The Chinese New Year is celebrated this year on Saturday 10 February. The year of the dragon is heralded.
Hair vegetables for New Year? The pronunciation of "faat coi" (prosperity) sounds like "fa cai" (hair vegetables), which is why people eat fa cai on New Year's Day, along with other symbolic lucky charms.
Faat Choy/faat coi (Cantonese) = Fa Cai (Mandarin) means hair vegetable.
Nostoc flagelliforme is the scientific name for it. And it is not a vegetable, so it is not a plant or a fungus. It is a cyanobacterium. The name Nostoc apparently comes from Paracelsus and is due to the appearance of some Nostoc species, which has something to do with a nose. These plants reminded Paracelsus of a snout in appearance.
Eine Nostoc-Art aus Wikipedia
However, Nostoc flagelliforme looks different, namely like hairs.
Haargemüse trocken
Schweinefüsse, Erdnüsse und schwarzes Haargemüse. Kochkunst by May
Because millions of Chinese people want to eat hair vegetables at New Year, this bacterium is threatened with extinction. It grows in rather dry areas and at altitudes of up to 3,000 metres and originates from Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai and Shaanxi. What is available today may look like it, but is often artificially produced and consists of bean proteins, like glass noodles, or it is a cheap variety that grows en masse in the sea and can also be easily cultivated.
Fa Cai nourishes the Xue, expels heat and dampness, and dissolves phlegm. Diseases that have this TCM problem can be: Cough, hypertension, anaemia, depression. Fa Cai is also used in gynaecology. It contains protein and is rich in iron, phosphorus, calcium and other minerals.
Fish are also among the lucky charms of New Year. They are always on the move and swim elegantly around obstacles, symbolising a rich flow of money. This is why we often see aquariums at the entrance to Chinese restaurants.
However, the whole fish must not be eaten at the New Year's dinner. There must be some left over.
Kochkunst by May
Because fish = Yü 鱼 is pronounced the same as Yü = abundance 余, it is a symbol of good luck for the new year. A congratulation goes like this: 年年有余 (Niánnián yǒu yú): Abundance all year round!
Jiaozi = momos are also good luck charms because of their shape, which is reminiscent of silver bars, and are therefore served at New Year.
Chicken = Ji is pronounced the same as prosperity/luck, so this is also a menu for New Year, but the whole chicken must be presented.
Kochkunst by May
Tong Yu are sweet glutinous rice balls with a fine filling. Their round shape symbolises unity and cohesion within the family.
Kochkunst by May
Prawns = shrimps are also part of the New Year's meal in the Cantonese language area, i.e. in southern China, because they are called Ha in Cantonese, or even better in the diminutive form Haha, which sounds like happy laughter.
The list of other auspicious menus and sayings is almost endless, as are the auspicious actions such as opening windows and doors on New Year's Day or leaving the lights on at night to let luck in or show it the way.
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