T3 (Training Together on Tuesdays)
Kung Hei Fat Choi
Celebrate with us as we don the auspicious red and sprinkle on the polka dots for a journey into the heart of Chinese New Year traditions. We unwrap the cultural treasures of a festival rich in heritage and symbolism. Prepare to be steeped in tales of the Wood Dragon's promise of prosperity, and learn why red envelopes are more than just monetary gifts. Ever wondered about the story behind the sticky sweetness of tikoy, the rice cake that's synonymous with Chinese New Year? We've got the scoop, revealing why its adhesive charm is key to capturing the essence of abundance in Chinese culture.
Celebrate with us as we don the auspicious red and sprinkle on the polka dots for a journey into the heart of Chinese New Year traditions. We unwrap the cultural treasures of a festival rich in heritage and symbolism. Prepare to be steeped in tales of the Wood Dragon's promise of prosperity, and learn why red envelopes are more than just monetary gifts. Ever wondered about the story behind the sticky sweetness of tikoy, the rice cake that's synonymous with Chinese New Year? We've got the scoop, revealing why its adhesive charm is key to capturing the essence of abundance in Chinese culture.
Hi there and welcome to T3 Training Together on Tuesdays Pueden Ticoi Tuesdays, because I am here. I am a new face in this podcast. I'm B, and with me are Tony, nicole and Sarge. We're here to learn from each other's tales, share tips and discover new tools. In this episode, we're going to talk about a very important holiday. I think you can see it from what I'm wearing Polka dots for suerte and red Chinese New Year, kung Hei Fat Choi to everyone.
Speaker 1:But we can also say Kyung Hee Huat Sai or Sin Nian Kwae La, so there's three. So Cantonese, because usually no Kung Hei Fat Choi, but here in the Philippines it could be Sin Nian Kwae La, which is Mandarin, or Kyung Hee Huat Sai, for the Phil Chai, nice, nice.
Speaker 3:What year is it now? Or they said it's the year of the Dragon Dau.
Speaker 1:Yes, 2024 is Wood Dragon. We're coming from Rabbit because it's a rabbit year. So this year all the Chinese community and I think the Filipino community also that are following the Chinese horoscope, are quite excited because Dragon means prosperity and luck and Dragon is strong so more opportunities. So that's coming Feb, then we're celebrating it. Feb then, yeah, are you all preparing also for the Chinese New Year? We're preparing for our T-Coi.
Speaker 2:Preparing to receive.
Speaker 1:T-Coi. There we are. We're so good Preparing to receive Amphau, amphau.
Speaker 2:Amphau at this age, or are we giving it already? There is.
Speaker 1:If you're working in a Chinese company, there's really Amphau every Chinese New Year. What age is that in your families? Because who's the oldest? She's the one who's giving Amphau.
Speaker 2:So if the grandmothers are still around?
Speaker 1:She's really All of them. Even if you're 6 years old, as long as your mom's still there, your dad's still there.
Speaker 4:They're still there, so I will remind my mom and my dad.
Speaker 2:I've been waiting for a long time. There's a backlog of them.
Speaker 1:A backlog, you'll be compounding interest. Yes, so why do you like to eat T-Coi in Chinese New Year? Actually, it's all year round, all year round.
Speaker 4:For my family it's a constant. We eat T-Coi whenever, so we buy it from the Chinese stores in the malls.
Speaker 1:I didn't know that it's available all year round, because usually the trick is that T-Coi has a lot available. It's available in the market, but it's only very, very few authentic. Actually, my family, we only buy from one store it's in Mandaluyong and unfortunately last year the old people who started that business they couldn't continue, and their grandchildren, they had different jobs and careers, they didn't want to continue it. So it's gone. Last year we were in the search of the replacement.
Speaker 4:The substitute.
Speaker 1:Actually, no one the closest. That is authentic. You buy it from the Chinese restaurants and it's very, very expensive when it comes to Chinese restaurants. But these manufacturers, their interpretation of T-Coi is very localized, it's not authentic anymore. So we're not happy.
Speaker 4:For non-Chinese families. Like me, I'm not a Chinese, so we didn't really know that there's something which is authentic, something which is commercialized. I guess the access that I have would be from most of the stores commercialized.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there are still a lot of flavors, a lot of colors. Traditionally it's just one color, it's brown, Made from brown sugar and rice. Those are the ingredients and the way to do it is the long process they keep hitting. They need it by hand and wooden, so it will be sticky it's like mochi in Japanese, the mochi they're hitting. They're hitting until it becomes sticky. But of course they're going to make it commercialized. They're going to produce a lot. Oh, you're making. It Was the Filipino food that you made last time.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I suppose so.
Speaker 4:I feel like it's similar processing.
Speaker 3:I forgot what that was, but I used to eat it when I was a kid. I saw it in the back of the house, usually when we had a test. There was something like that the automatic one that was going down.
Speaker 2:Oh, they're going through a lot because it's hard.
Speaker 1:So that's the process, and if you want to produce a lot, you can't do that.
Speaker 4:You can't dance with Dockson. Yes, it's too much, it's like it's still sticky.
Speaker 1:Without doing that, they add starch, they add a lot of starch. So you'll make the rice cake, because in Mandarin it's Nian Kau, so it's like a New Year cake, like rice cake. So that cake is already cooked, but when you cook it, by the way, it's not eaten by the rice cake. You're so sensitive, you know everything. It's not cooked by the rice cake, so it's not cooked yet. When you slice it, it should be firm, but it shouldn't be too thick. Then when you put it in the egg, it's like that. So if it's full of starch when you cook it, it disintegrates.
Speaker 1:So the essence is gone, because what you really want from the tikoy is that it's sticky it should be sticky.
Speaker 2:Is it important to be sticky in Chinese culture?
Speaker 1:Yes, Because when you put it in the rice, cake will stick to the rice cake. So that's why you want the rice. You want to eat sticky things and then you want to eat sweet things, because when you're sweet it's like you're also lucky, it's like abundance. Because when you look at history, sugar was very expensive before. So when you have sugar at home, it's like you're rich. It's like that. It's a sign of wealth. So that's why it's like that.
Speaker 4:So, apart from tikoy, which is very, very famous around Chinese New Year, what else should we prepare? So, what else can we prepare in families so we can also get the blessings of the new year in Chinese culture?
Speaker 1:Oh, this is not the blessings from Chinese New Year. It's not that Chinese kebay is the only blessing, so everyone. So I think the essence of Chinese New Year is that you got to be happy that day. So for us, we're all related to ancestors.
Speaker 1:Food that's related to ancestors and to gods, but more of tradition, because most of the Chinese here in the Philippines have different religions. Most of them are Catholic. Actually they're Christian, so it's like a tradition, so you all can do it. Also it's fun. So usually, aside from something that is sticky, something that is sweet, fish is very important Because fish swims right, so it's very flexible. It's like swimming in the water of life.
Speaker 4:What about the big fish? Because there are small fish.
Speaker 1:I'm not lazy, so Chinese, because the bigger the better.
Speaker 4:The bigger, the better.
Speaker 3:I'll say it once when it comes to fish size matters.
Speaker 1:When it comes to fish size matters.
Speaker 4:I love it, but it's also good to have red. When it comes to fish, it's red, it's really red, it's really red.
Speaker 2:It's really red.
Speaker 4:When it comes to fish, it's really red. When it comes to fish, it's red, it's red.
Speaker 1:So you can see one eye. It's red on the back and the small fish on the back it's red Because that means the fish is fresh.
Speaker 2:It's like it's still alive.
Speaker 1:Fresh red fish when it's not able to steam the fish. It's full. It's not able to be chubby, it's like it's being choked, it's not able to be choked. If you chop your abundance, it's going to be full.
Speaker 3:Okay, I love it.
Speaker 1:It's full, so it's full. Then the fin is high. That's all that happens when the fish is fresh. If you can't source it or you can't eat it, anything that is shaped like a fish, the teacoy will be sold in the mold of fish. That's why the gelatin will be, sold in the almond jelly with fruit cocktail and in the mold of fish. That's how you put it on the table so that's the way to find the mold of fish.
Speaker 1:Don't make it, just buy it. You will buy more in the market. You will make a lot of it in Binondo. So many bakeries, many options. The first one is the almond jelly version Fish nuts or oily food. In Hokkien, when you say Ya-yoo, it means that the yaw is soft, it's like it's wet, it's like the skin is getting wet. When you cook the oil, you will also add the gas. That's technically still oil. Everything comes from oil, fire comes from oil, so that's the hook to the soap.
Speaker 4:So nuts, any kind of nuts.
Speaker 1:As long as it's nuts or something oily. Nuts are generally oily on its own. That's why you don't want to eat them. You will put it on the table.
Speaker 4:Anyway, it's spread like that, don't?
Speaker 1:put it on the container, even if it's in the bottle. It's like there's a bowl of nuts. The table will symbolize your wishes for the coming year. That's the table crossing the new year. When you cross it, you should have your table with all your wishes Before you have 12,. You have your fish, your sweet and the oily. Other people have rice or bowl of rice. I don't know who's generation is adding more.
Speaker 1:But there are many others, different Chinese communities like Singapore, hong Kong. Chinese communities are different. They have their own food that symbolizes something. Mostly, they are abundant in prosperity, coming together as a family. In Mainland China they are like crazy rich Asians. They take dumplings as a family. It's a tradition. The shape of the dumplings is like a gold. The shape of the dumplings is like a gold.
Speaker 4:That's how they make money. That's how they do it.
Speaker 1:So they do it in New Year. The Hokkien or the Fujian people who migrated here in the Philippines. So the majority of them here are the Fujian people. What they usually eat is fresh lumpia, because it's super hard to make and it's oily. They make it as a family and it's a lot of fat. So if there's a lot of fat, they say it's prosperous. There's carrots there's pork, there's pork, so all of that is in lumpia, and then you eat it as a family, so the more the many you're like that.
Speaker 4:Yes, that's right.
Speaker 1:Hong Kong, I forgot to call it. Like a toast salad, there's a lot of halo-halo and they toast it as a family, so they use the chopstick.
Speaker 4:So, I guess, it helps if there's coming together of the family and they do it together, if the food preparation is done. Yes, that's right.
Speaker 1:Then it's halo-halo In Hong Kong. There's hot pot, there's abalone, there's the expensive ingredients. All of them are in rice pot. It's like a rice topping. That's what they use.
Speaker 4:So it's important that on the eve the crossing, just like what you said, all the food are on the table and the family will eat together.
Speaker 1:It's like midnight.
Speaker 4:It's like midnight.
Speaker 1:Yes, so that's it More of.
Speaker 3:Oh yes, I have a question because, like you mentioned, you're wearing red and you're wearing polka dots.
Speaker 2:What is really?
Speaker 3:the symbolism for that, because I know that Chinese red is like that. Polka dots, sweat. What's the meaning behind those symbolisms?
Speaker 1:Well, red is a strong color. In Chinese. It symbolizes happiness also, and it's also like a contrast to evil spirits. So when you're red on your birthday, you're happy. So when you attend the birthday party, you're happy for that person. So it's considered that you're a little bit sad, like Jamon is sad If you attend the birthday of an old person Chinese, especially if he's a Serado, meaning 60, 50, the big birthday, or 18, 21, those ages. And you're not red, you're white, you're dark, blue, you're black, you're not dead, You're not wearing clothes.
Speaker 1:So it's not like that. It's a big disrespect for the one celebrating the birthday. So in Chinese New Year's Day we all want to wear red, because it's the happiness for the new year, so that we can attract the suerte and repel the malas. Repel the malas. That's the cute thing. Do you know the newborns that they'll go out and feel like they're going to get sucked? The Filipinos are already getting sucked, so it's like they won't get sucked. They'll pin red cloth on their clothes. That's why it's like that. And the coral bracelet.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I remember that, the red one that's why it's like a piece of paper, two hands.
Speaker 4:Do not enter.
Speaker 2:Do not come to the malas.
Speaker 1:Yes, okay, so in older people, just wear red. I don't know what it is. It's like a baria.
Speaker 2:So it's like a queen's.
Speaker 1:So it's like our regular New Year. So it's like fruit, meatballs, fish balls All the balls are in the table, so it's like a round.
Speaker 2:Is there food that you eat when it's your Chinese New Year?
Speaker 1:The saying of I don't know if that's a belief of all families, because sometimes my own ancestors do it, so I don't know how many chickens Chicken chicken and all the other things. And as long as all the people are eating, they can't, because they're leaving the insides.
Speaker 4:So chicken, what else?
Speaker 1:Well, pigeon, because they're eating in Chinese.
Speaker 4:Duck, how about?
Speaker 1:duck.
Speaker 2:Duck.
Speaker 1:I said duck is not that bad, right it's better, it's better.
Speaker 4:Oh my God, why is it better?
Speaker 1:It's better than the goose. It's not that bad. It's like pigeon In a way.
Speaker 4:So there's a way to get it, that's right.
Speaker 3:Pigeon when it's a pigeon, it's like it's going back, it's true, so when it's a pigeon, it's going back, it's going back.
Speaker 1:So I don't want it to be eaten, because it doesn't want to prepare chicken for the five-fives.
Speaker 4:We eat chicken every other day, I think for the non-Chinese families, for the New Year also, I mean at least for my family we don't also offer chicken, because it's said that it's hard to eat. It's like one dish, one dish that's the interpretation.
Speaker 1:If there's two cultures that you're talking about, don't eat it. It's like you're eating chicken, but sorry, jollibee.
Speaker 2:I'll leave it to you. I'll enjoy it.
Speaker 1:There's my year. Some truth to it, correct, and I don't have any bad things to do, right, okay, this is really funny. So usually that's it. And then what we say? There's a lot of things to say. So it's just charms. Usually it's related to the charm, but if you don't really look at the true master of the charm, any random charm will do. Even if you don't have a charm, it doesn't really matter.
Speaker 1:It's just a fact, because I have a teacher here on my table. Okay, show and tell, I don't sell, I don't sell. But what else is this Life selling? I just have a lot. I love it. I give it to myself. I gave it to myself Because it's a gift.
Speaker 4:It's a gift. It's a gift we can give it to you, we can give it to you, we can give it to you, we can give it to you.
Speaker 1:There are some names, so this is it. It's like that. It's super cheap and it's just a connoisseur. It's plastic, it's ASMR. I gave it to you.
Speaker 4:It's like you buy or. You purchase these things Even if you're not authentic.
Speaker 2:I've been to one before.
Speaker 4:Through friends, we were able to do personalized bracelets. It's really expensive Super expensive.
Speaker 3:Where do you go?
Speaker 4:In Binon. I don't mention it anymore, it's just offline. It's a store, it's a store.
Speaker 2:It's like a store.
Speaker 4:It's like a store and it's not a store.
Speaker 1:It's a store. It's just a store. It's a noodle. It's a store Because the real Kung-Fu master is in a temple. There's no one in a temple, it's in a temple, it's a temple.
Speaker 2:So if you don't have a temple, how do?
Speaker 4:you ask Do you have a temple? If you don't have a temple, I won't buy you, just a noodle. No, you can't.
Speaker 1:You can buy it anywhere. It's not a blessing For me. I'm a psych major. If you believe that it's going to bring you swear, even if you put a class of your own, you'll be lucky.
Speaker 4:I don't want to be a class of my own. I can't, I can't, I can't wait. I'm the one who's going to buy it.
Speaker 1:It's like If you just take it off, you'll forget it.
Speaker 3:You can, you can't.
Speaker 1:So that's it. If they want to swear it's very complicated They'll read your birth chart. So in that temple there are some who study like that. They do, they study. There's a. They do a problem reading, but usually date of birth, time of birth, that's what they're looking at. And then what year? Is it? This year, and then every month there's an element or representing another animal and then, you'll be lucky. That's not that much If you go to China.
Speaker 1:There are some who are like fortune tellers, who are in the top of the world, and then you'll do it in the lower part. You'll just write your name, chinese name and birth date In a piece of paper. They'll put it in a basket and then you'll do that. That's the top of the world. E Like a pulley. The pulley is on the edge and the basket with your name is on the top. And that fortune teller is Bulag, so Bulag. He just holds the papers and he's going to throw them and he writes in Chinese calligraphy the whole thing that happens in your life up to your death. Oh my God.
Speaker 4:He scrolls.
Speaker 1:And he will go back to the basket again and you'll regret it. But other people don't like it because they really want to know how you will die.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so morbid in some sense. Because, he's straight from start to finish. Is that how many people do that? Or is it just one? I don't know.
Speaker 1:I think it's just one, but I'm sure there are other people who do it.
Speaker 4:Oh, I see.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 4:So it seems like, from what I'm hearing, b from the food, from the things that we need to do on the Eve your charms, the bracelets, what else the things that we need to wear? You know, these are things that you know. It all originated from your, of course, your community, but the Philippine community has already assimilated itself into this very tradition as well, and you know, these things have become a way of life for us as well. That's great, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because actually the Chinese were here before the Spaniards and we came here not to colonize, we came here to sell our kumot, you know our tokuwa oh.
Speaker 4:So it's really a business. It's really a business, it's really an origin.
Speaker 1:Just to widen their, you know, and then when they? Were here. Of course, you ate the tokuwa, you ate the pancit.
Speaker 4:We like it. Oh right, yes, we saw it.
Speaker 1:It's in our cuisine and now everybody in the Philippines, as long as they have a pancit right.
Speaker 4:Yes, yeah, long life, long life, yeah, long life yeah.
Speaker 1:That's why you can't just sit there. So you know more of what's already included in our tradition. Yeah, maybe some of our own superstitions as Filipinos maybe originated a little bit. You know our own twist on it so yeah that's it.
Speaker 4:We're very grateful for all of those traditions and, you know, I personally believe that these traditions have actually, you know, binded people together, especially in the families. You know, because you know the greater theme which I sense is togetherness, the family coming together. You know, like the stickiness, you know the stickiness of each other. That's how it is right.
Speaker 3:So the issue of doing things like, for example, you need to be fast, fast, so you need to be fast. The fish that swims, you know, so activity as well, because, like everything, tico is like what we mentioned, it's hard to make, so there's movement. The fish has movement. When you cook, there's a lot of movement as well. So I guess that's what I take from this episode, from the thank you bee, thank you, all we need to make a decision.
Speaker 2:It's true because, even though, whether it's the traditional Chinese way of doing and preparing the food, or Filipino twist, it's true that all of these centers around family.
Speaker 3:I hope you will be able to live long lives these commonalities make it very relatable for both cultures.
Speaker 2:So I wonder how they become part of our lives.
Speaker 1:I think most of Chinese traditions are centered on that. Well wishes for the family. We are a very collectivist culture, Asian.
Speaker 4:So we are not just for the self.
Speaker 1:Most of the traditions and superstitions and charms are like that. Because I think this is something that is interesting for people, I'm very happy to say I'll plug in. There will be another episode about Chinese traditions my proud joke of the day.
Speaker 3:I should wear it so that later there will be some bad ones, bad ones with backgrounds.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's right, the baddest is Black Action. Oh sorry, but a lot of people are free Monochrome monochrome look, so it should be red only. Yes so no, even if it's monochrome, all white, no, no yet.
Speaker 4:It means something else. Yes, so we wear it for other events.
Speaker 1:Alright, so this was really nice. I'd love to be back. Thank you for doing this. T3 Tikoy Tuesday, tikoy Tuesday. Tikoy together on Tuesday, and we hope you've enjoyed our episode on food for thought. If you did, please follow our podcast and leave us a rating and review. For questions and comments, please visit our website at pro163learningplus and don't forget to check out our T3 blog for more tips and advice. We'll be back next time with more tips and tools from your favorite trainers. So if you're going to be a trainer, don't be a trainer Until next time.
Speaker 1:Have a happy and prosperous New Year.
Speaker 4:Happy Chinese New Year.
Speaker 1:Bye.