In 2025, communities across the world will be celebrating Lunar New Year on 29 January. Although commonly known as Chinese New Year, the annual celebration marks the beginning of the year according to the lunisolar calendar, and is celebrated over a number of days in countries such as China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, as well as those diasporic communities in living Australia.
Lunar New Year involves visiting family and friends, paying respects to ancestors, giving (or if you’re lucky, receiving) packets of “lucky money”, and dining on banquet-style feasts. Whip up some noodles for long life, fry up some crisp spring rolls, or try Kylie Kwong’s twist on the Cantonese classic dish, sweet and sour pork. Plus, we have recipes for mango pancakes, festive trifles and Indonesian layer cake to end on a sweet note.
Here are our favourite Lunar New Year recipes for the Year of the Snake, from dumplings and mushroom noodle stir-fry to a rice cake recipe and dishes of crispy duck and pork.
What are the lucky foods for Chinese New Year? Read our guide to the celebratory dishes eaten during Lunar New Year.
Our favourite recipes to cook for Lunar New Year 2025
How to make kek lapis (Indonesian layer cake)
This Indonesian layer cake symbolises longevity and prosperity for the year ahead, and is surprisingly easy to make.
Duck sang choi bau recipe by Alvin Quah
Cupped by a crisp lettuce leaf, a good duck sang choi bau recipe needs to be sweet, salty and crunchy.
Best fried rice recipes for all occasions
A comfort food that makes the most of leftover ingredients; or a special, sophisticated dish in its own right. A fried rice recipe can do it all.
28 Asian dumpling recipe ideas for Lunar New Year feasting in 2025
Pleat, eat, repeat.
Mango pancakes with vanilla syrup
Mango pancakes are a colouful yum cha favourite that can be served as either a dessert or a decadent breakfast.
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Malaysian-style spicy roast chicken (Ayam percik)
A traditional Malaysian chicken recipe swimming in spicy gravy.
Southern rock lobster with Cantonese garlic butter and longevity noodles
Longevity noodles – or yi mein – are a staple at Chinese celebrations, from birthdays and weddings to Lunar New Year.
Victor Liong’s rose tea and red fruit trifle with vanilla cream and osmanthus
A festive Lunar New Year treat combining Chinese flavours with a classic Aussie dessert.
PS40’s Lunar Eclipse cocktail
This nutty and sweet cocktail is a colourful way to welcome the new Lunar New Year.
Thi Le’s Vietnamese spring rolls with mustard leaves and herbs
A textural filling of shredded taro, carrots and wood ear mushrooms equal these crisp, moreish parcels. Try stopping at one.
Luke Nguyen’s Aunty 5’s rice cakes with tiger prawns and pork floss
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for Aunty 5’s rice cakes with tiger prawns and pork floss by Luke Nguyen.
Vietnamese rice paper rolls
Flavour and freshness with every bite.
Victor Liong’s three sliver salad
A classic, cooling dish from the northern regions of China.
Tony Tan’s eggplant and broad beans with soy-sesame dressing
You love eggplant but you’re short on time. This is the recipe for you.
Udon with pipis and sake
A simple dish that’s rich, savoury and made special by the inclusion of pipis.
We recommend using Hakubaku Organic Udon Noodles in this recipe. Hakubaku Organic Udon Noodles are made in Australia using organic wheat flour that is 100% sourced from Australian farmers. Enjoy authentic Japanese recipes at home with Hakubaku Organic Udon Noodles.
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Tony Tan’s cucumber salad with sambal belacan
Sambal, dried shrimp and seasonal vegetables add up to one deliciously simple salad that’s ideal served as part of a banquet.
Tony Tan’s Sichuan sliced pork with garlic and chilli sauce
The Sichuan dipping sauce is a spicy foil for the fattiness of pork belly.
Victor Liong’s white-cut chicken, aromatic chilli oil and peanuts
“White-cut chicken, in my opinion, is one of the great Chinese techniques,” says Liong.
Tony Tan’s Chiu chow raw fish salad
A dish from China’s Chiu Chow community that makes the most of the top-shelf fresh fish.
Victor Liong’s cold silken tofu with peanuts, salted daikon, coriander and black vinegar
The Lee Ho Fook chef’s go-to dish for summer.
Cloud-ear salad with tofu and soy beans
An easy comfort dish to eat with rice or as part of a shared banquet with family and friends.
Kylie Kwong’s prawn dumplings with organic tamari and chilli dressing
Don’t underestimate that dressing – it’s a smoky, sweet, sour, spicy and salty hit that works wonder with the dumplings.
Steamed pork dumplings with Shanghai chilli vinegar
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for steamed pork dumplings with Shanghai chilli vinegar by Andrew McConnell.
Lau’s Family Kitchen’s salt and pepper whiting
No recipe secrets here. This crowd favourite just needs fresh fish, clean oil and this easy batter.
Stir-fried blue swimmer crab with salted black bean, chilli and native basil
Kylie Kwong’s stir-fried blue swimmer crab with salted black bean, chilli and native basil.
Dan Hong’s mud crab with XO sauce
Dan Hong shares his recipe for a stunning main course of crab stir-fried with Chinese flavours such as ginger, spring onion and XO sauce.
Tony Tan’s guide to making black pepper crab
A colourful, gutsy South East Asian favourite, this is a dish worth getting your hands dirty for. Roll up your sleeves and give it a crack.
Victor Liong’s masterstock-braised meats and tofu
The ultimate one-pot dinner (and the Lee Ho Fook chef’s ideal death-row meal).
Lau’s Family Kitchen’s tangerine duck
It’s a three-part process to making the Melbourne restaurant’s duck dish, but the results are worth it.
Malay fried chicken with curry leaves
Malaysia’s take on fried chicken involves the distinctive fragrance imparted by curry leaves as well as a spicy tamarind syrup to coat the chicken.
Soy and ginger roast chicken
With Shaoxing wine for sweetness.
Kylie Kwong’s deep-fried chicken with finger-lime sauce
“Lemon chicken is one dish I don’t look back at with nostalgia – there’s no love lost there,” says Kylie Kwong. “This is my interpretation, which steers well clear of the processed sauces from a jar.”
Butter prawns (Nai yow ha)
Australian Gourmet Traveller Malaysian banquet recipe for butter prawns (nai yow ha)
Tony Tan’s guide to making Hakka salt-baked chicken
This surprisingly simple dish rewards a little attention to detail with a lot of flavour.
Tony Tan’s Vietnamese yellow curry
This vegetable curry involves marinating mushrooms in a mix of tamarind, ginger and lemongrass before grilling them and the results are powerful.
Chinese barbecue pork with pickled watermelon rind
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for Chinese barbecue pork with pickled watermelon rind.
Bar H: Suckling pig with roast fennel and warrigal greens
Nothing feeds a crowd like a suckling pig.
Kylie Kwong’s sweet and sour pork with Davidson’s plum
The chef’s take on the Cantonese classic.
Cheong Liew’s pork hock and wood fungus
The yielding goodness of braised pork, the crunch and texture of wood fungus. This dish is the complete package.
Tony Tan’s braised pork belly with soy sauce
A cinch to prepare, and it tastes even better the day after it’s cooked.
Ricky & Pinky’s steamed snapper with coriander and ginger
At Melbourne’s Ricky & Pinky, their steamed snapper is served with a Shaoxing wine-based Chinese broth spooned over. It’s incredibly aromatic.
Lee Ho Fook’s steamed barramundi, chilli black beans and pickled mustard greens
Recipe for steamed barramundi, chilli black beans and pickled mustard greens by Victor Liong from Melbourne restaurant Lee Ho Fook.
Soy-roast duck with mandarin
Soy-roast duck with mandarin recipe – Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or large deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Add duck breast-side down and cook, turning, until golden brown all over (5-6 minutes).
Lau’s Family Kitchen’s scallops stuffed with prawn mousse
For best results, find the freshest of fresh scallops.
Dainty Sichuan’s fish-fragrant eggplant (Yu xiang qie zi)
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for fish-fragrant eggplant (Yu xiang qie zi) by Dainty Sichuan in Melbourne.
Good Luck Pinbone’s Sichuan chilli eggplant with wood-ear fungus
“The spicy eggplant at Sydney’s Good Luck Pinbone is one of my favourites. Would you get the recipe?” – Susan Ridge, Bowral, NSW
Tony Tan’s char kway teow
Char kway teow is a perennial Malaysian favourite for a reason. Tony Tan shows us how it’s done.
Minced pork tossed noodles (Zhajiang mian)
Australian Gourmet Traveller Chinese recipe for minced pork tossed noodles (Zhajiang mian) by Tony Tan
Braised Yi-fu noodles
A quick and easy noodle dish that’s part stir-fry, part braise, and all-round deliciousness.
Shanghai-style chilled noodles
This sweet-and-sour noodle dish might look simple, but it packs a flavour punch.
Tony Tan’s stir-fried gai lan
“A Cantonese staple, this dish is a breeze to cook,” says Tony Tan.
Flower Drum’s jin deiu (sesame doughnuts with custard)
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for sesame doughnuts with custard by Flower Drum, Melbourne.
Spice Temple’s custard buns
These buns are excellent steamed. Deep-fried? They’re a revelation.
Louis Tikaram’s mango pudding with lime tapioca and coconut ice-cream
The classic yum cha dessert, with a twist.
Prosperity salad (yusheng)
A Lunar New Year staple.
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