyone in the family would all gather around the table and eat together. --- So, you can imagine how much I miss home being with my parents and how much they miss us. :((

Dumplings are the most common food on the table. My friends from southern China used to tell me  that they do not normally make dumplings at home, the only day they would make them is on new year's eve. It is a tradition in China in most places. However, as I mentioned before, my mom always prefers to make ‘He Zi’, as she likes its shape and similar pronunciation to ‘unity’ -- she wishes the whole family to be together at all times. So she always makes ‘He Zi’ instead of dumplings. Then we would have dumplings on New year day.

Another significant event in China is CCTV’s celebration TV program (central Chinese TV channel), which starts at 8pm, normally last 5 hours or even a bit longer. It is a synthesized entertainment program, and almost every household would sit in front of the TV to watch. It has become a tradition in China since 1979.

Don’t underestimate the program, it is not only important for Chinese people, make people feel like celebrating the new year with a ‘big family’, but also anyone who performs in the program could have an instant career ‘push’, become well-known. :))) The theme of this year’s program is ‘going home for the new year’, so there are lots of performances are just like ‘tear gas’, made me cry --- my homesick became worse. :(

Read more »

Culture note: Chinese new year: ‘the Spring festival’ I

Image source:http://www.nipic.com/show/4/110/4378639k6baf27cf.html

:))) Since Chinese New Year is around the corner now, and it is this blog’s first Chinese new year, let’s talk about this important Chinese festival, its traditions and customs.

According to Chinese history, the celebration of Chinese new year started during the Xia dynasty, over 4000 years ago.

The main celebration is on the first day of the new year in Chinese calendar, which is different every year according to Western calendar. In any case, it is always sometime in January or February.

The Chinese New Year festival is called ‘Chun Jie’ in Chinese, which means ‘Spring festival’. It is the most important festival in China. It formally lasts 5 days; however, the whole first month of the year in the Chinese calendar is quite important, and there are many traditions and customs.

Although Chinese new year is celebrated in many countries in far east Asia, different cultures have slightly different customs, even within China, different regions and different ethnic groups have different celebrations. So here I am mainly talking about the celebration in Northeast China, where I am originally from.

Read more »

Chinese Culture note: today is ‘Xiao Nian’ (little new year) !

             Image source:http://photo.xinzhou.org/2009/0118/picture_1161_5.html   Image source:http://tieba.baidu.com/p/1376530070



As I said yesterday, today all the Chinese new year celebrations are starting!!

In Chinese, today is called ‘Xiao Nian’, which literally means ‘little new year’. It should probably be called ‘pre-new year’ instead. Xiao Nian normally happens 7 days before Chinese new year day; however, different regions, and even different social classes in the past celebrated Xiao Nian on different days (for example, the emperors and royals would have it a day earlier than ordinary people). In northeast China, it is always on 23rd Dec in Chinese calendar. And our celebration may be a bit different to the other regions.

From this day onwards, traditionally people started preparing goods for the new year celebration -- although, nowadays, people normally start preparations much earlier. The preparation commonly includes stocking food, buying new clothes for new year, and home decoration, for example, hanging the couplets on both side of the door, sticking some festival paper cut figures on the door and windows, hanging the red lanterns in and outside the house.

However, the main point of the celebration on this day is still about food. :)) --- Yes, to have enough food and wealthy life for the coming new year.

It is said that in Xia dynasty times (over 4000 years ago), there was a fairy, called ‘Zao wang ye’, who was is in charge of the ‘cooker’ (at least, that is what we say) of every household -- more like ‘to make sure people have enough food to eat. And on this day, ‘Zao wang ye’ goes to the ‘above’, and reports to the Jade emperor how people behave, therefore what kind of fortune they should have for the new year.

Read more »

106. Hot and spicy pot (Vegetarian Ma la tang) I

Chinese Ma La Tang

After weeks of my mother-in-law’s amazing Spanish food, I started cooking myself again. You know what, I found myself panicking a bit, also with a little bit memory loss -- I could not remember where the things are in our own kitchen. -- How much I have been spoiled in the past a few weeks!


Anyway, today, I am sharing this Hot and spicy pot recipe… not only the recipe, but also the stories associated to this famous dish. :))

Hot and spicy pot in Chinese is originally called ‘Ma La Tang’. Ma means ‘numb’, which is the signature of Sichuan cuisine -- your lip could get a bit numb because of its spiciness. "La" means hot and spicy. "Tang", here means a Chinese cooking method that I have not mentioned before -- ‘to quickly dip into the very hot soup, for example, to the food done or half done’. So, just according to its name, you probably already guessed that this dish is different to the others. :) It is kind of similar to the famous Chinese ‘hot-pot’.

Ma la tang / hot and spicy pot is probably is one of the most popular ‘ordinary’ dishes in Chinese cuisine. :)) And, sorry, I have lots to talk about it -- too much nostalgia, homesick, ‘foodsick’, you name it.

This hot & spicy hot originated in Sichuan province, which, as you probably already know, is famous for its spicy food.

Read more »

Culture note: Winter solstice in China and the food for the celebration

Happy winter solstice!

How good -- days are getting longer, but it also means that winter is coming. So I am a bit happy and sad at the same time. However, just like poet Shelley said ‘if winter comes, can spring be far behind?’ --- Probably I should enjoy the winter snow, while waiting for the warm spring. :) Oops, I am sorry, I am actually in the sunny Spain being spoiled by my in-laws, and here is nowhere near snowing. :)

Winter solstice celebrations started during the Han dynasty in China, around 2000 years ago. The celebration became more popular later on during the Tang and Song dynasties, and the customs continue til today. It is normally celebrated on the 15th November of the Chinese calendar. In the past, people thought winter solstice was the natural transition between Yin and Yang, so this day was considered as a blessing from ‘above’.

During Han dynasty, winter solstice day was set as a public holiday for family and friends gathering and celebrating together. During the Tang and Song dynasties, it was a day to ‘worship heaven’ (or ‘offer a sacrifice to Heaven) and the ancestors, and hoping to get a blessing. The ceremony was quite serious, if you have been to the Temple of Heaven  in Beijing, where this kind of ceremonies took place, you probably can imagine. :)

Food -- how could there be a celebration in China without food? Ha.. In China, different regions have different food customs on this day. In Beijing area, for example, it is customary to have ‘wonton soup’ on winter solstice day, and noodles on summer solstice day. In many other regions, including northern China, it is more common to have dumplings on winter solstice day.

It is said that in winter is too cold, ears are easily frozen, and the shape of dumplings is just like ear’s, so it is kind of symbolizing ‘taking good care of ear’. Of course, there are many other legends on why Chinese have dumplings on this day.

One of the stories is that having dumplings are for the memory of the famous doctor Zhang Zhongjing. He used to be an official in Changsha, but later he decided to use his medical knowledge to help people. On the way back to his hometown, it was winter solstice day, he saw so many people were frozen in the cold winter without enough nutrients. He then asked his followers to set up fire, in a big wok, he put lamb, chilli and some other Chinese herbal medicine for helping with cold in the wok, and made bread into the shape of ears, boiled it in the soup, then distributed for people to take. After having it, people felt the whole body warming up, the frozen ears were cured. Since then, people would have dumpling on winter solstice day for memorizing Zhang.

There is another traditional food - lamb dish for celebrating winter solstice day, which is particular common in Northern China. It is said that since winter is really coming, people need to prepare and take care their body for against the coldness, lamb is one of the popular food for helping warming up the body, and building up enough energy for winter.

I have some dumpling recipes here already, so my next recipe is a winter healthy recipe lamb and radish soup. Keep tuned. :))

Culture note: Not all about stir-frying

A few days ago, when I was randomly browsing the internet, (this is how I normally waste my time, really bad:((, I know), saw a few questions such as “why do Chinese people always stir-fry?”. I could not help nodding - yes, stir-frying is one of the distinguishing features of Chinese food.

Stir-frying is a good healthy way of cooking and eating. For example, stir-frying requires strong fire, not much oil (although different people might opt for different amounts), can quickly get food done, and keep the nutrients well at the same time. In this case, it is certainly better than the boiling or stewing, because long cooking times could make the vegetables lose their vitamins -- well, of course, it depends on what ingredients you are cooking, some foods are good for cooking longer times, so the vitamins can actually be released and easily absorbed by the body. And some other foods, for example, those ‘healthy’ soups, need to be cooked for long time.

Read more »

Culture note: Chinese dining table customs and manners

A few (Western) friends have asked me about Chinese dining table customs and manners. So, I thought that I should talk about this a little bit. I say a little bit only because I don’t think I could ever cover the whole range of customs and rules: too many different regions, ethnic groups and social backgrounds. So here I could only just talk about what I know, how I have been educated / influenced by my education, by my strict parents and my ethnic group’s customs. --- Hope this is helpful.

Where should I start? --- Firstly, dining customs and manners in Chinese culture are all about ‘respect’ -- well, sometimes, my husband (from Spain) thinks it is a bit too much, coz that means you have to be conscious all the time - too tiring. Ok, let me start with the story we all learned when we were very little, it is one of the first stories that we had to know in life -- ‘Kong Rong Rang Li’, means ‘Kong Rong giving out the pears’.

The Kong Rong Story

It is said that when ‘Kong Rong’ was three years old, (Kong Rong was a politician, scholar, and writer in the late Han Dynasty period, and a 20th generation descendant of Confucius), one day, the whole family was sitting in the living room, and a big plate of pears was served. Kongrong’s dad asked him to pick up the biggest for himself, then give the rest to the others, but Kongrong said, ‘no, I am the youngest, I should take the smallest one, the biggest one should be given to grandpa.’

The story of Kong Rong giving out the pears has been passed on through generations and even written in the textbooks. It became an example of respect towards others, especially, towards older people. (In China, even somebody is one day older than you, you need to show him/her respect as bigger brother/sister.)

Finding a seat and serving food

So this definitely reflects on the dining table manners -- for example, how to find a seat. In the West, dining tables are normally rectangular, the host would seat at one end, whereas in China, since the dining table is traditionally round or square, normally the ‘important’ seats are determined by the direction in which they are facing -- back toward north and face toward south, as emperors’ seats.

Certain food is served with similar custom. For example, I already mentioned a few times how to place a fish (with head and tail) towards guests for showing respect. And when a new dish is served, it is normally placed in front of the most respected person (often the oldest person) around the table first.

An English friend recently mentioned to me that when he was in China, he did not like others ‘picking up’ the food for him and putting it in his plate -- he knows it was a kind of welcome and recommendation, but things he did not like to eat, now he had to, at least, pretending he was trying. --- Ha… Yes, I totally agree. I never liked it either, as if you are ‘forced’ to eat rather than just suggested for a try. But, it is a custom, it shows the sincerity and warmth from the host. No matter how many times you say ‘let me help myself’, you cannot stop them, as for them, if they did not do this for you enough, it means they have not been a good host -- this is particularly common in Northern China.

Saying Thank You

Many friends (Western friends) of mine have learned to use their fingers to say ‘thank you’. This is because normally when the table is really big, if somebody poured tea for you (for example) from the other side of the table, and then passed to you by turning the ‘top turnable’ part of the table, so it will be too far for you to say thank you; or the waiter/waitress served you a drink, you don’t want to speak out to disturb others talking, you would make almost like a ‘loose’ fist, then use the joints of index and middle fingers to knock at the table couple of times -- means that you are saying thank you. But this is a relatively newish custom. It is said, however, that it originated long time ago, when the officials would kneel down in front emperor to show respect.

Passing things over the table

If somebody does pass you a drink (or a gift off the dining table) in person, the other person is supposed to stand up and receive it with both hands -- this is a ‘forever custom’, I don’t remember how many times my parents blamed me for not behaving properly, I used to always either forget to stand up or using both hands. (Oh, btw, you know, if it is gift, you are NOT supposed to open it in front of the people who give to you, which is a really bad manner --- how different it is to the Western custom!)

Drinking culture

As for drinking -- the actual custom is bad, particularly bad in Northeast China. Northerners are famous for drinking a lot, and pushing each other hard to drink more. I am saying ‘pushing’ because they would keep on filling up your glass, and every time they would come up with a ‘say’ for ‘cheering’, which you cannot simply refuse. For example, the most common one is ‘if we are in good friendship, let’s have a sip’; ‘if you consider you have a very strong, meaningful friendship, let’s see its bottom’ -- to drink off. --- How can you say we are not friends, then not drink? So many people end up really drunk.

Ha… Funny, no? And a bit annoying, to me at least. Back in history, it was more common that people would make up a poem or painting when being a bit drunk. Anyway, you ever have chance to experience this, and do not want to drink this way, tell the people on the table at the very very beginning, otherwise, it is difficult to escape later on. :)))

Sharing food

Sharing the same plate of food is a Chinese custom that makes my friends from other cultures a bit uncomfortable or confused. Well, I can see their points, but it is a custom. In many occasions, there will be spoons served along with the dishes, so you can use the common spoons to bring food to your bowl. However, good manner is to use your own chopstick start picking food from the edge of the dish first, never pick up the centre, or choose the pieces, which might involve touching the other pieces that you are leaving others to eat. In fact, this is one of the main judgements for if a person has very good eating manner or not.

Finishing all the food?

And should you finish the all plates in front of you? --- Depends. If you are with close friends and family, yes, this means that you are not wasting, and respecting others’ labour, but if you are invited to a very formal dinner, then no. Always leave a little bit food on the plates, otherwise the host would panic and think that the food was not enough, or others might think you rarely have the chance to eat, that’s why you are eating for all. -- Ha.. This is a secret, never a real, publicly admitted manner, but it is from ‘inside’ story’, so very useful.

Making noise when eating

One last thing, actually I have been asked many times why Chinese make noise when eating. Ha… This is not really a Chinese custom, rather a Japanese or Korean custom. My Japanese and Korean friends told me that especially when eating noodles, you need to make some sounds, which shows how much you enjoy the food. Where in China, it is not considered a very good manner, however, people are used to it. It sounds strange, but, hey, if we are in Rome, we do as Romans do. :))

--- So now, I have got to finish this post, and get ready for a formal English dinner with my English dining table manners. :))

Chongyang festival: the flower cake (Chinese steamed cake recipe)

Tweet

Chinese steamed cake

重阳花糕

If I were to use Chinese words to describe my state when I was making this cake I would say that  "there is no bottom in my heart". Ha… it means I was in a bit of a panic mood and was feeling unsure about this recipe, since this was my first time ever making it, and also the first time using rice flour.

As I mentioned in my latest post, eating flower cake ( a kind of Chinese rice flour cake) is a very popular thing to do during Chongyang festival.  There are, however, important differences between North and South China, and also among different provinces in China.

The one I have made is definitely a Northern version; my beloved auntie used to make it, but I never learned, so I had to make an ‘emergency’ call to my parents. :))

This kind of Chinese cake is almost completely different to Western cakes, from the ingredients to the method of cooking. It is supposed to be lighter, since there is no cream or butter or even oil, and no vast amounts of sugar either. And another major difference is that this Chinese flower rice cake is steamed, not baked in the oven, so it can be translated as ‘Chinese steamed cake’.

It is fairly easy to make -- just rice flour paste with red bean filling. There are some places in China where this cake would be made without any fillings at all. Jujube dates are used for decoration and hence this cake is also called ‘jujube date flower cake’. (See picture below)

Read more »

Culture Note: Chinese Chong Yang festival

Tweet

Ooh, beautiful Italy made me forget time and place -- I have missed two major Chinese festivals, one is Chinese National Day on 1st Oct, and the long holiday in China that follows the national celebration; and the other one is Chong Yang Festival, which was yesterday.

I guess I will have to leave the national day to next year then, but  talk about Chong Yang Festival and its festival food, if it is not too late -- saying that, eating is never late. :))))

Chong Yang Festival is on every 9th September in Chinese lunar calendar. In I Ching it is said that number ‘six’ is ‘Yin’, and number ‘nine’ is ‘Yang’ (it is the famous ‘Yin Yang’), since 9th September is double ‘Yang’, so the festival is called ‘Chang yang’, as double 'Yang'.

The legend of the Chong Yang Festival

There are many stories about the origin of the festival. A simple one is that in the old days, people thought ‘double Yang’ was a good symbol, should be celebrated, thus this festival was established.

Another story is a legend, it says that in Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 CE), around Ru river, there was a devil, who ruined many lives. Heng Jing, a young man decided to go to learn the necessary skills to fight against the devil. After years of study with a master, one day the master gave HengJing a sword, a pack of elaeagnus, and a bottle of Chrysanthemum Wine, told him to go home to fight with the devil as the devil would turn up on the next day -- 9th September.

Climbing festival

When Jingheng went back to his home town, he led all the locals to a hill, and gave them the elaeagnus and Chrysanthemum Wine for preventing the devil from getting close, then he used sword to fight with the devil, and killed it eventually. Since then, climbing on 9th September became a ‘festival activity’. So ‘Chongyang festival’ is also called ‘climbing festival’. Climbing simply means to go up somewhere higher, then you can see further, for example, a small hill, or a tower. Many famous poems describe the beautiful scene after climbing up.

Chrysanthemum appreciation

Another traditional activity is ‘appreciating Chrysanthemum Flowers’. Besides the legend, there is another reason for Chrysanthemum appreciation -- there are a few flower exhibitions a year in China according to different flowers’ flowering time, and now, in autumn - the season for beautiful Chrysanthemum Flowers. So looking at Chrysanthemum Flower show and wearing Chrysanthemum Flower in hair or making it into fragrant pocket to carry on the belt started as tradition since Tang dynasty.

The elderly

In Chinese, Nine is pronounced as ‘Jiu’ (3), which is the same pronunciation as the word ‘long last / forever’, thousands years ago, people started praying for long last life, love, etc. Later, it was given an additional meaning -- respecting the elderly. In fact, since 1989, this day is also set for ‘elderly day’ by the government, many organizations would set up some programs for taking elderly for an autumn trip to the mountains or seaside.

Traditional Chong Yang food

Ok, coming to food, like all the other festivals, there is a main festival food, along with all other seasonal fruits and vegetables. ‘Hua Gao’ is the food for ‘Chong Yang festival’. Hua is as flower, ‘Gao’ is as in ‘cake’. It is like ‘desert or snack cake’, made with rice flour and different kinds of fillings, and steamed. However, just like different regions in China have different traditional celebrations, this ‘Flower cake’ varies greatly as well. Tomorrow I will make this cake, and post the recipe -- I know, I am already behind the time. :)))

Chinese Moon Cake with red bean fillings

Tweet

Chinese moon cake

Making moon cake at home

Making moon cake at home? - I never thought I would even dare to try one day. Back home, people would give moon cake as gifts to each other, so they are 'everywhere', or if I like particular fillings, then there are too many choices!. Don’t even mention that I am a terrible lousy baker. :)

I guess living abroad made me more into 'baking culture'. I started learning to bake bread, simple cakes, tiramisu… - No,no, don’t get me wrong, I am still a very lousy baker, but I am so lucky to have a lovely husband and neighbour friends who ate whatever I made,no matter how ugly it is, and kept on telling me how good and how tasty it is. :))) For example, I tried to learn how to make moon cake, and it didn’t turn up as it should look like. Ha… But I am still here shamelessly talking about how to make moon cake. :))))

I decided to make moon cake myself because it is not easy to find the Northern-style moon cakes. (As those that can be found in UK supermarkets are mostly Cantonese-style, which I am not used to.)

The traditional northern moon cakes are with red beans, mung beans, strawberries, jujubes, or mixed nuts fillings (there are hundreds of different fillings). Northern moon cakes are sweet, but far less sweet than … for example, English carrot cake.

To make moon cake, apart from the necessary ingredients, you also need ‘moon cake mold’, which unfortunately I don’t have, so the final outcome is far less appealing to the eye than the moon cakes sold in the shops. Taste is not too bad though.

Read more »

Culture note: Typical Mid Autumn Day food --- Moon Cake

Tweet

(Image source:http://www.lecaitt.com.cn/tuangou/detail_82287/)

If there is one single thing you definitely must eat in Mid Autumn Day, that would be Chinese Moon Cake. A mid autumn day celebration without moon cake is not such.

Chinese Moon Cake

Moon cake in Chinese is called “Yue bing” (Yue as moon, bing - I have mentioned a few times before, a round flat ‘bakery’).

Moon cake is a round cake with various fillings. It is called ‘Moon cake’, not only because of its shape, which reminds us of the the full moon (traditionally, people would sit under the moon light, eating the cake and appreciating the beautiful scenery), but also because, according to the legend, a moon cake was first made for Chang’e, a woman who lives in the palace on the moon.

The legend of Moon Cake

There are many different stories of why we eat moon cake. Although there are historical records on how the moon cake firstly appeared, there is also a popular legend explaining its origin.

Read more »

Culture note: Mid Autumn Day

Tweet

Just like I said yesterday there are so many celebrations going on at the moment, here you go, another one - tomorrow, well, in China, it is ‘tomorrow’ already - 12th September is Chinese Mid Autumn Day.


Mid Autumn Day is one of the biggest, and most important festivals in China. Although it is called ‘Mid Autumn Day’, it is always on the 15th August of the Chinese calendar. So it is same as other Chinese festivals, the actual date on Western calendar changes every year, and this year is the 12th September.


It is said that the moon gets fullest, roundest and brightest on this day in the year. It is also one of the most emotional times of the year, because in Chinese, the full moon symbolizes the family members all gather together, people at home would look up at the moon, missing the loved ones who are far away, and

Read more »