Chinese New Year is a festive time of joy and the continuation of long-standing traditions. A central part of the celebration involves honoring rituals and enjoying auspicious dishes, each imbued with symbolic meanings, believed to bring luck and prosperity throughout the year.

This article highlights 19 auspicious dishes ideal for Chinese New Year, each associated with attracting good fortune in different areas of life, such as health, wealth, and career success. These dishes not only delight the palate but also carry profound meanings, with every item symbolizing blessings for a prosperous year ahead.

Recommended Chinese New Year Foods: Auspicious Dishes to Bring Luck

1. Steamed Cup Cake

Steamed cup cakes hold an important place in Chinese New Year celebrations. Their puffed and risen appearance represents growth and prosperity in all areas of life, including career, finances, and family unity.

• Significance of Steamed Cup Cake for Chinese New Year:
  Consuming steamed cup cakes during this festive season symbolizes a wish for success and continuous advancement. The fluffy, risen shape is believed to bring good fortune and flourishing opportunities, making it a traditional emblem of prosperity and achievement in Chinese culture.

2. Roast Duck

Roast duck is a beloved and meaningful dish often enjoyed during Chinese New Year. Ducks are symbols of fertility and enduring love, and eating roast duck during the festivities is seen as a way to wish for a thriving life and stable, harmonious relationships.

• Significance of Roast Duck for Chinese New Year:
  In Chinese traditions, roast duck represents a wish for prosperity and good fortune. Its ties to wealth and steadfast love make it a powerful symbol of balance and success in both personal and professional aspects of life.

3. Ha Kao (Steamed Shrimp Dumplings)

Ha Kao, or steamed shrimp dumplings, is a key dish during Chinese New Year, symbolizing growth and success. It holds deep cultural significance as a way to pray for progress and prosperity in all aspects of life.

• Significance of Ha Kao for Chinese New Year:
  Ha Kao represents advancement and prosperity. Its rounded, plump shape symbolizes growth and achievement, making it a popular choice during the festival to attract good fortune and wish for continuous progress in the coming year.

4. Fried Spring Rolls

Fried spring rolls are a well-loved auspicious dish during Chinese New Year, representing wealth and abundance. Enjoying these crispy delights during the celebrations is a way to wish for financial success and a flourishing life in the year ahead.

• Significance of Fried Spring Rolls for Chinese New Year:
  The golden, cylindrical shape of fried spring rolls resembles gold bars, symbolizing wealth in Chinese culture. Eating them during the festivities is believed to bring good fortune and financial stability, making them an essential dish for ensuring prosperity throughout the year.

5. Fish

Fish is a highly symbolic and significant dish for Chinese New Year, as the word “fish” (鱼, yú) in Chinese sounds similar to the word “surplus” or “abundance” (余, yú). Eating fish during the celebrations is a traditional way to wish for wealth, prosperity, and an overflow of good fortune throughout the year.

• Symbolism of Fish for Chinese New Year:
  Consuming fish signifies prosperity and abundant fortune in the coming year. It also symbolizes the continuous flow of wealth and resources. Serving fish as part of the New Year meal is considered a wish for abundance and flourishing prosperity for both one’s family and personal life.

6. E-fu Noodles

E-fu noodles are a cherished dish during Chinese New Year, renowned for their association with longevity and good fortune. Enjoying E-fu noodles during the festivities is a way to pray for a long and prosperous life filled with happiness and health.

• Symbolism of E-fu Noodles for Chinese New Year:
  E-fu noodles represent a wish for longevity and lasting happiness. They are a symbol of long life in all areas, including financial stability, career advancement, and harmonious family relationships, making them an essential dish to enjoy during the festive season.

7. Rice Cake

Rice cake is a beloved auspicious dish during Chinese New Year, symbolizing prosperity and wealth. Eating rice cake during the festivities is seen as a way to wish for an abundant and thriving life, with good fortune flowing throughout the year.

• Symbolism of Rice Cake for Chinese New Year:
  In Chinese culture, rice cake represents abundance and the idea of having more than enough resources. Its structured form as a cake signifies growth and prosperity in all aspects of life. Consuming rice cake during the New Year is a way to hope for a smooth and successful year ahead.

8. Braised Pork Leg

Braised pork leg is a prominent dish during Chinese New Year, valued for its associations with growth, wealth, and longevity. Enjoying this hearty dish during the celebrations is believed to bring prosperity and good fortune in the year to come.

• Symbolism of Braised Pork Leg for Chinese New Year:
  In Chinese traditions, pork leg symbolizes wealth and abundance, as pork is often linked to plenty and prosperity. Eating braised pork leg during the New Year is thought to attract financial success and business growth, making it a meaningful and symbolic addition to the festive meal.

9. Stewed Chinese Cabbage

Stewed Chinese cabbage is a meaningful dish during Chinese New Year, thought to bring good luck and prosperity in the year ahead. According to tradition, consuming this dish during the festival is believed to attract luck, ensure smooth transitions in life, promote good health, and foster growth in all aspects.

• Symbolism of Stewed Chinese Cabbage for Chinese New Year:
  This dish typically includes a variety of vegetables, each carrying a symbolic meaning, such as prosperity, wealth, and health. Eating stewed Chinese cabbage is like uniting all positive elements to enhance the completeness of life in the new year. It also represents abundance and success in every area of life.

10. Salt-Baked Shrimp

Salt-baked shrimp is a favored auspicious dish enjoyed during Chinese New Year celebrations, symbolizing growth, progress, and prosperity. In Chinese culture, shrimp represents advancement and forward momentum, making it a meaningful addition to the festive table. Consuming salt-baked shrimp during the New Year is seen as a wish for abundance and a flourishing life.

• Significance of Salt-Baked Shrimp for Chinese New Year:
  Shrimp in Chinese tradition symbolizes growth, success, and good fortune. Eating salt-baked shrimp during the festival is believed to bring prosperity and advancement in both career and financial matters. Its rich, flavorful taste enhances the auspiciousness of the dish, contributing to a successful year ahead.

11. Glass Noodle Crab

Glass noodle crab is another cherished dish during Chinese New Year, symbolizing wealth and prosperity. This dish is enjoyed for its association with good fortune and success, particularly in areas of career and finances.

• Significance of Glass Noodle Crab for Chinese New Year:
  Crabs are a traditional symbol of abundance and prosperity in Chinese culture, bringing luck to those who eat them. Meanwhile, glass noodles, known for their ability to absorb flavors, represent growth and continuous progress. Enjoying glass noodle crab during the New Year is a way to pray for a year filled with financial success, career achievements, and overall well-being.

12. Chicken in Wine

Chicken in Chinese wine is a beloved dish often served during Chinese New Year celebrations. This dish carries a symbolic meaning of prosperity and is believed to bring good fortune to the family enjoying it. Chicken in Wine reflects the deep cultural and traditional beliefs of Chinese people regarding abundance and success.

13. Dumplings

Dumplings are a significant auspicious dish for Chinese New Year, particularly in northern Chinese traditions, where they are commonly prepared and enjoyed during the festivities. Beyond their delicious taste, dumplings symbolize wealth and prosperity, aligning with the traditional belief of wishing for a bountiful and successful year ahead.

14. Steamed Grouper with Lemon

Steamed grouper with lemon is a popular auspicious dish often enjoyed during Chinese New Year. In Chinese culture, fish represents abundance, prosperity, and good fortune. Including fish in the festive menu is believed to invite blessings and positive energy throughout the year.

15. Braised Duck

Braised duck is a meaningful dish for Chinese New Year, particularly valued by families who uphold Chinese traditions. Known for its rich and savory flavor, braised duck symbolizes prosperity and good fortune, making it an excellent choice for enhancing luck and fostering success during the New Year festivities.

16. Peking Duck

Peking duck is a world-famous Chinese delicacy that also holds a special place as an auspicious dish for Chinese New Year. With its flavorful meat, crispy skin, and meticulous preparation, Peking duck serves as an impressive centerpiece for the festive table. Beyond its culinary appeal, it represents prosperity and good fortune, making it a perfect choice for enhancing luck and success during New Year celebrations.

17. Chinese Steamed Buns

Chinese steamed buns are a classic auspicious dish enjoyed during Chinese New Year, especially in Chinese and Thai-Chinese households. These buns symbolize abundance, prosperity, and strong family bonds. Their soft, chewy texture and sweet, fragrant flavor make them more than just a dessert—they hold significant symbolism believed to attract good fortune and luck in the coming year.

18. Orange Cake

Orange cake is a beloved dessert that holds a prominent place in Chinese New Year celebrations. Its resemblance to an orange, paired with its symbolic associations, makes it more than a simple treat. Representing wealth, prosperity, and good luck, orange cake is an excellent choice for boosting fortune and success during the festive season.

19. Steamed Sea Bass with Pickled Plums

Steamed sea bass with pickled plums is a favored dish for Chinese New Year, rich with symbolic meanings of prosperity, good fortune, and success. Both sea bass and pickled plums hold deep cultural significance in Chinese traditions, making this flavorful dish an excellent choice for enhancing luck and positivity during the festive season.

Summary

Chinese New Year is a festive occasion marked by joyful celebrations and the continuation of treasured traditions. Central to the festivities is the practice of worship and the enjoyment of auspicious dishes imbued with deep symbolic meanings. These special foods are believed to usher in good fortune and prosperity, enhancing all aspects of life in the year ahead.