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35 Lunar New Year Recipes Sure To Bring You Good Fortune In The Year Of The Snake

Fortune favors the bold flavors.

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plate of smash dumplings topped with sliced scallions with a bowl of soy sauce in the middle
PHOTO: LINDA PUGLIESE; FOOD STYLING: SAM SENEVIRATNE

Wednesday, January 29th, will kick off the start of the Year of the Snake with celebrations of fireworks, family, and feasts all across the world. This holiday season—known as Lunar New Year, Chinese New Year, Spring Festival, Tet, Seollel, and others—is celebrated under many different names, countries, and cultures, but the heart remains the same: wherever Lunar New Year is celebrated, the holiday focuses on opening the new year with hope for prosperity, happiness, and health. And what better way to celebrate health, happiness, and prosperity than to eat?! This list gathers together all of our favorite Lunar New Year appetizers, mains, and desserts to help you bring good fortune with the new year.

While each country does things differently, you’ll find rice cakes—like in South Korea’s tteokguk soup of rice cakes in clear broth—dumplings, fresh fruit, and vegetables—like in Singapore’s lou hei “tossing up good fortune” salad—shrimp and prawns, and whole fish and chicken as mainstays across the board.

During Chinese celebrations whole cooked fish are considered to be one of the most important foods due to the Chinese pronunciation of the word “fish” also meaning “being abundant”. For our renditions, look to our whole grilled red snapper and whole roasted trout.

In Vietnam, Lunar New Year celebrations often contain spring rolls, mooncakes, and banh chung/banh tet—sticky rice cakes filled with pork and mung beans, wrapped in banana leaves, and boiled. For a taste of Tet, try our Vietnamese braised pork belly, our Vietnamese-Cajun shrimp boil, or our sticky rice.

Don your red and gold, pass out your hongbao, and bring your appetite! However you celebrate Lunar New Year, these recipes can help you start the Year of the Snake with health, happiness, and a heaping of great food.

1

Vietnamese Braised Pork Belly

vietnamese braised pork belly
Lucy schaeffer

Thịt Kho Tàu is a salty-sweet dish of caramelized pork belly and marinated eggs. Hailing from South Vietnam, this flavorful dish is beloved amongst those both Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese alike.

Get the Vietnamese Braised Pork Belly recipe.

2

Grilled Red Snapper

grilled red snapper with lemon and herbs
PHOTO: ERIK BERNSTEIN; FOOD STYLING: ERIKA JOYCE

While there are a lot of fish out there that our great for grilling, red snapper is probably our favorite to do whole for a couple of reasons. 1) it's pretty widely available 2) its gorgeous red color 3) its delicate, yummy flavor.

Get the Grilled Red Snapper recipe.

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3

Smash Dumplings

smash dumpling being dipped into a bowl of soy sauce
PHOTO: LINDA PUGLIESE; FOOD STYLING: SAM SENEVIRATNE

Pleating dumplings is a full-on art, so if you’re all fingers and thumbs with a wrapper, smash dumplings are the way to go. Layered with an aromatic pork and cabbage filling, this effortless take on gyoza is simple enough to whip up any night of the week.

Get the Smash Dumplings recipe.

4

Soup Dumplings

soup dumplings
PHOTO: LUCY SCHAEFFER; FOOD STYLIST: FRANCESCA ZANI

I absolutely love dumplings in all their shapes, sizes, and forms. Xiaolongbao are a form of Chinese dumpling, or “buns,” filled typically with ground pork and a homemade pork broth. Often they’re steamed in a bamboo steamer, which is how I prepare them here.

Get the Soup Dumplings recipe.

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5

Congee With Youtiao (Chinese Donuts)

congee with youtiao chinese donuts
Andrew bui

If you know how to boil water, you know how to make congee. There is no real recipe beyond the two main ingredients, rice and water. Everything else is up to you: My childhood bowls were usually served with a donut called 油條 (youtiao).

Get the Congee With Youtiao (Chinese Donuts) recipe.

6

Summer Roll Bowls

summer rolls bowl with shrimp, rice noodles, avocado, and peanuts
PHOTO: ANDREW BUI; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

Love a Vietnamese summer roll but don’t want to fuss with the wrapper? Meet your new favorite dinner. Rice noodles, shrimp, avocado, thinly sliced veggies, and a plethora of greens are tossed together in a tangy nước chấm dressing for a refreshing dinner twist.

Get the Summer Roll Bowls recipe.

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7

Orange Chicken

orange chicken
PHOTO: ERIK BERNSTEIN; FOOD STYLING: SPENCER RICHARDS

Skip the drive-thru tonight—this homemade orange chicken is sweet, sour, and perfectly sticky enough to curb any takeout craving. Ready in under an hour with all of the same sweet and savory flavors you love, staying in for weeknight dinner has never been easier.

Get the Orange Chicken recipe.

8

Pot Stickers

ginger pork potstickers
Emily Hlavac Green

Skip the freezer aisle—homemade pot stickers will be the most fun (and deliciously rewarding) activity you do all week. This ginger and pork filled recipe only requires a handful of ingredients to create that crisp exterior and flavorful filling we crave in a pot sticker.

Get the Pot Stickers recipe.

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9

Chili Crisp Fried Tofu

chili crisp fried tofu on rice in a bowl topped with scallions
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: SAM SENEVIRATNE

Chili crisp is the MVP in the flavor bomb pantry, and it’s back to prove it again with this chili crisp fried tofu. Featuring a vibrant spicy-sweet sauce made with just four pantry ingredients, this crispy fried tofu is waiting to make your weeknight dinner a little more exciting.

Get the Chili Crisp Fried Tofu recipe.

10

Summer Rolls

rice paper rolls filled with noodles, veggies, and shrimp and served with a peanut dipping sauce
PHOTO: EMILY HLLAVAC GREEN

If you’re looking for the perfect light appetizer, then turn to these homemade summer rolls. For my recipe, I rolled gently poached shrimp, springy rice noodles, crunchy vegetables, and fresh green herbs into al dente rice paper sheets. Paired with an easy peanut dipping sauce, these summer rolls are the refreshing dish I turn to again and again.

Get the Summer Rolls recipe.

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11

Homemade Dumplings

homemade dumplings
INSTARimages

The family that cooks together, stays together. Take your time and give this homemade dumpling process lots of love—餃子 (jiao zi) are often made in the company of loved ones around Chinese New Year to celebrate families gathering together.

Get the Homemade Dumplings recipe.

12

Crab Cake Egg Rolls

jumbo lump crab, tossed with mayo, chili garlic sauce, and old bay seasoning, folded in a wonton wrapper, then deep fried until deep golden brown and crisp
PHOTO: ROCKY LUTEN; FOOD STYLING: LENA ABRAHAM

These two-bite beauties combine the decadence of a crab cake, and the crisp-chewy texture of an egg roll. Fresh jumbo lump crab gets tossed with scallions, panko, a little bit of mayo, and Old Bay seasoning, then snuggly wrapped in a wonton wrapper before taking a dunk in hot oil until golden brown.

Get the Crab Cake Egg Rolls recipe.

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13

Scallion Pancake Quesadilla

flaky scallion pancakes are fried to golden brown perfection then transformed into quesadillas stuffed with melty mozzarella and umami packed spiced mushrooms and paired with a tangy soy scallion dipping sauce
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: SAM SENEVIRATNE

Scallion pancakes are the flaky, crispy part of a good dim sum spread that can make you fall in love and lose track of time. But when you stuff those same pancakes with gooey cheese and savory sautéed mushrooms to make scallion pancake quesadillas? Be prepared for your newest obsession.

Get the Scallion Pancake Quesadilla recipe.

14

Cold Ginger Chicken

cold ginger chicken
PHOTO: LUCY SCHAEFFER; FOOD STYLING: SPENCER RICHARDS

Originating as a Chinese dish, the contrast of the cold, tender poached chicken with the hot sticky rice and pungent ginger puree hits all the senses for a light yet powerfully flavorful dish.

Get the Cold Ginger Chicken recipe.

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15

Fortune Cookies

fortune cookies
PHOTO: LUCY SCHAEFFER PHOTOGRAPHY; FOOD STYLING: VICTORIA GRANOF

The fortune cookie is complex, in both process and pedigree. A similar, predecessor cookie, if you will, was served at temples in ancient Japan before Japanese immigrants brought the modern version of the cookie to the U.S. in the 19th century. Soon after, Chinese American restauranteurs adopted the cookie, making it forever synonymous with Chinese American cuisine.

Get the Fortune Cookies recipe.

16

Braised Lemongrass-Chili Chicken

braised lemongrass chicken
ANDREW BUI

Gà Kho Xả Ởt, which translates to Braised Lemongrass-Chili Chicken, is a juicy chicken recipe that will instantly transport you to Vietnam through the smells and tastes of lemongrass, chilies, and garlic.

Get the Braised Lemongrass-Chili Chicken recipe.

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17

Tteokbokki: Spicy Korean Rice Cakes

tteokbokki delishcom
June xie

Pungent. Spicy. Savory. Sweet. Tteokbokki is saucy, delicious comfort food in a bowl. The tender chewiness of Korean rice cakes is enticingly satisfying, the chili’s heat is disorienting and addictive: you fall in love faster than your brain can process.

Get the Tteokbokki: Spicy Korean Rice Cakes recipe.

18

Bang Bang Shrimp

bang bang shrimp in a creamy spicy sauce with chopped cilantro
PHOTO: ANDREW BUI; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISON

A go-to appetizer for many, bang bang shrimp is irresistibly delicious. The pairing of crunchy shrimp and the signature creamy, spicy-sweet sauce is a combo made in appetizer heaven.

Get the Bang Bang Shrimp recipe.

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19

Whole Roasted Trout

whole roasted trout filets on a white platter garnished with fresh thyme, roasted crushed walnuts, and roasted shallots charred lemons on either side of fish empty blue plate in bottom right corner

Trout's delicate flavor is the perfect match for citrus and herbs, which is why we love to roast it whole, filling it with all our favorite aromatics. Encasing the fish in foil steams the fish, trapping in all that delicious, buttery jus.

Get the Whole Roasted Trout recipe.

20

Roast Chicken

roast chicken tied in a skillet with rosemary
PHOTO: ROCKY LUTEN; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISON

The perfect roast chicken recipe doesn't require a lot of extra ingredients, just some kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. The steps to make this chicken are simple: You season the bird, then roast it at high heat until the skin is bronzed and crisp and the flesh juicy.

Get the Roast Chicken recipe.

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