Celebrate Lunar New Year with these 12 recipes! From savory to sweet treats, these symbolic dishes will bring good fortune and flavors to your new year celebrations.
In most Asian cultures, food plays an important role during Lunar New Year celebrations, with every dish carrying a special meaning and wishes for the year ahead. From dumplings that symbolize good luck to fish that represents abundance, these lucky foods are thought to bring prosperity, longevity, and happiness. Cooking and eating these dishes with loved ones is believed to bring good fortune and success in the new year. In this blog post, I will share 12 delicious recipes you can make to bring these meaningful traditions to your table, helping you ring in the new year with joy and positivity.
1. Money Bag Dumplings
Steamed money bag dumplings are the perfect appetizers to have for Lunar New Year. Dumplings are one of the most classic dishes during Lunar New Year celebrations because they symbolize wealth, prosperity, and good fortune. People believe that the more dumplings you eat, the more money you'll make throughout the year!
Check out more dumpling recipes:
2. Chinese Steamed Fish
Steamed whole fish is a classic and symbolic dish in Chinese cooking. Serving whole fish at Lunar New Year is believed to symbolize a surplus of food and money and a year filled with prosperity and success. This easy homemade dish is made with sea bass, topped with ginger and scallions, and served with savory sauce.
3. Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)
Char Siu or Chinese BBQ Pork, is a classic dish known for its tender, juicy pork glazed with a sweet and savory marinade. Its vibrant red color symbolizes good fortune, making it a popular dish during Lunar New Year celebrations.
4. Bok Choy with Garlic Ginger Sauce
Garlic Ginger Bok Choy is packed with aromatic flavors and super easy to make. Vegetables are often seen as a symbol of growth, vitality, and new energy. The green leaves also represent health and longevity. Quick, healthy, and symbolic for prosperity - it is the perfect side dish you can make under 10 minutes!
5. Crispy Egg Rolls
These CRISPY EGG ROLLS are better than your Chinese takeout. Egg rolls are often served during Lunar New Year celebrations because they symbolize prosperity and wealth. Their cylindrical shape and golden-brown color remind us of gold bars (元寶), making them the perfect lucky food to welcome abundance in the new year.
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6. Shrimp and Chives Wontons
Shrimp and chives wontons combine the sweetness of shrimp with the freshness of chives, all wrapped in wonton wrappers and served with delicious chili oil. These shrimp and chive wontons are perfect for appetizers, snacks, or light meals!
Check out more wonton recipes:
7. Fried Sesame Balls
Sesame Balls, or 芝麻球, is a popular Chinese treat that is often served during Lunar New Year. You can also find sesame balls at dim sum restaurants and Asian bakeries. These sweet desserts are made from glutinous rice flour, filled with sweet lotus or red bean paste, and coated with sesame seeds. The dough is deep-fried until it turns crispy and beautiful golden brown.
8. Poached Chicken with Ginger Scallion Sauce
Poached Chicken with Ginger Scallion Sauce is tender, juicy, and full of flavors. The poaching method allows the natural juices to be sealed within the skin. The Ginger Scallion Sauce is so good, you will want to put it on everything! uring Lunar New Year, serving a whole chicken symbolizes completeness and unity. Having both head and feet intact represents a good beginning and end to the year.
Other chicken recipes you may also like:
9. Crispy Pork Belly (Air Fryer Method)
Pork Belly is one of the most common dishes eaten during Lunar New Year. It is also used as offerings to ancestors and gods. In Chinese culture, pork symbolizes wealth, strength, and abundant blessings. It is said that the cackling skin represents "breaking through" of good fortune, which is why crispy pork belly is a popular dish to serve during the new year festivities.
10. Shanghai Stir-Fried Rice Cakes
Shanghai rice cakes, or "Nian Gao 年糕," are chewy, oval-shaped cakes made from glutinous rice flour. They have soft and slight firm, mochi-like texture. Shanghai rice cakes are often used in savory stir-fried with ingredients like pork, shrimp, vegetables, and soy-based sauce. Check out my Shanghai Stir-Fried Rice Cakes with Shrimp.
11. Black Sesame Tang Yuan
Tang Yuan are chewy glutinous rice balls filled with a sweet paste. Tang yuan are often served in warm, sweetened ginger broth during Lunar New Year celebrations and Lantern Festival. The round shape of the dumplings represents unity, completeness, and family togetherness. Eating tang yuan with loved ones signifies a wish for harmony in the coming year.
Check out more black sesame recipes:
12. Beef Noodle Soup
Braised Beef Noodle Soup is a rich and savory dish with tender beef slow-braised in thick, savory sauce, aromatic broth, hearty noodles, and tender veggies. During Lunar New Year celebrations, noodles and dumplings carry rich symbolisms. Noodles and their long length, represent a long life and longevity. It is often said that the longer the noodles, the longer the life. Eating noodles whole without breaking them signifies a healthy and smooth year ahead.
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If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below and let me know what you think. Make sure you also tag me @onehappybite on Instagram and hashtag it #onehappybite so I can see your creations!
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