This collection of lunar new year recipes include some of my nut-free dishes as well as lunar new year recipes from blogger friends. Happy Lunar New Year! Gung hay fat choy! Xīnnián kuà ilè! San nin faai lok! Chúc Mừng Năm Mới! Saehae bog manh-i bad-euseyo!
Did you know that Korea, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and other countries also celebrate the lunar new year too? It’s considered more inclusive to refer to the occasion as Lunar New Year instead of Chinese New Year. Since I’m Chinese-American, I grew up celebrating Chinese New Year and it makes sense that I would celebrate Chinese style. I love learn more about how other Asian cultures celebrate and will add more recipes over time.
Main Dish Recipes for Lunar New Year
While you could make broccoli beef or other dishes to celebrate the new year, lunar new year dishes tend to have symbolic meanings. During the lunar new year, some everyday meals are considered auspicious foods. Shrimp symbolizes laughter and happiness. Whole fish represents togetherness.
Chinese Salt & Pepper Garlic Shrimp
This Chinese Salt & Pepper Garlic Shrimp recipe is easy to make at home when we skip the deep-fry step and the garlic and scallions make it over the top delicious. I recommend using frozen shrimp for optimal freshness and convenience. But do remember to thaw overnight or allow a few extra minutes to thaw according to package instructions.
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Happiness is a Shrimp with Spring Vegetables Stir Fry
This Shrimp Stir Fry with Spring Vegetables Recipe is pure happiness. The savory bites of shrimp with a variety of fresh vegetables are a feast for the mouth and eyes. And I'm in and out of the kitchen in a jiffy because this recipe is easy to make. Serve with fresh rice or over cooked noodles.
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Chinese Style Steamed Fish with Ginger and Scallions
A Chinese style steamed fish can be enjoyed anytime of the year, but it's an especially auspicious dish to serve during Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year) which usually takes place around late-January to mid-February.
Check out this recipe If your family is traditional Chinese, you will need a whole chicken with the head and feet. Otherwise, for everyday meals, a whole chicken from a conventional grocery store is a hearty and delicious option. The leftover chicken is great for chicken salad and sandwiches. I would use the carcass and cooking liquid to make stock, soups, or rice porridge.
Cantonese-Style Poached Chicken Recipe
Cantonese-Style Poached Chicken is tender in texture and so juicy and delicious. The leftover chicken is great in other recipes such as fried rice and I use the poaching liquid to make chicken broth for soups or rice porridge (jook/congee). This recipe is free of top 9 allergens and very shareable since the ingredients are so simple.
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Slow Cooker Chinese White Cut Chicken “Bok Cheet Gai”
This is a modern adaptation of a traditional Chinese tender chicken gently boiled in a slow cooker instead of a stove top.
Check out this recipe Dumpling Recipes
Everyone loves dumplings. They’re especially popular around the lunar new year because they represent wealth since they look like Chinese gold nuggets.
Pan-Fried Pork and Shrimp Dumplings (Potstickers)
Pan-fried Pork and Shrimp Dumplings are the crispy-bottom potstickers that are a beloved Chinese appetizer or dim sum item. This nut-, egg-, and dairy-free recipe is delicious and easy to prep-ahead and easy to adapt for other allergens using simple ingredients.
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Chinese Potstickers Recipe: Pork & Napa Cabbage
Chinese Potstickers are also called Jiaozi or Guotie in Chinese. This is a traditional recipe using store bought potsticker wrappers and a basic filling of pork and napa cabbage. Our family loves potstickers and I have plans to share additional variations with you later but let’s start with one super easy recipe.
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Make Chicken Potstickers From Scratch Recipe
You can make these Chicken Potstickers at home even if you can't buy potsticker wrappers at a store because this recipe contains instructions to make the wrapper from scratch. These crispy bottom potstickers are savory with a bit of sweetness from nibbles of corn.
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Juicy and super flavorful Chinese dumplings (+VIDEO)
Juicy and flavorful Chinese boiled dumplings filled with snow pea leaves and shrimp. Using pre-made wrappers, this is the recipe to try!
Check out this recipe Soup Recipes to Stay Warm
Even though the lunar new year is also considered a spring festival, in reality it’s still super cold outside. Soup recipes are very popular, especially when they include auspicious ingredients such as potstickers and nian gao, sliced rice cakes.
Chinese Potstickers with Napa Cabbage Carrot Soup & Crazy Cuizine Review
Add some frozen potstickers to vegetable soup for a quick meal or as part of a Chinese New Year celebration.
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Korean Rice Cake Soup – Tteokguk for New Year!
Rice Cake Soup (Tteok Guk/Dduk Guk) is a traditional dish that is always served on Korean New Year’s day. Most authentic recipe to make at home.
Check out this recipe Side Dish Recipes for an Auspicious New Year
My all time favorite side dish is jai. It’s a vegetable stew with mostly vegetarian ingredients with the exception of dried oysters. It’s typically made in advance to eat for breakfast on the new year.
Nut Free Chinese New Year Vegetable Stew “Jai” Recipe
Chinese jai recipe is a very important part of Chinese New Year celebrations. Sharon's recipe is nut free and incorporates fresh spring vegetables. This recipes makes 12 hearty servings of about 2 cups each but can easily serve more people as a side dish. If there are ingredients that you like or don't like, feel free to use more or less to suit your preferences. Allow about 4 hours to soak some of the ingredients, the total prep time is about 1 hour.
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Turnip Cake, Nut Free Dim Sum Recipe
Turnip Cake is a steamed rice cake made with Chinese turnips, and flavored with minced Chinese sausages and/or dried shrimp and then pan-fried until crispy before serving for dim sum. Even though the total recipe time is nearly 9 hours, it takes about 4 hours to make the turnip cake, cool to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight. Pan-frying takes about another 30 minutes.
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Rice Ovalettes with Pork and Vegetables Stir Fry Recipe (Chao Nian Gao)
This delicious and satisfying stir fry can feed a crowd! A family of four can enjoy and then have leftovers the next day.
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Stir Fried Iceberg Lettuce with Oyster Sauce
This recipe as written is free of peanuts, tree nuts, egg, dairy, and fish. It can be easily adapted to be free of top 8 allergens by using a soy free soy sauce recipe instead of oyster sauce.
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Make Beautiful Lettuce Cups for Lettuce Wraps
Transform a head of iceberg lettuce into beautiful lettuce cups for Asian-style lettuce wraps.
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Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin Sauce (Nut-Free)
Chicken lettuce wraps are so easy to make and fun to eat and perfect for all those days when you want a meal that's packed with flavor and veggies! These Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps are easy to make, delicious to eat, and fun to adapt to your taste and allergies.Â
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Braised Chinese Mushrooms
Braised Chinese mushroom is a traditional Chinese cuisine especially for Chinese New Year. Hope you enjoy this soft, tender and juicy instant pot braised Chinese shiitake mushrooms recipe with oyster sauce.
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Longevity Noodles 長壽麵 – Simple Taiwanese Long Life Noodles
These Taiwanese longevity noodles are simple to make (just 15 minutes) and have the toothsome QQ texture we love, perfect for Lunar New Year, birthday celebrations, or any day!
Check out this recipe Dessert Recipes
The most popular Chinese New Year dessert is nian gao. I’ve made my recipe free of the top 9 allergens. Note that it’s common for other nian gao recipes to use other top allergens in the ingredients. Be sure to check before eating nian gao that you did not make.
Nian Gao – Chinese New Year Cake
Top 9 allergen free dessert that is traditionally made prior to Chinese New Year Eve.
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Pan Fried Nian Gao
Make this recipe about 2-3 days after you make nian gao. Pan frying the nian gao will soften the cake and carmelize it a bit for a different eating experience.
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Delicious Red Bean Soup with Black Glutinous Rice Dessert
You can enjoy red bean soup anytime of year as a dessert but it's also enjoyed during Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year). This recipe is free of top 9 allergens and very shareable with others.
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Tikoy, Nian Gao Filipino Style
Tikoy is a sticky rice cake usually enjoyed during Chinese New Year. This Filipino version of the traditional Chinese sweet rice cake, nian gao, is simpler but symbolizes similar things — luck, abundance and prosperity for the coming year.
Check out this recipe What are your favorite dishes to make and eat to celebrate the lunar new year? Share them with me in the comments below.
Reading Books to Learn How to Celebrate
Reading books about the lunar new year is a great way to gain more cultural understanding. I love Grace Lin’s books, her books are sweet and cute, as well as informative. Her children’s picture book, Bringing In the New Year is specifically about Chinese New Year.
I just came across The Magic of Tết, a Vietnamese lunar new year book for bilingual children. I haven’t had a chance to read this book yet since it was recently published. I love that it’s written by a young mom living in the Boston area.
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