VOA文化艺术2023 农历新年甜点

Sweet Treats for Lunar New Year

农历新年甜点

Asian families from the United States to China and Vietnam celebrate the Lunar New Year on Sunday, January 22.

从美国到中国和越南的亚洲家庭在1月22日星期日庆祝农历新年。

There are new clothes, big meals, and the traditional red envelopes of money for children. The red signifies¹ good luck. There are also plenty of tasty, sweet desserts to have with tea throughout the day.

有新衣服，大餐，还有传统的红包给孩子们。红色表示好运。还有很多美味、甜的甜点可以全天与茶一起享用。

In China

在中国

In Beijing, China, people have been lining² up outside Daoxiangcun, one of the city's best-known bakeries, for New Year dessert gifts. Some of the treats are shaped like a rabbit, the Chinese zodiac animal of honor for 2023.

在中国北京，人们在稻香村外排队等候新年甜点礼物，稻香村是该市最著名的点心店之一。有些食物的形状像一只兔子，这是2023年的中国生肖。

In central China's Shanxi province, Lexi Li waited for seven hours in the cold weather to buy baked goods. Li told the Associated Press, "I don't really like desserts and pastries³, but I just want to bring something home as a gift."

在中国中部的山西省，李乐喜在寒冷的天气里等了七个小时才买到烘焙食品。李告诉美联社，“我不太喜欢甜点和糕点，但我只想带些东西回家作为礼物。”

Lunar New Year desserts in China are usually based in rice or flour. They include rice balls, sesame balls, almond cookies, candied lotus seeds and steamed cakes called fat goh.

中国的农历新年甜点通常以大米或面粉为主。它们包括饭团、芝麻球、杏仁饼干、蜜饯莲子和名为发糕的蒸糕。

The most popular dessert is nian gao, made from rice flour along with taro⁴, date fruit, jujube and red bean paste. Nian gao sounds like "higher year" in Chinese, meaning a more successful year ahead. It also expresses wishes for children to grow taller.

最受欢迎的甜点是年糕，由米粉、芋头、枣子、红枣和红豆沙制成。年糕在汉语中听起来像“更高的一年”，意味着未来的一年会更成功。它还表达了孩子们长高的愿望。

Siu Yan Ho is a Hong Kong-based expert in Chinese food culture. Siu said, "Food is memory, and this memory is connected with festivals."

萧仁浩是一位驻香港的中国饮食文化专家。萧说：“食物是记忆，这种记忆与节日联系在一起。”

In Vietnam

在越南

Vietnam is celebrating the Year of the Cat. The traditional sweets for such celebration differ by area. Vietnamese people eat nian gao, which they call banh to. They also eat che kho gao nep, a pudding made with sticky rice and a mixture of water, ginger⁵ and either sugar or molasses. Other treats include che kho dau xanh — a bean pudding made with coconut⁶ milk and sugar — and banh tet chuoi, a rice cake with bananas.

越南正在庆祝猫年。这种庆祝活动的传统糖果因地区而异。越南人吃年糕，他们称之为banh to。他们也吃chekho gao nep，一种用糯米和水、姜、糖或糖蜜混合制成的布丁。其他的美食包括che kho dau xanh（一种用椰奶和糖制成的豆花布丁）和banh tet chuoi（一个香蕉年糕）。

"On Lunar New Year, for three days you go visit family, friends and teachers," said Linh Trinh, a Vietnamese food historian⁷ studying at the University of Michigan. "So everybody has to store a lot of snacks in their house for people to come visit and have tea. It becomes like the pride of the household to serve their traditional snacks."

“在农历新年，三天里你都会去拜访家人、朋友和老师，”密歇根大学越南食品历史学家林特林（Linh Trinh）说。“所以，每个人都必须在家里存放很多零食，让人们来参观和喝茶。为他们提供传统小吃，这就像是一家人的骄傲。”

In the United States

在美国

Kat Lieu, who is half Chinese and half Vietnamese, now lives in Seattle, Washington. She remembers that her mother would make steamed nian gao for breakfast every Lunar New Year. Lieu plans to do the same this year for her nine-year-old son.

Kat Lieu，一半是中国人，一半是越南人，现在住在华盛顿州西雅图。她记得，每年农历新年，母亲都会做蒸年糕作为早餐。Lieu计划今年为她9岁的儿子做同样的事。

"I'm also going to make the steamed nian gao and things like that, and try to have him appreciate it more, too," she said.

她说：“我还打算做蒸年糕之类的东西，并尝试让他更欣赏它。”。

Kelson Herman lives in San Francisco, California. She made bread for the Lunar New Year. She topped the bread with an image of a Miffy, a famous rabbit from a Dutch children's book.

凯尔森·赫尔曼住在加利福尼亚州旧金山。她为农历新年做面包。她在面包上画了一只米菲，一只荷兰儿童读物中的著名兔子。

In Queens, New York, Karen Chin made a two-level cake frosted in coconut buttercream topped with a white chocolate rabbit. "I told my grandma that I was going to make a cake. And she's like, ‘Don't make it too complicated,'" Chin said, smiling.

在纽约皇后区，Karen Chin做了一个两层蛋糕，上面涂有椰子奶油，上面还有一只白巧克力兔子。“我告诉我奶奶我要做蛋糕。她说，‘不要做得太复杂。’”Chin笑着说。

American companies are also getting into the Lunar New Year spirit. Cupcake company Sprinkles is selling red velvet⁸ cupcakes with an almond cookie crust and almond cream cheese frosting. And, at Disney California Adventure Park, guests can order milk tea cheesecake with taro mousse.

美国公司也开始发扬农历新年精神。纸杯蛋糕公司Sprinkles正在销售带有杏仁饼干皮和杏仁奶油奶酪霜的红色天鹅绒纸杯蛋糕。在迪斯尼加州冒险乐园，客人可以点奶茶芝士蛋糕和芋头慕斯。

Words in This Story

envelope - n. an enclosing cover for letter, card or money

信封--信封

dessert - n. sweet food usually eaten after a meal

甜点--甜味的通常在饭后吃的甜食

bakery - n. place where bread, cake or cookies are made

面包店--面包店；面包、蛋糕或饼干的地方

zodiac - n. time cycle divided into 12 parts for Lunar New Year calendar

黄道十二宫--农历新年的十二个时间周期

festival - n. special time when people get together to celebrate

节日--节日人们聚在一起庆祝的特殊时间

snack - n. small amount of food eaten between meals

零食--零食；零食

appreciate - v. to understand the importance of something

理解，欣赏--理解某事的重要性

complicated - adj. having many parts

复杂的--复杂的

1 signifies   

表示…的意思，意味( signify的第三人称单数 )； 具有重要性，要紧

参考例句：

• The term inflation signifies a decline in the value of money. 通货膨胀一词意味着货币贬值。
• To the patient and to the physician, pain signifies an unnatural state. 无论对患者或对医师，疼痛标志着一种反常状态。

2 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

3 pastries   

n.面粉制的糕点

参考例句：

• He gave a dry laugh, then sat down and started on the pastries. 杜新箨说着干笑一声，坐下去就吃点心。 来自子夜部分
• Mike: So many! I like Xijiang raisins, beef jerky, and local pastries. 麦克：太多了。我最喜欢吃新疆葡萄干、牛肉干和风味点心。

4 taro   

n.芋，芋头

参考例句：

• Main grain crop has taro,corn,banana to wait.主要粮食作物有芋头、玉米、芭蕉等。
• You celebrate your birthday with taro,red bean and butter.用红豆、芋头和黄油给自己过生日。

5 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。

6 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。

7 historian   

n.历史学家，编史家

参考例句：

• As a historian,he was most typical of the times in which he lived.作为历史学家，他是他所处时代最有代表性的人物。
• He calls himself a historian,but his books are a mere journalism.他自称为历史学家，但是他的书都是些肤浅的通俗作品。

8 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。