Eating dumplings for Chinese New Year

Taking pride of place on Lunar New Year tables, dumplings resemble the gold and silver ingots once used as currency in China, and are a good omen for wealth. In some regions, the more you eat, the wealthier you might become. And because the act of making dumplings is so communal, they also stand as a symbol for family unity.

Tossing prosperity noodles/Yusheng

A crunchy salad topped with raw fish, yusheng is particularly tied to Lunar New Year in Singapore and Malaysia. The entire dish is filled with symbolic ingredients, but the ultimate blessings come from the ‘lo hei’ (Cantonese for ‘tossing up good fortune’), when friends and families descend on the plate and toss the ingredients into the air: the higher they go, the luckier.

Serving spring rolls for Lunar New Year

Golden, crisp and crunchy, spring rolls are seen to resemble gold bars, signifying wealth.

Related story: The delicious ways different countries celebrate Lunar New Year

Longevity Noodles/Yi mein representing long life

The long, unbroken strands of longevity noodles symbolise a long, unbroken life.

“Long-life noodles is what we eat every Chinese New Year,” he says. “The longer the noodles, the better, as they represent long life. It’s one of the very first dishes I learned how to cook when I arrived in Australia. I cook it every year at Chinese New Year for all my staff and my family, but I think I could eat this dish every day!”

Plating a whole steamed fish

The Chinese word for fish, yú, sounds just like the word for abundance, so a whole fish is a common staple at this omen-filled time of year. Serving it nose to tail signifies a blessing-filled beginning and end of the year, and the wholeness represents family unity.

Eating a whole chicken for good luck

A whole chicken is also a good Lunar New Year omen, both because it symbolises wholeness and unity like a whole fish, and the Chinese character for chicken, ji, sounds similar to the phrase ‘good luck’.

Making Bánh chung for Têt

Credit: iStock

During Vietnamese Lunar New Year, Têt, sticky rice cakes are essential, often filled with beans and pork. It’s based on a fable of an ancient king who declared that the son who brought him the best dish would be his heir. His poorest son brought a humble rice cake, a tribute to the earth and traditional values, and won the crown.

Serving Tteokguk during Seollal

This classic rice cake soup is essential during Seollal, Korea’s Lunar New Year. The purity of the dish symbolises a fresh start to the year, while the white discs of rice cake resemble ancient Korean coins, signifying wealth.

Good fortune citrus fruits for Lunar New Year

You’ll often spot citrus like oranges, mandarins, tangerines and pomelos used as ingredients and decorations around Lunar New Year, both because the word for mandarin in Chinese, jú, sounds like the word for ‘luck’, and because of the fruits’ lucky golden colours.

Related recipes: 58 essential recipes for a prosperous Lunar New Year