1. Dumplings

1. Dumplings
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This traditional Chinese food dates back almost 2,000 years.

During the Lunar New Year, dumplings are an essential dish to enjoy during the celebrations.

“The classic fold of a Chinese dumpling is shaped like a silver ingot, a currency in ancient China,” explains Chef Thach Tran of Ace Eat Serve in Denver.

“The belief is the more dumplings you make and eat, the more money and wealth you will make for the New Year.”

According to Chef Henry Lu of Loosie’s Kitchen in Brooklyn, New York, “Dumplings represent the changing or exchange of new time. By consuming the dumpling you are welcoming the new year and new fortunes.”

Typically, families will gather on Lunar New Year’s Eve to make dumplings together. Wheat flour wraps are filled with regional ingredients such as pork, shrimp, chicken, or vegetables.

Sometimes dumplings are folded to look like small purses – another symbol of wealth.

They can be steamed, pan-fried, or deep-fried.

If you want to start your own dumpling-making tradition, try these Chicken Mushroom Pot Stickers and Vegetable Tofu Dumplings.

Or you could make these dim sum at home.

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2. Whole fish

2. Whole fish
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“Fish in Mandarin sounds like the word for ‘surplus’ – a representation of prosperity,” Chef Lu explains.

Eating the whole fish is supposed to consolidate your surplus from the past year and allow you to turn it into even more prosperity the following new year, he says. “It also symbolises wholeness and completeness.”

Lu says that the fish is typically served as the grand finale near the end of the meal. The cleaned whole fish is steamed with slices of ginger, scallions and oyster sauce.

Chef Tara Lazar of F10 Creative remembers her mother making whole steamed fish every Chinese New Year – and she continues the tradition herself.

“Fish move forward, never backward. Chinese culture likes this symbolism,” Lazar says.

Try this delicious recipe for steamed fish to celebrate.

3. Spring rolls

3. Spring rolls
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“Lunar New Year is essentially the beginning of spring, so spring rolls symbolise the start of the year ahead,” explains Chef Andy Xu of DaDong Chinese Restaurant in New York City.

Thanks to their golden-yellow wraps and their bar shape, spring rolls are lucky because they represent gold bars, symbolising wealth.

Spring rolls can be made with savory or sweet fillings like pork, vegetables, or red beans.

They are typically fried, but you can also bake them and serve with a dipping sauce made with soy sauce or hoisin sauce.

Trying to stay away from fried foods? These Chinese pork and cabbage rolls are a treat and so easy to make.

4. Peking Duck

4. Peking Duck
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Duck is one of the most popular dishes at Chinese New Year dinner, according to Chef Lijun, because it represents a happy, healthy, and prosperous year.

The skin of finished Peking Duck is red, a lucky colour in Chinese culture.

“We always serve our fresh slow roasted Peking Duck thinly sliced, wrapped in thin pastry, and topped with hoisin sauce, cucumbers, and scallions,” says Chef Lijun.

Don’t a have a go-to recipe for duck pancakes? This one is delicious and reliable.

5. Lobster and shrimp

5. Lobster and shrimp
5. Lobster and shrimp

Crispy duck isn’t the only red food served at Chinese New Year celebrations.

“Crustaceans such as lobsters and shrimp symbolise fortune and luck for the Lunar New Year,” says Chef Helene An of Crustacean Beverly Hills.

Stuck for what to do with shrimp? This recipe for Teriyaki-glazed seafood skewers is ideal.

6. Noodles

6. Noodles
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“Noodles, especially long noodles, are often served on Chinese New Years’s to symbolize the promise of a long life,” says Chef Susanna Foo of Suga in Philadelphia.

People will often eat noodles on the second day of the Lunar New Year for longevity.

“They represent your hopes and fears wrapped up in the long strand of a noodle,” according to Chef Han Lijun of Z&Y Restaurant in San Francisco. Be sure to slurp your noodles or the symbolism could work against you, warns Chef Lu.

Cutting or biting down on your noodles would be like cutting your life in half.

This cold noodle dish is tasty, healthy and perfect for hot weather.

7. Cake

7. Cake
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Cake, also called Gao in Chinese, sounds like the word for “height.”

According to Chinese traditions, eating New Year Cake is a great way to celebrate and it’s lucky since it foretells that the family will reach new heights in the year ahead, according to the lifestyle blog Mimi Strawberry.

New Year Cake can come in different forms or flavours, but the most traditional one is made from rice flour.

It’s typically pan-fried or steamed until well done.

8. Oranges and tangerines

8. Oranges and tangerines
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“Oranges are a symbol of abundance and happiness,” says chiropractor and traditional Chinese medicine practitioner Vincent Caruso Jr. of New Jersey Total Health.

The Chinese words for orange and tangerine sound like luck and wealth, so it’s common to bring some of these fruits when you visit other people’s homes during Chinese New Year.

Many households will also be decorated with tangerine or cumquat trees.

9. Whole poached chicken

9. Whole poached chicken
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“Chicken represents happiness, health, and purity, and serving it whole symbolises completeness and family unity,” says Wesley Radez, creator of the cultural parenting website Chinese American Family.

Radez recommends gently poaching your chicken in water scented with ginger, green onions, and sesame oil, and serving it with ginger-scallion dipping sauce.

10. Grapes

10. Grapes
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“Grapes symbolise good luck, wealth and prosperity,” says Chef Maneet Chauhan of Tánsuŏ in Nashville.

In particular, gold-coloured grapes are popular around Chinese New Year because the colour is associated with good fortune.

Grapes not only represent abundance when it comes to money, but they’re also considered lucky because they’re linked to an abundance in food and a boost in fertility.

Grapes are sometimes displayed for feng shui – design harmony – to bring success and good fortune to the family.

Source: RD.com

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