With any holiday comes amazing food and Lunar New Year food is like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year all rolled into one! For example, Tết means eating the New Year! I grew up with both Chinese and Vietnamese cultures so it’s a little difficult for me to differentiate which traditions and foods are a part of which culture. I was obsessed with all of it though! 

Chinese Foods

Some classic Chinese dishes: egg rolls, spring rolls, sticky rice, char siu bao (barbecue pork buns), peking duck, steamed chicken, and hot pot! We also would have rice balls, which I often had with condensed milk to sweeten it. Sesame balls are also common anywhere but especially during the new year! These come with a variety of fillings – red bean paste, black bean paste, lotus seed paste. Super yummy! 

Vietnamese Foods

Some Vietnamese dishes were banh tet and thit kho trung. Banh tet is like a savory roll of sticky rice and pork, rolled up with a banana/bamboo leaf. Thit kho trung is a Vietnamese braised pork with eggs. I only really ate the eggs in this because I love the flavor it got from being braised with all the other things! Something special for Tết was the tray of togetherness! There are different trays/platters, some small and some large. Depending on which one you bought, it had different things inside. The one I bought had 7 compartments: dried lotus root (abundance), candied soursop (prayers), candied ginger (longevity), candied winter melon (good health & growth), dried jujubes (good luck), candied coconut (family & togetherness), and candied lotus seeds (fertility).

Special dishes for the Chinese New Year are longevity noodles (long life) and dumplings (wealth)! Additionally, steamed fish is a classic but during the New Year, it’s considered lucky if you eat the fish eye. I know, a bit strange, but what would you do to ensure your luck for the new year? Nian aao is known as the New Year cake and it’s so good! It’s quite sticky and sweet. My grandma would cut it into pieces and toast them and they’re quite good that way as well – not as sticky!

Games

My favorite game during Lunar New Year? Bau cua tom ca! There are six images on a mat – a chicken, a crab, a fish, a deer, a shrimp, and a gourd. Depending on how your family and/or friends play, you bet money! As a kid I used to bet quarters and we’d save up throughout the year for this game. There are three dice that you roll once everyone has placed their bets. For the game, you “need” a “bank” – someone to roll and keep track of the money! Whatever the dice showed, if you bet on it, you won what you bet! For example, if you bet 50 cents on the deer and all three dice showed deer, you’d win $1.50 PLUS the 50 cents you bet for a total of $2! Super simple and fun! 

What are your favorite Lunar New Year foods or games?