Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
What is Chinese New Year?
Chinese New Year (also Lunar New Year) is a vibrant and joyful time, signifying the start of the lunar calendar.
Each year is represented by a zodiac animal, with a total 12 animals: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
It's a time to gather with family and friends, honor ancestors, enjoy delicious food, and uphold meaningful traditions to welcome good luck, health and prosperity for the new year.
Traditions such as giving out red envelopes, wearing new (red) clothing, lighting lanterns, watching lion dances, and setting off fireworks symbolize luck, wealth, and happiness for the year ahead.
The Best Chinese New Year Recipes
Explore this collection of traditional and modern Chinese New Year recipes to help you plan the perfect celebration!
From savory dumplings to sweet glutinous rice treats, every dish holds special meaning.
Must-have New Year dishes include dumplings, which represent good fortune and wealth, longevity noodles -- for a long and healthy life, whole fish -- for abundance and prosperity, sticky rice cake (nian gao) -- a homonym for rising success, and whole roast duck or chicken -- for family unity and togetherness.
There’s nothing better than celebrating Chinese New Year with lovingly-prepared snacks and dishes that bring forth unity and prosperity!
Appetizers/Side Dishes
1
Chinese Pork Dumplings (餃子)
This recipe for classic Chinese Pork Dumplings features seasoned plump morsels of tender pork and cabbage enveloped in a smooth, silky, chewy round wheat wrapper.
Check out this recipe
2
Lamb Dumplings
This recipe for Chinese Lamb Dumplings is delicious and fragrant, with the flavors of smoky cumin and numbing Sichuan peppercorn permeating throughout the meat. Serve the dumplings with spicy chili oil for even more flavor.
Check out this recipe
3
Crystal Pork & Jicama Dumplings (水晶饺子) (Gok Zai)
This recipe for steamed Crystal Dumplings (水晶饺子) (Gok Zai) features a juicy pork and jicama filling enveloped in a delicious, thin, chewy translucent skin.
Check out this recipe
4
Har Gow (蝦餃) (Chinese Shrimp Dumplings)
This recipe for Har Gow (Chinese Shrimp Dumplings) is a dim sum classic, featuring a robust shrimp filling tucked inside a chewy and translucent dumpling wrapper.
Check out this recipe
5
Chinese Spring Rolls
These traditional Chinese Spring Rolls feature a mixture of vegetables and pork encased in thin wheat wrappers and deep-fried until golden brown and crisp.
Check out this recipe
6
Chinese Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go)
Chinese Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go) is a savory, steamed cake made with a mixture of grated daikon radish and rice flour. It's a classic Cantonese dim sum dish.
Check out this recipe
7
Easy Blanched Yu Choy Sum
This easy recipe for blanched Yu Choy Sum is a healthy and delicious Chinese vegetable dish that comes together in less than 10 minutes.
Check out this recipe
Main Dishes
8
Cantonese Roast Duck
Cantonese Roast Duck is a Chinese-style whole duck marinaded in a mixture of spices, air-dried over a period of time and roasted until golden in color.
Check out this recipe
9
Chinese Crispy Roasted Pork Belly (Siu Yuk) (燒肉)
This recipe for Siu Yuk or Chinese Crispy Roasted Pork Belly features oven-roasted tender, juicy flavorful pork belly with crackling pork skin. A Chinese Cantonese barbecue staple, this dish is always served at festive celebrations.
Check out this recipe
10
Chinese Braised Pork Belly (Dong Po Rou) (東坡肉)
This recipe for Chinese Braised Pork Belly (Dong Po Rou) is a luscious, decadent dish of pork belly slow-cooked with the flavors of soy and various spices.
Check out this recipe
11
Steamed Pompano
This easy recipe for Steamed Pompano fish with soy sauce, ginger and scallions is a tried and true family favourite. Delicately flaky yet firm succulent fish served with a hot sizzling oil drizzled on top brings out aroma and flavour.
Check out this recipe
12
Hakka Pork Belly with Taro (芋頭扣肉)
This recipe for Hakka Pork Belly with Taro is a traditional comforting Chinese Hakka dish, featuring the savory, umami flavors of deep-fried pork belly layered with slices of taro.
Check out this recipe
13
Lion's Head Meatballs (狮子头)
Lion's Head Meatballs is a Chinese New Year celebratory dish, featuring extra large pork meatballs, along with Napa cabbage and mushrooms, braised in a rich, savory sauce.
Check out this recipe
14
Lobster Yee Mein (龍蝦伊面)
This recipe for Lobster Yee Mein features flavorful chunks of lobster meat in a savory, creamy sauce on top of homemade egg noodles. It's a celebratory dish served during festive occasions.
Check out this recipe
15
Chinese Dan Dan Noodles
This recipe for Chinese Dan Dan Noodles features wheat noodles with a savory topping of ground pork, tossed in a thick sesame chili oil sauce.
Check out this recipe
16
Homemade Chinese Egg Noodles (雞蛋麵)
This recipe for Homemade Chinese Egg Noodles are made from scratch and have a chewy, toothsome texture that allows it to be used in various applications, such as in stir-fries or noodle soups.
Check out this recipe
Snacks
17
Five-Spice Maple Pecans
This simple and easy recipe for Five-Spice Maple Pecans features an Asian twist on a classic holiday treat. Crunchy spiced pecans lightly coated in maple syrup make for great homemade holiday gifts.
Check out this recipe
18
Chinese Pork Jerky (Bak Kwa)
This recipe for Chinese Pork Jerky (Bak Kwa) is a tasty, savoury treat that is enjoyed at Chinese New Year. Ground pork is grilled into a caramelized, sweet and salty meat snack.
Check out this recipe
19
Prawn Crackers (Keropok)
Prawn Crackers/Shrimp Chips (Keropok) are a crunchy and ultimate tasty deep-fried treat made with a mixture of prawn meat and starch, enjoyed during celebrations and holidays.
Check out this recipe
Sweets/Desserts
20
Baked Yau Gok 油角/Gok Zai 角仔 (Cantonese Sweet New Year Dumplings)
This recipe for Cantonese-Style Sweet New Year Dumplings (also known as Yau Gok 油角 or Gok Zai 角仔) is baked and not fried, with a crunchy cookie-like texture filled with a sweet, coconut and peanut filling.
Check out this recipe
21
Chinese Prosperity Cakes (發糕) (Fa Gao/Fat Goh)
This recipe for Chinese Prosperity Cakes (Fa Gao/Fat Goh) is made from scratch and yields a light and fluffy cake with beautiful cracks on top.
Check out this recipe
22
Chinese Crispy Egg Roll Biscuits
These Chinese Crispy Egg Roll Biscuits are a quintessential favorite, and feature thin, lightly sweet, crunchy vanilla flavored rolled cookies with a hollow center.
Check out this recipe
23
Sesame Peanut Candy
Crunchy Sesame Peanut Candy is a lightly sweet, delicious and festive treat, usually enjoyed at Chinese New Year.
Check out this recipe
24
Chinese Red Date Candy
This recipe for Chinese Red Date Candy features a chewy candy naturally sweetened with red dates. It's a mildly sweet healthier candy that is traditionally enjoyed during Chinese New Year.
Check out this recipe
25
Chinese Fried Sesame Balls (Jian Dui)
This recipe for Chinese Fried Sesame Balls (Jian Dui) features a puffed up chewy, crunchy, crisp dough ball made from glutinous rice flour, fried until golden and studded with sesame seeds. It's enjoyed during Chinese New Year as a sign of prosperity.
Check out this recipe
26
Peanut Tang Yuan (Glutinous Rice Balls)
A recipe for chewy glutinous rice balls stuffed with a sweet and crunchy peanut filling.
Check out this recipe
27
Mango Cream Mochi
This recipe for Mango Cream Mochi is a delicious sweet frozen treat with a taste of the tropics. It features a chewy glutinous rice skin and an aromatic, creamy mango filling.
Check out this recipe
28
Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes (Feng Li Su) 鳳梨酥
These Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes are mini morsels of sweet, jammy pineapple encased in a buttery shortbread cookie.
Check out this recipe
29
Matcha Red Bean Mochi
A sweet, homemade red bean paste encased with chewy, green tea mochi makes for the perfect afternoon treat.
Check out this recipe
30
Taro Coconut Sago Dessert Soup
This Taro Coconut Sago Dessert Soup is rich, creamy and light Asian dessert featuring sago/tapioca pearls cooked with coconut milk and chunks of taro.
Check out this recipe
31
Chinese Red Bean Soup (Instant Pot)
This simple recipe for Chinese Red Bean Soup is a classic Cantonese dessert, made with only 3 ingredients in the Instant Pot!
Check out this recipe
32
Mom's Black Sesame Soup
A recipe for Chinese black sesame soup/paste, a rich and nourishing dessert made with black sesame seeds.
Check out this recipe
33
Chinese Almond Cookies
These Chinese Almond Cookies are light, crisp and crunchy cookies with a fragrant almond flavor. Symbolizing gold coins, these cookies are enjoyed at Chinese New Year.
Check out this recipe
More Chinese New Year Recipes
Did you make any of these Chinese New Year recipes?
Let me know if you try out these Chinese New Year recipes -- I love seeing your creations! Tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer and be sure to leave me a comment/rating below!
David @ Spiced
I remember going to a Chinese New Year festival as a kid way back many years ago. It was so much fun! I didn't know much about the food back then, but I do now. This is a great collection of recipes!
Michelle
Oooh, CNY festivals are so much fun with lots of energy! Thanks so much David! 🙂
Healthy World Cuisine
You are making us so hungry Michelle! With so many delicious options it is so hard to narrow it down to just a few. Going to try your 5 spiced pecans for our snack try. It is going to be a hit for sure.
Michelle
Thanks Bobbi! It's really such a fun and festive time filled with so much delicious food! 😀
Raymund | angsarap.net
Now I feel like having some yumcha! Everything looks good.
Michelle
Thanks Raymund! There's so many recipes to choose from! 🙂
Neil
So many delicious recipes. Is it sad that I would always go for Chinese Spring Rolls?
Michelle
Thanks Neil! Chinese Spring rolls are always a crowd-pleaser, so no surprise that you'd go for them! 😀
Healthy World Cuisine
Kung Hei Fat Choi! Wishing you a very happy and prosperous CNY! So many delicious treats. The hard part is deciding on just a select few. Dumplings but of course and steamed fish but the fun does not end
Michelle
Kung Hei Fat Choi to you and your family, Bobbi! There really is so many delicious dishes to choose from but our staples are noodles, dumplings, and steamed fish for sure!