Sweet treats to ring in Chinese New Year

Lunar New Year is coming up, and that means elaborate meals with dishes like noodles, whole fish, chicken and barbecued duck.

But what about desserts?

On the Coast food columnist Gail Johnson says sweet treats are just as significant as the main menu.

"Their names and shapes are symbols of wishes for prosperity and happiness," she told On the Coast host Gloria Macarenko.

Feb. 5, the first day of the Year of the Pig, marks the start of the Spring Festival, a 15-day event celebrated with traditional foods.

"While every region and even every household will put their own stamp on things, there are several desserts that are commonly found on the dinner table during the festival and that people can easily source throughout Metro Vancouver," Johnson said.

Sweet rice balls

Sweet rice balls consists of glutinous rice balls filled with black-sesame paste that are served in a soup made of water with a hint of honey or rock sugar. Johnson says the rich taste of the rice balls is complemented by the intentionally light liquid.

"The Chinese name for this dish is tangyuan, and it's a name that sounds like a phrase that means 'reunion,' Johnson said. "Eating the black-sesame rice balls for the Lunar New Year is said to bring the family together."

The sweet soup can be found at most Chinese restaurants, including Peaceful Restaurant, and the rice balls are sold frozen at Asian grocery stores.

New Year's Pudding with a twist

Johnson says one of the most common desserts for the annual celebration is a New Year's pudding made with brown sugar or coconut milk.

The name for the coconut version sounds like the Chinese phrase for "higher than the last," signifying a wish for luck, wealth or happiness in the New Year to be more or higher than last year's.

But according to Johnson, Maxim's bakery, founded in 1979, has given the traditional dessert a modern twist by making the pudding into the shape of a Chinese carp or koi fish.

"The carp is a powerful symbol of strength and perseverance and the words for fish and abundance are pronounced the same in Chinese," she said.

Sticky rice cakes

Sticky rice cakes symbolize progress, advancement and growth and are a popular gift to give when visiting family and friends during the holiday.

Traditionally made with glutinous rice and brown sugar, they are often cut into slices and pan-fried in egg unless they are ready to eat.

The cakes can be found at Chinese bakeries, as well as grocery stores like T&T, Osaka and Real Canadian Superstore.

Eight-Treasure Rice Pudding

This dessert is part of a long tradition of dishes centred around the number eight, which, in Chinese, sounds a lot like the Chinese word for prosperity.   

"[Eight-Treasure Rice Pudding] is a classic for Chinese New Year," Johnson said. "It's sweet and sticky, made of sparkling, glutinous rice that's cooked with sugar and butter or lard. Then, there are eight types of nuts and dried fruit that are arranged on top like jewels."

She says the dessert has several stories associated with it, one suggesting that it was created to celebrate eight warriors who defeated a tyrannical ruler.

The pudding can be found at Dijon Handmade Frozen Dumpling Factory in Richmond.