‘Stack’ These Auspicious Foods & 2024 May Be Your Luckiest Year Yet
Add heaps of ‘ong’ to your plate for the coming year!
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The Chinese have a saying: “Eating comes first before anything else.” And you know, I think the Chinese were really onto something.
I mean, I love Chinese food, and I think most Malaysians will agree that we’ve got some of the best Chinese food this part of the world has to offer. Chinese cuisine is also one of the world’s most popular cuisines, featuring a diverse range of dishes that cater to all taste profiles.
With that being said, CNY is just around the corner – which means food galore, and we’re all about to be stuffed! But wouldn’t it be great if instead of just being full of yummy food, we’re also adding heaps of ‘ong’ onto our plate for the coming year?
See, there are some foods (or ingredients, rather) in Chinese culture that are considered ‘lucky’.
Foods such as fish, orange, pineapple, and corn are often served on the days leading up to CNY and on CNY reunion dinners, because of the way they sound or are spelt. For example, in Mandarin, the word for ‘fish’ is ‘Yu’, which sounds like ‘surplus’.
And so, there’s a lucky saying for eating fish, ‘Nian Nian You Yu,’ which means “may you always have more than you need!”
There’s a lot more homophones where that came from, so if you’re interested to read about ‘em, click the link below!
READ MORE: Lucky CNY Foods To Ensure A Smooth New Year (& What To Say For Maximum Prosperity)
So, there’s lucky foods, but here’s what will make you grab an XL plate this reunion dinner:
Did you know you can ‘stack’ your ‘ong’ for maximum luck?
So it goes like this: pineapples are considered a lucky food because, in Hokkien, it sounds like ‘ong lai’. But if you pair pineapples with another lucky food such as chicken or sardines, for example, you’re essentially doubling your luck, and who doesn’t want that right?
Just imagine: if pineapples score 20 on the ‘ong’ board, and chicken score 10, then eating pineapple and chicken stuffed dumplings gives you a whopping 30 ‘ong’ points!
Thinking about making some fried rice this CNY? Throw in some pineapples, Ayam Brand Tuna Flakes, and sweet corn. Now that’s a really loaded bowl right there!
And you should have fun with the food pairings! Since we’re mixing and matching anyway, why not make a Lucky Eight-Treasure Pizza?
You can go all-out for this one, as long as there’s 8 auspicious toppings. Try tuna or sardines, prawns, lotus seeds, noodles (‘cause carbs never count during festive seasons), lettuce, chicken, dried oysters, and, everyone’s favourite pizza topping – pineapples!
If you’re more of a pasta person instead, try swapping spaghetti for longevity noodles. Or, if you have a sweet tooth, try making a Prosperity Parfait – with a base of lychee sorbet, add pomelo, orange, and dragon fruit, then crumble up some crispy fried wonton skins for some crunch!
With Ayam Brand’s range of canned goods, you’ll be able to experiment with different food pairings quickly and conveniently for a reunion dinner to remember!
From pineapple chunks to a variety of fish such as tuna, saba, sardine, and mackerel, to sweet corn, Ayam Brand has you covered this CNY so you can simply crack open a can of Omega 3 goodness and prepare a feast for your loved ones!
Watch the video below to find out more about these auspicious ingredients and what they mean!
Kick off your CNY preparations with Ayam Brand and ‘stack’ your food however you like – go for maximum ‘ong’ this CNY! Get Ayam Brand products at your nearest locations or shop online at Ayam Brand’s official Lazada and Shopee stores.
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