traditional korean lunar new year snacks

The various components of the salad are added in a specific sequence, and each ingredient carries an auspicious meaning that is linked to a Chinese couplet. The melange is drenched in oil and plum sauce, followed by a shower of chopped peanuts and pok chui crackers. Traditionally, the vibrantly hued dish comprises slivers of raw fish ( saito and salmon) and julienned pickled vegetables such as carrots, white radish, green radish, cucumbers, ginger, and onion slices, as well as pomelo.

Yu sheng is a dish of shredded vegetables and raw fish, eaten widely in Singapore during Chinese New Year because the words yu sheng (raw fish) are also a homonym for “abundance rising”. I’m glad that our guests and I get to enjoy this year after year.” “Taste-wise, I like bak kwa that is slightly sweet and savoury with a little char. At Min Jiang at Dempsey, Chan grills the sheets of marinated meat over charcoal to lend it a smoky fragrance. Now, I much prefer having minced meat bak kwa as it is more tender,” the chef shares. “I grew up eating bak kwa made with very lean sliced meat, so it had a chewy texture. This Hokkien treat is said to originate from the province of Fujian in China, where the consumption of meat was considered a luxury in the past and only kept for special occasions. “When I was younger, bak kwa was considered a delicacy as we only got to eat it during Chinese New Year,” he says.

“I am a big fan of bak kwa,” says chef Chan Hwan Kee of MICHELIN-listed Chinese restaurant Min Jiang at Dempsey in Singapore. The square sheets of bak kwa are popular during the festive season because of their red hue, which the Chinese believe signifies luck and fortune. These succulent barbecued meats are often dipped in a sugar and spice marinade before being air dried and roasted over charcoal. In Singapore, bak kwa, which literally translates to “dried meat”, is synonymous with Chinese New Year.

Traditional korean lunar new year snacks