Food at a Chinese Wedding
My love of Chinese food...
As the Chinese believe in symbolism, you would see dishes that represent happiness, longevity and fertility. The wedding menu would usually consist of eight or nine dishes, not including dessert. "Eight" sounds like "good luck" and the words for "nine" and "long" sound the same (although they have a different meaning).
Truly a food lovers heaven, especially if you love Chinese food.
All pictures are my own.
Enjoy!
The Wedding Banquet
The Menu
Barbecued Suckling Pig Platter
Mixed Seafood with Birds Nest
Deep Fried Crab Claw
Lobster with Shallot
Imperial Soup
Steamed Sea Bass
Deep Fried Roast Chicken
Braised Conpoy with Twin Vegetables
Special Fried Rice
Fortune E-Fu Noodle
Sweetened Red Bean Cream with Lotus Seed
Petite Fours
Want to replicate the meals from a Chinese Banquet? - Check out these books that could help you
Barbecued Suckling Pig Platter
This was served with steamed buns. The roast suckling pig is a popular dish for large and important occasions.
Traditionally the suckling pig symbolises "virginity". This would refer to the bride but in modern times although this old thought is forgotten, we still see the sentiment as the first course of a Chinese Wedding banquet.
Want to see how the professionals roast a suckling pig?
Mixed Seafood with Birds Nest
This is another popular Chinese dish. This is not from the nests of the swiftlets that make "Birds Nest Soup" but this nest is edible and crunchy as it is made out of fried noodles.
Here the seafood is mixed with celery and mushrooms.
Deep Fried Crab Claw
The claw is a mixture of shrimp meat formed around a crab claw and deep fried. These were so filling as well as delicious! Here the sauce is served in the red pepper.
Lobster with Shallot
As red is the colour of good luck you would usually find lobster or crab at a Chinese banquet. This lobster was prepared and broken into portions and is served whole to signify completness.
Want to know more about Chinese Wedding Traditions?
Imperial Soup
I think this was a chicken broth soup with mushrooms and egg, decorated with brocolli.
Steamed Sea Bass
The word "fish" sounds like "plentiful" and serving a fish dish would wish the couple a life together filled with abundance.
Sweetened Red Bean Cream with Lotus Seed
Dessert is not only a great way to end the meal but it also wishes the newlyweds a sweet start to married life. Lotus seed or lotus paste in a steamed bun represents fertility and wishes the couple a hundred years of being together. The bun is shaped to look like peaches as the peach symbolises long life.
