The Fascinating Symbolism Behind Chinese Lunar New Year Dishes

Dumplings are a way to bring the family together, both in making them and eating them to spend time between the old and new years. Folding pleats in the wrapper dough signify both the skill of the dumpling maker and good luck and wealth (the dumplings are reportedly shaped like currency), and can be stuffed with a variety of meat or vegetable-based fillings, such as pork and cabbage.

Get the recipe: Pork and Bok Choy Dumplings

Seafood, especially abalone, is prized both for its expensive nature and the similarities of its name to the idea of guaranteed prosperity (bau yue). In North America, abalone is often found in cans at Asian grocery stores and can be served on its own or as part of braised dishes with dried oysters and black moss, both of which represent good luck and fortune.

Mushrooms, due to their round shape resembling coins, also make a regular appearance at celebratory feasts. There are many varieties of dried mushrooms, ranging in price, and flower mushrooms are often prized by connoisseurs. Dried mushrooms need to be soaked before using, and can be stir fried, braised or steamed.

Related: A Guide to Dried Black Mushrooms

Fish is served whole for Chinese celebrations, as the head and tail represent beginnings and endings of a good year (it is sometimes served as the last savoury dish of a banquet so that it can be on the table for the changeover in year). Grouper (or garoupa) is a popular option, served steamed and bathed in a combination of ginger, green onions, and soy based sauce. Carp, which can live in the wild for decades and represents good fortune, can also be served red cooked (fried and then braised in sauce). Whatever the variety, the fish should be large enough that there’s leftovers, as the dish symbolizes abundance based on the wordplay of the pronunciation in various dialects.

Get the recipe: Chinese Ginger-Soy Sea Bass

Braised e-fu noodles are a traditional symbol of longevity, and the length of noodles eaten at the Chinese lunar new year represent lifespan, so don’t cut them before serving. Sold dried in large round pucks at Asian grocery stores, the noodles are sometimes also boiled and pan-fried.

Tong yuen, balls made with glutinous rice flour and stuffed with red bean or black sesame paste, are often made to celebrate the end of the two-week new year’s celebrations at the Lantern Festival and symbolize the togetherness of the family unit. Swimming in a clear soup, the spheres release a flood of colourful filling when pierced with a spoon, contrasting with the sweet stickiness of the dumpling.

Flat discs or squares of nian gao, or New Year’s cake, also made with glutinous or sweet rice flour and studded with textural counterpoints from sesame seeds to chestnuts, are prized for their similarity in name to the word for high (gao), indicating a long life. Nian gao can be steamed or pan fried, which gives them a slightly crisp outer shell to offset the sticky interior.