Chinese New Year menu: Celebrate with these classic Chinese recipes

Chinese new year menu: Lime, ginger and crab spring rolls
(Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo)

Celebrate Chinese New Year, 1st February 2022, with these classic Chinese recipes as part of our Chinese New Year menu.

From spring rolls to duck pancakes, from egg-fried rice to sweet and sour pork, we’ve got plenty of mouthwatering Chinese recipes to choose from. Cooking traditional Chinese food at home is much easier than you may think. Prawn toast takes just 20 minutes to cook, and beef in black bean sauce is ready in two steps. Not forgetting Ching-He Huang’s peanut chicken noodle salad which takes just 10 minutes prep time.

Chinese New Year is a great time to expand your cooking repertoire and learn some new skills in the kitchen. Try a recipe or two from our Chinese New Year menu including how to make wonton soup. Wonton soup is a classic Chinese dish made from seasoned chicken broth with filled wontons - which you can see being made above in our step-by-step video.

Chinese New Year recipes

Nibbles: Lime, ginger and crab spring rolls

(Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo)

These delicious spring rolls will go down a storm - they have a real flavour kick from the lime and ginger and are so easy to make. They take 3 - 4 mins to cook and are

best prepared in advance.

Get the recipe: Lime, ginger and crab spring rolls

Nibbles: Sesame prawn toasts

Nibbles: Sesame prawn toasts

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These sesame prawn toast bites are really easy to make. They're the perfect way to complete any main course as a naughty nibble on the side. The nutty taste of the sesame seeds and the smooth texture of the prawns make a delicious combo.

Get the recipe: Sesame seed prawn toasts

Starter: Duck pancakes

Starter: Duck pancakes

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Make your own restaurant-style duck pancakes at home! Your friends and family are going to love assembling their own pancakes. Serve with homemade plum sauce for an all-out treat.

Get the recipe: Duck pancakes

Starter: Chicken noodle soup

Chinese new year menu: Chicken noodle soup

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A nice steaming bowl of our chicken noodle soup will kick off your Chinese meal nicely. The pak choi and the ginger in this recipe fills the bowl with flavour. Serving 4 people, this soup is delicious finished with a handful of basil, roughly chopped, for freshness.

Get the recipe: Chicken noodle soup

Main: Beef in black bean sauce

Main: Beef in black bean sauce

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Chilli, groundnut oil and soy sauce make up the basis of this flavoursome dish. Marinate the beef in a black bean sauce and garnish with coriander to finish.

Get the recipe: Beef in black bean sauce

Side: Egg fried rice

Side: Egg fried rice

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Complete your main course with a helping of egg fried rice. This delicious recipe combines mangetout and spring onions together to give your rice some added flavour. It also uses streaky bacon to make it that little bit fancier, but you can leave out if preferred.

Get the recipe: Chinese special egg fried rice

Main: Sweet and sour pork

Main: Sweet and sour pork

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Not only is this dish a classic, it's also low in calories too, working out at only 381 cals per portion. So if you're trying to be good this Chinese New Year, this could be the choice for you. A homemade, sticky sauce makes the pork succulent and moreish.

Get the recipe: Sweet and sour pork

Side: Peanut chicken noodle salad

Side: Peanut chicken noodle salad

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Fancy noodles? This noodle salad makes a great side dish that is packed full of flavour and ready in just 20 mins. Sprinkle these noodles with cashnew nuts for extra crunch and serve in small soup bowls or one large one with a big spoon so everyone can help themselves.

Get the recipe: Ching-He Huang's peanut chicken noodle salad

Vegetarian alternative: Tofu noodles

Vegetarian alternative: Tofu noodles

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This delicious tofu noodles dish would make a perfect main course for any non-meat eaters. No flavour is left out of this recipe and with a little hint of spice and soft mushrooms, this dish could be an all-round favourite - even the meat eaters will want to try some!

Get the recipe: Tofu noodles

Dessert: Citrus squares

Dessert: Citrus squares

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Oranges and tangerines are traditionally passed around during Chinese New Year to represent good health, long life and fruitfulness - get in the spirit with this cake. This recipe makes 8 deliciously sweet squares that only take 15 mins to cook so they can be popped in the oven just after everyone has finished their mains.

Get the recipe: Citrus squares

Grace Walsh
Features Writer

Grace Walsh is a health and wellbeing writer, working across the subjects of family, relationships, and LGBT topics, as well as sleep and mental health. A digital journalist with over six years  experience as a writer and editor for UK publications, Grace is currently Health Editor for womanandhome.com and has also worked with Cosmopolitan, Red, The i Paper, GoodtoKnow, and more. After graduating from the University of Warwick, she started her career writing about the complexities of sex and relationships, before combining personal hobbies with professional and writing about fitness.