30 Lunar and Chinese New Year Recipes

A collection of 30 dishes with auspicious ingredients to help celebrate the Lunar / Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year / Lunar New Year starts tomorrow, February 19th and it marks the year of the Green Wooden Sheep/Goat.

The celebration lasts for 15 days and is considered the biggest holiday in Chinese culture. When I was younger, aside from Christmas, it was my favorite time of year since the kids usually always received red packets of money from the adults as a token of good luck. Families gather around to ring in the new year and spend time together accompanied by a large feast of auspicious dishes.

Every year, I always look forward to our big reunion feast with our families. Each dish is chosen for its symbolic meaning based on its pronunciation or appearance. Every family has their own variation of dishes that they serve.

Today I am sharing 30 Chinese New Year foods with auspicious ingredients that you might find and enjoy:

Please do not pin the pictures below. Visit the linked recipe and pin from the original source or pin the collage at the top. Thank you!

Dumplings are a symbol of happiness, wealth, and family unity due to their coin shapes.

Chinese Boiled Pork Dumplings – Steamy Kitchen

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Homemade Mandoo Dumplings – Hip Foodie Mom

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Xian Potstickers – Omnivore’s Cookbook

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Long Noodles are a symbol of longevity. Since noodles symbolize long life, it is considered very unlucky to cut up a strand.

{Slow Cooker} Chicken Lo Mein – Life Made Sweeter

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Long Life Fertility Noodles – Steamy Kitchen

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Longetivity Noodles – Hip Foodie Mom

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Vegetable Chow Mein Noodles – Hip Foodie Mom

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Chicken symbolizes family unity.

Chinese Braised Chicken with Chestnuts – Jeanette’s Healthy Living

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Savory Jade Chicken In Taro Basket – Brunch with Joy

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{Slow Cooker} Sweet and Sour Chicken – Life Made Sweeter

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Fish has a symbolic significance because the Chinese word for fish, yu, sounds like the word for riches or abundance.

Authentic Chinese Steamed Fish – Omnivore’s Kitchen

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Chinese Steamed Fish – Steamy Kitchen

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Tea Smoked Fish In A Wok – Jeanette’s Healthy Living

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Shrimp symbolizes good fortune and happiness because the Chinese word for shrimp”ha” sounds like laughter.

Fresh Pear Shrimp Stir Fry

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Shrimp Stir-Fry Lo Mein Noodles – Life Made Sweeter

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Chinese Shrimp Fried Rice – Jeanette’s Healthy Living

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Spring rolls symbolize wealth due to their resemblance to gold bars.

Mom’s Spring Rolls – Baked and Fried – Life Made Sweeter

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Mother’s Famous Chinese Egg Rolls – Steamy Kitchen

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Vegetable Egg Rolls – Steamy Kitchen

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Rice / Radish Cakes symbolizes abundance, good fortune and prosperity.

Coconut Sticky Rice Cake – Jeanette’s Healthy Living

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Chinese Steamed Sticky Rice Cakes (Nian Gao) – Eva Bakes

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Wild Mushroom Daikon Radish Cake – Vegan Miam

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Rice Balls symbolizes a rich sweet life and family reunion.

Glutinous Rice Balls Dessert Soup – Playing with Flour

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Red Bean Paste Mochi – Eva Bakes

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Eggs symbolize fertility, prosperity and wealth.

Chinese Tea Eggs – Steamy Kitchen

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Chinese Egg Drop Soup – Steamy Kitchen

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Chinese Egg Tart – Playing with Flour

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Vegetarian dishes symbolizes longevity and close family ties.

Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan) with Oyster Sauce – Steamy Kitchen

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Chinese Style Green Vegetables – Omnivore’s Cookbook

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Vegetarian Buddhas Delight – Jeanette’s Healthy Living

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