Chinese Wedding Food

One of my Chinese friend in Miami is going to marry his Hispanic girlfriend next week. It reminds me how interesting it will be if a group of Spanish people are going to attend a Chinese style wedding and eat Chinese Food in the wedding. 

All the Chinese wedding food are not only delicious and good looking, but also have deep meanings behind them respectively. I am going to introduce some of the most popular Chinese wedding food today. 

Chinese food has special symbolism: mostly wishes of happiness, longevity, or fertility. The number of courses is also significant. At a Chinese wedding banquet, eight dishes are usually served – not including the dessert. In Chinese, the word “eight” sounds like “good luck.”

Nowadays, a wedding banquet normally starts with a cold plate which consistw of various sliced meats, jellyfish, and various types of nuts shaped like dragons and phoenixes and served chilled. (Lobster in Chinese is literally “dragon shrimp” and in Chinese restaurants, chicken feet are referred to as “phoenix feet”). In a marriage, the dragon symbolizes the male role while the phoenix symbolizes the female role. This yin-yang dualism, opposite but not contradictory, is a key concept of taoism. “Man and woman form a family ”, and therefore, having lobster and chicken at the dinner would represent balance in the new relationship.




 Soup. Soup usually follows the cold plate. The type of soup has some significance, for example, shark’s fin soup indicates wealth because this delicacy is very expensive.

Roast Suckling Pig. Roasted pork is a symbol of virginity. (The groom presents a whole roasted pork to the bride’s family at the engagement party.)

Peking Duck and Lobster. Red is the color for happiness, so serving Peking duck and lobster would signify joy and celebration. Also, serving the dish whole, i.e. with the head and legs, would symbolize completeness.

Squab (or Other Fowl). Pigeon has tender meat that symbolizes peace. (well, I know it's creepy for non-Chinese to eat this) Usually two pigeons are offered to wish the newlyweds peace as they start their new life together. Squab (pigeon) is similar to quail, so they both probably symbolize peace. Quail is offered whole to each guest so each and every one will also experience a peaceful life. Serving fried chicken would wish the couple to have a good life because in Chinese “red chicken” sounds like “good life.”


Vegetables with Sea Cucumber. Serving sea cucumber with vegetables is a sign of selflessness because “sea cucumber” sounds like “"good heart” and this dish wishes the couple to think in a similar way – to avoid conflict.

Fish. Serving fish would hope that the couple will experience a life together with abundance because “fish”" sounds like “plentiful” in Chinese.

Noodles served at the end would symbolize longevity because noodles come in long strands. (also, people eat noodles for their birthday which means long-life!)


Sweet Red Bean Soup and Sweet Buns. Serving dessert probably wishes the newlyweds a sweet life. The hot sweet red bean soup should contain lotus seeds (lian zi) and a bark-like vegetable (bak hop) to wish the newlyweds a hundred years of togetherness. The sweet lotus paste in sweetened steamed bread symbolizes fertility; it is shaped and colored to resemble peaches (ta zi), since the peach represents long life. The sticky dumpling you describe, covered with crushed peanuts with black sesame paste in the center, is called mochi. (You might consider mochi with lotus paste or red bean paste for their symbolic value rather than black sesame paste.)

At the end of the banquet, waiters usually pass out take-out boxes to the guests because there is usually enough food for everyone and some left over; this represents abundance. It is acceptable to take some of the food home because it is not good to waste good food – or anything else for that matter.

Tea, wine, and sodas are almost always supplied at a Chinese wedding banquet. Offering tea is a sign of respect. Wineis served to celebrate the special occasion. (In Chinese,“ going to a dinner banquet” is synonymous to “going to drink alcohol;” and in Cantonese, “to go drinking” literally means “go to a bar.”)

You might notice that Chinese restaurants have a big Chinese character behind the head table; it is the character for “double happiness” which is used during wedding events.
 





Surprise your friends with some Chinese Wedding FOOOOD!!!



Work Citer: http://www.chcp.org/banquet.html




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