© 2026 ABC News

Tiffy's version of noodles with Taiwanese meat sauce symbolizes good health and long life.

\"Health is really important in my culture, so we make sure to have longevity noodles every year. The longer the noodles, the better,\" she said. Check out her full recipe for the must-eat dish and remember, \"never break the noodles or cut them when preparing and eating them; you don't want to 'cut your life short.'\"

Dumplings: Wealth

\"The dumpling is plump, so it represents a full year, so it's something that symbolizes how you're going to have a nice and full year ahead,\" Wang said.

Tiffy's pork and chives dumplings

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tiffy Cooks 🥟 Easy Recipes (@tiffy.cooks)

Chen reiterated that this dish is meant to bring wealth in the New Year.

\"Dumplings are a traditional lucky dish that symbolizes wealth since it resembles ancient gold ingots. In my culture, the more dumplings you eat during Lunar New Year, the more money you make in the new year,\" Chen explained. \"Not only are dumplings good luck, but these juicy, delicious dumplings are also the best dumplings you will ever try.\"

\"Wrapping dumpling is a family tradition,\" Chen said of the recipe that has been passed down from her great-grandma.

Fish: Wholeness

Another must-have dish for the holiday is whole steamed fish, which Chen said is meant to bring an abundance of wealth in the new year.

She quoted a famous Chinese play on words that means \"by having fish you will have surplus overflowing every year.\"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tiffy Cooks 🥟 Easy Recipes (@tiffy.cooks)

Chef Ming Tsai shared his whole fish dish and said the tradition is to serve it whole and \"point the head to the VIP\" of the table, \"because the tail is for someone who is, well, not the VIP.\"

Chen added that the head usually faces the eldest person in the room.

Green Vegetables: Money

Whether it's spicy stir-fried green beans or adding watercress to the fish, Tsai told \"GMA\" it's important to get the vibrant veggies incorporated to signify \"the color of money.\"

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Food/meaningful-foods-chinese-year-make/story?id=75851290","legacySlug":"/food/story/meaningful-foods-chinese-year-make-75851290","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"20:27","publishDate":"02-12-2021","updatedTime":"21:58","updatedDate":"02-12-2021","socialImage":{"alt":"Longevity noodles with Taiwanese meat sauce for Lunar New Year.","credit":"Tiffy Cooks","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/longevity-noodles_1613160618694_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"2/12/2021 20:27:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":75851290,"headline":"Meaning behind foods of Chinese New Year","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA LUNAR NEW YEAR RECIPES","description":"From oranges to dumplings, different dishes carry significance for the new year.","duration":"3:36","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/02/210212_gma_chang_821_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["75809702","75847399","75823383"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"February 11, 2021","headline":"Chef Ming Tsai shares Chinese New Year recipes for the Year of the Ox","section":"food","slug":"/food/story/chef-ming-tsai-shares-chinese-year-recipes-year-75809702","id":75809702,"image":{"alt":"Chef Ming Tsai shares Chinese New Year recipes for the Year of the Ox","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/veggiedumplings-cny_1613051821350_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"ABC News","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"video","date":"February 12, 2021","headline":"Celebrating the year of the ox for Lunar New Year","section":"living","slug":"/video/75847399","id":75847399,"image":{"alt":"Celebrating the year of the ox for Lunar New Year","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/210212_gma_chang3_hpMain_1x1_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"video","date":"February 11, 2021","headline":"Healthy recipes from chef Ming Tsai to make for Chinese New Year ","section":"food","slug":"/video/75823383","id":75823383,"image":{"alt":"Healthy recipes from chef Ming Tsai to make for Chinese New Year ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/210211_gma_tsai2_hpMain_1x1_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Meaning behind foods of Chinese New Year","description":"From oranges to dumplings, different dishes carry significance for the new year.","duration":"3:36","uploadDate":"02-12-2021","publication":"02-12-2021","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/02/210212_gma_chang_821_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/02/210212_gma_chang_821_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/food/story/meaningful-foods-chinese-year-make-75851290"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131142257","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131046664","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131048076","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131033212","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130999943","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130971027","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:food:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"food","title":"Meaning behind foods of Chinese New Year","pubTime":"15:27","pubDate":"02-12-2021","modTime":"16:58","modDate":"02-12-2021","taxonomyTags":"none","id":75851290,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Meaning behind foods of Chinese New Year","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA LUNAR NEW YEAR RECIPES","videoId":75851290,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/food/story/meaningful-foods-chinese-year-make-75851290"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/75851290","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/75851290","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};