The Year of the Horse kicks off on February 17, 2026, marking the start of Lunar New Year celebrations across Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Singaporean, South Korean, Taiwanese, Tibetan, and Vietnamese communities worldwide. Also known as the Spring Festival, the holiday is all about coming together with loved ones and sharing foods meant to usher in good luck, prosperity, and happiness. From long noodles and savory dumplings to sweet, celebratory desserts, these dishes are delicious ways to welcome the new year — and boost your fortune along the way.
Lunar New Year Dumplings
Lucky Chow producer Danielle Chang offers these succulent steamed dumplings at her Lunar New Year celebration to encourage longevity and wealth. They’re stuffed with a fragrant, flavorful blend of garlic, ginger, scallions, and Chinese chives bound with juicy ground pork and served alongside a simple homemade dipping sauce.
Tteokguk (Korean Rice Cake Soup)
This Korean soup of chewy-soft rice cakes cooked in steaming translucent broth is a good-luck dish with symbolic meaning. The white color of the rice cakes signifies purity for a fresh start, while the coin shape calls forth prosperity. Though it can be prepared with chicken, pork, pheasant, or seafood, tteokguk is most typically made with beef, as it is here.
Whole Fish Drizzled with Hot Ginger-Scallion Oil
Yú, the Mandarin word for fish, is a homonym for the Chinese term for abundance, so serving this dish on the Lunar New Year is an invitation for prosperity. Prepare it with a whole snapper, carp, or sea bass.
Peking Duck
With crispy, intensely golden brown skin and tender meat, our quicker version of traditional roast duck gets plenty of flavor from soy sauce, honey, Chinese five-spice powder, and hoisin sauce. Serve it alongside Chinese buns or pancakes.
Microwave Bánh Deo (Mochi Mooncakes) with Black Sesame–Chocolate Filling
Pastry chef Doris Hô-Kane of Ban Bè in Brooklyn uses a microwave to make both the chewy mochi skin and rich black sesame–chocolate filling of her stunning bánh deo, which are a fun, festive project for Tết, the Vietnamese New Year celebration.
Napa Cabbage Pockets with Tofu
Charissa Fay / Food Styling by Nora Singley / Prop Styling by Maeve Sheridan
Usher in good fortune with chef Zoey Xinyi Gong’s refreshing and savory make-ahead cabbage pockets. They’re stuffed with a medley of shiitake mushrooms, Chinese chives, and crisp mung beans.
Mandarin Pancakes
Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
Made only from all-purpose flour, water, and a touch of sesame oil, these easy, chewy pancakes are a terrific accompaniment for Peking duck or moo shu pork.
Pearl Balls
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Thom Driver
Rolled in sticky rice and steamed to perfection, these tasty pork meatballs are served hot with soy sauce, pickled ginger, rehydrated Chinese mustard powder, and small romaine lettuce leaves.
Five-Spice–Braised Short Ribs
Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle
“This is, without question, my favorite Lunar New Year’s dish,” says Erling Wu-Bower, the chef and co-owner of Maxwells Trading in Chicago. “It is the dish that most reminds me of the combination of luxurious texture, deep flavor, and immeasurable soulfulness that has come to represent my Lunar New Year memories.”
Japchae (Korean Stir-Fried Glass Noodles)
Glossy sweet potato noodles are tossed with beef, mushrooms, spinach, and sesame in this festive recipe from F&W Senior Food Editor Ann Taylor Pittman. Each component is cooked separately for vivid color and perfect texture.
Sheng Jian Bao (Pan-Fried Pork Buns)
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Savory, pillowy, and crisp, these buns from recipe developer Tiffany Chen are packed with the rich flavors of pork, dashi powder, oyster sauce, and green onions. Assemble them ahead of time and stash them in the freezer until you’re ready to cook and serve.
San Bei Ji (Three-Cup Chicken)
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
The three cups in the name of this recipe refer to the generous amounts of rice wine, soy sauce, and sesame oil used to braise the chicken for this classic Taiwanese dish; plenty of ginger, garlic, and basil provide a powerful aromatic lift. Make it with pork if you prefer.
Pork Bakso Dumplings
These delicate pork dumplings from Gado Gado in Portland, Oregon, a 2020 F&W Best New Restaurant, were inspired by carts selling noodles and pork meatballs in Indonesia. Wonton skins stand in for noodles; an aromatic blend of ground coriander, ginger, and lemongrass pairs with umami-rich fish sauce to season the pork filling.
Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
Immensely popular in Taiwan, this fragrant soup derives its richness from meltingly tender braised beef shank, complemented by star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, and the classic aromatics of garlic, ginger, and scallions.
Scallion Pancakes with Soy Dipping Sauce
Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
Chef Joanne Chang uses pizza dough for her iteration of this popular Chinese snack. The pancakes cook for only three minutes until the edges are crispy and the centers are chewy. Eat them hot, right out of the skillet.
Galbi Jjim
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
Beef short ribs braise in a soy, pear, and ginger broth until tender but not falling apart. Chef Bill Kim serves his with plenty of braising liquid, making it ideal over rice. Garnishes of toasted pine nuts, scallions, and dried chile threads add texture.
Yin-Yang Tang Yuan (Sweet Sticky Rice Balls in Soup)
A symbol of harmony and togetherness, these round rice balls stuffed with black sesame seeds are bathed in a soothing, rock sugar–sweetened Chinese dessert soup for the perfect Lunar New Year’s treat.
Longevity Noodles
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Light, umami-seasoned lo mein noodles are tossed with crunchy snow peas and water chestnuts for this quick dish that’s thought to bring luck, prosperity, and, as its name suggests, a long life.
Steak and Shrimp Hot Pot
In this recipe from Houston chef Nick Wong, tender rib eye, fresh mushrooms, and sweet shrimp are cooked tableside for an interactive holiday meal — plus, guests can customize each bowl to their liking.
Shochu Punch
Citrus fruits symbolize luck and fertility, making this vibrant punch flavored with lemon peel and garnished with pomelo or grapefruit a festive choice for your Lunar New Year celebration. The fruits, flowers, honey, and aromatics that fill the punch bowl give it four distinct tastes: sweet, sour, spicy, and bitter.
Lu Jitui (Braised Soy Sauce Chicken)
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
In this classic Taiwanese dish, juicy braised chicken legs are deeply flavored with soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, garlic, and star anise; a touch of sugar balances out the salty, savory soy. Ready in just over half an hour, it’s especially easy to put together since everything goes into the pot at the same time.
Chow Dau Miu (Garlicky Stir-Fried Pea Sprouts)
Green vegetables are an integral part of any Lunar New Year spread because green is a color of money. This recipe works with most tender leafy greens — including baby bok choy and choy sum (flowering cabbage) — so opt for the market’s finest. Swirled into the garlic-scented oil, fermented soybean paste adds a layer of savory pungency.
Ba Bao Fan (Eight-Treasure Rice)
Though you can use any mix of dried and candied fruits to adorn this lightly sweet sticky rice, tradition calls for eight types. In Chinese, ba, the word for eight, sounds like fa, or prosperity, giving the dessert its lucky symbolism.
Thit Kho (Vietnamese Braised Pork Belly)
In Vietnam, this essential holiday dish can shift from sweet to salty depending on the region. All versions have savory, golden brown pork. Serve with crisp vegetables for contrast and crunch.
Wontons with Hot and Sour Sauce
Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
These plump and juicy wontons from legendary chef Martin Yan, inspired by northern and southern Chinese cuisines, are filled with a ground pork and shrimp filling that’s seasoned with fresh cilantro and ginger.
Prosperity Toss Salad
Tradition holds that the higher this salad is tossed, the greater the luck it brings in the year ahead. Each colorful component carries auspicious meaning: Cucumbers, taro root, and carrots are shaved into long, noodle-like ribbons to represent longevity, while radishes, pomelos, and green veggies stand for good fortune.
Yusheng
Often made with salmon as it is here, this raw fish salad — a variation of the prosperity toss — is a New Year’s staple in Malaysia and Singapore. The ingredients are placed individually on a serving platter, the dressing is poured over the top, and then all the guests toss the salad up in the air with chopsticks for good fortune.
Hakka Salt-Baked Chicken
Serving a whole chicken signifies a complete family and togetherness for the upcoming year. Called yim guk gai, this salt-baked bird is the most famous dish of Hakka, in southeast China. Though you’ll need nearly five pounds of kosher salt to make it, the chicken emerges super juicy but not overly salty.
Putri Salju Pandan (Pandan-Flavored Indonesian “Snow White” Cookies)
League of Kitchens cooking instructor Shandra Woworuntu’s take on the Indonesian holiday favorite, which is traditionally made with almonds, peanuts, or cashews, swaps the nuts for fragrant pandan, giving the cookies a pretty green hue.
Singapore-Style Noodles with Roast Pork
Egg noodles, Chinese broccoli, and thinly sliced roast pork come together for this classic Singaporean dish. Add more vegetables if you prefer to make it heartier without additional meat.
Nian Gao
Break from tradition and bake the typical Chinese New Year cake instead of steaming it. Evi Abeler makes a few more swaps, using butter instead of oil, white sugar rather than the usual brown, and including dairy milk and almond extract for a version with a similar texture and flavor profile. Most importantly, it’s made in the same spirit of good luck and prosperity for the year to come.
Shrimp and Pork Spring Rolls
Malaysian designer Zang Toi fills his crispy spring rolls with a combination of marinated shrimp, ground pork, and colorful julienned vegetables. If you’d like, assemble and refrigerate for up to three hours before frying.
