Chinese Culture (TiongHua): 7 Kind of Vegetables in Chinese New Year

Still in the event of Chinese New Year, today is the seventh day and unfortunately I see something unique on the table for my breakfast. All the greens are mixed up in a bowl. I am so curious what it is so I asked my mom about that. There is a tradition of Chinese people to eat 7 kind of greens/ green vegetables all mixed up in one dish. 

I wonder what the meaning is so that I ask my mom again. Mom said it symbolizes the prosperity of beginning year, meaning in first week of Chinese New Year you can eat all kinds of vegetables and hopefully you can do so in a year. So we are not lacking of any food in first week of new year.

Cooking this 7 greens dish is not as hard as I imagined. You just need to buy some greens in groceries, wash it clean and saute it for a while add some seasoning and water. Perhaps you can make it in salad with oil, may be it will be more delightful. 

I reckon that Chinese tradition is unique and complicated, even sometimes it needs a lot preparation but the meaning is as deep as sea. For those who believe and still in this tradition, I really hope that we can conserve all kinds of this tradition for the future. For those who has just known about that, I really welcome you to know more.

HAVE A NICE DAY :)

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7 Hal Yang Tidak Boleh Dilakukan Pada Saat Imlek, Mengapa?

Berbicara mengenai imlek, rasanya tanpa batas banget budayanya. Tidak heran, ada banyak tahayul dan mitos berkeliaran di seputar imlek.

Berikut adalah 5 hal utama menurut para leluhur dan merupakan larangan di saat imlek hari pertama: 

1. Gak Boleh Megang Sapu (alat bersih apapun gak boleh nampak)

Kenapa gak boleh? Para tradisonalis mengatakan bahwa sapu dan alat pembersih lainnya gak boleh nampak karena dipercaya akan menyapu rezeki di hari pertama. Seluruh rumah harus sudah dibersihkan sebelum Tahun Baru, karena bersih-bersih itu dianggap membuang hal-hal buruk sepanjang tahun lalu.

2. Gak Boleh Berbicara Kasar Atau Mengandung Unsur Buruk

Kata-kata buruk dan tak beruntung merupakan tabu di hari pertama tahun baru. Terutama, karena kisah seram biasanya terkait dengan kematian.Kata-kata kasar harus dihindari karena akan mencerminkan kehidupan dalam 1 tahun mendatang.

3. Gak Boleh Memegang Benda Tajam (Terutama Jarum, Pisau, Gunting dsb)

Memegang benda tajam pada hari tahun baru dianggap sebagai hal buruk karena bisa ‘memotong’ hal-hal baik terutama kebahagiaan dan keberuntungan. Gunting dan pisau serta benda tajam lainnya disarankan untuk disimpan pada hari sebelum hari pertama tahun baru.

4. Gak Boleh Cuci Rambut

Lho kok gak boleh? lagi-lagi mengenai lunturnya keberuntungan, Anda tidak mencucinya untuk memastikan keberuntungan takkan ikut luntur.

5. Gak Boleh Mecahin Barang

Mecahin barang berarti membeli! OOoops! Salah, maksudnya gini loh, mecahin barang pasti musti disapu, jadi ada kaitan dengan poin nomor 1. mecahin barang berarti memecahkan berkah yang diberikan, simbol penolakkan gitu. Jadi, hati-hati lain kali di hari pertama.

6. Gak Boleh Nangis

Nangis itu simbol kepedihan dan duka. Menitikkan air mata dilarang pada hari tahun baru. Sebab itulah anak-anak diampuni dan tak diberi hukuman atas kesalahan yang mereka lakukan pada hari tersebut.

7. Gak Boleh Beli Sepatu

Berbelanja sepatu dibatasi sampai 1 hari sebelum imlek. Sebab, kata sepatu merupakan homonim untuk kata ‘sulit’ dalam bahasa Kanton. Jadi sepatu itu lama-lama jadi simbol kesulitan, jadi tidak disarankan untuk membeli sepatu di hari pertama imlek.

OK, so itu 7 tahayul di hari imlek. Percaya gak percaya, namanya juga tradisi, apapun yang terjadi tradisi haruslah dipelihara dan dilestarikan. Namun, jangan juga sampai pemikiran kita termakan rasa tradisionalis, kepercayaan terhadap tradisi berlebihan hanya mencerminkan masyarakat yang tidak pernah maju.

Penulis undur diri, Happy Chinese New Year for those who are celebrating.

HAVE A NICE DAY :)

Special thanks:

web.inilah.com/read/detail/1821852/10-tahayul-saat-imlek

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Chinese Culture (Tiong Hua) : Ngouw Bie Theng

Talking about Chinese culture, it has no end absolutely. Today is Chinese new Year, for those who are celebrating, happy Chinese new year, everybody. Chinese New Year always reminds me with this food. I think this one should be dessert. Every first day of Lunar new year morning, my family and I dress ourselves with everything new (new clothes, shoes, bags, decoration of house and so on). After that, my parents give us "Ang Pao", a red letter that contains money ($_$). Our parents shake our hands and said good, wise words of advices. This is the best part.....

We eat a special dessert :Ngouw Bie Theng". Ngouw, means "five", Bie, means "rice", Theng, means "dressing or sauce". So actually it should be a kind of soup with 5 types of rice, so where is the sweetness?? Are you really there should be 5 types of rice? OMG~ Not really... This is a kind of dessert which is made by:

Ngouw Bie Theng

1. Iuw Bie, kind of rice, but not rice. Small grains with with pale color, my mother cook it in slow cook pot so it will be soft and tender.

2. Red dates or dried plum, a sweet dark brown fruit with a hard stone inside, usually eaten dried and very sweet. (It is western Asia and North Africa fruit).

3. Yellow bean (big one), I dunno the real name, but it is delicious while it is tender. 

4. Longan sim, longan fruit which is dried and become light brown color, sweet and dried.

5. Sea weed in gelatine form, it is crunchy and has got weird shape, tasteless, just like common sea weed transparent color.

All of this ingredients are cooked in a pot except dried dates, with sugar and water. Cook it until it is viscous (sticky and well-blended). Serve while it is warm.

So, we can conclude that this food does not contain 5 types of rice, but the ingredients should be five. I dunno about the reason why it should be in five. Well, what I know is it tastes sweet and nice. :D

My mom said it symbolizes prosperity and happiness, especially when you eat it in the first day of Lunar New Year. For me the best one is Longan sim, it tastes like common longan fruit, but it is delicious when you serve it in tender, soft, smooth and crunchy inside. Well, I should wait for next year again to eat it.

HAVE A NICE DAY ^^

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