Heralding the start of the Year of the Rabbit, Chinese New Year falls on Sunday, January 22nd, 2023.

Chinese zodiacs are represented by a range of animals that repeat in a cycle of 12 years. Zodiac animals each hold their own reputed attributes, these include the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.

According to Jun Ni, the Rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace, prosperity and wit in Chinese culture.: “Chinese people believe the year a person is born determines their personality traits, career, marriage, compatibility, and fortune.”

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There are plenty of events happening across Dublin over the coming week to celebrate Chinese New Year ranging from stand-up comedy at the International and a movie meet-up at the IFI to a restaurant takeover at Chimac and live music at Dublin Castle.

Of course, one essential ingredient to a festive Chinese New Year is a feast of authentic cuisine. In China, certain foods are associated with the holiday and have symbolic meanings, but traditions vary from place to place.

To find out more about the dishes we should be diving into this weekend, we caught up with Tian Xu, a TikTok creator who has been reviewing some of the most popular Chinese restaurants from across the country.

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Although his plans are a little more subdued in Ireland (he plans to get a Chinese takeaway with some co-workers to ring in the year of the rabbit), Tian Xu says that celebrations are usually “huge” when he’s at home:

“Basically, everyone will stop working and be with their family. In my family, we cook our own dishes, we don’t go out because my uncle is really good at cooking, so he usually prepares a lot of dishes for us to have together.”

The main dish he associates with the holiday is dumplings, which are commonly eaten at times of celebration thanks to their symbolic shape.

“Typically, especially in northern China, people would definitely have dumplings. Dumplings have a very good meaning behind them because they’re shaped like ancient Chinese silver and gold money, so eating dumplings means that you’re taking in wealth and fortune.”

Another dish associated with the celebration is tangyuan, a type of dessert than can be served in a hot broth or syrup.

“For the southern part of China, where I’m from, we have tangyuan. It’s kind of like a glutenous, rice-shaped ball filled with sesame paste and served in broth or syrup. In Chinese, tangyuan can be a homophone for union, which means togetherness and completeness. It’s usually eaten at Chinese new year or any other family event like a reunion or wedding.”

While Tian Xu prefers his tangyuan filled with black sesame paste, you could also use red bean paste.

“I’m actually editing a new video right now at a place that served tangyuan, a place called Nan Chinese,” he explains. “I think it’s a new place, so I was there to try their cuisine because they specialise in cuisines from my region.”

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Since starting his restaurant reviews on TikTok, Tian Xu says that the feedback he has received from followers has been “very positive”.

“People ask me to go to different places so I’m adding them to my list but I need to find the time,” he laughs. “I’m actually really surprised that people appreciate and are interested in Chinese food here. I’m happy to see people appreciate the foods that represent my culture.”

And although he has only managed to fit in a few restaurants from across the country so far, he says a stand-out dish has been the golden crispy buns from Xian Street Food in Dublin.

“That’s another thing, when families go out to restaurants, kids especially like to order that dish. It’s really popular amongst kids for any special occasion.”

To follow Tian Xu’s delicious journey, follow his TikTok @taropearltea.