Lunar New Year is one of the most significant and widely celebrated holidays in many Asian countries. And whether it’s called Chūn Jié in China, Tết in Vietnam, or Seollal in Korea, there are commonalities to the celebrations. Families gather to start the new year and of course food is involved. Each culture has its own particular traditions, but sticky rice in one form or another is found on every table.
Why sticky rice? The grain, also known as glutinous rice, carries a lot of symbolism. The word “glutinous” has nothing to do with gluten, by the way. It refers to the glue-like characteristic of the rice sticking together. The fact that the separate rice grains stick together can be seen as a symbol of family unity and togetherness. The stickiness is also thought to keep wealth and good fortune from running away. And of course there are language puns like the popular Chinese rice cake called nian gao, which sounds like a phrase meaning “higher year” or “grow every year.”
One of my favorite foods to eat this time of year is bánh chưng, the hearty Vietnamese dish of tea or banana leaf-wrapped bundles of sticky rice, pork, and mung beans. Making the square bundles is a community effort much like making tamales at Christmas. But you can find them this time of year at most places that make Vietnamese food. I also have Diep Tran’s recipe that she uses at her yearly gathering of the Bánh Chưng Collective. Unfortunately it’s already sold out for this year, but mark your calendar for 2026. It is a very fun way to spend the day. And the results are so delicious. The unique texture of the rice combines with mung beans and marinated pork to create a deeply satisfying savory bite. If you don’t want to make them, pretty much every Vietnamese food business will sell them during the holiday period. So look in bakeries, markets, and banh mi shops.
The Bánh Chưng Collective community gathering is an all-ages affair. It helps to make the bundles with others. Photo courtesy of banhchungcollective.com.
The Chinese Lantern Festival marks the first full moon of the new year and the end of Lunar New Year festivities. The holiday aims to promote “reconciliation, peace, and forgiveness,” which we sorely need just now.
The glutinous rice dumplings tang yuan are served in broth during the Chinese Lantern Festival, which marks the first full moon of the new lunar year. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.
Tang yuan are glutinous rice dumplings with a pleasing chewy texture like mochi, that are filled with either black sesame or red bean pastes. You can buy them frozen at 99 Ranch Market. I also reached out to my friend Jess Wang, who is working on opening Gu Grocery with her mom. For handmade tang yuan, she suggested Yi Mei in SGV (multiple locations), which sells handmade frozen tangyuan, both sesame-filled for dessert and meatball-filled (amazing in broth). Taiwanese restaurant Sinbala in Arcadia has sesame ones on their menu. Here’s a tutorial on how to boil them twice from frozen that ensures they are cooked all the way through. You can serve them in the hot cooking water, a fermented rice wine broth, or a ginger broth.