Since ancient times, Chinese New Year has been the most important festival of the year for Chinese people. Its cultural and social meaning are to the one of Songkran festival to Thai people.
It begins on the last day of the lunar year, and ends on the 15th day of the next lunar year, which marks the beginning of the Lantern Festival.
Chinese New Year for Thai-Chinese is time for family reunions, bidding farewell to the old days and ushering in the new year it is also marked by the ritual of ancestor worship.
And for food! Definitely a lot of food!
Thanks to our friends of Grand Shanghai, we will pair some traditional Chinese dishes with some of our favourite wines.
Braised eels
This dish represents abundance, riches and prosperity. The Chinese believed that eating fish would help your wishes come true. During the Chinese New Year, fish is served as a symbolism to ensure a good start and finish and to avoid bad luck throughout the year. In this dish, The Great Shanghai braised eels in dark soy sauce topped with bean sprouts, sautéed garlic and fresh spring onions.
Perfect Pairing – Riesling Tradition Robert Weil
Notes of lemon, spice and steel on the nose. Off-dry in style with ripe pear and apple flavors energized by racy acidity. Good length with some spicy element on the finish.
Fried noodles in Fu-Chien style
Chinese believes that noodles symbolize a wish for longevity. The preparation for this dish includes shrimp, bean sprouts, chinese broccoli, mushroom and a choice of chicken or pork. When eating, the Chinese believes the noodles shouldn’t be cut of broken into pieces since long noodles represent a nice long life.
Perfect Pairing – Domaniers Rose’ Domaine Ott
Delicate aromas of white peach, pomegranate and rose petals. Fresh and elegance rosé with good balance and lovely finish.
Steamed pork with dry vegetable with Steamed and fried Chinese bread
Pork belly braised in dark soy sauce and sugar, and salty dry vegetables. This is a common Chinese dish that makes use of preserved vegetables and pork belly. It is very delicious as it is fragrant. The pork belly is cooked until it is soft and the ample fat melts in your mouth!
Perfect Pairing – Pinot Noir Fromm Winery
This Pinot Noir displays a nose of red cherries, red currants and dried sage. Medium bodied with a good amount of expressive cherry and earthy flavors in the mouth. It has a medium level of chewy tannins, uplifting acid and fresh finishing.
Which one is your favourite pairing?