5 lucky dishes to serve for the Chinese New Year

To honour their ancestors and put their best foot forward, it's a tradition for Chinese families to serve "lucky" foods at new year.

The Chinese New Year, also called the Lunar New Year, is celebrated for 15 days beginning at some point in January or February. The holiday is celebrated in many Asian countries, including China, Taiwan and Indonesia.

If you want to celebrate the Chinese New Year, here are five lucky foods you can serve your guests to get the year off to the right start.

This cake, called nian gao, is available throughout the year, but it's most popular during the Chinese New Year.

• Made from glutinous rice, the sticky cake is consumed and traditionally offered to the "Kitchen God" in hopes that his mouth will be stuck shut—silent—in the presence of the Jade Emperor.

Dumplings, called jiaozi, are a popular food to serve during the Chinese New Year.

• Although similar in execution to wantons, these are served with a soy-vinegar sauce instead of a hot broth.
• Jiaozi may be stuffed with ground meat or vegetables.
• Round dumplings are made to resemble money, and some believe that eating the dish during Chinese New Year will bring fortune later on. The more pleats in the edge of the dumplings, the luckier they are.

Spring rolls, made with meat, vegetables or sweet fillings, are fried until golden-brown.

• Because of the colour and shape of the rolls, they are said to resemble gold bars.
• Like dumplings, they are thought to bring wealth and fortune throughout the coming year.

The Cantonese word for "lettuce" sounds very similar to the phrase "rising fortune," which explains why lettuce is considered a lucky vegetable.

• Made from a simple slaw of chopped vegetables, soy sauce and seasoned chicken, fish or duck, the lettuce serves as a wrapper for the loose ingredients.

During the Chinese New Year, noodles represent the lifespan of their chef and those consuming them.

• Longevity noodles are made longer than normal noodles, and never cut. They may be served fried, or boiled and served in broth.

There are plenty of delicious, lucky dishes to serve during the Chinese New Year, many of which are quite simple to make.

• With a little care and planning, you can serve up luck and prosperity to your friends and family, right along with great taste!