Chinese New Year Food Recipes Singapore

1. Chinese New Year Almond Cookies
2. Whip Up A Feast This Chinese New Year With Recipes From Singapore's Society Ladies
3. Lunar New Year Recipes
4. Chinese New Year Recipes (from All Over East And South East Asia)
5. Jubilant Ways To Usher In The Chinese New Year This 2019
   1. Chinese New Year Foods: Lucky Dishes To Try In Singapore
6. Lucky Chinese New Year Foods To Greet The Year Of Rabbit 2024
7. Special Compilation Of 60 Chinese New Year Recipes–part 3– Auspicious Chinese New Year Dishes ( 60 春节食谱汇编3

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Since it’s the beginning of the Year of the Ox for Chinese New Year / Lunar New Year, I decided to republish and update this round-up from a few years ago. 

Chinese New Year Almond Cookies

Lunar New Year is considered the biggest holiday in Chinese culture and the celebration  lasts for 15 days. When I was younger, aside from Christmas, it was my favorite time of year since the kids usually always received red packets of money from the adults as a token of good luck. Families gather around to ring in the new year and spend time together accompanied by a large feast of auspicious dishes.

This year will be looking a lot different for most Asian families (mine included – it will be just our family of four this year) due to the pandemic. Many of us will be having a much smaller gatherings and / or having virtual celebrations instead. 

The night before the new year is called the big reunion dinner where families will gather to have a big reunion feast. Each dish is chosen for its symbolic meaning based on its pronunciation or appearance. Every family has their own variation of dishes that they serve.

Whip Up A Feast This Chinese New Year With Recipes From Singapore's Society Ladies

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DISCLAIMER: Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy using the WPRM recipe calculator. It is best to make your own calculations to ensure accuracy. We expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.It’s almost time for Chinese New Year, and with the celebrations, plenty of good food. Singaporeans, of course, are one of the best people to turn to when it comes to good food, and what better way to celebrate the Lunar New Year in 2023 than with a table full of the most symbolic ‘lucky foods’.

Lunar New Year Recipes

These auspicious dishes are rooted in symbolism and history. The fortuitous symbolism of these foods often relates to the shape or colour of the dish. In addition, they specifically relate to how the character sounds when spoken in Chinese: a homonym to lucky-sounding words. These wildly delicious dishes are commonly relished during the Chinese New Yearcelebrations in Singapore.

The celebratory Chinese dish poon choi (aka pen cai), is guaranteed to make an appearance during Chinese New Year. It is a literal translation of its Cantonese namesake: a basin filled to the brim with premium food. The tastefully crafted poon choi is layered with at least eight main ingredients, including turnip, mushroom, chicken and pork. Seafood, chicken and prawn make up the top layer of the dish.

Friends and family share the festive meal together, representing individual cooperation. Interestingly, early residents of the New Territories served the poon choi in birthdays and festivals. However, many restaurants around the city offer a version of this festive treat.

Lucky Recipes For Chinese New Year

Growth plays a huge role in the Chinese New Year celebrations. The familiar image of the Sweet Rice Cake, or nian gao, is a welcome sight during the Lunar New Year. Nian gao, which means ‘higher by the year’, symbolises progress and growth. While specific regions prepare the savoury nian gao, the sweetened version is popular in Singapore. Every Chinese New Year, chefs across the city whip up unique versions ofthe treat with other auspicious ingredients such as tangerine, red bean, and black sugar.

Fried dumplings are arguably the main attractions for Lunar New Year. Although deep-fried in oil, the traditional Cantonese delicacy is sweet, although savoury ingredients such as mushroom, peanut and coconut have also filled the glutinous dough, making for a decadent treat. In addition, the shape of the Yau Gok is evocative of the gold ingots the Chinese used for centuries as money. So, what better way to start the Year of the Rabbit than chomping down piles of golden ingots?

Eating fish is one of the most common traditions of the Chinese New Year. In Cantonese, the word for fish means ‘surplus’ or ‘extra’. The fish indicates surplus and prosperity. The fish should be the last dish with some leftovers, as this has auspicious homophonic of surpluses every year. Traditionally, diners leave the head and tail of the fish to eat at the beginning of the new year.

Best Reunion Dinners For Chinese New Year 2018

A beloved sweet treat, these traditional sesame cookies symbolise happiness and laughter. The Chinese name translates to ‘smiling mouth cookies’. These balls of joy are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The dough ball cracks open when deep fried, thus resembling a right jolly chuckle. Gifting these cookie boxes to your loved ones will guarantee a smile on their face.

Traditionally served during the Lantern Festival, tang yuan symbolises ‘reunion’. These round mochi rice balls come in various flavours, including peanut, black sesame, red bean paste and even yam. In addition, popular dessert shops in Singapore offer a unique version of these treats every year.

Answer: Pen cai, fried dumplings, nian gao, and tang yuan are some of the best and most auspicious Chinese New Year traditional dishes.

Chinese New Year Recipes (from All Over East And South East Asia)

Answer: Every Lunar New Year, chefs across the island whip up unique versions of Nian gao with auspicious ingredients such as tangerine, red bean, and black sugar.

Tania and yoga are in an eternal relationship. You can see her breaking into yoga asanas in the snow-capped Alps and the Mediterranean Sea coastline. Her friends swear by her food and travel recommendations.Braised pork buns, ‘coin’ dumplings and Peranakan noodles – these families invited CNA Lifestyle into their homes to sample their once-a-year homemade dishes keeping family traditions alive.

What's on your table this Chinese New Year? For these three families, it's homemade Nyonya noodles, kong bak pau and jiao zi or dumplings. (Photo: Genevieve Loh)

Jubilant Ways To Usher In The Chinese New Year This 2019

Watching his wife pick a juicy slice of freshly-made kong bak (three-layer braised pork) out of its aromatic thick sauce and sandwich it in-between a pillowy soft steamed flat bun reminds Moses Lim of a story.

“Long before your time, in the southern province of Singapore…” cheekily deadpanned the 71-year-old Singapore actor-host, riffing off his iconic Under One Roof character Tan Ah Teck.

“I was dreaming of marrying someone who can make kong bak pau this delicious and this tender. My wife’s kong bak pau is melt-in-your-mouth good!”

Chinese New Year Foods: Lucky Dishes To Try In Singapore

Braised pork buns, ‘coin’ dumplings and Peranakan noodles – CNA Lifestyle visited Under One Roof’s Moses Lim and two other households to sample their once-a-year homemade dishes keeping family traditions alive.

Which is exactly why 65-year-old Monica Lim’s home-cooked Taiwan-style kong bak pau is a must-have on the dinner table during Chinese New Year.

“This is a very typical Hokkien dish, ” explained Moses. “And because my wife is from Taiwan, whenever I have this particular dish, it simply reminds me of the taste of two different countries (coming together).”

Lucky Chinese New Year Foods To Greet The Year Of Rabbit 2024

The kong bak pau in Taiwan (or gua bao – cut bun – as the Taiwanese call it) tastes slightly different from its Singapore cousins.

“There’s a very special dark sauce that is very, very concentrated. Just one spoonful can enhance the flavour of the entire dish, ” explained the actor. “This dark sauce used to be only found in Taiwan and my wife had to buy it when we went back to visit. But now, I believe you can find it in Singapore.”

So why is kong bak pau so special to Lim and his family during Chinese New Year? For the grandfather of four, the special dish has always been associated with a big occasion to celebrate.

Special Compilation Of 60 Chinese New Year Recipes–part 3– Auspicious Chinese New Year Dishes ( 60 春节食谱汇编3

He remembers attending Hokkien family weddings or birthday dinners with his father during his childhood days where even after nine or 10 courses, the last course would still be the hefty kong bak pau.

“To me it’s like, wah, we are all so full. Yet people will still eat it all up and finish, because it’s kong bak pau!” he recalled with a laugh. “You can imagine how important this dish is. To people who love to eat – especially the Hokkien people. It’s unique and special to most Hokkien families.”

Lim believes that for most Hokkien families, it’s one of the must-have dishes during the festive season, especially for reunion dinner on the eve of Chinese New Year.

Lunar New Year Foods To Greet The Year Of The Rabbit

“Because when we home-make kong bak pau, we make a lot of it. A lot, a lot of it, ” he said. “The more you cook, the more we eat. And no matter how much we manage to eat on Chinese New Year’s Eve, there will always be leftovers. Which is perfect