Jenny Lao-Phillips
From roast suckling pig to shark fin soup, to large steamed giant grouper, more often than not, we are full by the sixth dish of the never-ending traditional Chinese banquet. Aside from the importance of being generous hosts, there are reasons why our banquets are often made up of twelve large courses.
Firstly, the number of dishes in a Chinese meal must be even, or the odd number may bring loneliness to the hosts. So, the minimum number is usually eight, which represents prosperity. Ten represents perfection, and twelve represents good fortune in line with all twelve months of the year. So, for celebrations like weddings or birthdays, with a table of 12 to 15 guests, the usual banquet consists of twelve courses. And it is not easy to decide which dishes to cut even if we wanted to serve less. Why? Let’s see.
The banquet usually begins with the dish Big Red Roast Suckling Pig. The name of the dish is obvious; the reddish pig brings good luck. Aside from this, the dish is of even more significance in wedding banquets, as it represents the purity of the bride. The sound of the word “pig” in Chinese is similar to the word “virginity.” So, cutting out this dish may cause unnecessary suspicion about the bride’s virtue. Someone once joked that a wedding dinner without suckling pig that it means the bride’s “pig” is gone. So, taking out this dish is a definite NO.
Then, the next three dishes of luxurious seafood are important in showing the prosperity of the host. In a traditional banquet, these dishes usually include shrimps, or lobster for richer hosts; one dish with scallops, which in Chinese sounds like “carrying a son,” wishing the bride to bring a son to the family soon; then one dish of expensive sea cucumber with abalone, just to be classy.
The fifth course is usually shark fin soup, which is considered the best offer in a banquet, and guests expect it. Nowadays, with more people refusing to eat shark fins, sometimes the ingredients are replaced by equally expensive items like birds’ nests. Then there are the two must-have items in a celebratory meal, fish and chicken. Fish in Chinese sounds the same as ‘remain’ or ‘surplus,’ and it is auspicious to have fish at important celebrations to represent having a ‘surplus’ every year. I am not sure about the significance of chicken, but, traditionally, a good Chinese meal must have fish and chicken.
After seven dishes of heavy meat and seafood, there usually follows a dish of greens, which is probably the only vegetarian-friendly dish, aside from the desserts. Then there are the main courses: rice and noodles. We all know the significance of rice to Chinese and most Asian countries, so how can we not have rice at important celebrations? Then noodles, which have the meaning of longevity. Traditionally, the noodles cooked in festive banquets are in super long strips. So, in birthday banquets, eating the noodles is toasting to the longevity of the host, and in a wedding banquet, for long and lasting love.
Finally, the banquet ends with sweet soup and pastries. The traditional dessert is red bean soup. Again, red is good luck in our culture, and desserts made with red beans suggest luck and sweetness in life. So, after surveying the list of dishes for a banquet, one may understand why it is hard to cut any one of these dishes. Sometimes, there are only two instead of three shellfish dishes, but then, a fruit platter may be served to make up the twelve dishes. So, even if we feel that banquets are a waste of food, we can only eat up and prepare a few take-away boxes.
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