Celebrate: Recipes for Chinese New Year

78 Recipes

Celebrate: Recipes for Chinese New Year

By Noelle Carter

Feb. 7, 2018

You might never miss the meat with this hearty vegetarian dish. Recipe: Vegetarian Hunan-style tofu

Vegetarian Hunan-style tofu

1 hour 10 minutes

Serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as part of a multi-dish meal

Chi Dynasty's Chinese chicken salad

40 minutes

Serves 4 to 6

Beyond The Great Wall / Recipes and Travels in the Other China: Chile¿Hot Bright Green Soybeans with Garlic.

Chile-hot bright green soybeans with garlic

15 minutes

Serves 8 as an appetizer or side dish

Recipe: Tofu batons with hot sesame dressing.

Tofu batons with hot sesame dressing

55 minutes

Serves 4

This clean fish dish is not only tasty, but rather lean. Recipe: Steamed fish with pea shoots

Steamed fish with pea shoots

25 minutes

Serves 2 to 4

Ru yi cai ("As you wish" vegetables)

50 minutes

Serves 4

Stir-fried baby bok choy

10 minutes

Serves 4

Fu yu ong choy (stir-fried water spinach with spicy fermented tofu)

15 minutes

Serves 4

Scrambled eggs with garlic chives

8 minutes

Serves 2

Won ton

1 hour 30 minutes

Makes about 36 won tons

Vinegar dip

3 minutes

Makes 1/2 cup

Recipe: Chives stir-fried with bean sprouts (Ching chau sub choi).

Chives stir-fried with bean sprouts (Ching chau sub choi)

10 minutes

Serves 4 to 6

Recipe: Steamed fish (Jing yue).

Steamed fish (Jing yue)

50 minutes

Serves 4 to 6

Scallion oil (Chung yau)

25 minutes

Makes 1 1/4 cups

New York steak is marinated in a ginger-garlic-hot-chile mixture, then, while grilling, it is sprinkled with Sichuan pepper. The finished dish is actually quite mild. Recipe: Charcoal-grilled Sichuan beef with cilantro-shallot sauce

Charcoal-grilled Sichuan beef with cilantro-shallot sauce

30 minutes

Serves 2

A cold chicken preparation adapted from Robert A. Delfs' "The Good Food of Szechwan" combines the ground aromatic peppercorns with that everyday Asian quartet of ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil to make an enchantingly fragrant sauce that transmutes a simple poached chicken breast into a tantalizing and memorable delicacy. Recipe: Cold chicken slices with sesame and Sichuan pepper

Cold chicken slices with sesame and Sichuan pepper

30 minutes

Serves 2 to 4

100708.FO.0810.food12.ls ----- Lettuce cups. oyster. Dried oyster lettuce cups. Photo taken on August 10, 2005.

Dried oyster lettuce cups

1 hour 45 minutes

Serves 4

A California twist on the Chinese classic. Recipe: Shrimp artichoke lettuce cups

Shrimp artichoke lettuce cups

45 minutes

Serves 4 as an appetizer

Sugar snap peas steamed in lettuce leaves

20 minutes

Serves 6

Chicken, peanut and noodle lettuce wraps. Recipe here.

Chicken, peanut and noodle wraps

40 minutes

Serves 8 as an appetizer

Grilled scallops with braised romaine

Grilled scallops with braised romaine

30 minutes

Serves 4 as an appetizer

Steaming can produce some of the most satisfying, light meals you can imagine. And the easiest too: With a little thought, you can put together an entire dinner in a single pot. Recipe: One pot shrimp steamer

One-pot shrimp steamer

20 minutes

Serves 2

Quick Fix--Quick Hoisin--Hoisin marinated steak in spring onion pancakes. Credit: Platter, placemats and linens from Crate and Barrel.

Hoisin-marinated steak in spring onion pancakes

30 minutes

Serves 4

Just a little fish sauce adds umami. Recipe: Thai-style broccoli with garlic

Thai-style broccoli with garlic

15 minutes

Serves 4

Steamed baby bok choy is delicious eaten as is, but you can spruce it up with an Asian sauce. You can serve this with fish or chicken or eat it by itself as a light entree. Recipe: Steamed bok choy with Thai sauce

Steamed bok choy with Thai sauce

Active work time: 10 minutes Total preparation time: 20 minutes

Serves 2

Honey barbecued pork

1 hour 30 minutes

Serves 6 to 8

017801.fo.1023.komaiko4.gf Some of the delicacies that are prepared for the Chinese New Year.

'Pile of Gold' tofu stuffed with shrimp

1 hour

Makes 16 pieces

Recipe: Shrimp and broccoli stir-fry

Shrimp and broccoli stir-fry

35 minutes

Serves 2

Making Sichuan wontons is more fun with friends.

Sichuan wontons in chili oil sauce (hong you chao shou)

1 hour

Serves 4

Sweet, aromatic soy sauce (fu zhi jiang you)

8 minutes

Makes about 2/3 cup soy sauce

Recipe: Pearly meatballs (zhen zhu rou wan)

Pearly meatballs (zhen zhu rou wan)

45 minutes

Makes 36 meatballs

Deep-fried tofu with dipping sauce

25 minutes

Serves 4 appetizer portions

Melcon, Mel –– – Dumplings–Vegetable dumpling, pork dumplings, seafood dumplings, cheater's scallion pancakes.

Pork dumplings

2 hours

Makes 80 dumplings

Melcon, Mel –– – Shrimp Dumpling– 6. Browning dumpling

Seafood dumplings

1 hour

Makes 32 dumplings

Melcon, Mel –– – Dumpling–Dumpling cover shot–party

Vegetable dumplings

1 hour 30 minutes

Makes 32 dumplings

Melcon, Mel –– – Dumplings–Vegetable dumpling, pork dumplings, seafood dumplings, cheater's scallion pancakes.

Cheater's scallion pancakes

30 minutes

Serves 8 to 10

Dumpling dip

5 minutes

Makes a scant 1 1⁄2 cups

Barbecue pork ribs

1 hour 15 minutes

Serves 6

Sweet rice

55 minutes

Serves 6

Recipe: Tangerine-marinated pork with stir-fried vegetables

Tangerine-marinated pork with stir-fried vegetables

20 minutes

Serves 4

Jasmine rice

20 minutes

Serves 4

White lotus dumplings

1 hour 30 minutes

Makes about 3 dozen dumplings

Spicy rice with scallops is flavored with sesame oil, soy sauce and sake and garnished with peppers, sesame seeds, chives and yuzu.

Spicy rice with scallops

1 hour 15 minutes

Serves 4 to 6

Rice with chicken and dandelion greens

1 hour 10 minutes plus soaking time for the rice

Serves 4

Haak (greens)

30 minutes

Serves 4

106563.FO.0118.brisket1.GMF-Chinese brisket is served with rice and bok choy in celebration of the Chinese New Year..(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Chinese beef brisket

3 hours

Serves 6

086742.FO.0901.meatballs.chinese1.FO-- meatballs.chinese steamed ginger meatballs

Chinese-style pork meatballs in broth

2 hours 10 minutes

Serves 6 as an appetizer

Stir-fried beef with bitter melon

25 minutes

Serves 4

085992.FO.0818.food5.ls---Asian. Beans. dry fried sichuan string beans. Food shoot in the studio on August 18,2004.

Dry-fried Sichuan string beans

20 minutes

Serves 4

085992.FO.0818.food3.ls---Asian. Steam. Steamed Leafy greens with mushroom suace. Food shoot in the studio on August 18,2004.

Steamed leafy greens with mushroom sauce

40 minutes

Serves 4

Quick Fix––09/13/02––Quick Chicken. Taiwamese Chicken with sauteed pea sprouts and asian pears.

Three cup chicken

30 minutes

Serves 4

Sichuan Shrimp and Crab

Sichuan shrimp and crab

30 minutes

Serves 4

Stucky Fan Fan

1 hour

Serves 8

Shanghai Stuffed Zucchini

1 hour

Serves 4

Kung Pao Shrimp, complete with bell peppers, green onions, chile garlic sauce and roasted cashews.

Kung Pao Shrimp

30 minutes

Serves 3 to 4

Chinese Sausage Salad

25 minutes

Serves 4

Five–spice chicken

Five-Spice Chicken

1 hour

Serves 4

Chinese Hot and Sour Soup

30 minutes

Serves 4

Chinese Fried Rice

25 minutes

Serves 4

Cantonese Poached Fish With Ginger and Green Onions

30 minutes

Serves 3 to 4

Steamed White Rice

20 minutes

Serves 3 to 4

Mapo Doufu

30 minutes

Serves 4

White Rice With Green Onions and Sesame Oil

20 minutes

Serves 4

Miso Eggdrop Soup

15 minutes

Serves 4

Five-spice roast pork belly

1 hour 5 minutes

Serves 8

Ruth Reichl's Chinese dumplings, from her book “My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life."

Chinese dumplings

50 minutes

Makes 40 to 50 dumplings.

Cantonese dumplings are served for Chinese New Year.

Cantonese Chinese New Year dumplings

1 hour

Makes about 4 dozen dumplings

Recipe: Steamed whole fish

Steamed whole fish

20 minutes

Serves 2 to 4

Chinese sticky Rice is served for the Chinese New Year.

Chinese sticky rice (loh mai fan)

1 hour

Serves 8 to 10

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 10, 2017 - Chinese New Year's Cake, one of three new Chinese New Year recipes photographed in the Los Angeles Times studio, January 10, 2017. (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times).

New Year's Cake (Nian Gao)

2 hours

Makes about 72 slices

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 10, 2017 - Longevity Noodles, one of three new Chinese New Year recipes photographed in the Los Angeles Times studio, January 10, 2017.

Cheung sau jai mien (Longevity noodles)

35 minutes

Serves 4

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 10, 2017 - Ningbo Glutinous Rice Balls with Black Sesame seed stuffing, one of three new Chinese New Year recipes photographed in the Los Angeles Times studio, January 10, 2017. (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times).

Ningbo glutinous rice balls with black sesame seed stuffing (ning bo tang yuan)

50 minutes

Serves 6

Recipe: Beijing-style pork and cabbage dumplings.

Beijing-style pork and cabbage dumplings

1 hour 20 minutes

Makes enough for 3 dozen dumplings, about 6 servings

Recipe: Shrimp dumplings.

Shrimp dumplings

1 hour 20 minutes

Makes enough for 3 dozen dumplings, about 6 servings

Lao Yi's bioled beef and leek dumplings

Lao Yi’s boiled beef and leek dumplings

1 hour 15 minutes

Makes enough for 3 dozen dumplings, about 6 servings

A classic mix of pork, shrimp and vegetables fill these crunchy lumpia.

Pork and Shrimp Lumpia Shanghai with Cracked Pepper Coconut Vinegar Sauce

3 hours

Makes 30

These dumplings are best hot out of the fryer.

Golden Bag Chicken Dumplings With Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

2 hours

Makes 20

Serve the sauce on the side for dipping or spoon it over a plate of dumplings.

Vegan Shiitake Jiaozi With Black Vinegar Dipping Sauce

3 hours

Makes about 50

Noelle Carter is the former Los Angeles Times Test Kitchen director. She left in January 2019.

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