It may be the new year already according to the Gregorian calendar, however the Lunar New Year is still yet to come! Celebrated by many East Asian communities around the world, the start of the Lunar New Year date changes every year. This year the festivities will begin on the 29th of January, 2025 and will last for 16 days.
With so many reasons to celebrate, you'll need a delicious menu to see you through! Lucky for you, we've gathered our favorite traditional recipes - click on the links to jump to each section:
- Appetizers - dumplings, spring rolls, & hot and sour soup
- Mains - duck, fish, pork, chicken
- Noodles and Rice - lo mein, fried rice
- Desserts - tang yuan (glutinous rice balls), mochi cake, chinese cookies
Appetizers
What's a party without appetizers? From classic dumplings to spring rolls and soup, you'll never get bored with new combinations to fuel your family throughout the New Year celebrations.
~Dumplings
These packages of joy have many different variations and names, including the Chinese jiaozi, the Japanese gyoza, and Korean mandoo. Some of them are known as potstickers, describing a steamed dumpling with a crispy pan-fried bottom. Dumplings are suprisingly easy to make, especially with pre-bought dumpling wrappers, and are fun for the whole family to make together!
Minda
fenny lim
Explore all our chinese dumpling recipes
~Spring Rolls
These fried rolls were actually named for Lunar New Year, which celebrates the coming of spring. Different from Vietnamese spring rolls, these crispy Chinese spring rolls are usually filled with pork and shrimp, but can easily be made vegetarian by using firm tofu or mushroom instead!
Rie
~Hot and Sour Soup
A classic for a reason, this soup can be a meal on its own, especially when paired with dumplings. Perfect for colder days, the fresh vegetables, pork, tofu and chilli cooked together in a tangy broth is sure to warm you up!
Naomi
Mains
These classic dishes may look fancy, but rely mainly on high quality ingredients rather than complicated cooking steps to celebrate the abundance and unique flavor of each ingredient.
~Peking Duck
This traditional Lunar New Year dish has been served in China for centuries. A showstopper made easy with this delicious, authentic recipe.
Chef Passion
~Whole Steamed Fish
This dish is symbolises abundance, and the simple ingredients allow the quality and unique taste of the fish to shine through. If you have access to freshly caught sea bass, this dish is a must.
Karl
~Pork
This Cantonese inspired barbeque pork dish is also surprisingly easy to make! Simply marinate your pork shoulder overnight, and then bake in the oven the next day. Perfect with steamed rice.
Daruma Cooking
~Chicken
If duck, fish or pork don't suit your fancy, Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken is sure to be a winner. Packed full of flavor from the garlic, ginger and fresh basil, the name of this dish comes from the cup of each essential liquid ingredient (sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar).
Bossy Panda
Noodles and Rice
No Lunar New Year menu is complete with a rice or noodle dish. All you need is the right selection of sauces to easily skip the takeaway and make these dishes at home!
~Lo Mein
Noodle can symbolise longevity and are often served on birthdays and other celebrations. From Cookpad Author, fenway:
'I love Chinese food and this is my take on a spicy pork loin mein. Very easy and quick to make and you can substitute different meats and vegetables.'
fenway
~Fried Rice
The most versatile of dishes and perfect for any meal, fried rice is possibly the best way to transform leftover rice. This recipe uses shrimp, but other protein options include chicken, scrambled or fried eggs, tofu, char siu pork: the combinations are endless!
Maggie Conlon
Desserts
Sweet treats are essential for any celebration! The perfect way to round out a savory meal, or given as a gift to kids of any age.
~Tang Yuan
Also called glutinous rice balls, these sweet rice treats are a New Year favorite. Make them at home using glutinous rice flour and water, fill them with sesame paste if you like, and serve with a ginger, sugar syrup!
amalia virshania
Nadine Schweitzer
~Mochi Cake
At New Year, many forms of both sweet and savory rice cake are popular. This cross-cultural dessert is a multi-layered celebration of chewy mochi texture, nutty black sesame flavor and the creaminess of butter.
Spoonful Passion
~Chinese Cookies
For the perfect New Year gift, why not make your own cookies? Satisfy your sweet tooth with Zodiac themed sugar cookies (cut them into snakes rather than tigers!) or classic Chinese almond cookies.
Chris Gan
WH Chan
What will your family be cooking to celebrate the new year? Share your recipes with us on Cookpad! π§§π
Find all our Lunar New Year recipes here:
Cookpad