As the Chinese New Year is approaching, everyone is looking forward to this delicious food-filled family reunion celebration season. While many of the popular Chinese dishes usually enjoyed during Chinese New Year contain meat and egg products, several traditional dishes have stood the test of time and are still entirely plant-based.
For vegans who want a taste of meat this season without breaking their eating habit, they can indulge in some plant-based meat available in stores across Malaysia.
Here are eight Chinese New Year dishes you can enjoy that are naturally vegan.
A must-have for Chinese New Year is ring rolls. The Everbest Ring Rolls that are made of specially selected non-GMO soybean imported from Canada. They are crispy on both the outside and inside. Best served with different hotpot soup bases like mala soup, tom yam soup, tomato soup and more, this golden perfection is a must-have hotpot ingredient for Chinese New Year.
The season for the spring festival is full of cakes! While this iconic dish has become a favourite dim sum staple enjoyed year-round, people reserve the dish for the Lunar New Year. We love this vegan-friendly Lo Bak Go recipe that uses grated turnips, rice flour, diced mushrooms and vegetable and can be enjoyed either steamed or pan-fried until it turns golden brown.
The Chinese Seaweed Salad is not only refreshing. It is healthy – packed with several nutritious ingredients, and a perfect addition to your Chinese New Year meal. You’ll certainly want to pile up your plate with a second serving when made with the homemade Chinese-style spicy dressing.
Dumplings are a part of the celebration of China’s New Year. It might be a little labour intensive to make these Colorful Tofu Mushroom and Scallion Dumplings, but they look pretty on a dinner table. These dumplings are coloured with turmeric, spirulina, cabbage, and beet powder and have a mushroom, tofu, and scallion filling. They are delicious and fun to eat.
Long noodles represent long life during the Chinese New Year. This hearty and spicy You Po Mian is full of Chinese cuisine’s authentic flavours. It’s unlike anything you’ll get in Chinese take-out. The traditional version of this recipe uses wheat noodles, but it becomes lighter and gluten-free using rice noodles.
This Buddha’s Delight provides a special treat, whether you’re looking for a festive Lunar New Year dish to celebrate or a zen meal to revitalize! It’s also a vegetarian classic usually served on the first day of the New Year that appears in many Chinese restaurants.
The Buddha’s Delight deserves of the title “king of stir fry” with its rich mix of fresh ingredients and a range of delicate ingredients, such as fat choy (black moss), lily flowers and Everbest Mix Soy Knot Wrap for good luck and prosperity.
In a sticky dough made of glutinous rice flour, these little snacks commonly contain peanut, red bean and mung bean fillings. Roasting, boiling and steaming are the different preparation processes – healthier than deep-fried treats. Bear in mind their sugar content and enjoy them in small quantities.
The idea of stir-fried potatoes was new until we began consuming more Sichuan cuisine. One of our all-time favourite traditional Chinese vegan dishes is potatoes cut into thin matchsticks. The tastes of salty, numbing Sichuan peppercorns, dried chillies, and garlic readily soak up the potatoes. Keep the potato skins on to gain an added nutritional boost!
If you would like to have a healthy Chinese New Year, keep away from calorific meals. Mandarin oranges are a nice addition to your meals (abundant this festive season). You should snack on seeds and nuts as well, which are not only delicious but also nutritious. For more choices on vegan meals, including plant-based meat, visit Everbest, a leading integrated soybean products manufacturing company and exporter in Malaysia.
