The annual celebration of Chinese New Year sees endless baked treats and other savoury delights being sold, served and consumed by Chinese communities in Singapore throughout the 15-day festive period.

Ever wondered why the exchange of Mandarin Oranges is so important, and why there would always be pineapple tarts in each home?

The repetition of Chinese New Year Goodies is no random occurrence, as each snack is essentially symbolic of a meaningful purpose. The next time someone in the family asks, “Why do we always have to eat xxx during Chinese New Year?”, you will find the answer(s) to him/her here in our beginner’s guide to the Auspicious Meaning Behind 8 Chinese New Year Goodies.

Read: Chinatown’s Chinese New Year Market 2016 – Here’s What To Expect.

#1 BAK KWA

Bak Kwa, for the uninitiated, is a barbecued pork jerky that is extremely popular amongst Chinese ethnic communities; especially so during Lunar New Year. The dialect name Bak Kwa when translated means dried meat. The barbecued pork jerky’s deep red colour is considered auspicious in Chinese tradition, symbolising good luck and believed to ward off negative energies.

#2 JIAO ZI DUMPLINGS

Back in the olden days, ancient Chinese civilians used an age-old currency called Yuan Bao that are inherently dumpling-shaped ingots in silver or gold. Today, the Jiao Zi Dumplings we eat bear an uncanny resemblance to Yuan Bao, hence symbolising wealth and profit. The tasty appetisers are also commonly eaten on birthdays and even during a casual meal.

#3 MANDARIN ORANGES

Mandarin Oranges are believed to bring prosperity thanks to its Cantonese pronunciation, which sounds similar to gold. It is part of Chinese New Year tradition to offer a pair of Mandarin Oranges to respected seniors and hosts during house visiting. Note that you can only give a pair, nothing more or less; two pairs is a ultimate taboo. This is because the total number of four sounds like the Chinese word for death.

#4 NIAN GAO CAKES

Nian Gao is a sticky rice cake and the direct translation of it literally means “year cake”. However, the word ‘gao’ also sounds like ‘high’ in Mandarin, hence the Chinese believes in eating these sweet steamed glutinous rice cake for it is symbolic of going to greater heights each year.

#5 PINEAPPLE TARTS

We seem to take the presence of Pineapple Tarts at every household during Chinese New Year for granted. But besides the obvious fact that it tastes heavenly, this buttery treat is well-loved for its Hokkien pronunciation “Ong Lai” – which actually means prosperity is arriving. Clearly, puns are the inspiration behind all these Chinese New Year goodies.

#6 POMELO FRUIT

The huge Asian citrus’ Cantonese name is similar to words related to prosperity and status, hence thought as a fruit that takes one on a prosperous journey. It is also symbolic of good health, fertility and family unity.

#7 TRAY OF TOGETHERNESS

A Tray Of Togetherness refers to the snack platter laid out at homes for visitors to munch on. It is usually a pentagon-shaped container with eight compartments – though many different forms are available too. The tray is filled with an assortment of sweets and savouries such as red melon seeds, bite-size candies or even preserved dry fruits.

Eight is believed to be an auspicious number among the Chinese and each snack symbolises a different meaning, i.e. red melon seeds represent happiness and longans are believed to bring one many sons.

#8 YU SHENG

Yu Sheng, otherwise known as Lo Hei, is an extremely popular Chinese New Year dish in Singapore. The raw fish salad is typically set up on a communal table and each ingredient constituting the yusheng is symbolic of their respective meaning(s). For example, the fish is seen as abundance aka wealth while shredded green radish represent eternal youth.

Read: Guide to Calories in 12 Popular Chinese New Year Goodies.

We usually do not think much when it comes to snacking during Chinese New Year. Granted, there is nothing wrong with pigging out on snacks on the first couple of days of the Chinese New Year. After all, what is CNY without these liberated joys, right?

But can we just tell you how these processed cookies and snacks contain a lot of sugar and other potentially harmful ingredients? Sorry to burst your bubble but everyone should know how much calories you are taking in every time you pop a pineapple tart into your mouth.

This is a list of Calories in Popular Chinese New Year Snacks.

Summary:
#1 Bak Kwa – 179 calories per slice
#2 Cornflake Cookie – 82.8 calories per piece
#3 Green Pea Cookie – 53.33 calories per piece
#4 Kueh Bahulu -40 calories per piece
#5 Kueh Bangkit – 23 calories per piece
#6 Kueh Lapis – 157 calories per piece
#7 Love Letter – 112 calories per piece
#8 Mini Dried Shrimp Spring Roll – 22 calories per piece
#9 Nian Gao – 482 calories per serving
#10 Peanut & Almond Cookie – 72 calories per piece
#11 Pineapple Tart - 82 calories per piece
#12 Sugee  Cookie – 53 calories per piece

#1 BAK KWA

3 slices of Bak Kwa equates to 7 bowls of rice. We know how hard it is to resist these sweet pork jerky, but you should have no more than 1-2 regular slices in a day.

Average: 179 calories per slice

#2 CORNFLAKE COOKIE

These sweet treats are totally amazing to munch on, and we remember going crazy for these when we were kids. Unfortunately, all good things in life are fattening. We sure hate how these seemingly small and innocent cookies are so sinful.

Average: 82.8 calories per piece

#3 GREEN PEA COOKIE

You might think that green peas are healthy but since they are already processed and made into cookies, the calorie count for 3 small cookies is  a whopping 160. Lovely to much on indeed, but so very horribly bad for our waistline!

Average: 53.33 calories per piece

#4 KUEH BAHULU

This is a childhood favourite for many and it is something we must enjoy during the lunar festival. While no one is stopping you from treating yourselves to this Chinese New Year snack please note that it is not as innocent.

Average: 40 calories per piece

#5 KUEH BANGKIT

These melt-in-your-mouth coconut cookies are a definite crowd pleaser, and we love them too! Take no more than 5 in one day. Remember, you still have other Chinese New Year goodies to munch on too.

Average: 23 calories per piece

#6 KUEH LAPIS

We absolutely adore kueh lapis and it is something we have difficulties saying no to, but because of the amount of butter in it (that makes it so tasty), a slice of kueh lapis is a crazy 157 calories! Unfortunately, we love kueh lapis, but we do not enjoy running as much.

Average: 157 calories per piece

#7 LOVE LETTERS

Love letters are one of the most addictive Lunar New Year goodies; actually, any time of the year. It might interest you to know that  one love letter is 112 calories, making it a snack with one of the highest calorie counts.

Average: 112 calories per piece

#8 MINI DRIED SHRIMP SPRING ROLLS

These are really tiny and easy to forget how many you have already had. Always happens to us, so we feel you. But please read on to find out the calorie count per piece. Yes, it is very sickening.

Average: 22 calories per piece

#9 NIAN GAO

Nian Gao is a popular staple every Chinese New Year but the calorie count is too high a price to pay. We are definitely gonna cut a smaller slice for ourselves this year.

Average: 482 calories per serving

#10 PEANUT & ALMOND COOKIES

Peanut or almond – whatever the flavour, these can be very addictive. And each piece contains about 72 calories! You are welcome.

Average: 72 calories per piece

#11 PINEAPPLE TARTS

Our ultimate favourite, and sadly, the darnest thing to eat. We should be telling you to not eat more than 3 pieces, but we are finding it hard to practise what we preach ourselves.

Average: 82 calories per piece

#12 SUGEE COOKIES

Sugee cookies are the bomb! Another Chinese New Year snack that we love for the crunch and buttery taste, but the extra laps we have to jog for them… let’s just stick to 3 pieces.

Average: 53 calories per piece

*For our calorie calculations, we took an average from 5 different sources. It is important to note that our calculations are based on an average and will not be accurate for every single snack, as they all differ from each other, some more than others. Hence, our calculations provide you with the closest possible average to these popular Chinese New Year snacks, according to individual serving sizes and the most common way they are served.

Sources: My Fitness Pal, Fat Secret, Calorie Count, Calorie King, Spark People & USDA.

Illustrations for ladyironchef by Anna.