Chinese New Year: Fuzhou Rouyan Dumplings・农历新年: 钩针编织福州肉燕

Today is the seventh day of the Chinese New Year, also known as Renri (人日). We often call it everyone's birthday because according to Chinese folk myths, it is the day humanity was created by the goddess Nüwa. The traditional dish for Renri is a rice porridge cooked with seven leafy greens. Usually lettuce, mustard greens, leek, garlic chives, celery, spring onion and coriander; each with their own auspicious symbolisms. In Southeast Asia, in particular Singapore and Malaysia, the variation is yusheng.

However, what I'm sharing is the crochet Fuzhou rouyan dumplings that I was originally going to post on February 21st, which was the fifth day of CNY, the day we call Pò Wǔ (破五). This first week of Chinese New Year this year has been busier with more gatherings than usual, and I haven't been able to complete my tasks on time.

Crochet Fuzhou rouyan dumpling | 钩针福州肉燕

As mentioned last year, the fifth day is a day when the CNY restrictions are lifted; hence the term Pò Wǔ, "breaking the fifth/five". It is also said to be the birthday of Caishen, the Chinese deity of wealth and traditionally, people observe the day with cleaning the house to welcome Caishen, lighting firecrackers and eating dumplings. Well, firecrackers are prohibited in Singapore but I am serving up some dumplings; to be specific, crochet Fuzhou rouyan dumplings.

Rouyan (肉燕) literally means "meat swallow", hence they have been translated as meat swallow dumplings. Though not as famous as Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, rouyan is also a Fuzhounese staple for festive and celebratory occasions, such as birthdays and Chinese New Year. There is an old Fuzhou saying, "无燕不成宴，无燕不成年", meaning there is "no feast without yan, no year without yan". As such, it seems apt that I feature them this Chinese New Year. Read on for more or click here to jump to the pattern.

Crochet Fuzhou rouyan dumpling | 钩针福州肉燕

A Fuzhou specialty street snack, rouyan is a dumpling that is unique to Fuzhou and Putian in northern Fujian. The distinguishing feature of this dumplings is its paper-thin wrapper. Called yanpi (燕皮), the wrapper is made of pounded lean pork leg and sweet potato flour. Skill is required as the wrapper has to be elastic enough to be stretched but durable enough to hold the filling without breaking. The filling is a paste made of minced pork and fish, dried prawn and water chestnut. This dish is mainly known in Fuzhou and places with communities of Fuzhounese descent. It is not commonly available in Singapore and Malaysia, mostly concentrated in communities mainly of Fuzhounese descent, such as Sibu (Sarawak) and Sitiawan (Perak). Here, besides Seow Choon Hua where my family gets our stuff, there are only a handful of Fuzhounese eateries and hawkers in Singapore. For myself, the only others I know of are Lee Do, 591 Fuzhou, Meng Kee and Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cake.

According to some Chinese sources, rouyan is said to have been created in Pucheng, a county in northern Fujian, some time during the Jiajing period of the Ming dynasty. The chef of a retired censor created yanpi by pounding lean pork into a paste, then mixing in sweet potato flour to make dumplings. His master was impressed with the flavour, texture and fragrance of the dumplings and asked for its name. The chef then called it bian rouyan (扁肉燕), literally "flat meat swallow" because it resembled a flying swallow. Another source, Liu Lishen’s History of Fujian Cuisine (《闽菜史谈》Mǐn Cài Shǐ Tán) describes "整个形状如春花，如燕子迎春，雅称'小长春'"; translated, it means "the whole shape looks like spring flowers, like swallows welcoming spring, and is elegantly called 'Little Periwinkle'".

Later, some time during the reign of the Qing dynasty Emperor Guangxu, rouyan was popularised in Fuzhou by a Fuzhou native named Wang Shitong (王世統, courtesy name Qingshui 清水). Wang was a hawker who peddled local specialties and one day he came across the rouyan while in Pucheng. He learned how to make it from a local master before returning to Fuzhou. Fresh yanpi had to be consumed within the same day, so Wang devised a method to dry the yanpi so they could be stored for a longer time. He then set up a yanpi shop called Juji Qingshui Rouyan (聚記清水肉燕), which resulted in popularising yanpi in Fuzhou.

This CNY's rouyan and Fuzhou fishball soup

For CNY this year, I got to eat them again when I visited my niang jia on the second day. My Third Aunt had simple broth prepared with pork bone stock and Chinese cabbage, to which the Fuzhou fishballs and were rouyan added. As always, my family gets them from the same eatery, Seow Choon Hua at Beach Road.

FUZHOU ROUYAN DUMPLING CROCHET PATTERN

Materials & Tools:

• Yarn - fingering/sports weight in white/off-white, and lace weight in beige and white/off-white
• 2mm and 2.5mm crochet hooks
• Stuffing
• Stitch markers
• Scissors
• Yarn needle
• Safety eyes, embroidery thread (optional)

For the fingering/sports weight yarn, I used Sirdar Cotton DK No.502 Vanilla. For the lace weight yarn, I used Milford Satin 2 Ply Perle 5 in Natural and Sirdar Cotton DK No.502 Vanilla divided in half.

Abbreviations (US Terms):

R : round or row (as the case may be)
MR : magic ring
ch : chain
ch-sp : chain space
sl st : slip stitch
st(s) : stitch(es)
sc : single crochet
hdc : half double crochet
inc : increase
(...) : a set/sequence of stitches
[...] : total number of sts in round/row

Pattern Notes:

• Before beginning, bring together the white/off-white and beige lace weight yarns to form a single strand of blended whit/off-white and beige yarn.
• Feel free to include safety eyes or to add cute expressions or kaomoji on the amigurumi with embroidery thread.
• This pattern can also be used to make crochet scrunch-folded wonton dumplings. Just use fingering/sports weight yellow yarn.

ROUYAN DUMPLING

Using the blended white/off-white and beige yarn, work in rounds,
R1. Ch 4, starting in the 2nd ch from hook, work in the back bumps of the ch, 2 sc, 3 sc in the last ch, on the other side of the ch, 1 sc, 1 inc. [8]
R2. 8 inc. [16]
R3. (1 inc, 1 sc) 8 times. [24]
R4. (11 sc, 1 inc) 2 times. [26]
R5-7 (3 rounds). 26 sc. [26]
R8. (2 sc, 2 hdc, 2 dc, 2 hdc, 2 sc, 2 hdc, 1 dc and 1 hdc in the next st) 2 times. [28]
Change to lace weight white/off-white yarn,
R9. (6 sc, 3 hdc in the next st) 4 times. [36]
R10. (7 sc, 1 sc and ch 1 and 1 sc in the next st, 1 sc) 4 times. [44]
R11. (8 sc, 1 hdc in the ch-sp, 2 sc) 4 times. [44]
R12. (8 sc, 1 sc and ch 1 and 1 sc in the next st (the hdc st), 2 sc) 4 times. [52]
R13. (9 sc, 1 hdc in the ch-sp, 3 sc) 4 times. [52]
R14. (9 sc, 1 sc and ch 1 and 1 sc in the next st (the hdc st), 3 sc) 4 times. [60]
R15. (10 sc, 3 sc in the ch-sp, 4 sc) 4 times. [68]
Fasten off, cut yarn and weave in end.

TO COMPLETE

1. Stuff the work up to R8.

2. Using a length of the lace wight yarn in white/off-white, pass the yarn through every 2nd st between R8 and R9 or between R9 and R10. After making a full round back to the beginning, gently pull the yarn to gather the work slightly. Do not tighten all the way. Secure the yarn with a knot to hold the folds in place.

3. Arrange the folds, then use the remaining length of yarn to make small, hidden stitches to fix the gathered folds in place, and to sew the work close. Keep the stitches small and hidden as far as possible.

4. Secure and hide all the ends inside the work.

I hope you have fun trying your hand at making these!

Crochet Fuzhou Taiping noodles with duck eggs, misua and rouyan dumplings.

If the rouyan dumplings look familiar, it's because they were previously featured in the (very long) post commemorating my late paternal grandfather and our Fuzhounese heritage, in which I made a bowl of crochet Fuzhou Taiping noodles with the rouyan. (Or should I call it Taiping yan with misua noodles?)

Taiping noodles can be said to be a kind of Fuzhounese comfort food that is filled with history and cultural significance. For Fuzhounese, Taiping noodles symbolise the wish for longevity, peace and security. So, it is customary among Fuzhou people to also eat Taiping noodles on celebratory and festive occasions, especially on birthdays and weddings. Sadly, my family doesn't do Taiping noodles. Unlike the hong zao chicken, Fuzhou nian gao, Fuzhou fishballs and rouyan, the Taiping noodles tradition simply wasn't continued by my father's and aunts' generation. In fact, when I enquired over this CNY, none of them knew about this traditional dish. I've been looking up recipes so I can try making it but fresh duck eggs are challenging to find in Singapore.

This crochet project was actually conceptualised and completed last year, when I was doing some research on family history. Delving into some family history led to a greater curiosity in the traditional foods of my dialect group. Aside from the the few I knew from childhood, there were other Fuzhounese dishes and customs that I didn't know about. For instance, ley pia and Taiping noodles on birthdays and festive occasions; mishi, the traditional Fuzhou food during Dongzhi; Fuzhou meat yuanxiao, the traditional food for Yuanxiao Festival (which I will be posting soon); Aojiu porridge for Aojiu Festival, just to name a few.

I did have some rouyan in the freezer, gifted by my parents. However, as a nod to Caishen, Hubby and I decided to finish off the last batch of my homemade wontons. Coz don't they look a little like gold yuanbao?

Eating the last batch of homemade wontons because well, I'm trying to channel Caishen, and they look a little like gold yuanbao. I used the recipe by Made With Lau and this last batch had a mixture of wontons folded in diamond style and yuanbao style wonton dumplings (on IG).

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Thank you for stopping by. If you made these crochet Fuzhou rouyan dumplings, I would love to see your version, so please share a picture of it by tagging me on Instagram @yotsuba_blythes.

While I'm happy to share my pattern without charge and would be delighted to see it being used, please note that my pattern is for personal use only. Please respect my legal and moral rights as the author with respect to this pattern and all the images herein. This pattern and images are not for commercial use, sale or distribution. The sale of this pattern or any of the images is not permitted without my prior written consent. If you wish to share this pattern, please link to this post and my Instagram profile @yotsuba_blythes. You are welcome to sell limited quantities of the finished items you have made from this pattern. Thank you.