VOA慢速英语--农历新年的吉祥食物

Lucky Foods for the Lunar New Year

The Lunar New Year begins February 16. It is one of the biggest and most important holidays in Asia.

In China, it is called “chun jie.” In Vietnam, it is known as “Tet.” And in Korea, it is “Seollal.”

While the names may be different, these and other countries mark the coming year with many similar activities: family reunions, festivals, cleaning and organizing the home, the color red, and -- of course -- traditional foods.

Today, we learn about five foods considered lucky during the Lunar New Year.

Spring rolls

The Chinese name for the holiday means “spring festival” in English. And spring rolls -- a common New Year’s food – are named in honor of the holiday.

Spring rolls are often made of finely cut vegetables, such as carrots and cabbage, and pork meat. They are wrapped in dough¹ that turns crispy and golden as it fries. To fry is to cook in oil over high heat.

The fried spring rolls are said to look like large pieces of gold. The food is a symbol of wealth and financial success for the coming year.

Vietnamese red sticky rice

In Vietnam, one food you will find during Tet is orange-red sticky rice. The special dish is called xoi-gac. It is made with gac, a fruit that only grows in Asia. In English, it is known as baby jackfruit.

The inside of the fruit is a beautiful, deep red. This gives xoi-gac its orange-red color. And it is the food's color that makes it especially popular during Tet; red represents luck, happiness and celebration in many Asian cultures.

Xoi-gac is made by steaming white sticky rice with the fruit, coconut² milk and sugar. The result is an exceptional, sweet taste.

Korean rice cake soup

No Korean New Year celebration is complete without tteokguk, or rice cake soup.

Eating a bowl of it is said to bring a person a long life. Eating tteokhuk also represents growing another year older. In fact, Koreans may ask a person their age by saying “how many bowls of tteokguk have you eaten?”

The soup includes broth³, vegetables and thin, round pieces of rice cake. The round shape it said to symbolize⁴ old Korean money. So, tteokguk is said to bring riches, too.

Radish cake

While Koreans celebrate the New Year with rice cake, people in Taiwan do it with radish cake. A big reason? In the Hoklo language spoken in Taiwan, the words for “radish” and “good fortune” are homophones, or words with different meanings that sound the same.

Radish cake is made with thinly cut pieces of radish, rice flour, fatty meat, spices, shrimp⁵ and dried mushrooms. It is cut into pieces and fried. The result is a savory⁶ snack.

This dish can be easily found all year long. But, it is said to bring good luck for the next 12 months if you eat radish cake around the Lunar New Year.

Fish

In many places in Asia, fish is another lucky food for the New Year. And there is another homophonic connection in China. The Mandarin⁷ word for fish (yu) sounds like the word for surplus, which means more or extra.

So, fish also symbolizes⁸ wealth. As a New Year's dish, it is often steamed with ginger⁹ and soy sauce and topped with greens, like cilantro and spring onions.

But do not eat all of the fish. To be especially lucky, there should be some left for a meal the next day. That suggests your riches will continue throughout the new year.

Happy New Year to all!

I’m Ashley Thompson.

And I’m Caty Weaver¹⁰.?

Words in This Story

dough - n. a mixture of flour, water, and other ingredients that is baked to make bread, cookies, etc.

steam - v. to cook, heat, or treat (something) with steam

crispy - adj. pleasantly thin, dry, and easily broken

broth - n?. liquid in which food (such as meat) has been cooked?

symbolize - v.? to be a symbol of (something)

savory - adj.? having a spicy¹¹ or salty quality without being sweet?

snack - n. a small amount of food eaten between meals

1 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

2 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

3 broth   

n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等)

参考例句：

• Every cook praises his own broth.厨子总是称赞自己做的汤。
• Just a bit of a mouse's dropping will spoil a whole saucepan of broth.一粒老鼠屎败坏一锅汤。

4 symbolize   

vt.作为...的象征，用符号代表

参考例句：

• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。
• Dolphins symbolize the breath of life.海豚象征着生命的气息。

5 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

6 savory   

adj.风味极佳的，可口的，味香的

参考例句：

• She placed a huge dish before him of savory steaming meat.她将一大盘热气腾腾、美味可口的肉放在他面前。
• He doesn't have a very savory reputation.他的名誉不太好。

7 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

8 symbolizes   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The use of light and dark symbolizes good and evil. 用光明与黑暗来象征善与恶。
• She likes olive because It'symbolizes peace. 她喜欢橄榄色因为它象征着和平。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

10 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

11 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。