Dining Delights: 8 Cookbooks to Celebrate the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit/Cat

by Bill, Judy, Sarah, and Kaitlin Leung

The New Jersey family behind the popular culinary blog The Woks of Life compiled many of their delicious recipes and personal history into this comprehensive, photograph-laden book that covers Cantonese, Shanghai, Sichuan, Hong Kong and Chinese American cuisine.

Some of the dishes came from Bill Leung's experience as a chef in his parents' Catskills Chinese restaurant. Other recipes were inspired by food trips and meals in Manhattan's Chinatown and Flushing, Queens.

Plates fit for a New Year's Eve feast or other new year gatherings include ginger scallion lobster, Cantonese steamed fish, steamed crab with sticky rice, a variety of noodle dishes, and eight treasurers sticky rice.

by Hannah Che

The world is your oyster mushroom with the vegetable-heavy recipes in this simple yet elegant book. Learn more about the nuances of centuries-old vegan Chinese cuisine from food writer and photographer Hannah Che, who spent several months at the Guangzhou Vegetarian Culinary School.

Celebratory dishes that might be suitable for the Lunar New Year include fish-fragrant eggplant, vegetarian roast goose, jiaozi (boiled dumplings), stir-fried greens, sweet and sour tofu, and, for dessert, eight-treasure congee.

by Eric Kim

New York Times food writer Eric Kim puts his own signature touch on home cooking, remixing traditional Korean dishes and ingredients with American comfort foods.

Readers who want to try a different, more casual spin for their Lunar New Year meals can sample such dishes as sheet-pan japchae with roasted wild mushrooms, sheet-pan LA kalbi with Sprite, Yangnyeom roast chicken or crispy lemon-pepper bulgolgi with quick-pickled shallots. Adults can pair these dishes with one of two festive soju cocktail recipes.

by Robin Ha

Comic artist and designer Robin Ha craved home-cooked Korean meals several years ago when she was starting her career in Brooklyn. Ha built up her cooking repertoire through phone conversations with her mother and by reading different cookbooks and food blogs. 

Ha shares her culinary knowledge in this cute and playful comic as her comic chef, Dengki, teaches readers how they can make a wide range of Korean dishes at home, including barbecue, soups and stews, vegetable side dishes, several versions of kimchi and more.

Traditional Lunar New Year-oriented recipes include tteokguk (sliced rice cake soup), yaksik (brown sugar sticky rice bars) and sujeonggwa (persimmon and red date punch—which also includes a cocktail twist on the drink). Or for a more laid-back approach, try some Korean fusion dishes like jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles), kimchi galbi burgers or buldak tacos.

by Cuong Pham with Tien Nguyen and Diep Tran

In an effort to recreate the fragrant, delicious meals from his Vietnamese childhood, California businessman and former Apple engineer Cuong Pham founded the Red Boat Fish Sauce company during Tet / Lunar New Year in 2011.

Ten years later, Pham shares recipes created by his mother, other relatives, and chef friends in this colorful book featuring dishes suitable for everyday meals, snacks as well as parties.

Try making such festive selections like individual-sized banh chung (Lunar New Year rice cakes with pork, mung beans and shallots), thit kho trung (extra special caramelized pork), and lau (shrimp hot pot).

by Grace Young

This cookbook by award-winning author, culinary historian, and Chinatown activist Grace Young includes 150 traditional Cantonese recipes along with detailed chapters explaining the cultural and health significance of the dishes. Young interweaves her memories, family history, and food observations within these pages, bringing a heartfelt touch to the cooking tome. 

The book has two separate chapters focused on celebratory meals and Lunar New Year dishes and traditions. Festive recipes readers can recreate at home include zum soong yu (poached steelhead fish), chow bok choy (stir-fried bok choy), bock chit gai (white cut chicken), qwoo lo yok (sweet and sour pork), jai (Buddha's Delight), and neen gow (New Year's cake).

by Frankie Gaw

Food writer and photographer Frankie Gaw started cooking later in life as an adult, learning from his grandmother soon after his father’s death from lung cancer. This cookbook is a love letter to his family, part memoir and part guide to all of the different American and Taiwanese flavors Gaw experienced while growing up in Ohio.

First Generation includes a wide range of casual recipes for snacks, light meals, different rice and noodle dishes (including the famous Taiwanese beef noodle soup), and some shareable family-style plates.

Where this book shines the most in creativity is the section on dumplings, one traditional Chinese New Year dish. Gaw provides a versatile “make your own” chart, enabling readers to mix and match various fillings and seasonings to create their own unique flavors. Helpful, detailed photographs of dumpling folding instructions are included along with a recipe for a gluten-free wrapper and a rainbow of different food coloring options using natural mostly-vegetable based dyes. Tempting modern dumpling recipes include chicken, fennel and apple guo-tie, pork belly mushroom shumai in corn soup and roasted carrot and pork bao. 

by Danielle Chang

Let your culinary ambitions run wild with this thick cookbook by Lucky Rice food festival organizer and Lucky Chow television show host Danielle Chang. It features more than 100 different recipes spanning many Asian culinary traditions, plus some cooking mash-ups like Macanese African chicken, Roman Chinese oxtail stew, chicken tikka masala, and Jewish pastrami egg rolls.

Some traditional Chinese Lunar New Year dishes include whole steamed fish, yi mien (longevity noodles), jiaozi (dumplings), and chow dai miu (garlicky stir-fried pea shoots).

Mix a cocktail from one of several suggestions to make the meal extra-festive. End on a sweet note with either ying yang tong yuan (sweet sticky rice balls), individual eight treasure rice or almond tofu with fruit cocktail.