A collection of Chinese recipes for holiday dinners and festive feasts. It includes appetizers, main courses, side dishes and sweet treats.

How time flies! I find it hard to believe that 2021 is nearly over. I guess many of you are busy preparing for Christmas and/or the New Year. If celebrating at home, have you decided which dishes will go on the menu?
For this festive season, I’ve curated a collection of crowd-pleasing dishes that might inspire you to incorporate some Chinese elements into your traditional feasts. Most of the recipes can be at least partially prepared in advance.
Appetizers
1. Spring Rolls
These nutrition packed spring rolls can be deep fried or air fried. Served as whole or halved, they make a great nibble for young and old.
2. Lettuce Wraps
These lettuce wraps are filled with a balanced mixture of meat and vegetables. The use of classic Sichuan spices makes them extra appealing.
3. Hot and Sour Soup
A small bowl of hot and sour soup makes a wonderful start to a meal. This recipe shows you how to make it the traditional way without shortcuts or adaptation.
4. Salt and Pepper Tofu
Crispy outside and tender inside, these salt and pepper tofu cubes are seriously delicious. They’re vegetarian/vegan friendly too.
5. Shrimp Toast
Deliciously seasoned shrimp paste spread over toast then fried to perfection, sesame shrimp toast makes a great finger food. It takes very little time to prepare.
Main Courses
1. Smoked Chicken
Tender meat with an aromatic flavor, Chinese smoked chicken is my favorite way to cook a whole chicken. You don’t need a special smoker. Everything is done is a wok or a large pot.
2. Char Siu Pork
Aromatic, smoky, savory & a little sweet, Cantonese classic dish Char Siu (aka Chinese BBQ pork) is one of the tastiest ways to roast pork. Try my easy recipe!
3. Five Spice Chicken
Tender, juicy and thoroughly flavored, this spatchcocked five spice chicken brings roast chicken to a new level. You only need a few common ingredients to season but the taste is amazing.
4. Braised Pork Belly
One of the most popular dishes on my blog, red braised pork belly delivers a complex taste: salty, sweet, aromatic and umami. My recipe uses a simplified approach that any home cook would find easy to follow.
5. Char Siu Chicken
This Char Siu chicken dish can be roasted either in the oven or in an air fryer. It’s seriously finger-lickin’ good! You can serve it both warm and at room temperature.
Side dishes
1. Five Spice Potatoes
Boiled then briefly pan-fried, these five spice potatoes only take less than 15 minutes to prepare. The addition of chili flakes makes it very exciting to eat.
2. Spring Onion Oil noodles
A signature Shanghai dish, spring onion oil noodles is a good example of “Less is more“. The spring onion and soy sauce based sauce can be made in advance.
3. Sichuan Green Beans
If you’re bored with blanched vegetables, try Sichuan dry fried green beans as a side. It’s packed with bold flavors. Skip the minced meat and make it vegan if you wish.
4. Egg Fried Rice
This homemade egg fried rice is light, fluffy and tasty. It goes well with many main courses. Read my post to learn how to achieve the perfect texture.
Sweet Treats
1. Fortune Cookies
Homemade fortune cookies make a great party treat as you can hide personalized messages inside. They’re also a fun gift to give.
2. Mango Pancakes
Fresh mango chunks topped with fluffy whipped cream, then wrapped with a thin crepe, Hong Kong style Mango Pancake is a dessert to die for. The small portions also make it easy to share.
Dear Wei,
Thank you for your recipes and regular email updates. I have tried your char siu and stirfrys so far and looking forward to tackling chinese new year 2022. Thank you
Happy New Year to you too! Happy cooking in 2022!
My dear Wei,
Thank you for the inspiration! Your tasty and well-presented recipes got my mouth watering. I will certainly try some over the holidays…and beyond.
In spite of this crazy pandemic that refuses to go away, I wish you all the best this festive season.
So happy to know you like my recipes. Have a wonderful holiday Demetrios!
Hi Wei,
You make every dishes look so simple and easy I can’t wait to try them.
Thanks for keeping me wanting to try new dishes!
Regards
Margaret
My pleasure to share Margaret! Wish you a wonderful time cooking new dishes!
Do you have a Peking Duck recipe?
I haven’t shared a recipe for Peking duck yet. Will try developing a recipe when I get my hands on good quality ducks.