Tim Chin is a professional cook and writer who has contributed to Serious Eats and America’s Test Kitchen. A graduate of The International Culinary Center, Tim has cooked at restaurants in New York and Boston, working at Rouge Tomate, Northern Spy, and BiSq.

Tim Chin

Gung hei fat choi! (恭喜發財!) Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture. Like Lunar New Year celebrations in Korea and Vietnam, it marks the beginning of the year according to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, typically occurring from late January to mid-February. Just like new year’s holidays the world over, it’s a time for seeking blessings and giving out well-wishes for the year ahead. For many, it’s all about the money: Getting showered in cash-filled red pockets (利是, laì sih or 紅包, hóng bāo) by elders. Food also plays a central role in Chinese New Year celebrations. And all that food isn’t just about gorging yourself on delicious things to eat (even if all of it is delicious); the food is symbolic, and each celebratory dish carries with it a blessing and a wish: for good health, longevity, and family harmony; for great wealth, success, and good fortune. These concepts are conveyed in food through clever wordplay and symbolism of shape and color, and everything comes together in incredible feasts.

A Guide to Chinese New Year Dishes