21 Recipes to Celebrate Chinese New Year

Chinese Pork Dumplings

Dumplings, known as jiaozi, are traditionally eaten on Chinese New Year to bring good luck and wealth! Watch the recipe video to see how you can make these authentic pork dumplings at home — they're easier than you think! As reviewer Danyelle Fell says, "I love fried pork dumplings and these are by far the best I have ever had."

Steamed Fish with Ginger

A whole halibut fillet is gently steamed with ginger until tender and moist, then seasoned with soy sauce, scallions, and hot sesame oil. Serve with pickled cabbage and garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and lime for a special meal on Chinese New Year.

Andrea's Steamed Buns

Nothing beats authentic bao made at home. You can make these Chinese steamed buns up to three days in advance and store in the fridge in an airtight container, or freeze up to one month. To refresh, briefly re-steam thawed buns and serve plain or filled with Chinese braised pork belly for delicious dim sum at home.

Chinese Hand-Pulled Noodles

Noodles symbolize long life and good health in Chinese tradition, making them a popular choice in any Lunar New Year feast. These special hand-pulled noodles are worthy of any celebration. A tradition from Lanzhou in northwest China, they require just three ingredients and a lot of patience to make.

Chinese Scallion Pancakes

These are traditional Chinese savory pancakes, frequently found on dim sum menus. A dipping sauce made with rice vinegar, soy sauce, fresh ginger, and sliced green onions will make the perfect condiment for this appetizer on Chinese New Year.

Sticky Rice Pork Balls

Round shapes symbolize reunion in Chinese tradition, making these savory sticky pork and rice balls perfect for serving to family and friends. Serve on red plates or dye the glutinous rice with red food coloring to signify luck and happiness in the coming year.

Dong'an Chicken

It's traditional to eat whole chicken dishes during Chinese New Year to signify family unity. In this recipe, a whole chicken is poached in a ginger and scallion stock, then chopped up and stir fried with chilies, ginger and vinegar for a memorable meal.

Authentic Chinese Egg Rolls

Passed down through the generations, this recipe for crispy pork and mushroom egg rolls will make a fantastic addition to any Chinese banquet. A review by TheSingingCook says, "A fabulous recipe. No improvements needed. This is a keeper for the whole family and generations to come."

Potstickers (Chinese Dumplings)

This recipe makes a large batch of shrimp and ground beef filling, enough for several packages of potsticker wrappers, making them ideal for family celebrations during the new year festivities. You can freeze filled, uncooked pot stickers on baking sheets without touching, then transfer batches of them into plastic bags and freeze for up to a month.

Chinese Steamed Cake

This cake is cooked in a bamboo steamer to create a light, moist sponge cake. Many reviewers have commented on the authenticity of this recipe, including AKwong: "This was the closest to what my mom used to make for us when we were growing up. I've found other steamed cake recipes that just did not work and did not taste like the way my mom used to make it. This recipe came close."

Citrus Carp

A whole carp is fried, then simmered in a garlic, ginger, black bean, soy, and orange sauce. In Chinese tradition, both whole fish and tangerines symbolize luck, making this dish perfect for serving for Chinese New Year.

Chinese Lion's Head Soup

Tender pork meatballs are served in a steaming hot bowl of broth that's packed with flavor. Garnish with sliced scallions and hot chili oil if you like a bit of heat. Serve as-is, or with noodles or rice added to the bowl.

Jian Bing (Chinese Crepes)

Thin crepes are topped with beaten egg, chopped green onion, and cilantro, and cooked until firm. They are flavored with black bean paste and chili sauce; you can add crackers or a piece of fried pork rind for crunch if you like. Fold them up into delicious golden packages for a festive Chinese breakfast or brunch.

Crispy Baked Gau

This rendition of gau, a traditional Chinese New Year cake, is baked instead of steamed but will still be as popular as ever with your guests. Reviewer Diana says, "I would definitely make this again! Would recommend cutting with kitchen scissors or a really sharp knife to get perfect edges!"

Anko (Sweet Red Bean Paste)

Red bean paste is a sweet filling used in a variety of Asian treats — such as sticky rice cakes and sweet dumplings — that kids love to eat during Chinese New year. This recipe shows how to make red bean paste from scratch.

He Jia Tuan Yuan (Tofu Ball Soup for Chinese New Year)

A simple soup to make for a family get together over the festive Chinese New Year period. Use as a base and add your favorite flavorings, such as miso, ginger, or lemongrass to the broth.

Pork Wonton Soup

The contrasting colors, textures and flavors in this Cantonese-style pork and shrimp wonton soup make this dish the ultimate comfort food to share with family and friends. You can add your favorite flavorings — sliced chili peppers, lime, lemon grass, etc. — to suit your taste and customize the broth.

Hong Kong Style Egg Tarts

These sweet custard tarts will go down a treat at any Chinese New Year feast. Home cook gvwu says, "The egg custard filling is excellent!! I used it to fill some pre-crisped wonton shells and they were really good."

Lunar New Year Peanut Cookies

These melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies — packed full of unsalted, roasted peanuts — are easy to make in a food processor. They are a childhood treat in China, and perfect for sharing with family and friends on Chinese New Year.

Eight Treasure Rice Pudding

This is a colorful Chinese New Year sticky rice pudding that's layered with eight different kinds of ingredients. In this version, pineapple, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, dates, mandarin oranges, red bean paste, and walnuts make up the 8 treasures but different families will use different grains, nuts, and dried fruits.

Chinese Barbeque Pork (Char Siu)

In addition to its eye-catching, glossy appearance, this impressive, 5-star pork dish delivers incredibly rich flavor. Although the recipe calls for pork butt, Allrecipes users have substituted other cuts of pork, such as ribs and pork chops, with great success.

More Inspiration

We have plenty more delicious ways to celebrate with our Chinese and Lunar New Year recipe collections, including the succulent Chinese Spareribs pictured here.

• All Chinese Recipes
• Lunar New Year Recipe Collection
• How to Celebrate Lunar New Year