In just a few days’ time, it’ll be Chinese New Year, ringing in the Year of the Dragon.
With it, you can expect to feast on myriad cookies in the homes of friends and relatives.
At the end of the day, you’d probably find yourself so full of cookies and Mandarin oranges that you won’t be able to eat any real food after that!
What’s interesting is that so many types of cookies have crossed over our different cultures in Malaysia that it’s sometimes hard to tell which ones belong to which festivals.
The thing is, a lot of CNY cookies and food isn’t just about being nice to eat; many carry a deeper meaning and significance.
And quite often, a lot of it has to do with achieving wealth! Here’s a quick list of what you can expect. — Compiled by PATSY KAM
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Pineapple Tarts: A lovely treat of pineapple jam on a biscuit base, this sometimes may be a small cylindrical shape or even a ball as well. In Hokkien, pineapple is translated as ong lai which also carries the double meaning of “arrival of prosperity”. As such, eating pineapple tarts during this auspicious season is akin to ushering in wealth and symbolises “fortune is coming”.
Nian Kao: translated as “year cake”, this sticky rice cake is made out of only three ingredients: sugar, glutinous rice flour and water. Locally, it is usually brown as brown sugar is used. the name sounds like “grow every year” which implies a more prosperous year. According to folk tales, this sweet treat was created to be offered to the Kitchen God so that he would have only sweet things to report to the jade Emperor. the sticky texture is intentional to seal his mouth in case he says bad things.
Kuaci: these are watermelon seeds, and in the old days, it was chiefly the small red ones that would be seen on the festive new year snack table, the colour being auspicious. It takes real skill to deshell these with your teeth alone, and nowadays, the larger sunflower seeds are also served. A snack that’s a great time-killer, it symbolises having many sons and grandsons, an important aspect for the traditional Chinese. A container filled with sunflower seeds also symbolises abundance and money.
Kuih Kapit: This crispy wafer-thin biscuit crumbles easily and is a labour of love as it takes ages to make just a few tins. the thin batter is poured onto an iron mould and quickly cooked over a charcoal grill. these days, modern electric versions are available but the old stalwarts still make them by hand over a hot grill. the wafer is quickly removed within minutes and folded into a fan- or cylindrical-shape. Also known as Love Letters, the romantic moniker came about as love messages were hidden in the wafers and passed between lovers, or so the story goes. Eating the Love Letters probably also represents that the love messages were taken to heart.
Kuih Bangkit: A legacy of the Peranakan, bangkit in Malay means “to rise” indicating how the cookies rise during the baking process, but of course, it also infers prosperity and abundance of growth! the melt-in-your-mouth cookies are made of tapioca or sago flour and coconut milk, and they usually bear cute animal shapes. Goldfish symbolises prosperity, while chrysanthemums mean good fortune.
Bakwa: This is dried meat marinated with various seasonings and slow-grilled, then cut into large squares. the red hue symbolises luck and serving this to guests means wishing them a fortunate, sweet future. supposedly a Hokkien delicacy (hence the name), the Cantonese know it as long yoke and it tastes similar to meat jerky with a softer, more pliable texture. It is predominantly sweet, more like barbecued meat. traditionally made out of pork, nowadays you can find chicken bakwa and even varied flavours such as spicy, honey and black pepper bakwa.
Peanut Cookie: Mildly sweet with a hint of salty, the peanuts are ground into coarse, granular consistency and shaped into fragrant small balls that can be eaten in one pop. In Cantonese, peanuts are called fa sang, which symbolises good health and longevity. Even if there are no cookies, there will always be plenty of real peanuts to munch on.
Sweets: Any kind will do and the symbolism is easy for all to see. Eating sweets represents sweet beginnings, and augurs a sweet start to the new year.
