Top 5 Lucky Foods to Eat at Chinese New Year Feast

VIVA – Chinese New Year is the most important Chinese people celebration that will fall on January 22, 2023. In China, there is a tradition to serve a variety of Chinese New Year food. This is done to welcome family, and friends who will come to the house.

The foods that are presented also have diverse in form and flavor, many dishes are associated with the symbol, myths, and superstitions that give them special significance. There’s something for everyone in a Lunar New Year spread: sweet and savory, crunchy and soft, meat and vegetarian.

One major theme for every Chinese New Year is attracting good luck and avoiding bad luck for the year ahead, so make sure to include some of these lucky new year foods to celebrate the event. 

1. Glutinous Rice Balls

A popular Chinese treat for the holiday is a glutinous rice ball, even though this food is usually served during the Chinese New Year. These chewy rice balls can be prepared with sweet fillings like black sesame, peanuts, red bean, rose petals, and rock sugar, or savory ones like minced meat, crushed peanuts, and mushrooms. The round shape is said to symbolize family unity.

2. Basket Cake

Basket cake or Indonesian people usually know this cake is Kue Keranjang. It is a chewy and sticky cake made with only two ingredients namely, refined sugar and finely ground wet glutinous rice.

Sometimes, these cakes would be stacked high into a pyramid and decorated with red paper. These cakes symbolize the hope of continual promotion, improvement, and success.

Dumplings are versatile savory morsels served at many Lunar New Year celebrations. They can be filled with an infinite combination of fillings, including pork and chive, spinach and egg, and chicken and cabbage. Associated with currency, dumplings are said to bring prosperity and luck.

Tangerines are a common gift and snack during the Chinese Lunar New Year. This food is also considered the lucky fruit because the Cantonese word for tangerine is similar to the word for wealth. In addition to tangerines, oranges, pomelos, and kumquats are also common fruits considered to be lucky for the holiday because of their gold color.

Similar to fried spring rolls found in Chinese cuisine, lumpia is a common Lunar New Year food served in the Philippines and Indonesia. Said to resemble gold bars, these fried rolls are often filled with one or more chicken, garlic, pork, shrimp, carrots, or bean sprouts, and are considered lucky to eat during the holiday.