Hi everyone, it’s Bill. Welcome to The Woks of Life Chinese New Year recipe collection! This collection is growing with each year, as we add more of our family recipes and other popular Chinese New year recipes to the list.
Chinese New Year Traditions
The Chinese Lunar New Year is a festive time for Chinese people all over the world. The holiday features hanging lanterns, fireworks, new clothes, red envelopes (or hong bao) filled with money for children, lots of red anything and most importantly, a whole lot of good, traditional Chinese New year food!
Here at The Woks of Life, we can help you create the traditional Chinese recipes and classic dishes needed to celebrate your lunar new year. We put together this Chinese New Year Recipe page specifically to help you entertain your family and honored guests during this festive holiday, so be sure to check it out while planning your Chinese New Year menu.
oh, and while you’re menu planning and cooking, practice your Chinese New year greetings! We have them in both Mandarin and Cantonese dialects.
Let’s celebrate the Year of the Rat, 2020!
See our post on Chinese Zodiac Signs for a quick explanation of each of the Chinese zodiac signs and elements and TheWoksofLife Zodiac animals.
Chinese New Year Food
Chinese New Year brings many traditions but the food we prepare and eat is probably the most important one for everyone (unless you talk to kids getting hong bao red envelopes with money inside).
We’ve organized Chinese New Year foods into several categories for you to reference easily. Dumplings and appetizers list our favorite foods to eat anytime throughout the day or week of Chinese New Year.
Meats and Seafood are the list of the main dishes and courses you will serve for your Chinese New year meal.
The last category of “Other Dishes” is a catch-all of vegetable and miscellaneous dishes.
Last, but not least, are Chinese New Year desserts in case you still have space left in your tummy!
Start Menu Planning Here
Our collection contains many traditional recipes and foods typically eaten during Chinese New Year.
Each year, we try to add a few new recipes, because traditional Chinese New Year dishes vary among China’s different regions. We have curated our own list of favorite recipes in several different categories below so take a look.
If you see something missing that you would like to see, drop us a line and we’ll do our best to produce it.
Chinese New Year Recipes: Dumplings and Appetizers
Appetizers, dumplings, snacks, or anything related to glutinous rice are favorite Chinese New Year items. Probably one of the most iconic dishes is the Chinese Sweet Glutinous Rice Cake, or Nian Gao, below:
- Cantonese Cha Guo Savory Rice Cakes
- Cantonese Spring Rolls
- Chicken Dumplings with Shiitake Mushrooms
- Chinese Carrot Rice Cake (Hu Luo Bo Gao – 胡萝卜糕)
- Chinese Pearl Meatballs with Sticky Rice (珍珠丸子)
- Chinese Shrimp Cakes
- Crispy Stuffed Lotus Root with Pork (炸藕盒)
- Fried Prawn Crackers for Chinese New Year & Tips on How to Celebrate!
- Homemade Chinese Sesame Peanut Brittle
- Homemade Sweet Sesame Crisps
- Hong Shao Kao Fu: Braised Wheat Gluten with Mushrooms
- Pork Chive Dumplings (and homemade dumpling wrappers!)
- Savory Tang Yuan
- Shandong Pork and Fish Dumplings (Jiaozi)
- Shanghai Smoked Fish, Xun Yu (上海熏鱼)
- Shanghai-Style Spring Rolls
- Sticky Rice Mushroom Shumai w/ Homemade Wrappers (Vegan)
- Taro Cake (Chinese Wu Tao Gou)
- The ONLY Dumpling Recipe You’ll Ever Need
- Vegetable Dumplings
Chinese New Year Recipes: Seafood Dishes
Fish and shellfish are a very popular, if not essential to Chinese New Year. Here is our collection of dishes seen often on Lunar New Year dinner tables.
Pictured here is a Pan Fried fish dish. Of course, there are always two fish––one to eat at the Chinese New Year Feast and a second one to leave untouched that day as a symbol of abundance and prosperity for the coming year.
- Cantonese-Style Ginger Scallion Lobster
- Chinese Braised Fish (Hong Shao Yu)
- Chinese Deep Fried Oysters with Dipping Sauce
- Chinese Seafood Bird Nest
- Chinese Shrimp Cakes
- Crispy Fried Flounder, Chinese-Style
- Dried Oyster and Black Moss (Ho See Fat Choy)
- Pan Fried Fish: Chinese Whole Fish Recipe
- Scallion Ginger Shrimp Recipe (Redux!)
- Shandong Pork and Fish Dumplings (Jiaozi)
- Shanghai Shrimp Stir-fry – You Bao Xia (油爆虾)
- Shanghai Smoked Fish, Xun Yu (上海熏鱼)
- Steamed Whole Fish, Chinese Style
- Stir-Fried Clams in Black Bean Sauce
Chinese New Year Recipes: Meat Dishes
Cantonese Poached Chicken (Bai Qie Ji) is one of the most common dishes served on Chinese New Year tables in Southern China. The whole chicken represents togetherness and rebirth.
Pork belly is also a wildly popular meat among Chinese. This Braised Pork Belly with Arrowroot has a festive red tint and is insanely delicious!
Check out our other Chinese New Year meat dishes below.
Chinese Fried Pigeon (Squab), A Hong Kong Favorite
Chinese Pearl Meatballs with Sticky Rice (珍珠丸子)
Lion’s Head Meatballs – Shīzitóu (狮子头)
Egg Dumplings, A Chinese New Year Must Have (蛋饺)
Cantonese Poached Chicken w/ Ginger Scallion Oil (Bai Qie Ji)
Sour Plum Duck
Steamed Pork with Rice Powder (Fen Zheng Rou – 粉蒸肉)
Shanghai-Style Braised Pork Belly (Hong Shao Rou)
Braised Pork Belly with ArrowRoot
Cantonese Roast Pork Belly
Tangerine Beef
Chinese Braised Ti Pang (Pork Shank)
Steak Stir-fry (Chow Steak Kow)
Chinese Stuffed Fried Gluten Balls
Steamed Ribs with Glutinous Rice (糯米蒸排骨)
Chinese New Year Recipes: Other Dishes
An iconic vegetarian new year dish is Buddha’s Delight, consisting of at least 8 ingredients.
Very popular among Cantonese, it is eaten the morning of Chinese New Year after a ceremonial offering of food on the table to honor and remember family ancestors.
Sweet Fermented Rice (酒酿, Jiu Niang)
Yan Du Xian (Shanghainese Salted Pork Soup with Bamboo Shoots and Tofu)
Ginger Scallion Oil with Chilies
Buddha’s Delight (Lo Han Jai)
Ru Yi Cai (“As You Wish” Vegetables)
Stir Fried Lettuce
Pea Tips Stir-fry
A Basic Stir-Fried Bok Choy Recipe
Shanghai Rice Cake Stir-fry w/ Greens
Stir-Fried Sticky Rice Cakes (Nian Gao)
Steak and Scallion Rice Cake Stir-Fry
Long Life Noodles – Yi Mein (伊面）
Shanghai Fried Noodles
Bian Dou Men Mian (Steamed Noodles and Green Beans)
Sticky Rice with Chinese Sausage
Young Chow Fried Rice
Chinese New Year Recipes: Desserts
Tang Yuan, or sweet rice balls with sesame or peanut fillings, are another iconic Chinese New Year treat eaten at any time during the day. Fillings for these tasty tang yuan also include sweet red bean paste and others!
Tang Yuan are also traditionally eaten during the Lantern Festival, celebrated on the 15th day of the new year, marking the final day of Chinese New Year celebrations.
Tang Yuan Sweet Rice Balls with Sesame Filling
Nian Gao (Chinese New Year Sweet Rice Cake)
Coconut Tapioca Dessert with Sweet Rice Balls
Chinese Walnut Cookies
Sweet Sesame Crisps
Chinese Sesame Peanut Brittle
Clementine Cakes
Snow Fungus Soup with Pears
Chinese Sesame Balls
You can also check out our Chinese New Year visual recipe index to browse these dishes with images!
Past Chinese New Year Food Articles:
Through the years, we have written articles and recipes about our Chinese New year experiences, including various tips on what to do and what not to do.
Peruse these past collections and don’t hesitate to leave comments and/or questions because we take your feedback and questions seriously and do our very best to answer each and every one of them, no matter how old the post is!
- A Big “Fat” Chinese New Year Menu for All Skill Levels
- Chinese New Year Dishes & Recipe Requests
- Prawn Crackers for Chinese New Year & Tips on How to Celebrate!
- Chinese New Year Menu
- The Chengdu Temple Fair
- Chinese New Year: Fireworks Up Close
And don’t forget your red envelopes for Chinese New Year or your next Chinese Birthday or Wedding Banquet!
