Top 25 Chinese New Year Recipes (2024)

The Year of the Dragon 🐲 (龙年) is fast approaching! In 2024, the Chinese Lunar New Year (aka Spring Festival, 春节) falls on Satureday, February 10, and the celebration lasts at least 15 days.

To help you prepare for celebratory meals, I’ve curated 30 classic recipes that are very popular for this very special occasion (alternatively, discover all the Chinese New Year recipes listed by categories).

Each recipe below includes detailed instructions, cooking tips and substitute ideas. Many of them come with tutorial videos. To ease the pressure on the day, I also provide make-ahead tips where possible.

Chinese Dumplings

An indispensable New Year dish for many Chinese families, dumplings taste wonderful when made from scratch. Check out the Ultimate Dumpling Guide or learn different aspects in detail:

• How to Make Dumpling Wrappers From Scratch
• How to Make Great Dumpling Fillings
• Ten Ways to Fold Dumplings
• Cook Dumplings in Three Ways: Boil, Pan-fry & Steam
• Six Dipping Sauce for Dumplings

🛎 Make ahead: Uncooked dumplings freeze well. Cook the usual way without defrosting.

Peking Duck

If you’re looking for a star centrepiece for you feast, try Peking duck! My recipe introduces a simplified method that doesn’t require special equipment or advanced skills.

🛎 Make ahead: Prepare the duck 1-2 days before roasting. The duck pancakes can be made in advance and reheated on the day.

Steamed Fish

Cooked to a tender texture, seasoned with a delicious dressing, steamed whole fish (清蒸鱼) requires little cooking skill and is very quick to prepare.

🛎 In Chinese culture, fish is believed to bring abundance to the New Year.

Longevity Noodles

Symbolizing long life, good luck, and prosperity, longevity noodles (Yi Mein) are a must have New Year dish for many Chinese family.

🛎 Make ahead: Parboil the noodles in advance, then spend just a few minutes braising them right before serving.

Steamed Pork Belly (Mei Cai Kou Rou)

Melt-in-the-mouth pork belly steamed over richly flavored preserved mustard, this pork belly dish makes a centerpiece for any celebratory Chinese meal.

🛎 Make ahead: Cook in advance then freeze. Defrost and steam to reheat on the day.

Char Siu Pork

Glossy, aromatic, smoky, savoury & a little sweet, Char Siu (Chinese BBQ pork) is one of the tastiest ways to serve pork.

🛎 Make ahead: It can be served either warm or at room temperature.

Lion’s Head Meatballs

Routinely appearing at banquet-style meals, Lion’s head meatballs consist of giant pork meatballs, Napa cabbage and a delicious broth.

🛎 Make ahead: This dish can be partially cooked in advance.

Five-Spice Chicken

Tender, juicy and thoroughly flavoured, Chinese five spice chicken brings roast chicken to a new level. It only calls for a few common ingredients to make.

🛎 Make ahead: It can be served either warm or at room temperature.

Aromatic Crispy Duck

With its alluring flavors and exceptional tenderness, aromatic crispy duck makes a crowd pleasing dish best enjoyed with your favorite buns or pancakes.

🛎 Make ahead: Steam the duck in advance and then deep-fry it close to serving time.

Beef Shank with Chili Dressing

Tender and aromatic, braised beef shank is one of the most popular cold dishes for Chinese banquets and festive dinners.

🛎 Make ahead: Braise beef shank in advance. Slice and season on the day.

Soy Sauce Chicken

Flavourful and visually appealing, soy sauce chicken (豉油鸡) is a popular Cantonese delicacy that can be easily made at home.

🛎 Make ahead: It can be cooked in advance and reheated before serving.

Red Braised Pork Belly

Seasoned with soy sauce, rice wine, rock sugar and spices, red braised pork belly offers a wonderful blend of flavours.

🛎 Make ahead: It can be cooked in advance and reheated before serving.

This is a beginner-friendly recipe for Chinese sweet and sour ribs. With a well-balanced condiment ratio, they are so irresistible.

🛎 Make ahead: These ribs taste great at room temperature too. So you can surely cook them in advance.

Scallion Ginger Salmon

An alternative fish dish for those who prefer boneless filets. It only take 15 minutes to prepare and the taste is amazing.

🛎 Make ahead: No need!

Mouthwatering Chicken

A signature dish of Sichuan cuisine, mouthwatering chicken offers multiple layers of taste that make your taste buds dance.

🛎 Make ahead: As this dish is served cold, you can cook the chicken and mix the dressing in advance, then combine them at the last minute.

Salt and Pepper Shrimp

Fried to a crispy texture and served with an aromatic seasoning, salt & pepper shrimp can be made at home to a restaurant standard.

🛎 Make ahead: This dish can be partially prepared in advance.

Stuffed Tofu

Pan-fried tofu blocks stuffed with a pork and shrimp filling, and served with an umami-rich sauce, Hakka style stuffed tofu is delightful to eat.

🛎 Make ahead: Cook the tofu blocks in advance. Briefly steam to reheat and serve with the sauce on the day.

Mapo Tofu

Tender tofu cooked in an aromatic and spicy sauce, accompanied by minced meat, Sichuan classic Mapo tofu is simply irresistible.

🛎 You can replace the meat with mushroom to make it vegan.

Shrimp and Egg Stir-fry

A delectable dish with minimum preparation, shrimp and egg stir-fry brings out the best flavour and texture of these two common ingredients.

Spring Rolls

Spring rolls make a wonderful appetiser for festive gatherings. They can be either deep fried or air-fried.

🛎 Make ahead: Freeze right after assembly. Cook without defrosting.

Fried Wontons

Juicy filling wrapped with crispy pastry, fried wontons make a wonderful appetizer for New Year celebration.

🛎 Air-frying: For a healthier alternative, you can air fry these wontons instead of deep-frying.

Yangzhou Fried Rice

Considered the next-level Chinese fried rice, Yangzhou fried rice combines a variety of ingredients harmoniously.

🛎 Make ahead: Store cooked plain rice in the fridge and chop other ingredients in advance. Then, spend just a few minutes stir-frying everything right before serving.

Hot and Sour Soup

One of the most popular Chinese soup dishes, hot & sour soup stands out for its tangy flavour, pleasurable texture and warming nature.

🛎 Make ahead: You can cook it in advance but remember to only add vinegar and white pepper right before serving.

Eggplant Salad

Refreshing, tasty, and healthy, Chinese eggplant salad is loved for its creamy texture and the mouthwatering dressing.

🛎 Make ahead: Steam eggplant and prepare the dressing in advance. Combine them before serving.

Mushroom with Bok Choy

One of the easiest yet most delicious vegetable dishes that you can make, braised mushroom with bok choy makes a great vegetarian addition to a feast.

Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go)

A very popular dim sum delicacy, turnip cake (Lo Bak Go) stands out for its fragrant, umami taste and soft, gooey texture.

🛎 Make ahead: You can steam in advance and pan fry it right before serving.

Chinese Broccoli, Two Ways

A delicious vegetable popular in China, Gai Lan (Chinese broccoli) is very simple to prepare and full of goodness. Two classic methods are included.

Hot Pot At Home

Chinese hot pot makes a wonderfully fun meal for festive gatherings. My thorough how-to guide covers all aspects of preparing it at home.

🛎 Every component of a hot pot meal (broth, dipping items and sauces) can be prepared in advance.

Glutinous Rice Balls

A classic Lunar New Year delicacy, glutinous rice balls (Tang Yuan) consist of a sweet, nutty filling and a silky, gooey wrapper.

🛎 Make ahead: They freeze well. Cook them without defrosting.

Chinese New Year Rice Cake

This recipe takes your classic Chinese New Year rice cake (Nian Gao) to another level by adding extra ingredients for a more complex flavour.

🛎 Make ahead: They taste great both at room temperature and pan fried.

I hope this collection of classic recipes has inspired you and I wish you a fun time cooking for this very special festival.

🧧Happy Chinese New Year! 🐲龙年大吉!