#chinese custom

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Qing Ming Festival (清明节), also known as Tomb Sweeping Day is similar to All Souls’ Day observed in the Western world. It is typically observed by ethnic Chinese around the world. Filial piety and ancestral worship are emphasised during Qing Ming. Visiting cemeteries and columbaria with food and other offerings 🎑 for deceased relatives marks this important period of remembrance.

In line with traditional practice, visits to ancestors’ graves, niches or tablets can be made within 10 days before or after Qing Ming (清明). On the day itself, the likelihood of traffic congestion, especially around cemeteries and columbaria, motivates families to set off early. For those visiting graves, sao mu 🪦 (扫墓), meaning to “sweep the grave” is undertaken before worshipping begins. This process includes trimming the grass and removing the weeds that have grown on the site, as well as cleaning the tombstone and repainting faded engravings.

Descendants buy or make offerings before paying homage 🙏 to their ancestors. These offerings vary but may include meats such as chicken, duck, pork and fish, and other varieties of food and drink such as cakes, fruits, vegetables, rice, wine and tea. If the ancestral tablet is placed in a Buddhist columbarium or temple, the offerings presented will be vegetarian in nature. We bought Vegetarian Food (斋饭) of which sis chose sweet & sticky mock pork ribs, broccoli & cauliflower stir-fry and mock char siu plus two packs of steamed rice and two hot beverages. ☕

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Today is Winter Solstice (冬至) and it is a Chinese custom to offer Tang Yuan (汤圆) to the deities and ancestors. Usually, mum will make this at home using glutinous rice flour and pink food dye then boil them in sugared water. But considering her advanced age, sis bought two packages of frozen dumplings 🍡 to save her the task. I caramelized some sugar to make the brown sweet soup and added a few pandan leaves 🌿 (Pandanus amaryllifolius) to boiled with the dumplings.

Not too bad making the caramelized sugar syrup considering it was my first time trying it. Together with the pandan leaves 🌿, it added visual colour and aromatic fragrance to the sweet soup. The white Tang Yuan (汤圆) or Glutinous Rice Ball comes filled with black sesame while the pink one had peanut and white sesame in it. It was so good that I ate 10 pieces of the dumplings. 😋

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Bai Tian Gong (拜天公), or "praying 🙏 to the Heaven God", is a major Hokkien tradition celebrating the Jade Emperor's (玉皇大帝) birthday on the 9th day of the Lunar New Year. It serves as a thanksgiving ritual 🎑, often involving sugarcane offerings to symbolize protection and gratitude for saving ancestors during wartime.

Hokkien people believed that the Jade Emperor was instrumental in rescuing them from their plight, which is why Hokkiens celebrate Bai Tian Gong. The sugarcane as well is commemorated as it kept them hidden and safe when the bandits were searching for them. In Hokkien dialect, the sugarcane plant is pronounced as ‘kam jia’, which sounds very familiar to ‘kam xia’, the word for gratitude. Thus, in Hokkien Chinese New Year, Sugarcane Stalks are often placed on either side of the offering table 🎑 or the front door of the house. This symbolizes the appreciation and gratitude of the Hokkien people to the Jade Emperor for protecting their ancestors all those years ago and hopes that he would continue to give them his blessings.

Typically, the ceremony 🎑 commences on the eve of the 9th day, typically starting at 11pm on the 8th day of Lunar New Year. But due to mum’s advanced age, she preferred not to jostle with other families burning the joss papers at the public bins. So, she Bai Tian Gong (拜天公) on the actual day at about 6am in the morning then send me down to the bin to do the burning.

Selected images from the internet.

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Today is the ninth day of the first lunar month and we Hokkiens celebrate the birthday of the Jade Emperor or Tian Gong Dan (天公诞). The Hokkien people pay homage to the Jade Emperor and to give thanks for their salvation from a massacre that occurred during the Ming Dynasty. Bai (拜) means to pray, and Tian Gong (天公) refers to the Jade Emperor, hence Bai Tian Gong (拜天公).

According to legend, a group of Hokkien villagers were fleeing from a bandit raid during the Ming Dynasty. They hid in a sugarcane field, where they were pursued by the bandits. The bandits searched the field for days, but they could not find the villagers.

On the ninth day of the first lunar month, the bandits gave up and left. The villagers emerged from the sugarcane field, grateful to have been spared. They decided to celebrate this day as a day of thanksgiving to the Jade Emperor.

Bai Tian Gong (拜天公) is celebrated with a variety of rituals and customs. One of the most important customs is the offering of prayers and food to the Jade Emperor. This is usually done on the eve of the ninth day of the first lunar month from 11pm onward.

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Nephew didn’t want steamed rice and he asked for the Yang Zhou Fried Rice (扬州炒饭). We got him a medium portion (S$10) to share with those who may preferred a little more carbo. The savoury fried rice has got that wok hei (breath of the wok) and is packed with quite a few other ingredients like char siu, crab stick, peas, egg and spring onion.

Everyone loves fried chicken so we had the Prawn Paste Chicken (虾酱鸡). The appearance is not really Instagram worthy but the umami flavour of the crispy and succulent wings won us over.

Instead of the usual sweet and sour pork, we order the Sweet & Sour Sliced Fish (酸甜鱼片). Would have been nicer if the batter coated fish is still crispy and the flesh is too firm for my liking.

Cereal Sotong (麦片苏东) was a letdown with too thick a batter and rubbery texture. Sotong is Malay word for squid. My brother also commented that the cereal was on the sweet side and I have to agree with him. Maybe we should have opted for the prawn instead.

The Yam Ring (佛钵飘香) is deep-fried separately then filled with a medley of sautéed vegetables and seafood like prawn, squid and scallop. Normally, there would be crunchy cashew nuts added but I don’t see it anywhere and sis said the colour of the yam basket is too dark a colour though still tasted decent.

This Claypot Superior Pot (砂煲一品锅) is the most expensive of the dishes coming in at S$50. But is chocked with plenty of seafood like fish maw, prawn, scallop, sea cucumber and mushroom. The brown thickened gravy goes well with the bowl of white rice.

A large plate of stir-fried Sambal Sweet Potato Leaf (参巴番薯叶) is up next. The tender leaves and stems of the sweet potato plant is cooked with sambal chilli which give the vegetable a spicy kick.

The last dish of the night is this Salt Egg Prawn (咸蛋虾). Everyone was looking forward to it but it turned out to be the worst disappointment that night. The prawn fritters were supposed to be crispy but it came smothered in the salt egg sauce and ended up mushy. Moreover, there isn’t enough salt egg yolk in there so it is more milky sweet than savoury fragrant.

Compared to last year’s Reunion Dinner (团圆饭), the overall standard of the food at the restaurant had deteriorated a lot. Not sure if it is because different chefs are manning the kitchen or some other reasons but we have decided to patronize another restaurant next year.

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The Reunion Dinner (年夜饭, 团年饭 or 团圆饭) is an annual feast where family members reaffirm the love and respect that bind them together as a unit. It is also known as tuanyuan (团圆) or weilu (围炉) meaning “gathering around the family hearth”. This event is of sociological significance as it is a means to ensure the solidarity of the family and its cohesiveness. Family members are expected return to the family home for reunion dinner. The more traditional Chinese families also “invite” their deceased ancestors to join them by placing offerings on the family altar. As convention dictates, all sons return to their parental homes for the occasion. Married daughters, on the other hand, join their husbands’ families for reunion dinner on Chinese New Year Eve.

This year we managed to gather all members of my brothers and their families to join us for the Reunion Dinner (团圆饭). We decided to head back to Lai Huat Signatures (来發) at Gambas as the place is conveniently located nearby and accessible for all three of the families. We made reservation for 6pm and the place is already crowded. A brief discussion on what to choose from the abbreviated menu (compared to last year), we are ready to order.

First to be served is this Fish Maw with Crab Meat Soup (蟹肉鱼鳔羹). Although we ordered the large portion (S$45), there is barely enough to fill up ten small bowls and we have eleven people. As in the pictures, there are plenty of sliced fish maw, crab meat and mushroom in a thicken soup. I drizzled some black vinegar and a dash of pepper to give it acidity and spiciness. Texture wise, the fried fish maw is on the rough side and just needs a little more time on the stove.

If you are a coffee person, you will love this Coffee Pork Ribs (咖啡排骨). The boneless pork is dredged in flour and deep-fried before coated with a layer of savoury and sweet coffee-based sauce which is bound to give you that caffeine high. I love the succulent pork slices with the bittersweet coffee sauce clinging to meat and it goes well with rice.

Sis recommended the Braised Bean Curd Skin with Kai Lan (豆根芥兰). Most of us had never tried this combination of fried knotted bean curd skin with kai lan (Chinese broccoli or Chinese kale). But my younger brother and I think that the savoury oyster sauce (I think) works with the chewy bean curd skin and the still crisp bite of the vegetable along with whole shiitake mushrooms.

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Today is Lantern Festival (元宵节). It falls on the 15th day of the new lunar year, which is February 24th this year. The arrival of this day also marks the final day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations.

Eating 元宵 is another important Lantern Festival custom. 元宵 or Tang Yuan (汤圆) is made of glutinous rice. The stuffing includes bean paste, black sesame, peanut, various kinds of fruit and so on. The fillings can be either sweet or savoury, depending on what is wrapped inside.

In Chinese, 元 can also mean "first" and 宵 usually refers to "night". So 元宵 literally means the first night that we can see the full moon in the lunar new year. It symbolizes the arrival of spring and the end of the Chinese New Year celebration.

Info from here and tang yuan images from here.

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Mum bought a Soya Sauce Chicken (酱油鸡/豉油鸡) chopped up into two boxes with three packs of savoury rice plus a bowl of Fish Ball Soup to offer to the gods and ancestors. As with our Chinese custom, there are joss papers (金纸) and hell money (冥鈔) to be offered (burn) later. After the prayer, the dishes will become our lunch.