过年吃出好运来

As you can imagine with the biggest Chinese holiday of the year, food's gonna play a great part of its sander/sender. In China, food is never simply food, it's always invested with heavy symbolic¹ meanings especially at a holiday like. This is my guide that navigates² me through is Belinda Wang here.

What is it that Chinese people everyone eats at a time like this?

Well this is what every Chinese family has for New Year. It's "go" (糕). And the name "go" means "bo bo go sing" (步步高升) which means (for) everything rises in the New Year and advancement³ in your career, in your wealth, and in your health.

Ok, well, let's get a shopping bag and you can lead me through it, see what I need for the New Year.

Sure, my pleasure.

Nuts and seeds are very important for New Year. Now we have this black melon seeds which is very nice. (Oh, yeah.)Try one. And the action of you picking them up and eating them constantly is like picking up money all the time and eating them. So that I'll put one in the basket.

Ok.

What about these ones?

These are really happy-happy-nuts because pistachios in Cantonese is happy-happy.

So this ensures a happy year of the dog.

Yes, yes.

What about? What's that?Peanuts.

You know peanuts stand for longevity⁴. So you'll have a long life in the New Year.

And, and this?

And this is, this means lots of sons.

Lots of sons? What are they?

Lotus seeds. You can use them for sweets and also for soups.

So if you want to have lots of sons in this year. You'd better have more of them.

Yeah, thank you.

This is called "yuyi" (如意) which the literal meaning is everything as you wish in the New Year.

It looks disgusting.

No, if cooked properly, it's really delicious.

Really? I'll take your offer, but I'll check that all in the basket.

Now those two are, are our New Year's favorites. This one is black moss⁵, hair vegetable.

Hairy vegetable?

Yes. It looks like our hair.

Ok,what~and what's good luck about this?

Now this ,it it~sounds exactly the same as "gung hei fat choi" (恭喜发财), "fat choi" (发菜). So it means prosperity and making lots of wealth.

And what you do, make soup out of it or something?

You you make stews⁶, you make conjee, you make soups out of it.

Alrighty, you would do your recommendation.

Highly recommended.

So ... and what's er..?

And this is dried oysters⁷ which is "hao shi" (好市) is good market.

Good market....doing well in the market in the New Year. Yes, yes.

Well, both in terms of my belly⁸, and in terms of my good luck, I'm gonna have many children, long life, I'm gona be very happy and everything's gonna rise in the New Year.

Exactly.

So. Thank you very much. Gung hei fat choi. Gung hei fat choi.

1 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

2 navigates   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的第三人称单数 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• Dolpins also navigates by some kind of echo system. 原来海豚也是借助某种回声系统寻向的。 来自辞典例句
• Navigates in menus, lists, choice screens and into edited texts. 可以操纵菜单、列表、屏幕选项和进入编辑文本。 来自互联网

3 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

4 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

5 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

6 stews   

n.炖煮的菜肴( stew的名词复数 )；烦恼，焦虑v.炖( stew的第三人称单数 )；煨；思考；担忧

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews. 玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most stews contain meat and vegetables. 炖的食物大多是肉类和蔬菜。 来自辞典例句

7 oysters   

牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
• She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。

8 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。