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Top Chinese New Year Recipes

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A list of the most popular and symbolic Chinese New Year recipes for hosting your dinner party and enjoying great food with family and friends. The recipes range from regional specialties to popular takeout, from appetizers and main dishes to dessert. You’ll be sure to find something for everyone!

Chinese New Year traditions can vary greatly across the different parts of China. The landmass of China is almost as large as the US, but its cultural diversity is as dense as in Europe.

It’s the same idea when it comes to food, especially at Chinese New Year.

Every time I browse a web page or chat with friends about Chinese New Year, it consistently amazes me how the traditions around the most important festival in China can be so different between families.

I’m sharing this delicious roundup today, to give you some cooking inspiration based on my understanding of Chinese New Year. You might find some of the dishes unfamiliar or very different from the ones you know. I believe there is no right or wrong. It’s merely the manifestation of the different backgrounds, traditions, and habits of individual families. And these differences make the topic of Chinese New Year recipes even more interesting.

Chinese steamed whole fish
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My favorite Chinese New Year recipes

I am changing it up from the standard menu ordering and will go into the main dishes first. Because the main dishes are the only ones that matter the most. To nail down a New Year’s menu for the whole family, the host will choose the main dishes first and plan out the rest of the dishes around them.

To cook a proper feast for the whole family to celebrate the beginning of the year, we always include chicken, duck, fish, and a few types of meat.

Traditional Chinese food culture is not protein-based when it comes to daily meals (we cook with rice, flour, and vegetables most of the time). Up until just 20 years ago, meat and fish were considered luxury items and couldn’t be served on a regular basis. It is for this exact reason that we serve every single type of meat for the New Year’s feast, no matter how much it costs. Because it represents that the coming year will be one of abundance and wealth for the family.

Main

The list of main dishes is largely based on the food my grandma used to serve on the first day of the New Year. You will find a lot of braised meat because it can be prepared ahead of time and reheated right before serving.

I’ve mentioned in my previous posts that an oven is not standard equipment in the average Chinese kitchen, so we generally don’t consider roasting meat at home. But I did include a few dishes that I enjoy making now that I live in the US.

Fish is a must-have for Chinese New Year because it symbolizes good fortune. Seafood and tofu dishes are also often seen for added variety and abundance.

Chinese Lion’s Head Pork Meatballs ( Lion’s Head )

Chinese Beef Stew with Potatoes (potato beef stew)

Steamed lion’s head meatballs
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Chinese beef stew
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Hong Shao Rou (Red Braised Pork, braised pork)

Braised Chestnut Chicken (chestnut stewed chicken)

Hong shao rou served on steamed rice
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Braised chicken with chestnut and shiitake mushrooms
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Chinese Steamed Fish

Buddha’s Delight (Jai, Chinese Vegetarian Stew)

Chinese steamed whole fish close up
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Buddha’s delight in a skillet
Top Chinese New Year Recipes 135

The Best Cantonese Roast Chicken

Air Fryer Char Siu Pork (Air Fryer Char Siu Pork)

Cantonese Roast Chicken | 23 Best Chinese Chicken Recipes
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Carved air fryer char siu pork in a platter close up
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Walnut Shrimp

Sweet and Sour Fish (sweet and sour fish)

Walnut shrimp in a plate
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Fried fish with sweet and sour sauce
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Crispy Chinese Duck Breast

Real-Deal Xinjiang Cumin Lamb (Cumin Lamb)

Crispy Chinese Duck Breast | Peking | Roast | Crispy | How to Cook | Recipes | Fine Dining | Seared | Roasted | Dinner | Party | Marinade | Baked | Easy | Asian | Chinese | Thanksgiving | Christmas | Easter | Holiday
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Homemade cumin lamb with onion and chili pepper
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Easy Salt Baked Chicken

Chinese BBQ Ribs

Salt baked chicken over rice with Chinese broccoli
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Chinese BBQ ribs close-up
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Crispy Marinated Tofu

Crab Roe Tofu with Salted Duck Eggs ( crab roe tofu)

Crispy marinated tofu in a plate
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Homemade crab roe tofu using salted duck eggs
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Appetizers & Sides

Appetizers and sides are less important than the mains on the Chinese New Year dinner table, but they are fun to eat and they add great texture and color to the table.

Dishes like egg rolls and pancakes are classic and popular. They take some time to prepare, but you can make them ahead of time and heat them up before serving them.

Cold dishes and vegetable stir fries are a must, to add color and balance the meal. Especially because the main dishes are meat / protein heavy, the greens will help you reset your palate and ease your stomach from feeling too heavy.

Cantonese Chicken Egg Roll (Cantonese chicken spring roll)

Chinese Scallion Pancakes

Cantonese style chicken egg roll with dipping sauce
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Cong You Bing close up
Top Chinese New Year Recipes 147

Chinese Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go, radish cake)

Old-Beijing Fried Carrot Fritters (fried vegetarian meatballs)

Chinese turnip cakes with dipping sauces
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Fried carrot fritters close up
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Chinese Sliced ​​Tofu Salad

Chinese Spinach Salad with Peanuts (老vinegar spinach and peanuts)

Chinese Sliced Tofu Salad | Appetizer | Healthy | Recipe | Gluten Free| Vegan | Vegetarian | Summer | Easy | Vegetables |
Top Chinese New Year Recipes 150
Lao Cu Bo Cai Hua Sheng (老vinegar spinach and peanuts)
Top Chinese New Year Recipes 151

Bok Choy and Mushroom Stir Fry

Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce (oyster sauce kale, Gai Lan)

Baby bok choy and mushroom stir fry
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Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce close up
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Dumplings, Noodles & Rice

These are some of the dishes we serve at the end of the meal and we call them staples (主食, Zhu Shi).

For my family, boiled dumplings do not belong on this list, because they’re the main dish (and the only dish) we serve on New Year’s Eve (you can read a bit more about it here). I added it here because it’s a very important part of the Chinese New Year food culture and many families do serve them on New Year’s day with other dishes. Also, we do freeze the leftover dumplings from New Year’s eve and enjoy them over the following days.

A noodle dish is a must because it represents longevity. We eat long noodles to pray for a long, happy life for a family. The first two noodle dishes below are classic Northern style. My family always chooses one or the other. But it’s also quite popular to serve a small bowl of noodle soup just for the symbolism.

White rice is often served alongside the meal, but you can also make a more sophisticated rice dish to spice things up.

Pork and Chive Dumplings (pork and chive dumplings)

Mom’s Best Lamb Dumplings

Jiu cai sui jiao
Top Chinese New Year Recipes 154
Homemade lamb dumplings
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Northern Chinese Gravy Noodle (Da Lu Mian)

Mom’s Best Zha Jiang Mian (Fried Sauce Noodles)

chinese new year recipes?tp image id=14937
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Homemade zha jiang mian topped with cucumber
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Easy Hand-Pulled Noodles

Easy Soy Sauce Noodles (阳春面)

Boiled flat noodles
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Soy sauce noodles topped with bok choy and egg
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Chinese Beef Meat Pie (beef pie)

Chinese Chive Pockets (leeks box, Chinese Chive Dumplings)

Northern Chinese beef pockets
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Chinese chive pockets cut open revealing the filling
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Sticky Rice with Chinese Sausage

Yang Zhou Fried Rice (Yangzhou Fried Rice)

Sticky rice stuffing close-up
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Yang zhou chao fan with shrimp and char siu
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Sweets & Dessert

Sweets and dessert play a minor role in the Chinese New Year meal. And sliced fruits are usually served at the end of the meal as a dessert course. That being said, we do like to have candied nuts and Chinese cookies around and during the Chinese New Year time. My family also enjoys making traditional dishes such as pumpkin cake and prosperity cake to snack on during the day.

Here are some of my favorite Chinese sweets.

Chinese Pumpkin Cake (pumpkin cake)

Chinese Walnut Cookies (walnut cake)

Breaking apart a Chinese pumpkin cake
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Chinese walnut cookies served with tea
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Fa Gao (Chinese Prosperity Cake, 发cake)

Easy Candied Walnuts with Spice

Sliced Fa Gao served with tea
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Candied walnuts with spice
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Eight Treasure Rice (八宝饭, Chinese Rice Pudding)

Chinese Almond Cookies

Sliced eight treasure rice with red bean paste
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Chinese almond cookies close up
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What dishes do you serve on Chinese New Year’s day? Leave a comment below to share your story 🙂

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