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Different Types of Chinese New Year Goodies

11 January 2014 by Eileen

This time of year is the best time to travel down to Asian countries, especially Singapore.  Not only are you escaping the bitter cold in the UK, you are going to enjoy the different varieties of foods and festivals there.  As a proud Singaporean, I would like to share some of our delicious Chinese New Year goodies.  They are only produced once a year to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Chinese are very superstitious so all the goodies are labelled in red.  Why Red?  It is corresponding with fire, and symbolizes good fortune and joy.

Chinese New Year Goodies iin jar

Some of these photos were taken by my friend and sister in Singapore who kindly sent it over to me.

Nian Gao (年糕)

Nian Gao are made from glutinous rice.  They symbolise raising oneself to a higher level in each coming year.  They are available all year but people mainly consume it during Chinese New Year.  They come in a variety of colours, depending on how they are prepared.  Some are moulded in a fish shape, golden coin or plain white roll etc.

This picture show the traditional Nian Gao which is wrapped up in plastic.

chinese new year niao gao in supermarket

Yu Sheng (鱼生)

Traditionally, this is consumed on the seventh day of Chinese New Year (Renri – celebrating everyone’s birthday).  But nowadays, people consume it at any time from the 1st to the 15th day of Chinese New Year.

chinese new year Yusheng selling in supermarket

Before you consume it, everyone tosses the Yu Sheng with New Year greetings – the higher you toss, the better luck you will get.  If you are very competitive, you might want to use a stool to stand and toss above your mates!

This is us celebrating while we were in Singapore two years ago.

chinese new year Yusheng Time at home

This is how they look like in the shop.  Each ingredient is individually packed and they come in a larger container.  Optionally, you should add raw fish (only if you consume) with Yu Sheng, as this is actually what it translates to.

Assorted preserved fruits

They always come in an octagonal box of eight different type of fruits or candy.  They symbolism good fortune and joy.

Chinese New Year goodies Assorted Preserved Fruits

Other Chinese New Year Goodies:

Pineapple tarts, mini spring rolls, love letters, honey hole crackers, prawn crackers, assorted preserved fruits etc.

Chinese New Year Goodies tarts
Chinese New Year Goodies

Please note that these examples are available in Singapore, though you might find the more common goodies like egg rolls, nian gao here in the UK.

Related

Filed Under: Chinese Festivals Tagged With: chinese culture, Chinese New Year, Food, Singapore

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Comments

  1. Emily says

    13 January 2014 at 1:03 am

    Great post with very tempting pics – thanks for sharing. JD will be interested to read this too.

  2. Vaidehi C says

    12 January 2014 at 9:57 pm

    Those preserved food look absolutely scrumptious. Too bad I am on a diet 🙁

  3. Ruthy Williams says

    12 January 2014 at 8:38 pm

    Happy New Year!

    Lovely photo of your celebration 2 years ago! And now I know why I should wear red for Chinese New Year!

  4. Twinsplustwo says

    12 January 2014 at 6:14 pm

    The preserved fruits look good. Happy Chinese New Year!

  5. Louisa says

    12 January 2014 at 2:27 pm

    I’m loving your posts about the customs surrounding new year, very, very interesting x

  6. Tanya Hindes says

    12 January 2014 at 12:23 pm

    Honey Hole Crackers… that sounds so yummy…Pineapple tarts.. my mouth is watering now. 🙂

  7. Anna says

    12 January 2014 at 12:01 pm

    Really interesting to see. I love going to supermarkets in other countries to get the different things, would be so fun to go to Singapore at Chinese New Year

  8. Foz says

    11 January 2014 at 10:04 pm

    Oh some of those look so yummy. I love the preserved fruits! Wouldn’t mind trying those

  9. RollercoasterMum says

    11 January 2014 at 9:41 pm

    Ooh I love Chinese food and I am super excited about this CNY as our work is taking us to the chinese restaurant at the top of the Shard (whoop whoop – can’t wait!)

  10. mummyoftwo says

    11 January 2014 at 9:37 pm

    I would love to go and try out these different foods. They look delicious!

  11. Red Rose Mummy says

    11 January 2014 at 8:16 pm

    Oh these look really good! I really love Chinese food and would love to try some of these treats.

  12. Aly says

    11 January 2014 at 8:07 pm

    Wow! I fancy some of those amazing looking preserved fruits.

  13. Laura Close says

    11 January 2014 at 8:02 pm

    What an informative post. We have a great little Chinese shop near us which features some of these products and I love taking a look there for all kinds of things.

  14. Charly Dove says

    11 January 2014 at 7:50 pm

    So glad I’m eating right now – you’re making me so hungry. What delicious food, great post too 🙂

  15. Mrs Chasing the Donkey says

    11 January 2014 at 5:40 pm

    Oh man, this will be my first CNY when I won’t be somewhere to celebrate it. I need my mooncake and shark fin soup. How sad… boo hoo!

  16. fritha strickland says

    11 January 2014 at 5:17 pm

    so interesting! I love hearing about different countries foods and traditions 🙂 x

  17. Helen Actually Mummy says

    11 January 2014 at 4:32 pm

    Such colourful food! The more I learn the more I like joining in with Chinese New Year. Though I don’t think we do it well at all in the UK, and I’d just love to visit Singapore and see how it’s really done

  18. Swazi says

    11 January 2014 at 3:44 pm

    I love Chinese New Year, but we always eat the same dim sum.
    So many delicious new ideas here 🙂

  19. over40andamumtoone says

    11 January 2014 at 3:15 pm

    Really interesting Eileen, love learning about different cultures and celebrations. Really enjoyed visiting Singapore, would love to go back with Monkey one day.

  20. Nell@PigeonPairandMe says

    11 January 2014 at 2:03 pm

    Such an interesting post – I never knew all this about Chinese New Year. The Yu Sheng look super tasty!

  21. Sarah Pybus says

    11 January 2014 at 10:54 am

    I need to be more adventurous to try most of these but I do like the sound of the pineapple tarts and preserved fruits 🙂

  22. Hellies Corner says

    11 January 2014 at 10:37 am

    Love all that red, such a standout colour 🙂 and a bit of Winter sun sounds like a good idea at the moment. Enjoy your New Year Celebrations.

Trackbacks

  1. Chinese New Year Ang Bao Basket - ET Speaks From Home says:
    19 January 2023 at 10:57 pm

    […] eight symbolises fortune. Hence it is often six or eight for many things. For example, in many assorted preserved fruits sold in supermarkets which are sometimes called Trays of Togetherness, they come in an octagonal […]

  2. Chinese New Year Traditions - ET Speaks From Home says:
    17 December 2021 at 9:33 pm

    […] especially the egg roll! Oh, they are so delicious! You can also read the article I wrote about the Chinese New Year goodies and the Chinatown goodies […]

  3. 8 Chinese New Year Children's Activities - ET Speaks From Home says:
    12 December 2021 at 9:39 pm

    […] was young and let them taste different types of New Year’s food like Nian Gao and other types of goodies. One day I will bring them to Singapore Chinatown for Chinese New […]

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Welcome to ET Speaks From Home!

I'm Eileen, a proud mum of two teenagers (aged 17 and 16), my daughter is living with visual impairment. Since launching this blog in May 2012, we’ve continued to grow and evolve, sharing our family’s journey and passions.

I love cooking, crafting, DIY projects, writing about Chinese culture, and creating YouTube reviews.

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