Chinese New Year is a joyous occasion filled with celebrations and the preservation of age-old traditions. A key aspect of the festivities includes offering worship and enjoying auspicious foods, each with symbolic meanings, believed to attract luck and prosperity throughout the year.

In this article, we will explore 22 auspicious dishes that are perfect for Chinese New Year, each designed to bring good fortune in various areas of life, including health, wealth, and career success. These dishes are not only delightful to taste but also carry meaningful symbolism, with each one believed to contribute to a prosperous year ahead.

Recommended Chinese New Year Foods: Auspicious Dishes to Boost Luck

1. Steamed Cup Cake

Steamed cup cakes are a significant part of Chinese New Year celebrations. Their puffed, risen shape symbolizes growth and prosperity in various aspects of life, including career, finances, and family harmony.

• Meaning of Steamed Cup Cake for Chinese New Year:
  Eating steamed cup cakes during this festive time is a way to wish for success and continuous growth. The fluffy, puffy shape is believed to bring good luck and thriving fortune, making it a traditional symbol of prosperity and achievement in Chinese culture.

2. Roast Duck

Roast duck is a popular and meaningful dish served during Chinese New Year. As ducks symbolize fertility and steadfast love, enjoying this dish during the festival is a way to wish for a prosperous life and strong, stable relationships.

• Meaning of Roast Duck for Chinese New Year:
  In Chinese traditions, eating roast duck represents a prayer for a flourishing life and good fortune. Its association with wealth and enduring love makes it a symbol of balance and success in both career and personal life.

3. Ha Kao (Steamed Shrimp Dumplings)

Ha Kao, or steamed shrimp dumplings, is a significant dish during Chinese New Year, symbolizing growth and success. This dish holds deep meaning as a prayer for progress and prosperity in all areas of life.

• Meaning of Ha Kao for Chinese New Year:
  Ha Kao represents advancement and prosperity. Its round, plump shape is associated with growth and success, making it a popular choice to enjoy during the festival as a way to attract good fortune and wish for continuous improvement in the coming year.

4. Fried Spring Rolls

Fried spring rolls are another popular auspicious dish during Chinese New Year, symbolizing wealth and abundance. Eating spring rolls during the festivities is a way to wish for financial prosperity and a flourishing life in the year ahead.

• Meaning of Fried Spring Rolls for Chinese New Year:
  The golden, roll-like shape of fried spring rolls resembles gold bars, a symbol of wealth in Chinese culture. Consuming spring rolls during the celebration is believed to bring good fortune and financial success, making it a staple dish to ensure prosperity throughout the year.

5. Fish

Fish is one of the most significant auspicious foods for Chinese New Year, as the word “fish” (鱼, yú) in Chinese sounds similar to the word “余” (yú), meaning “surplus” or “abundance.” Consuming fish during the festival is a way to wish for wealth, prosperity, and an abundance of good fortune throughout the year.

• Meaning of Fish for Chinese New Year:
  Eating fish symbolizes prosperity and an overflowing fortune in the new year. It also represents the continuous flow of wealth and resources. Including fish in the Chinese New Year meal is seen as a wish for abundance and flourishing prosperity for one’s family and life.

6. E-fu Noodles

E-fu noodles hold a special place among the auspicious foods of Chinese New Year due to their symbolic association with longevity and good fortune. Eating E-fu noodles during the celebration is a way to pray for a long, prosperous life filled with health and happiness.

• Meaning of E-fu Noodles for Chinese New Year:
  E-fu noodles represent a wish for longevity and enduring happiness. They symbolize longevity in every aspect of life, including financial stability, career success, and harmonious family relationships, making them a must-have dish during the festive season.

7. Rice Cake

Rice cake is a well-loved auspicious food during Chinese New Year, representing prosperity and wealth. Consuming rice cake during the festival is seen as a wish for a thriving and abundant life, with good fortune flowing throughout the year.

• Meaning of Rice Cake for Chinese New Year:
  In Chinese culture, rice cake symbolizes abundance and having more than enough food and resources. The arrangement of rice in the shape of a cake signifies growth and prosperity in all areas of life. Eating rice cake is therefore a way to wish for a smooth and successful year ahead.

8. Braised Pork Leg

Braised pork leg is a key dish for Chinese New Year celebrations due to its symbolic meanings of growth, wealth, and longevity. Enjoying braised pork leg during the festival is believed to bring prosperity and good fortune in the coming year.

• Meaning of Braised Pork Leg for Chinese New Year:
  In Chinese traditions, pork leg represents wealth and abundance, as pork is often associated with plenty and prosperity. Eating braised pork leg during Chinese New Year is thought to attract financial luck and success in business, making it a meaningful addition to the festive meal.

9. Cream Buns

Cream buns are a favorite auspicious dessert during Chinese New Year, especially for those who enjoy soft, sweet treats with a creamy filling. These buns carry a positive meaning, symbolizing prosperity and good fortune in life. They are associated with sweetness and success in all aspects.

• Meaning of Cream Buns for Chinese New Year:
  Cream buns represent sweetness and achievement in life. The rich cream filling symbolizes completeness and the addition of good fortune to life in the new year. They also signify opening doors to new opportunities, bringing wealth and growth in various areas of life.

10. Stewed Chinese Cabbage

Stewed Chinese cabbage is another significant dish for Chinese New Year, believed to bring good luck and prosperity in the year ahead. According to Chinese tradition, eating this dish during the festival is thought to attract luck, ensure smooth life transitions, promote health, and encourage growth in all areas.

• Meaning of Stewed Chinese Cabbage for Chinese New Year:
  This dish typically includes a mix of vegetables, each with its own symbolic meaning, such as prosperity, wealth, and good health. Eating stewed Chinese cabbage is like combining all good things together to enhance the completeness of life in the new year. It also signifies abundance and success in all aspects of life.

11. Salt-Baked Shrimp

Salt-baked shrimp is a popular auspicious dish during the Chinese New Year festivities, symbolizing good fortune and prosperity. In Chinese culture, shrimp represents growth and forward movement, making it a meaningful addition to the celebratory menu. Eating salt-baked shrimp during the festival is a way to wish for an abundant and prosperous life.

• Meaning of Salt-Baked Shrimp for Chinese New Year:
  Shrimp is seen as a symbol of progress, growth, and good fortune in Chinese tradition. Enjoying salt-baked shrimp during the New Year is believed to bring success and prosperity in both career and financial matters. The dish’s rich and flavorful taste is thought to enhance one’s fortune and success in the coming year.

12. Glass Noodle Crab

Glass noodle crab is another popular auspicious dish for Chinese New Year, carrying the symbolic meaning of wealth and prosperity. Eating this dish during the celebrations is believed to bring good fortune and success in life, particularly in career and finances.

• Meaning of Glass Noodle Crab for Chinese New Year:
  Crabs are a symbol of abundance and prosperity in Chinese culture, representing good luck for those who consume them. Glass noodles, known for absorbing the flavors of the seasonings, symbolize growth and forward momentum. As such, enjoying glass noodle crab during the New Year is a way to pray for a prosperous and fulfilling year in terms of finances, career, and health.

13. Chicken in Wine

Chicken in Chinese Wine is an auspicious dish that is popularly served during the Chinese New Year festival. It has an auspicious meaning and helps to enhance the fortune of the family of the person who eats it. Chicken in Wine is considered one of the dishes that reflects the culture and beliefs of the Chinese people related to prosperity and abundance.

14. Dumplings

Dumplings are an important auspicious food during the Chinese New Year festival, especially in northern Chinese culture where dumplings are popularly made and eaten during the Chinese New Year (Chinese New Year). Dumplings are not just a delicious food But it is also a symbol of wealth and fortune, which is in line with the belief and tradition that hopes for a prosperous New Year.

15. Steamed Grouper with Lemon

Steamed grouper with lemon is a well-loved auspicious dish during Chinese New Year. In Chinese culture, fish symbolizes abundance, prosperity, and good fortune. Serving fish during the festivities is believed to attract blessings and bring positive energy throughout the year.

16. Braised Duck

Braised duck is a significant auspicious dish for Chinese New Year, especially among Chinese families and those who embrace Chinese traditions. This dish is not only rich in flavor but also serves as a symbol of prosperity and good fortune. Braised duck is considered ideal for enhancing luck and bringing success during the New Year celebrations.

17. Taro Baskets

Taro baskets are a popular choice for auspicious dishes during Chinese New Year, carrying profound meanings of good fortune, prosperity, and family unity. The term “Taro Baskets” refers to the inclusion of “five fruits or nuts,” each symbolizing a specific blessing. The use of taro as a basket enhances the dish’s visual appeal while conveying messages of wealth and abundance.

18. Peking Duck

Peking duck is a globally renowned Chinese dish and is also recognized as an auspicious choice for Chinese New Year. With its rich flavor, crispy texture, and meticulous preparation, Peking duck not only impresses as a centerpiece on the dining table but also carries symbolic meanings of good fortune and prosperity. It is an ideal dish to enhance your luck and success during the New Year celebrations.

19. Chinese Steamed Buns

Chinese steamed buns are a staple auspicious food during Chinese New Year, particularly in Chinese and Thai-Chinese households. They represent abundance, prosperity, and strong family connections. With their sweet, fragrant flavor and soft, chewy texture, these buns are more than just a dessert—they carry meaningful symbolism believed to bring good luck and fortune in the year ahead.

20. Orange Cake

Orange cake is a highly favored auspicious dessert that holds a special place during Chinese New Year celebrations. With its striking resemblance to an orange and the symbolic meanings it carries, orange cake is more than just a tasty treat. It represents wealth, prosperity, and good fortune, making it an excellent choice to enhance luck and success during the New Year festivities.

21. Mooncakes

Mooncakes are among the most cherished auspicious desserts for Chinese New Year. These delicacies are not only enjoyed for their rich flavors but also for their symbolic meanings of good fortune, prosperity, and fulfillment. Sharing or enjoying mooncakes during the celebrations is a way to spread joy and pass on blessings of happiness and luck to others.

22. Steamed Sea Bass with Pickled Plums

Steamed sea bass with pickled plums is a popular auspicious dish served during Chinese New Year, carrying meaningful symbolism tied to prosperity, good luck, and success. Both sea bass and pickled plums hold significant cultural importance in Chinese traditions, making this dish not only flavorful but also ideal for enhancing luck during the festive season.

Summary

Chinese New Year is a time for joyous celebrations and the preservation of cherished traditions, particularly the practice of worship and enjoying auspicious dishes with profound meanings. These foods are believed to bring good luck and prosperity throughout the coming year, enriching every aspect of life.