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Stock up the pantry with these auspicious seafood this Chinese New Year 2024

A yummy way to celebrate Lunar New Year 2024.

Stephanie Zheng

·Lifestyle Editor

Updated 11 January 2024 at 3:09 am·2-min read

Do you know the meaning behind popular seafood delicacies and why we eat them during Chinese New Year? Here are some of the meanings behind popular seafood choices, so you can understand why people choose to Ring in Lunar New Year 2024 with these delicacies!

Abalone

Abalone is associated as a food item usually reserved for Lunar New Year because of its price and significance. Abalone is pronounced as bao yu (鲍鱼) in Cantonese and Mandarin, which sounds like "assurance" and “surplus", respectively. Combine the words, and you get a rough pronunciation of “assurance of surplus”.

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Dried Scallops and Mushrooms

Delicacy ingredients which are often used in delicacy soups and stews - dried fish maw ( cod swim bladder as depicted) from Australia, dried shiitake mushrooms and dried scallops from Japan. — Dried fish maw, dried shiitake mushrooms and dried scallops often used in delicacy soups and stews. (Photo: Getty Images)

Dried scallops (干贝), pronounced ganbei, suggest and looks like little nuggets of gold. Mushrooms, known as dong gu in Mandarin, are associated with the Chinese idiom "dongcheng xijiu, meaning “wishes fulfilled from the east to west”. It's no wonder that these dried goods such as those mentioned are prominently featured in auspicious (and delicious) dishes such as pencai (treasure pot filled with delicacies) and more!

Shop Dried Scallops here Shop Shitake Mushrooms here Shop Dried Fish Maw here

Fish

The word yu (魚), meaning "fish", has the same pronunciation as the word 餘, which means "surplus", or surplus of money. While already a popular food item to have on the reunion dining table, the type of fish you get takes on different significance based on their name. That's the reason why fish species like Red Snapper, Rabbit Fish and Chinese Silver Pomfret are prone to low stocks and gasp-inducing price increases as CNY nears.

Choose from a large pool of fish vendors on Shopee Whole Red Grouper available here Limited portions of full Red Snapper here

Oyster and sea moss

Dehydrated oysters and spiral shells are popular ingredients in Chinese cuisine, Lau Fau Shan, Hong Kong, China. — Dehydrated oysters might not look like much but imparts a deep flavour into stews. (Photo: Getty Images)

Hao, “oyster” in Mandarin, sounds like the word "good" or "luxury", while fa cai (referring to “sea moss” in Mandarin) sounds similar to “prosper”. In Cantonese, the oyster and sea moss come together in a dish called ho si fatt choy, which equates to a Chinese New Year greeting that means “happy events and may you strike a fortune”.

Shop dried oysters here

Sea Cucumber

Pronounced hi shen (海参), the “shen” sounds like "sheng" which mean to “give birth,” is great for parents wanting to elevate their status to grandparents.

Shop Sea Cucumber here